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BY JAMES W. JONES.
* The Southern Whig,
:FUi&rSIIED EVERY SATURDAY MORNING*.
TERRS.
dollars per annum, payable within six
months after the receipt of the fit st number, or
feUi* dollars if not paid within the year. Sub
/ «5 fibers living out of the State, will be expect-
#din all casesp, to pay in advance.
' subscription received for less than one-year,
; . unless the money is paid in advance; and no
paper will be'discontinued until all arrear
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lisher., Perstflte requesting a discontinuance.
x>f their Papers,-are requested to bear in mind,
sOttemeut of their accounts.
<»VtftTtBICM®NTS .will be inserted at the usual
rates; when the number of insertions is not.
.. -specified, they will be continued until ordered
•out.
AU Letters to the Editor or Proprietor, on
matters connected with the establishment,
luttst be post paid in order to secure attention
* Notice of the ssU of Land and Negroes, by
Executors, or Guardians,
must be published sixty daw previous to the
fay of sale.
Ths sale of personal Property, in like manner,
must be published forty d ays previous to
. the day of sale.
Notice to debtors and creditors of an estate must
' be published forty days.
Notice that Application will be made to the Cour;
of Ordinary for Leave to sell Land or Ne
_groes, must b*published four months.
Notice that Application will be made for Letters
of administration, must.be published thirty
days and Letters of Dismission, six months.
. For Advertising —Lctters-of Citation. $ 2 75
Notice to Debtors and Creditors, (40 days) 325
Four Months Notices, t 4 00
Sales of Personal Property by Executors,
Administrators, or
Sales of Land or Negroes by do,- 4 75
Application for Letters of Dismission, 4 50
Other Advarriecnyagfr will be charged 75cents
snudl type, (or space
and 50 cents for each
weekly every other
week, " a ncf - If
each ‘
tjJßr single
■ : ’ 7 V-
’M
Made, » B y pattern that may be
" desired—FOß CASH
CLARK & Bva Dine.
Ifcfaoe 30, 1838—9—ts
FTIHE undersigned, recent;; l( henl the City of
A New. York, respectfully informs the citi
aens of Athens, and the acjacent country, itlSt
he has opened a Shop in the House formerly
occupied as an Office by Doct. Ware, in this '
place, near the State Bank, where he will be hap
fy to execute any orders with which he may i
e favored in his line of business. He has had .
many years experience in the business, and ,
will devote to it his personal attention. His
workmen will also be first-rate; and he hopes, '
by his assiduous efforts to please, to receive a 1
share of the patronage of a liberal public. ■ i
(fcs“ Cutting of all ■ descriptions, will be done ■
on the sbortesUuotice, and in the most fashion- (
D. F. CRANE. I
Dec. 2,-31—tf 1
Administrator’s Sale* I
AGREEABLE to an order of the Honorable I
the Inferior Court hf Madjsen county, <
when sittiriftforordinarypuiToses, will be sold |
on the fi«%l Tuesday in January next, at the <
House in Union county, Lot No. 178, in
tta Ifch Distm and Ist Sect-on, originally
Lherdke.-, now Virion county. 1
Alsb same day at Vanwert, Paulding 1
* countV, Lot No. 258, 3rd District and 3rd Sec- ,
tion, of originally Cherokee, now Paulding. .
Sold as the property of Agness Lawless, late
• of Madison county, deceased.' Terms made
• known on the day of sale.
JOHN B. ADAIR, Adm’r. t
Sept- 22,—21—tds (
Administrator’s Sale. ‘
AGREEABLY to an order of the Inferior <
Court of Habersham county while sitting j
for.ordinary purposes, will be sold before the
Court House door in Clarksville, on the first I
, Tuesday in February next, one tract of Land, •
adjoining the Town of Clarksville, containing <
pne ljundred and fifty Acres, more or less, to. j
getherwith four Negroes, one man, one woman (
ana-two children,. belonging to the estate of (
Benjamin Vaughan, late of said county, deceas
'ed. 'Sold for the benefit of the heirs and credi-
tors.
JN’O. H. JONES, 1 Adm’r. ,
IVLJA VAUGHAN, ) Adrn’x.
Nov. 24,—3(1—tds
Administrates Sale.
- A GREEABLE to an order of the* Honorable,
■£«- the Inferior Cpurt of Hall county, when
silting for ordinary jiurposes, will be sold on the
first Tuesday in February next, at the Court
House in Lee county, the one undivided half of
Lot No. one hundred and nineteen, (110) in the
■second district ®f Lee county, belonging to the
Estate of Afilly Woodliff, late of I Jail county,
/deceased, Terms on the day of sale.
JAMES LAW, )
•GEORGE WOODLIFF, ( AUn * r 6 '
1, —31—tds
Administrator Sale.
"•MTILLbe sold atthe Ctmrt House in Pulas
v T ki county, on the first TOehday in Febru.
wry next, between the usual hours of sale, agree
. ttble to an order of the Honorable the Inferior
Court of Madison county, while sitting as a
Court of Ordinary, one bt of Land, belonging tb,
the Estate of Benjamin Borum, deceased, con
taining two hundred two and a-half Acres; more
Dr less, and known anddistinguisbed by No. 113,
oho hundred and thirteen in ’the 12th, twelfth
district of original!) Houston, now Pulaski
codnty. Sold fob the’ benefit of the heirs and
creditors oi said deceased. Terms nn the day
of sale.
