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Territories of Florida, Arkansas, and
Michigan, from Missouri to Mexico,
and for the continuation of the Cum
berland Road, are, some of them
fully executed, and others in process
of execution. Those for completing
or commencing fortifications, have
been delayed only so far as the C orps
of Engineers has been inadequate to
furnish officers for the necessary su
perintendence of the works. Under
the Act confirming the Statutes ot
Virginia and Maryland, incorporating
Chesapeake and Ohio Cana!
Company, three Commissioners on
the part of the United States have
been appointed for opening books
and receiving subscriptions, in con
cert with a like number of Commis
sioners appointed on the part ot each
of those States. A meeting of the
Commissioners has been postponed
to await the definitive report of the
Board of Engineers. The light
houses and monuments for the safety
of our commerce and mariners; the
works for the security of Plymouth
Beach, and for the preservation ot
the Islands in Boston Harbour, have
received the attention required by
the laws relating to those objects re
spectively. The continuation of the
Cumberland Road, the most impor
tant of them all, after surmounting no
inconsiderable difficulty in fixing up
on the direction of the road, has com
menced under the most promising
auspices, with the improvments of
recent invention in the mode of con
struction, and with the advantage
of a great reduction in the compara
tive cost of the work -
The operation of the laws relating
to Revolutionary Pensioners may
de*erve the renewed consideration
of Congress. The act of 18th March,
1818, while it made provision for
many meritorious and indigent citi
zens, who had served in the War of
Independence, opened a door to nu
merous abuses and imposition To
remedy this, the Act of Ist May, 1820,
exacted proofs of absolute indigence,
which many really in want were un
able, and all, susceptible of that de
licacy which is allied to many vir
tues, must be deeply reluctant to
give. The result has been, that
some among the least deserving have
been retained, and some in whom
the requisites both of worth and want
were combined, have been stricken
from the list. As the numbers of
these venerable relics of an age gone
by, diminish; as the decays of body,
mind, and estate, of those that sur
vive, must in the common course of
nature increase, should not a more
liberal portion of indulgence be dealt
out to them? May not the want, in
most instances, be inferred from the
demand, when the service can be
duly proved; and may not the last
days of human infirmity be spared
the mortification of purchasing a pit
tance of relief only by the exposure
of its own necessities? I submit to
Congress tbe expediency either of
providing for individual cases of this
description by special enactment, or
of revising the Act of I*4 May,
1820, with a view to mitigate the
rigor of its exclusions, in favor of
persons to whom charity now bes
towed can scarcely discharge the
debt of justice.
The portion of the Naval force of
the Union in actual service, ha;
been chiefly employed in three sta
tions : the Mediterranean, the coasts
of South America bordering on the
Pacific Ocean, and the West In lies.
An occasional crulzer has been sent
to range along the African shores
most polluted by the traffic of slaves;
one armed vessel has been stationed
on the coast of our eastern bounda
ry, to cruise along the fishing grounds
in Hudson's Bay, and on the coast of
Labrador ; and the first service of a
new frigate has been performed in
restoring to his native soil, and do
mestic enjoyments, the veteran hero
whose youthful blood ami treasure
had freely flowed in the cause of our
Country’s Independence, and whose
whole life bad been a series of servi
ces an<l sacrifices to the improve
ment of his fellow-men. The visit
of General La Fayette, alike honora
ble to himself and to our Country,
closed, as it had commenced, with
the most affecting testimonials of de
voted attachment on his part, and of
unbounded gratitude of this People
to him in return. It will form, here
after, a pleasing incident in the ar>-
als of our Union, giving to real his
tory the intense interest of romance,
and signally marking the unpurchas
able tribute of a great Nation’s so
cial affections to the disinterested
champion of the liberties of human
kind.
The constant maintenance of a
small squadron in the Mediterranean
is a necessary substitute for the hu
miliating alternative of payingtribute
for the security of our commerce in
that sea, and for a precarious peace,
at the mercy of every caprice of four
Barharv States, bv whom it was lia
ble to be violated. An additional
motive for keeping a respectable
forr< stationed there a* this time, is
•bun I. * i the maritime Aai imf bt -
tween the Greeks and the Turk« -
mid in which the neutral navigation
'■l this Inion is always in danger of
outrage and depredation. A few in
stances have occurred of nuchdepre
umions upon our merchant vessel,
privateers nr pirates wearing the
flag, but without real no
* "’fit? fry in the Greek or any other
* -O' Mimenf The heroic struggle
of the Greeks themselves, in which
our warmest sympathies, as freemen
and Christians, have been engaged,
have continued to be maintained
with vicissitudes of success adverse
and favourable.
