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security in life anil properly and encour
agement under a just and beneficial rule.
As soon as we are in possession of Cuba
and have pacified the island, ii will lie
necessary to give aid and direction to its
people to form a government for ihern
selves. This should he undertaken at the
earliest moment consistent with safety
and assured success. It is important that
out relations with this ptop.e shal. be of
the most friendly character and our com
mercial relations close and rtelprocal.
It should bo our duty to assist in every
proper nay to build a the waste places
of tht island, encourage the Industry of
the people and assist tnem to form a gov
ernment which shtil’ !>e free and md- pend
ed, thus realizing the host aspirations of
the Cuban people.
ppanoti title must i>e replaced by a Just,
benevolent and humane government, ert-
a 1 ■ and by the people of Cuba, capable of
pt rfot l/nng all international obligations
and which shall entourage thrift, industry
and prosperity, and promote peace and
pood will among all of the inhabitants,
whatever may have i/en their relations in
ihe past. Neither revenge nor passion
she,ild have a place in the new govern
in' nr.
Until there is complete tranquility in the
Island and a stabc government inaugurat
ed military occupation will he continued.
Foreign Relations.
With the one exception of the rupture
with Spain, the intercourse of the United
States with the gnat family of nation
ha? been marked with cordiality, and the
close of the eventful year finds most of
the issues that necessarily arise in tie
complex relations of sovereign states ad
justed or presenting no serious obstacle
to a Just and honorable solution by ami
cable agree in- lit.
A long unsettled dispute as to the ex
tended boundary between the Argentint
republic and Chile, stretching along tit.
Andean crests from the southern border
of the Atacama desert to Magellan straits,
nearly a third of the length of the South
American continent, assumed an aeut>
Mage in the early part of the year, and
afforded to this government occasion to
oxptess the hope that the n sort to arbitra
tion, already contemplated by existing
conventions between the parties, might
prevail, despite the grave dilliculties arts.
Ing in Its application. lam happy to say
that arrangements to this end have t* -n
perfected; the questions of fact upon
which the respective commissioners were
Unable to agree, being in course of refer
ence to her Britannic majesty for determ
ination. A residual difference touching
the northern boundary line aerriss the
Atacama Desert, for which existing treat
ies provided no adequate adjustment, bids
fair to be settled in like manner by a
joint commission, upon which the United
States minister at Buenos Ayres has been
Invited to serve as umpire In the last re
sort.
f have found occasion to fh-
Argentine government with a view to re
moving differences of rule charges impos
ed upon the cables of an American corpor
ation in the transmission Iriwicn Bumo
Ayres and the cities of Uruguay and Bra
zil, or through messages passing from and
to the United States. Although the mut
ter is complicated by exclusive conces
sions by Uruguay and Brazil to foreign
companies, thete is strong hoi>e that u
good understanding will be reached and
that the important channels of commercial
communication betwen the United States
and the Atlantic cities of South America
may be freed from an almost prohibitory
Uiserlminal lon.
In this relation I may be permitted to
xprts my sense of the fitness of an In
ternational agreement whereby the inter
change of messages over connecting ea
b'< may be regulated on a fair basis of
uniformity. The world has seen the postal
system developed from a congeries of inde
pendent and exclusive services Into a well
ordered un on, of which ail countries en
joy the manifold benefits. It Is would be
strange were the na lons not In time
brought to realize that modern civilization,
which owes so much of its progress to ihe
annihilation of space by the electric force,
demands that this all-important means of
communication being a heritage of a 1 peo
r • s to be administered and regulated in
their common behoof. A step In this di
rection was taken when the international
convention of 1884 for the protection of
submarine cables, was signed and the day
is, I trust, not far distant when this me
dium for the transmission of thought from
land to land may be brought within the
domain of International concert ns com
pletely as if the material carriages of
commerce and correspondence upon the
lace of the waters that divide them.
The claim of Thomas Jefferson Page
.against Argentina, which has been pend
ing many years, has been adjusted. The
sum awarded by the Congress of Argen
tina was *4,242.35.
The sympathy of Ihe American people
has Justly been offered to the ruler and
the people of Austria-Hungary, by reason
of the affliction that has lately befallen
them In the assassination of the Empress
Queen of that historic realm.