JAMES LONG; ) . . ,
ELISHA WARE, ( Adm rs '
December I—3l—tds
ITOTZOB.
A T the expiration of three months, I shall
•XM-make ap plication to the Georgia Rail Road i
& Banking Company in Athens, for payment of I
the left hand half es a fifty dollar Bill, payable to
<A. B. Lmton, or Bearer No. 1040, letter A
JAMES RATCLIFF.
Cltirksville, Sept 22,-*-21—inStn
>
M E S S'A G E.
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate
c and House of Representatives
r I congratulate yoti on the favorable cir
cumstances in the condition of our coun
try, under which you re-assemble for the
performance of your official duties. Tho’
> the anticipations of an abundant harvest
’ have not every where been realized, yet,
’ on the wholje, the labors of the husband
, man are rewarded with a bountiful return ;
, industry prospers in its various channels
of business and enterprise ; general health
I again prevails through our vast diversity of
climate nothing threatens, from abroad,
the continuance of external peace ; nor
has any thing at home impaired the
strength of those fraternal and domestic
ties which constitute the only guarranty to
the success and permanency of our happy
Union, and which, formed in the hour of
pertt, have hitherto been honorably sus
tained through every vicissitude in our na
tional affairs. These blessings, which
evince the care and beneficence of Pro
vidence, call for our devout and feivent
gratitude.
We have not less reason to be grateful
for other bounties bestowed by the same
munificent hand, and more exclusively our
own.
The present year closes the first half
century of our Federal institutions ; and
our system —differing from all others in
the acknowledged, practical, and unlimited
operation which it has for so long a peri
od given to the sovereignty of the people—
has now been fully tested by experience.
The Constitution devised by our fore
fathers as the framework and bond of
that system, then untried, .has become a
settled form of Government; not only
preserving and protecting- the great prin
ciples upon which it wtis founded, but
wonderfully promoting individual happi
ness and private interests. Though sub
ject to change and entire revocation, when
-ever deemed inadequate to all these pur
poses, yet such is the wisdom of its con
struction, and so stable has been the pub
lic sentiment, that it remains unaltered
except in matters of detail, comparatively
unimportant. It has proved amply suffi
«cienf?BPJheL various emergencies incident
nation. A formida-
* war ; agitating collisions be-
and, in some respects, ri
in the intestine commotions of neighboring
countries; the dangerous influences that
arise in periods of excessive prosperity ;
and the anti-republican tendencies of as
sociated wealth—these, with other trials
not less formidable, have all been encoun
tered, and thus far successfully resisted.
It was reserved for the American Un
ion to test the advantages of a govern
ment entirely dependent on the continual
exercise of tkc oopular will; and our ex
perience has shown thus it is as beneficent
in practice as it is just in theor}’. Lach
successive change marie in our local insti
tutions has contributed to extend the right
of suffrage, has increased the direct influ
ence of the mass of the community, giv
en greater freedom to individual exertion,
and restricted, more and more, the pow
ers of government; yet the intelligence,
prudence, and patriotism of the people
have kept pace with thin augmented res
ponsibility. In no country has education
been so widely diffused. Domestic peace
has no where so largely reigned. The
close bonds of social intercourse have in
no instance prevailed with such harmony
over a space so vast. All forms of reli
gion have united, for the first time, to dif
fuse charity and piety, because, the first
time in the history of nations, all have been
totally untrammelled, and absolutely free.
The deepest recesses of the wilderness
have been penetrated ; yet,.instead of the
rudenesffin the social condition consequent
eoon such adventures elsewhere, numer
ous communities have sprung up, already
unnva.’led in prosperity, general intelli
gence, internal tranquility, and the wisdom
of their poetical institutions, - Internal
improvement, the fruit, of individual enter
prise. fostered by the protection of the
States, has added flew links to the confed
eration, and fresh rewards to provident
Hidustry- Doubtful questions of domes
tic policy have been quietly settled by mu
tual forbearance •$ and agriculture, com
merce, and mantifectures, minister to each
other. Taxation and public debt, the bur
dens which bear so heavily upon ail other
countries, have pressed with comparative
lightness upon us. Without one entang
ling alliance, our friendship is prized by
every nation ; and the rights of our citizens .
are every where respected, because they
dre known to be guarded by a united, sen
sitive, and watchtul peopje.
To this practical operation of our insti
tutions, so evident and successful) we owe
that increased attachment to then? VYbich 1
is among the most cheerful exhibitions of
popular sentiment, and will prove their
best security, in time to come, against all
foreign or domestic assault.
This review of tlie results of our insti
tutions, for half a centfiry, without exciting
a spirit of vain exultation, should serve to
impress upon us the great principles from
which they have sprung ; constant and di
rect supervision by the people over every
public measure ; strict forbearance on the
paiTof the Government from exercising
’’any doubtful or disputed powers; and a
cautious abstinence from all intei'fcrencc
with concerns which properly belong, and
arc best leftto State regulations and indi
vidual enterprise.