Similar motives have rendered ex
pedient the keeping of a regular
force on the coasts ol Peru and Chili
on the Pacific. The irregular and
convulsive character of the war upon
the shores, has been extended to the
conflicts upon the ocean. An active
warfare has been kept up lor years,
with alternate success, though
generally to the advantage ot
the American Patriots. But their
naval forces have not always
been under the control oi their own
governments. Blockades, unjustifia
ble upon any acknowledged princi
ples of international law, have been
proclaimed by officers in command ;
and though disavowed by the su
preme authorities, the protection ol
our own commerce against them has
been made cause of complaint and
of erroneous imputations upon some
of the most gallant officers ot our
Navy. Complaints equally ground-
less have been made by the com
manders of the Spanish Royal forces
in those seas ; but th most effective
protection to our commerce has been
the flag and the firmness of our own
commanding officer-. Ihe cessation
of the war, by the complete triumph
of the Patriot cause, has removed, n
is hoped, all causes of disscotion with
one party, and all vestige of force ol
the other. But an unsettled coast ot
manv degrees ot latitude, forming a
part of our own territory, and a flour
ishing commerce and fishery, extend
ing to the Islands of the Pacific and
to China, still require that the pro
tecting power of the Union should
he displayed under its flag as well
upon the ocean as upon the land.
The objecis of the West India
squadron have been, to carry into
execution the laws lor the suppres
sion of the African Slave Trade ; for
the protection of our commerce
against vessels of piratical character,
though hearing commissions from
either of the belligerent parties : fi> r
its protection against open and une
quivocal pirates. These objects dur
ing the present year have been ac
complished, more effectually than m
any former period. The African
Slave Trade has long been exclud
ed from the use of our flag ; and if
some few citizens of our country
have continued to set the laws ot the
Union, as well as those of Nature
and Humanity, at defiance, by per
severing in that abominable traffic,
it has been only by sheltering them
selves tinder the banners of other
nations, less earnest for the total ex
tinction of the trade than ours. The
irregular privateers have, within the
last year, been in a great measure
banished from those seas; ami the
pirates for months past appear to
have been almost entirely swept
away from the borders and the
shores of the two Spanish island
in those regions. The active, per
severing, and unremitted energy of
Captain Warrington, and of the offi
cers and men - under his command,
on that trying and perilous service,
have been crowned with signal suc
cess, and are entitled to the appro
bation of their country. But expe
rience has shown, that not even a
temporary suspension or relaxation
from assiduity can Ik; indulged on
that static i without re-producing pi
racy and murder in all their horrors;
nor is it probable that for years to
come our immensely valuable com
merce in those seas can navigate in
security, without the steady continu
ance of an armed force devoted to
its protection.
It were indeed a vain and danger
ous illusion to believe, that in the
present and probable condition of hu
man society, a commerce so exten
sive and so rich as onrs could exist
and be pursued in safety, without the
continual support of a military ma
rine; the only arm by which the pow
er of this confederacy can be estima
ted or felt by foreign nations, and the
only standing military force which
can never 1m; dangerous to our own
liberties at home. A permanent na
val peace; establishment, therefore,
adapted toour present condition, and
adaptabletothat gigantic growth with
which the nation is advancing in its
career, is among the subjects which
have already occupied the foresight
of the last ( ;- ngress, and which w. i
deserve your serious and liberations.
Our Navy, commenced at an early
period of our present political organ
ization, upon a scale comensurat
with the insipient energies, the scan
ty resources, and the comparative in
digence ofour infancy, waseven then
found adequate to cope with all the
powers ot Barharv, save the first, and
with one of the principal maritime
powers of Europe. At a period of
further advancement, but with little
accession of strength, it not only sus
tained with honour the most unequal
of conflicts, ip.it covered itself and our
country wit If unfading glory. But it
is onlv since the clow* of the late war,
that by the intmlier and force of the
ships of which it was composed it
could deserve the name of a Navy,
Yi*t it retains nearly the same organ
ization as when it consisted only ot
five frigates. The rule-and regula
tions by w hich it is governed urgent
ly called for rev ision, no A the w set of
Him eat
I responding with the MiUnarv Aca
demy at West Point, lor the forir.a
ation of scientific and accominplished
officers, is felt with daily increasing
aggravation.