On the 10th of September, 1897, a con
flict took place at Uattiiner, Pa., between
a body of striking miners and the sheriff
of Luzerne county and his deputies. In
which twenty-two miners wede killed and
forty-four wounded, of whom ten of (he
killed and twelve of the wounded were
Austrian and Hungarian subjects. This
deplorable event naturally aroused the so
licitude of the Austro-Hungarian govern
ment, which on the assumption that the
killing and wounding involved
tiie unjustifiable misuse of au
thority, clamed reparation. Apart
from the searching investigation and
peremptory action of the authorities of
Pennsylvania, the federal executive took
appropriate steps to learn the merits of
the case, in order to be in u position to
meet the urgent complaint of a ‘friendly
power. The sheriff aid his deputies, hav
ing been indicted for murder, were tried
and acquitted after protracted proceedings,
and the hearing of hundreds of witnesses
on the ground that the killing was in Ihe
line of their official duty to uphold law
and preserve public order in the state, A
representative of the department of jus
tice attended the trial and reported its
course fully. With all the facts In its pos
session, this governmen expects to reach
a harmonious understanding on the sub
ject with that of Austria-Hungary, not
withstanding the renewed claim of the lat
ter after learning the result of the trial,
for indemnity for its injured subjects.
Exhibitions at Brussels.
Despite the brief time allotted for prepa
ration. the exhibits of this country at the
universal exposition at Brussels in 1897
enjoyed the slgular distinction of a larger
proportion of awards, having regard to
the number and classes of articles entered,
than those of other countries. The worth
of such a result in making known our na
tional capacity to supply the world’s mar
kets Is obvious.
Exhibitions of this International charac
ter are becoming more frequent as the ex
changes of commercial countries grow
more Intimate and varied. • Hardly n year
passes that this government is not invited
to national participation at some import
ant foreign center, but often on too short
notice to permit of recourse to Congress
lor ihe power and means to do so. My
predecessors have suggested the advisabil
ity of providing by a general enactment
and a standing appropriation for accept
ing such invitations and for representation
of this country by a commi.-slon. This
plan has my cordial approval,
I trust that the Belgian lestrlctions ot
the Importation of cattle from the Unite
Stales, originally adopted as u Banllaia
precaution, will at an early day be relax
ed os to their present features of hard
ship and discrimination, so ns to admit
live cattle under due reguiatlon of their
siaughter after landing. 1 am hopeful too,
of favorable change In the Belgian treat
tr.int of our preserved and salted meat-.
The growth of direct trade between the
two coomries, not alone for Belgian con
sumption and Belgian products, hut by
way of transit from and to othei conti
nental states, has been both encouraging
and beneficial. No efforl will be spared to
enlarge its advantages by seeking the re
moval of needless impediments and by ar
ratigernentß for increased commercial ex
changes.
Affair* in Central America.
The year's events in Central America
deserve mote than passing mention.
A menacing rupture between Costa Rica
and Nicaragua was happily composed by
the signature of a convenikm between the
parties, with the concurrence of the Gua
temalan representative as a mediator, the
act being" negotiated and signed on hoard
the United States steamer Alert, then ly
ing in Central American waters. It is be
lieved that the good offices of our envoy
and of the commander of that vessel con
tributed toward this gratifying outcome.
In my last annual message the situation
v.as presented with respect to the diplo
matli representation of this government
in Central America, created by the asso
ciation of Nicaragua, Honduras and Sal
vador under the title of the Greater lie
public of Central America and the delega
tion of their international functions to the
Diet theieof.