Full information of the state of our for
eign affairs having teen recently, on dif*
ferent occasions, submitted to Congress, 1
deem it necessary now to bring to your;
notice only such events as have subsequent;
ly occurred, or arc of such importance as
to require particular attention.
The most amicable dispositions conti
nue to be exhibited by all the nations with
whom the Government ind citizens of the
United States have an habitual inter
course. At the date of my last annual
message, Mexico was tho only nation
“WHERE POWERS ARE ASSUMED WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN DIJIEGATED, A NULLIFICATION OF THE ACT IS THE RIGHTFUL REMEDY;” Jefferson.
which could not be included in so gratify
ing a reference to our foreign relations.
I am happy to be now able to inform
f - you that an advance has been made to
.. wards the adjustment of our difficulties
H with that Republic, and the restoration of
e the customary good feeling between the
two nations. This important change has
t been effected by conciliatory negotiations,
that have resulted in the conclusion of a
treaty between the two Governments,
. which, when ratified, will refer to the ar
s bitrament of a friendly power all the sub
j jects of controversy between us, growing
f out of injuries to individuals. There is,
at present, also, reason to believe that an
f equitable settlement of all disputed points
. will be attained without further difficulty
. or unnecessary delay, and thus authorize
( the free resumption of diplomatic mter
r course with our sister Republic.
f With respect to the northeastern boun-.
. dary of the United States, no official ebr
. respondence between this Government
t and that of Great Britain has passed since
. that communicated to Congress towards
the close of their last session. The offer
to negotiate a convention for the appoint
| merit of a joint commission of survey and
exploration, I am, however, assured will
. be met by her Majesty’s Government in a
conciliatory and friendly spirit, and instruc
- lions to enable the British Minister here
to conclude such an arrangement, will be
transmitted to him without needless delay.
It is hoped and expected that these in- ;
structions will be of a liberal character
and that this negotiation, if successful, will
prove to be an important step towards the
satisfactory and final adjustment of the
controversy.
I had hoped that the respect for the
laws and regard for the peace and honor
of their own country, which has ever cha
racterized the citizens of the United
States, would have prevented any portion
of them from using any means to promote
insurrection in the territory of a power
with which we are at peace, and with
w’hich the United States are desirous of
maintaining the most friendly relations. I
regret deeply, however, to be obliged to
inform you, that this has not been the case.
Information has been given to me, derived
from official and other sources, that many
citizens of the United States have asso
ciated together to make hostile incursions
from our territory into Canada, and to aid
and abet insurrection there, m violation ol
the obligations and laws of the United
States, and iu open disregard of their own
duties as citizens. This information has
been in part confirmed, by a hostile inva
sion actually made by the citizens of the
United States, in conjunction with Cana
dians and others, and accompanied by a
forcible seizure of the property of our ci
tizens, and an application thereof to the
prosecution of military operations against
the authorities and people of Canada.
The results o( these criminal assaults upon
the peace and order of a neighboring county
have been, as was to be expected, fatally de
<truetive to the misguided or deluded persons
eng-ged iu them, and highly injurious to those
in whose behalf they are professed to have
been undertaken. The authorities in Canada
from intelligence received of such intended
movements among our citizens, have felt them
selves obliged to take precautionary measures
against them; have actually embodied the 1
militia, and assumed an attitude to repel the
invasion to which the believed they colonies 1
were exposed from the Un ted States. A state
of feeling on both sides of the frontier has thus
been produceed, which called for prompt and
vigorous interference. I fan msturrcction ex
isted in Canada, the arnaicble dispositions of
the United States towards Great Britian, as
well as their duty to themselves would lead '
them to maintain a strict neutrality, and to re- 1
strain their citizens from all violations of the ]
laws which have passed for its enforcement. 1
But ibis Government recognises a still higher 1
obligation to repress all attempts on the part '
of its citizens to disturb the peace of a country *
where order prevai's, or his been re-establish- 1
ed. Depredations !>y our citizens upon nations 1
at peace with the United States or combina- i
tions for committing them, have at all times
been regarded bv the American Government I
& people with the greastest abhorrence. Mil i
itary incursions by our citizens into countries
so situated, and the commission of acts of vio- i
lenee on the mernbeis thereof, in order to ef
fect a change iu its government, or under any
pretext whatever, have, from the •Commence
ment of our Govermnent, been held equally
criminal on the part of those ctigajjed in them,
and as much deserving of punishment, as
would be the disturbance of tho public peace
by the perpetration of similar acts within out
own territory.