The Act of Congress of 2tith May,
1824, authorizing an examination and
survey of the harbour of Charleston,
in South-Carolina, ot St. Mary’s, in
Georgia, and of the Coast of .Flori
da, and for other purposes, has been
executed so far as the appropriation
would admit. Those ol the 3d ot
March last, authorizing the estab
lishment of a Navy Yard and Depot
on the Coast of Florida, in the Gulf
of Mexico,and authorizing the build
ing of ten sloops of war, and for other
purposes, are in the course of exe
cution ; for the particulars of which,
and other objects connected with this
Department, I refer to the report ot
the Secretary of the Navy, herewith,
communicated.
A report from the Postmaster-
General is also submitted, exhibiting
the present flourishing condition oi
that depatment. For the first time
for many years, the receipts for the
year ending on tit* - fir-t ol July last,
exceeded the ex - enditures during
the same period, to the amount ol
more than forty-five thousand dollars.
Other facts equally creditable to the
administration of that Department
are, that in two years from the first
ot' July, 1823, an improvement ot
more than one hundred and eighty
five thousand dollars in its pecuniary
affairs have been realized; that in
the same interval the increase ot the
transportation oft lie mail has exceed
ed one million five hundred thousand
miles, annually; and that one thou
sand and forty new post offices have
befn established. It hence appears,
that under judicious management,
the income from this establishment
may be relied on as fully adequate to
defray its expenses; and that by the
discontinuance of post-roads, alto
gether unproductive, others of more
useful character may be opened, til!
the circulation of the mail shall keep
pace with the spread of our popula
tion; and the comforts of friendly
correspondence, the exchanges of in
ternal traffic, and the lights of the
periodical press, shall he distributed
to the remotest corners of the Union,
at a charge scarcely perceptible to
any individual, and without the cost
of a dollar to the public treasury.
Upon this first occasion of address
ing the Legislature of the Union,
wTP> which i have been honored, ir
pro-tenting to their view the execu
tion, so far as it has been effected, of
the treasures sanctioned by them,
for promoting the internal improve
ment of our country, I cannot close
the communication without recom
mending to their calm and persever
ing consideration. the general princi
ple in a more enlarged extent. Tin
great object of the institution of civ
il government, is the improvement <4
the condition of those who are par
ties to the social compact; and no
government, iii whatever form con
stituted, can accomplish the lawful
ends of its institution, but in propor
tion as it improves the condition of
those over whom it is established.—
Roads and Canals, hv multiplying and
facilitating the communications and
intercouse between distant regions,
and multitudes of men, are among
the most important means of improve
ment. But moral, political, and in
tellectual improvement, are duties
aligned, by the author of our exist
ence, to social, no less than to individ
ual man. For the fulfilment of those
duties, governments are invested
w ith power, and to the attainment of
the end, the progressive improve
ment of the condition of the govern
ed, the exercise of delegated pow er,
is a duty as sacred and indispensable,
as the usurpation of power not grant
ed is criminal and odious. Among
the first, perhaps the very first instru
ment for the improvement of the con
dition of men, is knowledge; and to
the acquisition of much of the knowl
edge adapted to the wants, the com-
forts and enjoyments of human life,
public institutions and seminaries of
learning are essential. So convinced
of this was the first of my predecess
ors in this office, now first in the
memory, as, living, he was first in the
hearts of our country, that once and
again in his addresses to the Con
gresses, with whom he co-operated
ci the public service, h;> earnestly re
commended the establishment of
-eminaries oflearning, to prepare
for all the emergencies <>f peace and
war—a national university and a mil
tary academy. With respect tothe
latter, had he lived to the present day.
inturninghis eyes tothe institution at
West Point, he would have enjoyed
the gratification of his most earnest
wj-he*. But, in surveying the citv
which has been honoured with his
name, he would have seen the spot
of earth which he had destined ami
bequeathed tothe use and benefit of
his country, as the scite lor an uni
versity, still bare and barren.
in assuming her station among the
civilized nations of the earth, it
would seem that our comity had con
tracted th<* engagement to contribute
her share of mind, of labor and of ex
pen»<\ to the improvement of thus*
parts of knowledge which lie beyond
the reach of mdividiftil arqm-ilion
and particularly to geograpical and
astronomical science. Looking lc.uk
to tin history only of thehalfcentn
rv since the declaration of our inde
pendence, and observing the gem r
mu- emulation v t th which the gov.