While the representative character of
the Diet wus recognized by my predeces
sor, and has been gonfirmed during my ad
ministration by receiving its accredited
i nvoy and granting exequatures to con
suls commissioned under its authority that
recognition was qualified by the distinct
understanding that the responsibility of
each of the component sovereign republics
towards the United States remained whol
ly unaffected. This proviso was needful,
inasmuch as the compact of the three re
publics was at ihe outset an association
whereby certain representative functions
were delegated to a tripartite commission,
rather than a federation possessing cen
tralized powers of governm< nt and admin
istration. In this view of their relation
and of the relation of the United States
to the several republics, a change in the
representation of this country in Central
America was neither recommended by the
executive nor Initiated by Congress; thus
taving one ot our envoys accreuliect u
heretofore separately to two states of the
Greater Republic, Salvador and Nicaragua,
and (o a third stole, Costa Rica, vvh.ch
was not a party to the contract, while
our other envoy was similarly accredited
to a union state—Honduras—and a non
union state, Guatemala. The result has
fxen that the one has presented credentials
only to the President of Costa Rica, the
other having been received only by the
government of Guatemala.
Subsequently, the three associated re
publics entered into negotiations for tak
ing the steps forecasted in the original
compact. A convention of their delegates
framed for them a federal constitution
under the name of the United States of
Central America and provided for a cen
tral federal government and legislature.
Upon ratification by the constituent states
the Ist of November last was fixed for the
new system to go into operation. Within
a few weeks thereafter the plan was
severely tested by revolutionary move
ments arising, with a consequent demand
for unity of action on the part of the mili
tary power of the federal states to sup
press them. Under this strain the new un
ion seems to have been weakened through
the withdrawal of its more important
members.
This government was not officially ad
vised of the installation of Ihe federation,
and has maintained an attitude of friend
ly expectancy, while in no wise relinquish
ing the position held from the outset, that
the responsibilities of the several slates
toward us remained unaltered by their
tentative relations among ihemselves.
tonal Coin in i s*i on'* Work.
The Nicaragua Canal Commission, un
der the chairmanship of Rear Admiral
fohn G. Walker, appointed Ju'y 24, 1897,
under the authority of a provision in
the sundry civil act of June 4 of that year
has nearly completed its labors, and the
esults of its exhaustive Inquiry into the
proper route, the feasibility and the cost
if construction of an Inler-oceantc canal
by a Nicaraguan route, will be laid be
fore you. In the performance of its task
the commission received ali possible cour
'esy and assistance from the governments
of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, which thus
testified their appreciation of the impor
ance of giving a speedy and practieal
outcome to the great project that has for
so many years engrossed the attention
of the respective countries.
As the scope of the recent inquiry em
braced the whole subject with the aim of
making plans and surveys for a canal by
the most convenient route, it necessarily
included a review of the results of previ.
ous surveys and plans, and in particular
those adopted by the Maritime Canal Com
pany under its existing concessions from
Nicaragua and Costa Rica, so that to this
extent these grants necessarily hold as
essential a part in the deliberations and
conclusions of the canal commission as
they have held and must needs hold in
(lie discussion of the matter by the Con
gress. Under these circumstances and in
view of overtures made to the government
of Nicaragua and Costa Rica by other
parties for anew canal concession pred
icated on the assumed approaching '.apse
of the contracts of the Maritime Canal
Company with those states, l have not hes
itated to express my conviction that eon
-idi rations of expediency and international
policy as between the several governments
interested in the construction and con
trol of an inter-oceanic canal by this
route, required the maintenance of the
status quo until the canal commission
-hall have reported that the United Slates
Cofigress shall have had the oppoitunlty
to pass finally upon the whole malter
during the present session without prej.
udice by reason of any change in the ex
sting conditions.
Nevertheless, it appears that the gov
ernment of Nicaragua, as one of Its last
sovereign acts before merging its powers
in those of the newly formed United States
of Central America, has granted an op
ional concession to another association to
become effective on the expiration of the
present grant. It does not appear what
surveys have been made or what route
is proposed under this contingent grant,
-o that atv examination of the feasibility
•f its plans is necessarily not embraced in
the report of the canal commission. Ail
these ciremstances surrounding the urg
■ney of some definite action by the Con
gress at this session of the labors of the
past a>e to be utilized and the linking of
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by a prac
ieal waterway is to be realized. That (he
construction of such a maritime highway
is now more than ever indispensable to
that intimate and ready Inter-communi.