By no country or persons have these invaki
ble principles of international law—pi iuciples.
thostrict observance of which is so indispensa
ble to the preservation of social order in the
world—been more earnestly cherished or sa
cred) respected than by those great and good
men who first declared,and finally established,
the indepcdence of our country. They pro
j mulgatedand maintained them at an early and
j critical perioe! in our history ; they were sub
1 sequeutly embodied in legislative emfetmeuts
of a highly penal character, the faithful co.
forci ment of winch has hitherto been, and
will, I trust, al ways continue to be regarded,
as a duty inseparably associated with the main
tenauce of our national honor. That the pco
.pie of jhe United States should feci an niter
est in the spread of political institutions as
free as they regard their own to be, is natural;
nor can a sincere solicitude for the success of
all those who arc, at any time, in good faith
strugglii'g for their acquisition, be imputed to
our citizens as a crime.-With the entire free
• dotn of opinion,and an undisguised expression
thereof, on their pari, 'he Government has nci
ther the right, nor 1 trust, the disposition t< in
terfere. But whether the interest ortho bon
or of the United States require that they should
be made a parly to any such struggle, and, by
inevitable consequence, to the war which is
I waged tn its support, is a question which by
| our constitution, is wisely h fl to Congress
! alone to decide, It is, by the laws already
made criminal in our citizens to embarrass or
anticipate that decision, by unauthorised mill*
tarv operations on their part.
Offences,* of this character, in addition to
their criminally as violations of the laws of
our country, have a direct tend-ticy to draw
: down upon nur citizens at large the multiplied
I evils of ti foreign war, and expose to injurious
ATHENS, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1838.
r- imputations the good faith and hon< r of the
country. As such they deserve to be put down
n with promptitude arid decision. I cannot be
mistaken, 1 am coufident, in counting on the
s cordial and general concurrence of our fellow
j- citizens in this sentiment. A copy of the pro
p c.lamation which I have felt it my duty to is
s sue, is herewith communicated. I cannot but
hope that the good, sense and patriotism, the
’’ regard for the honor and reputation of-their
1 country, the respect for the laws which they
have themselves enacted forlheir own govern.
’ ment, and the love of order for which the mass
■ of our people have been so long and so justly
I distinguished, will detet the comparatively few
, who are engaged in them, from a fur her pro.
1 secutiou of such desperate enterprises. In
3 the meantime, the existing laws have besn.
r and will continue to be, faithfully executed ;
> and every effort will be made to carry them
. out in their full extent. Whether they are
sufficient or not, te'ineet the actual state of
things on the Canadian.frontier, it is for Con
"grews Wdecide.
It will appear from the correspondence here
’ with subp'itted, that the Government of Russia
declines a renewal of the fourth article of the
' Convention of April,. 1824. between the Uni
ted States and his Imperial Majesty, by the
third article of which it is agreed that “here
after (hero shall not be formed by the citizens
of the United States, or under the authority ot
the said States, any establishmenl on the
I northwest coast of America, nor in any of the
islands adjacent tn the north of 51 degi 40 in.
ot north latitude ; and that in the saute man
ner there shall be none formed by Russian sab
i jects, or under the authority of Russia, south
f of the same paralleland by the foarih arti
cle, “that, during a term of ten years, tounting
from the signature of the present coiA’ention,
the ships of both powers, or which belong to
their citizens or subjects respectively, may re
ciprocally frequent, without any hindrance
whatever, the interior seas, gulfs, hijrbors, and
creeks upon the coast mentioned is the pre
ceding article, for the purpose of fishing and
trading with the natives of the cwjhlry.” The
reasons assigned fur declining to/enewthe pro
visions of this article, are, briery, that the on
ly use made by pur citizens of the privilege it »
secures to them, has been to supply the Indians
U’ith
arms ; tsrat this frame has bibyn excluded from
the Russian trade ; and as the supplies’furnish
ed from the United States are injurious to the
establishments<ii tho norpiwest coast
and calculated to produce complaints between
the two Governments, his Imperial Majesty
thinks it for the interest of both countries not
to accede tothe proposition made by the Amer
ican Government for the renewal of the arti
cle last referred to.
The correspondence herewith comrnunica.
ted will show the groundsftipon which we con
tend that the citizens es United Slates have,
independent oftbeprovisiocsofifthe convention
of 1824, a right to trade with tip natives upon
the coast, in question, at. unodcupied places,
liable, however, it is admitted to be at any time
extinguished by the creation of. Russian estab
lishments at such points. Tbit right is denied
by the Russian Governwicnt; which asserts
that, by the operation of the treaty of 1824,
each party agreed to waive the general-right
to land ou the vacant comMs on the respective
sides of the degree of latitude referred to, and
accepted, in lieu thereof, the mutual privileges
mentioned in the fourth article. The capital
and tonnage employed by our citizens- in their
tiade with the northwest coast of America
will, perhaps on adverting- to the official state
ments of the commerce and navigation of the
United States for the last few years, be deemed
too inconsiderable in amount to attract much
attention ; yet the subject may, in other *re.
spects, deserve the careful consideration of
Congress.
1 regret to state that the blockade of the
principal ports on the eastern coast ol Mexico,
which, in consequence of differences between
that Republic and France, was instituted, in
May last, unfortunately still continues, er.for.
ced by a competent French naval force, and
is necessarily embarrassing to our own trade
in the gulf, in common with that of other na
tions. Every disposition, however, is believ
ed to exist on the part of the French Govern
ment, to render this measure as little Onerous
as practicable to the interests of the citizens
of the United States, and to 'those of neutral
commerce ; and it is to be Hoped that an ear
ly settlement of the difficulties between
France and Mexico, will soon re-establish the
harmonious relations formerly subsisting be
tween them, and again open the ports of that
Republic to the vessels of all friendly na
tions.