ernments of France, Great Britain,
and Russia, have devoted the gen
ius, the intelligence, the treasures of
their respective nations to the com
mon improvement of these species in
these branches of science, is it not
incumbent uponusto inquire, wheth
er we are not bound by obligations of
a high and honorable character, to
contribute our portion of energy and
exertion, to the common stock? —
The voyages of discovery, prosecu
ted in the course oft hat time, at the
expense of those nations, have not
only redounded to their glory, but to
the improvement of human knowl
edge. We have been partakers of
that improvement, and owe for it
a sacred debt, not only of gratitude,
hut of equal or proportional exer
in the same common cause. Os the
cost of these undertakings, if the
mere expenditures of outfit, equip
ment, and completion of the expedi
tions, were to he considered the on
ly charges.it would be unworthy of a
great and generous nation to take a
>econd thought One hundred ex
peditions on circumnavigation, like
those of Cook and La Perouse,
would not burden the the Exchequer
of the nation fitting them out, so
much as the ways and means of de
fraying a single campaign in war.—
But if we take into the account the
lives of those benefactors of man
kind, of which their services in the
cause of their species were the pur
chase, how shall the cost of those
heroic enterprizes be estimated ?
And w hat compensation can be made
to them, or to their countries, for
them? Is it not by bearing them in
affectionate remembrance? Is it
riot -‘till more by imitating their ex
ample? by enabling countrymen of
our own to pursue the same career,
and to hazard their lives in the same
cause.
In inviting the the attention of
Congress to the subject of Internal
Improvements, upon a view thus en
larged, it is not my design to recom
mend the equipment ofan expedition
for circumnavigating the globe lor
purposes of scientific research and
inquiry. W r c have objects of useful
investigation nearer home, and to
which our cares may he more bene
ficially applied. The interior t>f our
i wn territories has yet been very im
perfectly explored. Our coasts along
many degrees of latitude upon the
shores of the Pacific ocean, though
much frequented by our spirited com
mercial navigators, have been barely
visited by our public ships. The
River of the West, first fully discov
ered and navigated by a countryman
of our own, still bears the name of the
ship in which he ascended its wa
ters, and claims the protection of our
armed national flag at it- mouth.—
With the establishment of a military
post there, or at some other point of
that coast, recommended by mv pre
decessor, and already matured, in
the deliberations of the last Con
gress, 1 would suggest the expedien
cy of connecting the equipment of a
public ship for the exploration ofthe
whole North-west coast of this con
tinent.
The establishment of an uniform
standard of weights and measures
was one ofthe specific objects con
templated in the formation of our
Constitution, and to fix that stan
dard w as one of the powers delega
ted by express term-, in that instru
ment, to Congress. The govern
ments of Great Britain and France
have scarcely ceased to tie occupied
with inquiries and speculations on
the -ame subject, since the existence
of our constitution, and w ith them
it has expanded into profound, labo
rious, and expensive researches into
the figure ofthe earth, and the eom
parative length ofthe pendulum vi
brating seconds in various latitudes
from the Equator to the Pole. These
researches have resulted in the com
position and publication of several
works highly interesting to the cause
of science. The experiments are yet
in the process of performance. Some
of them have recently been made on
our own shores, within the walls of
our own Colleges, and partly by one
of our own fellow-citizens. It would
be honorable to our country if the
sequel ofthe same experiments should
be countenanced by the patronage of
our government, a- they have hith
erto been by those of France and
Britain.
Connected with the establishment
of an University, or separate from it,
might lie undertaken the erection of
an astronomical observatory, with
provision for the support of an as
tronomer. to be in constant attend
ance of observation upon the pheno
mena of the heavens; and for the
periodical publication of his obser
vations. It is with no feeling of
oride, ; « an American, that the re
mark may he made, that on the
comparatively small territorial sur
face of Europe, there are existing
upwards of one hundred and thirty
of these light-houses of the skies ;
while throughout the whole Ameri
can hemisphere, there is not one. If
wi reflect a moment upon the dis
coveries , which, in tbe last four cen
turies, have been made in the physi
cal constitution of the universe, by
the me ins of the-*' buildings, and of
observers stationed in them, shall
we doubt of their usefulness to eve
ry nation ? And while scarcely a year <
pa-sesover our heads without bring-!
mg some m-w astronomical discove-j
rv to hgli' whi'b we must fain re-i
ceive at second hand from Europe,
are we not cutting ourselves off from
the means of returning hght lor
light, while we have neither obser
vatory nor observer upon our half ot
the globe, and the earth revolves in
perpetual darkness to our unscarch
ing eyes ?