A convention for m F-leg that pa’rt of the
boundary between the United Suites and the
Republic of Texas, which extends from the
mouth of the Sabine to Ri d River, was conclu
ded and signed at this city on the 25th of
April last. Il has since been ratified by both
Governments; and seasonable measures will
be takeii to carry it into effect on tho part of
the United Stales.
The application of that Republic for ad
mission into this Union, made in August, 1837,
and which was declined for reasons already
made known to yotu has. baeu ibrmally with
drawn, as will appear from the accompanying
copy ofthe note of the Minister Pleuipoteu
tiary of Texas, which was presented to the
Secretary of State ou the occasion ofthe ex
change ofthe rutiiieattons of the convention
above mentioned.
Copies of the convention with FeXns, of a
commercial treaty concluded with the King
l of Greece, and of a similar treaty with the
Peru-Bolivian Confederation, the ratificatioi s
of whn h have been tecently exchanged, ac.
company this message for the information ol’
Congress and for such legislative enactments
as may be found neees-ary or expedient, n>
relation to either of them.
To watch over and foster the interest of a
gradually increasing and Widely extended
commerce; to gard the rights of Ameriran
citizens, whom business, or pleasure, or other
motives, may tempt into distant climes, and at
the same time to cultivate those sentiments of
mutual respect and good will w hich experi
ence bus ptoved so beneficial in international
intercourse, the Government ofthe United
States has deemed it expedient, from time tn
time, to establish diplomatic connections with
dill' rent foreign States, by tho appointment
of representatives to reside within Ihi ir res
pective territories. 1 am gratified to he ena
bled to annomice to you that, since the cluse
ofthe last session, these retafioris have been
opened under the happiest auspices with Aus
tna and the Two Sic illies ; that new nomina
tions have been made in the respective mis
sions ot Russia, Brazil, Belgium, and Sweden,
and Norway, in this country ; and that a Min
ister Estraordiaary has been received, ae
credited, to this Government frem the Ar
gentine Confederation.
An exposition of the fiscal affairs of the
Government, and of their condition for the
past year, will be made to you by the Secreta
ry of the Treasury.
The available balance in the Treasury, on
the Ist ofJanuary next,is estimated at $2,765,-
342 The receipts of the year from customs
and lands, will probably amount to $20,615,.
598. These usual sources of revenue have
been increased by an issue of Treasury notes
—of which less than eight-millions of dollars,
including interest and principal, will foe out.
standing at the end ol the year—and by the
sale of one of the bonds ofthe Rank ofthe U.
S. for $2,254, 871. The aggregate of means
from these and . otner sources, with the bal
ance on hand on the first of January last, has
been applied to the payment of appropriations
by Congress. The whole expenditure for the
year on their account, including the redemp- ’
tian of more than eight million*- of Teeasqry 1
notes, constitutes an aggregate of about forly '<
millions of dollars, and will still leave in the
Treasury the balance before stated.
Nearly eight millions of dollars oi Treasury
notes are to be paid during the coming year,
in addition to the ordinary appropriations for
the support of Government. For both these -
purposes, the resources of the Treasury will
undoubtedly be sufficient, if the charges upon
it are not increased beyond the annual estim
ate*. No excess, however, is likely to exist ;
not car: the postponed instalment of the sur
surplus revenue he deposited with the States,
nor any considerable appiopriations beyond
the estimates be made, without causing ade
ficiency in the Treasury. The great caution,
advisable at all times, of limiting appropria
tions to the wants of the public service, is ren
dered necessary at present-by the prospective
and rapid reduction of the tariff; while the
vigilant jealousy, evidently excited among the
people occurrences of the last few
y’ears, assures us that they expect from their
representatives, and w ill sustain them in the
exercise of, the most rigid economy. Much
can be effected by postponing appropriations
not immediately required tor the ordinaryjiub.
Jic service or for any pressing emergency ;
and much by reducing the expenditures
where the entire and immediate ncccornplish
ment of the objects in view is not indispensa
ble. ' ‘ ‘
When we call to mind the recent and ex
treme embarrassments produced by excessive
issues of bank paper, aggravated by the mifore-
• seen withdrawal of much foreign capital, and
t the inevitable derangement arising from the
. distribution of the surplus revenue among the
. Sta'.es as required by Congress ; and consider
the heavy expenses incurred by the removal
of Indian tribes; by the military operations
. in Florida ; and on account of the unusually
, large appropriations made at the last two an
i nuul sessions of Congress for ether objects,
i we have striking evidence, in the present effi.
, cient state of our finances, of the abundant
s resources of the country to fulfil all its obliga
tions. Nor is it less gratifying to find that
I the general business ofiihe community, deep,
i ly affected as it has been, is reviving with ad
, ditional vigor, chastened by the lessons ofthc
past, and animated by the hcpcs of the future.
By the curtailment of paper issues; by cur
bing the sanguine and adventurous spirit of
i speculation ; and by the honorable, applica
tion of all available means to the fulfilment
of obligations, confidence has been restored
both at home and abroad, and case and facility
secured to all the operations of trade.
The agency of the Government in producing
these results has been .is efficient as its pow
ersand means permiltted. By withholding
from the States the deposite of the fourth in
stalment, and leaving several millions at long
credits with the banks, principally in one sec
tion of the country, and more immediately
beneficial to it; and, at the same time, aiding
the banks and commercial communities in oth
er sections, by postponing the payment of bonds
for duties to the amount of between four and
five millions of dollars ; by an issue of Treas
ury notes as a means to enable the Govern
ment to meet the consequences of their indul
i genets ; but affording, at the same titre, facil
ities for remittance and exchange; and by
steadily declining to employ as general dopes,
itories of the public revenues, or receiving
the notes of all banks which refused to re
deem them in specie.' by these measures,
aided by the favorable action of some of the
banks, and by the support and co-operation of
a large portion of the community, We llave
witnessed an early resumption of specie pay
meets in our great commercial capital, prompt
( Iv followed in almost every part of the United
I States* This result has been alike salutary
I to the true i terests of agriculture, commerce
| and manufactures ; to public morals, respect
I lor the laws, and that confidence between man
i and man which is so essential in all our so.
rial relations.
The contrast between the suspension of'
1814 nd that of 1737 is most striking. The
short duration of the latter; the prompt resto
ration of business ; the evident benefits result.
, ing from an adherence by the Government to
lhe constitutional standard of value, instead of
sanctioning the suspension by the receipt ofir
redeemable paper ; a d lhe advantages den
I vi d from the large amount of specie introdu
! eed into the country ptevious to 1537, : fford a
. j valuable illustration of the true policy of the
i ! Government in such a crisis ; nor can the
■ comparison fail to remove the impression that
i ’a national bank is necessary in such truer
; i gencies. Not only were specie payments re
• I Mimed without its aid. but exchanges have
i been more rapidly restored than when it ex
istid; thereby showing that private capital,
' enterprise and prudence are fully adequate to
- these ends. On all these points experience
i seems to have confirmed the views heretofore
submitted to Congress. We have been saved
the mortification of seeing the distress of the
I community for the third time seized on to fas
i ten upon the country so dangerous an iustitu.
■ non; and .ve may also hope that the business
of individuals w ill hereatier be relieved from
' the iujurous effects of a continued agitation of
that disturbing subject. The limited infill
I enceofa national bunk in aveitiiig derange
I merit in the exchanges of the country, or in
i i compelling the resumption of specie payments,
i I is now not less apparent than its tendency to
t J increase in ordinate speculation by sudden ex..'
• ■ pensions and contractions ; its disposition to
■ create panic and embarrassment for the pro
; i motion of its own designs; its interference
: i with politics ; and its far greater power for
I evil than for good, either in regard to the loci I
- institutions or the operations of Government
- itself. What was, in these respects, but ap
. prehension or opinion when a national hank
- was first established, now stands confirmed
by humiliating experience The
i through which we have passed, conclusively
prove how little our commerce, agriculture,
manufactures, or finaiiees, require such an in
stitution, and what dangers are ettendant on
its power—a power, I trust, never to be con
ferred by the American people upon their Go.
vernment, and still less upon individuals not
responsible to them for its unavoidable abu
ses.
My Convictioirof the necessity of further le.
gislative provisions for the safe keeping and
disbursement ofthe public moneys, and my
opinion in regard to the rm-asure* best adapted
to the accomf lishment of those objects, have
been already submitted to you. These have
been strengthened by recent events ; and, in
the full conviction that time and experience
must still-further demonstrate their propriety,
I feel it my duty, w ith respectful deference to
the conflicting views of others, again to ijiviCe
your attention to thi-fii.
( * With the exception, of li<Btfod stmts deposi
ted in the few batiks j|<ll eigployed ttindei; the
net of 1836. the anrnmrts H'cvived for duties,
■ and, with very inconHliderable exeeptirfhs, those’
accruing from lands also, have, since the-gen
erul suspension of specie payments by the tfo
, posite batiks, been kept a:.d disbursed by the-
■ T'reasurer, under h-is. general legal powers,
. subject to the aaperiitteudeuce of the Secretary .
of the Treasury. The propriety of .defining
more specifically, ami of regulating by law.
the exercise of this wide scope of Executive
discretion, has been already submitted to Con.
gress.
A change tn the office of collector at one of
our principal ports, has brought, to light a de.
lalcatiotr ofthe gravest character, t-ha particu
lars of which will be laid before you in a spe
cial report from the Secretary ofthe Treasury.
By his report and t|je. aAtompunying docu
ment*, it will be seen that the weekly returns
of the defaulting officer,apparently exhibited,
throughout, a faitiiful atiministrntion of the
affiiirs entrusted to his managrinent. It, how
ever, now appears, that he commenced ab
stracting the public moneys shortly after his
appointment, and continued to do So, progres
sively increasing the amount, for the tjrm of,
more th<n seven years,embracing a pontiouof
the period during which the public moneys
were deposited tn the Bank of the
States, the whole o-f that ofthe State bank de
posite system, and only on his r<V
tiremeut from office, after that system had sub- '
stantrally foiled, in consequence ofthe
sion of specie payments.
the way j., 6»iw <fofolcation w»/t so
long concealed, and tho steps taken tL ;£«£*',*,w
nify the United States, as far as practicable,
against loss will also be presented to you.—
The case is one which imperatively claims the
attention of Congress, and furnishes the strong
est mo'ive for lhe establishment of a more se
vere and secure ev stem for the safekeeping
and disbursement of the public moneys thun
any that has* heretofore existed.