When, on the 25th of October,
1791, the first President of the U.
States announced to Congress the
result ofthe first enumeration ofthe
inhabitants of this Union, he inform
ed them that the returns gave the
pleasing assurance that the popula
tion of the United States bordered
on four millions of persons. At the
distance of thirty years from that
time, the last enumeration, five
years since completed, the present
population bordering upon ten mil
lions. Perhaps, of all the evidences
of a prosperous and happy condition
of human society, the rapidity of the
increase of population is the most
unequivocal. But the demonstration
of our prosperity rests not alone upon
this indication. Our commerce, our
w a Ith, and the extent of our terri
tories, have increased in correspond
ing proportions ; and the number of
independent communities associated
in our Federal Union, has, since that
time, nearly doubled. The legisla
tive representation of tbe States and
people, in the two Houses of Con
gress, has grown with the growth of
(heir constituent bodies. The house
which then consisted of sixty-five
members, now numbers upwards ot
two hundred. The Senate which
consisted of twenty-six members, ha
now forty-eight. But the Executive,
and still more the Judiciary Depart
ments, are yet in a great measure
confined to their primitive organiza
tion, and are now not adequate to
the urgent wants of a still growing
commnnitv.
The naval armaments which at an
early period forced themselves upon
the necessities of the Union, soon
led to the establishment of a Depart
ment ofthe Navy. But the Depart
ments of Foreign Affairs, and ofthe
Interior, which, early after the for
mation of the government had been
united in one, continue so united at
thi- time, to the unquestionable det
riment of the public service. The
multiplication of our relations with
the nations and governments of the
old world, haskeptpace withthat ot
our population and commerce, while
w .thin the last ten years anew fami
ly of nations, in our ow n hemisphere,
has arisen among the inhabitants of
the earth, with whom our inter
course, commercial and political,
would of itself furnish occupation
to an active and industrious Depart
ment. The constitution of the Ju
diciary, experimental and imperfect
as it was, even in the infancy of our
existing government, is yet more in
adequate to the administration of
national justice at our present matu
rity. Nine years have elapsed sin< e
a predecessor in this office, now not
the last, the citizen who perhaps, ol
all others throughout the Union,
contributed most to the formation
and establishment of our constitu
tion, in his valedictory address to
Congress immediately preceding his
retirement from public life, urgently
recommended the revision of the Ju
diciary, and the establishment of an
additional Executive Department.—
The exigencies of the public service,
and its unavoidable deficiencies, as
now in exercise, have added yearly
cumulative weight to the considera
tions presented by him as persuasive
tothe measure ; and in recommending
it to your deliberations, I am happy
to have the influence of his high au
thority, in aid of the undoubting con
victions of my own experience.
The laws relating to the adminis
tration of the Patent office are de
serving of much consideration, and,
perhaps, susceptible of some im
provement. The grant of power to
regulate the action of Congress on
this subject, has specified both the
end to be attained, and the means
bv which it is to be effected. To
promote the progress of science and
useful arts, by securing for limited
times to authors and inventors the
exclusive right to their respective
writings and discoveries. If an ho
nest pride might be indulged in the
reflection, that on tbe records of that
office are already found invention
the usefulness of which has scarcely
been tran e cended in the annals of
human ingenuity, would not its ex
ultation be allayed by the inquiry,
whether the laws have effectively
insured to the inventors the reward
destined to them by the Constitu
tion, even a limited term of exclu
sive right to their discoveries ?
On the 21th of December, 1799,
it was resolved by Congress that a
marble monument should lie erected
bv the United States in the Capitol,
.it the City of Washington ; that the
family of General Washington should
lie requested to permit his body to
be deposited under it; anil that the
monument he so designed as to com
memorate the great events of hi;
military and political life. In remind
ing Congress of th;s resolution, and
that the monument contemplated by
it remains yet without execution, 1
shall indulge only the remarks, that
the works in the Capitol are ap
proaching to completion : That the
consent of the fair ly desired by the
resolution was requested and obtain
ed That a monument has been rc
rentlv cfwlH in tht-ritv at the ex
pense of the Nation, over iuu re-,
mains of another distinguished Pat
riot ot the Revolution , and that u
spot has been reserved within the
walls where you are deliberating for
the benefit of this and future ages,
in which the mortal remains may he
deposited of him whose spirit hovers
over you. and listens with delight to
every act of the Representatives ol'
his Nation which can toed to ex ait
and adorn l.is and their country.