It seems proper, at till events, that by an
early enactment, similar to that of other coun
tries, lhe application of public money by an
officer of government to private uses, should
be made u felony and visited with severe mid
ignominious punishment This is already, tp
effect, the law in respect to the miut, and has
been productivepf the most salutary results.
Whatever system is adopted, such an enact
ment would be wiser as an independent mens
tire, since-much of the public moneys must
in their collection and ultimate disbursement,
pass twice through the hands of public officers,
in whatever manner they are intermediately
kept. The Government, it must be admitted,
has been from its commencement, comparative
ly fortunate in this respect. But the appoint
ing power cannot always be well advised in its
selections, and the experience of every coun
try has shown that public officers are not at all ,
limes proof against temptation. It is a duty,
therefore, which lhe Government owes, as j
well to the interests commuted to its care, us
to the officers themselves, to provide every
guard against transgressions of this character
that is consistent with reason and humanity.
Congress cannot be too jealous of the conduct
of those w ho are intrusted with lhe public mo
ney; and I shall, at all limes, be disposed to
encourage a watchful discharge of this duly.
If a more direct co operation on the part of
Congress in the supervision ofthc conduct of
officers entrusted with the custody and appli
cation of the public money is deemed desirable,
it will gi>'e me pleasure to assist in lhe esta
blishment of any judicious and constitutional
plan by which that object may be accomplish
ed. You will, in your wisdom, determine
upon lhe propriety of adopting such apian,
and upon the measures necessary to its effec
tual execution. When the late Blink pf the
United States was incorporated and made the
depository of the public: moneys, a right was
reserved to Congress to inspect, at its pleasure,
by a committee of that body, lhe boeks and
proceedings of the bank.
In one of the States whose banking institu
tions are supposed to rank among the first m
point ot stability, they* are subject to constant
examinations by couuhissioneis appointed for
that purpose, and much of the success of its
banking system is attributed to this watchful
supervision. The same course has also, in
view of its beneficial eperatien. been adopted
by an adjoining state, favorably known tor the
etwe it has always bestowed upon w hatever'
relates to its financial concerns. I submit to
your consideration, whether a committee of
Congress might not be profitably snip! yrd >n
inspecting, at such inteivals as might be .teem
cd proper, the affairs and accounts of efficers
entrusted w ith lhe custody ofthe public mo:.< v «.
Tim frequent perfoimai.ee of this duty might
be made-obligatory on the committee in res.
pect to those officers who have large sums in
their, possessions, and li ft discretionary in re.
spiel toothers. They might report to lhe
Executive such defakaiions as were found to
exist, with a view to a prompt removal from
office unless the default was satisfactorily ac
counted for; and report also, to Congress, nt
the commencement of each session, the result
of their examinatiois and proceedings. It
docs appear to me that, with a subjection of’
this class of public officers to the general su*
pervisiiHgof lhe Executive to examinations by
a committee of Congress at periods of which
they should have no previous notice, and to
prosecution and punishment as for felony for
every breach of trust, the safe-keepi g of the
public monevs, under the system proposed,
mioht be placed on a surer ‘bundatit n than it
has ( ver occupied since the establishment of
the Government.
'l he St cretary of tho Treasury will lay be
fore you additional information containing new
details on this interesting subject. To these
I ask your early attention. That it should
have given rise to great diversity of opinion,
cannot bid. a subject ol surprise. After the col
lection and custody of the public moneys had
«
j. Vol. 11-xAo.
> been fpr so many years connected 1
> made subsidiary to the advancement ofprivat>>
- interests, a return to the simple and self det y'-
1 ing ordinances of the Constitution ceajld «n»t
but be difficult. But time and free discyssiw.’,
eliciting the sentiments ofthc people, and aid.
1 ed by that conciliatory spirit which has ev< r
characterized their course on great emerge.!*.
ties, Were relied upon for a satisfactory settle
ment ot the question. Already has this anti.
! ci pation on one important point at least—iho
impropriety of diverting public money to prj-
| vate purposes—been fully realized. There 1
is no reason to suppose that h gislation upon
that branch of the subject would now beembar.
rassed by a difference of opinion, or fail to roC
ceive the Cordial support of a large majority of
our coi.stitur-ius. The coimeetinn which tor.
merly existed between the Government and
banks, was iti reality ivjuriuus tobi tb. as well -
as to the general i.iteresisot the cwmmmity i,t ”
large* it aggravated th®.disasters of traiW
and., the derangement? compiercial ttyte;-,-
Course, and administered new excitement and
additional means to wild and reckless specula,
lions, the disappointments of which threw tbw
country inSo convulsions of panic, and all but
? produced violence and bloodshed. The in* ?
prudent expansion of bank creditors, w hich
wa.-rthe natural result ot' the command of tint .
revenues ol the Stale, furnished the resources
ibr unbounded license io every species of ad-
s< dirced industry from its regular and
salutary occuputwus by lhe hope of abuiidaacu
without labor, and deranged ihe social state by
tempting all trades and proli ssions into ths
vortex on speculation on remote coutiugencies,
Thd'same wide-spreading influexice imp®.
ded also the resources of the Government, cur
lai led its t>s< fill operations, embarrassed th®
fulfiltnent of its obligations, and seriously iij<
Grfcrcd with the execution of the laws.—*
Large approprnitioiis and oppressive taxes are
the natural const qu. nee* of such a connection,
since they increase the profits of those who
are allowed to use the public funds, and make
it their interest that money should: be accumu
filled and expenditures multiplied. I; is thus
that a concentrated money power is tempted
to become an active agent in political affairs,
and all past experience has shown on which
side that influence will be arrayed. We de*
ecive ourselves if ve suppose that it will evet
be found nqd supporting the rights of"
jit large, in opposition to the
ela. ins of the lew.
If > a government whose^istingttishingchan
actjeristic should be a diffusion and equaKzn
pMwiwtfwtyiiiiiwiirii uui,
. pense ot the mass ofthe people. Nor is it the
. nature of combinations for the acquisition of
legislative influence to confine their iuterfer*
. ence to the single object for which they wero
: originally formed. The temptation to extend
i it io other matters, is, on the contrary, not un
frequeutly too strong is be resisted, The in-
i fluence in the direction of public affairs, of ths
community at '.nrge. is, therefore, in no alight
i danger of bmwgfsensibly and injuriously aflect-
I ed by giving to a comparatively small, but ve
ry efficient class, a direct and exclusive persom
; il interest in so important a portion of the leg-
; islution of Congress as that which relates to
the cust-oy of the public moueys. If. Jaws
acting upo.i private interests cannot always
be avoided, they should be confined within the
narrowest limits, and left, w h<-rwer possible,
to the Le gislatures of lheStales. When not
thus restricted, they lead to combinations of
poweifid associations, foster an influence ne
cessarily selffkh, and turn the fair course of
legislation to sinister, ends, rather than to ob
jects that advance public liberty, and promote
' the general good-.
i The w hole subject now rests with you, and
, 1 cannot b.it express a hope that some definite
; measure will be adopted at the present session.
' It will not, lam sure, be deemed out of
place, for nn here to remark, that the declar
ation of my views in opposition to the policy
ol employing banks as depositories of lhe Gov
ernment lu ds, cannot justly be construed as
indicative of hostility, official or personal, to
those institutions; or to repeat, tn this form,
and in connection with this subject, opinions
whi< fl 1 have uniformly entertained,and on all
proper occasions expressed. Though always
opposed to their creation in the form of ex
clusive privihg- s, and as a State magistrate
aimnigiiy appropriate legislation to secure the
community against the consequences of their
occf.sionai mismanagement, I have yet ever
wished to see (hern protected in the exercise
of rights conferred by law, and have never
doubled their utility, when properly managed,
in promoting the interest of trade, and, through ■■ »
that channel, the other interests of the com
munity. To the General Government they
prereul themselves merely as State iuS'itutions,
having ho uecessaiy connection with its legis
lation or its admijiistratiom Like other State
< stablishmen's, (bey may be jf«ed or not ia
conducting the affairs of the Government, as
pu'dic policy and the general interests of tho
Union may seem io require. The only safe a
or proper principle upon which their inter
course u iih the Government can be regulated; g*
is that which regulates their intercourse with
lhe private citizen—the conferring of mutual
bench's. V hoi: the Governments can acconi
plish a financial operation better with the aid
of the bauksthan without, it should be at liber
tv to seek that aid as it would lhe services
a pt iva»e banker, or other capitalists or agents,
giving the preference to those who will serve
it on the best terms. Nor can fliers ever exist
an interest in the officers ofthc Genera! Gov
ernment, as such, inducing them to embarrass
or annoy the State banks any more than to in.
cur the hostility of any other class or State
stitutious, er <»f private citizens. It is not in
the nature of flin gs (hat hostility to those io
siitutim s can : piit'g from this source, er any
oppos'tion to their course of business, except
when they themselves depart from the object#
of th ir creatio n and attempt to usurp powers
not c< nf-rred upon them, or to subvert the
standard of value established by the Constitu
tion. Wliik opposition to'their regular oper>
ati< ns cannot exist in this quarter, resistance
to any nttetipt to moke tfit Government depen.
d nt upon thun for the successful administra
tiou of i übfic aff.irs, is a matter of duly, as I
trust it ever will be of inclination, no matte?
f.om what motive or considerationlheattempt j
may originate.
I t is no more than just to the banks to say,
that in the late emergency, mostot them firm
ly tesis'ed the strongest temptations to extend
their paper issues, when apparently sustained
in n su: pension of specie payments by publid j
opinion, even though in some eases invited by
legislative eoncTmenls, To this honorable
course, aided by the resistance ot the General
ilovt-mment. acti g in obedience to tho Con
stitution and laws of tho United States, to ill#