Pile Constitution under which you
are assembled is a charter of limited
powers ; after full and solemn deli
beration upon all or any of the ob
jects, which, urged by an irresistible
sense of my own duty, 1 have re
commended to your attention should
you come to the conclusion, that,
however desirable in themselves,
the enactment of laws for effecting
them, would transcend the powers
committed to you by that venerable
instrument which w e aro all bound
to support; let no consideration in
duce you to assume the exercise of
pow ers not granted to you by the peo
ple. But if the power to exercise ex
clusive legislation in all cases what
soever over the District of Columbia;
if the power to lay and collect taxes,
duties, imposts, and excises, to pay
the debt s, and pro v ide for the common
defence and general welfare of the
United States : if the power to re
gulate commerce with foreign nations
and among the several States, and
with the Indian Tribes; to fix the
standard ol weights and measures ;
to establish post-offices and post
roads ; to declare war ; to raise and
support armies; to provide and main
tain a Navy; to dispose of and make
all needful rules and regulations res
pecting the Territory or other pro
perty belonging to the United States;
and to make all laws which shall be
necessary and proper for carrying
these powers into execution: If
these powers, and others enumera
ted in the Constitution may be ef
fectually brought into action by laws
promoting the improvement of Ag
riculture, Commerce, and Manufac
tures, the cultivation and encourage
ment ot the Mechanic and ofthe ele
gant Arts, the advancement of Lite
rature, and the progress of the Sci
ences, ornamental and profound, to
r; train from exercising them for the
benefit ot the People themselves,
would be to hide in the earth the
talent committed to our charge
‘ < uld be treachery to the most sa
cred of trusts.
The spirit of improvement isaboad
upon the earth. It stimulates the
heart, and sharpens the faculties, not
ot our fellow-citizens alone, but of
the nations of Europe, and of their
rulers. While dwelling with pleas
*n t satisfaction upon the superior ex
cellence of our political institution-,
let us not be unmindful that liberty is
Power; that the nation blest with
the largest portion ofliberty, must, in
proportion to its numbers, be the most
powerful nation upon earth; and that
(lie tenure of power by man, is, in
the moral purposes of bis Creator,
upon condition that it shall be exer
cised to ends of bcnificence, to im
prove the condition of himself and
his fellow-men. W hile foreign na
tions, less blessed w ith that freedom
which is power, than ourselves, are
advancing with gigantic strides in
the career of public improvement,
were we to slumber in indolence, or
fold up our arms and proclaim to the
world that we are palsied, by the
will of our constituents, would it not
be to cast away the bounties of Prov
idence, and doom ourselves to per
petual inferiority? In the course of
the year now drawing to its close,
we have beheld, uuder the auspices,
and at the expense of one State of
this Union, anew University un-
folding its portals to the sons of
Science, and holding up the torch of
human improvement to eves that
>eek the light. We have sccq,
under the persevering and enlighten
ed enterprise of another State, the
waters of our western Lakes mingled
with those ofthe ocean. If under*
takings like these have been accom
plished in the compass of a few years,
hv the authority of single members
of our Confederation, can we, the
Representative Authorities of tne
whole Union, fall behind our fellow
servants in the exercise of the trust
committed to us for the benefit of our
common sovereign, by the accom
plishment of works important to the
whole, and to which niether the au
thority nor the resources of Uriy one
State can be adequate.
Finally fellow-citizens, I shall a
awail with cheering hope, and
faithful co-operation,'the result of
your deliberations; assured that,
w ithout encroaching upon the {low
ers reserved to the authorities ofthe
respective States, or to the People.
\ <>u will, with a due sense of your ob
ligations to your country, and of
the high responsibilities weighing up
on vourselve live efficacy to the
means comittcd to you for the com
mon good. And may He who search
es the hearts ofthe children of men
prosper your exertions to secure the
blessings of peace, and promote the
highest welfare of our country.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
The ftrrt Message of John Quincy Ad mi*
to tbe Conx r <'»» of the United Staten h Licit
tv havrgiti n at length in thin our brut mini
her, ia an able and inti ntting national diwu
ment, well worthy, Mire niijrliteapt<t, to lie
ranked among the pruiulmt productions of
hi« predi is—-or*, on aitv idmilar <M»'a»4ax».