catlon between our eastern and western
eaboards demanded by the annexation of
tlie Hawaiian Islands and the prospective
< xpansion of our influence and com
merce In the Pacific, and that
•ur national policy should, now
nore Imperatively than ever, calls for
t control by this government, are pro
position* which 1 doubt not the Congress
will duly appreciate and wisely act upon
A convention providing for the revival
•f the late United States and Chilean
I lulrns commi-sion and the consideration
t claim* sh ell were duly presented to
I the late commission, hut not considered
THE MORNING NEWS: TUESDAY. DECEMBER IS. 1898.
because of the expiration of the time limit
duration of the commission, was signed
May 24. 1597. ami lias remained unacted
upon by the Senate. The term therein
fixed for the effecting change of ratifica
tion- having elapsed the convention falls
until tht time be extended by amend
ment. which I am endeavoring to bring
about with tiie friendly concurrence of the
Chilean government.
Extraordinary Events in 4 liiiia.
The United States has not been on in
different spectator of the extraordinary
events transpiring in the Chinese empire,
whereby portions of its maritime provinces
are passing the control of various
European Powers; but Ihe prospect that
the vast commerce which the energy by
our citizens and the necessity of our sta
ple productions for Chinese uses has built
up in these regions may not be prejudiced
through any exclusive treatment by the
new' occupants, has obviated the need of
our country becoming an actor in Ihe
scene. Our position among nations, hav
ng a large Pacific coast and a constantly
expanding direct trade wirh the farther
orient. gives us the equitable claim to
consideration and friendly treatment in
this regard, and it will he my a m to sub
serve our large interests in that quarter
by al. means appropriale to the constant
policy of our government.
The territories of Kiao-Chou, of Wei-
Hai-Wei and of Port Arthur and Tallen-
Wan leased to Germany, Great Britain
anil Russia, respectively, for term? of
yiars will, it Is announced, be open to
international commerce during such alien
occupation; and if no discrimination treat
ment of American citizens and their trade
be found to exist, or be hereafter devel
oped, the desire of this government would
appear to lie realized.
In this relation as showing the volume
and value of our exchanges with China
and the peculiarly favorable conditions
which exist for their expansion in the
norma, course of trade, I refer to the
communication addresged to the speaker ot
ihe House of Representatives by the Sec
retary oi the Treasury on June 14*, last,
with its accompanying letter of the Secre
tary of State, recommending an appropria
tion for a commission to study the com
mercial and industrial conditions in the
Chinese empire, and renort as to the op
nortunities foi and obstacles to the en
irgements of markets in China for raw
products and manufactures of the United
S'tates. Action was not taken thereon
'luring the late session. I cordially urge
•hRt the recommendation receive at your
hands tiie consideration which its import
ance and timeliness merit.
Meanwhile, 'here may be just ground for
disquietude in view of the unrest and re
vival of the old sentiment of opposition
and prejudice to alien people which per
> ades oerta’n of the Chinese provinces.
As in the, case of the attacks upon ourt
citizens in Szechuan and at Kutien in
IS9i>, Ihe United States minister has been
nstrueted to secure Ihe tidiest measure
of protection, bath local and Imperial, for
any menaced American interests, and to
Irmand. in case of lawless injury to per
son or property, instant reparation appro
priate to the case. Warships have been
stationed at the Tlen-Tsien for more
ready observation of the disorders which
have invaded even tire Chinese
;apUa'. sc as to he in a
to act should need arise, while a guard of
marines has been sent to Pekin to afford
'he minister Ihe same measure of author
itative protection as the representative of
other nations have been constrained to
employ.
Italy’* Claim Against Colombia.
Following close upon the rendition of the
award of my predecessors as arbitrator ot
the claim of the Italian subject. CerrnUi
against the republic of Colombia, differ
ences arise between the parties to the ar
bitration in regard to ihe scope and exten
sion of the award, of which certain articles
were contested by Colomb'a, while I tali
claimed their literal fulfilment. The
award having been made by the President
of the United States as an act of friendly
consideration and with the sole view to an
impartial composition of the matter in
dispute, I could not but feel deep concern
at such a miscarr’aee, and while ynsbl
to accept the Colombian theory that"!, Vifl
my official capacity, possessed continuing
functions as arbi'raior, with power to in
'erpret or revise the terms of the award,
my best efforts were lent to bringing the
parties to a harmonious agreement as to
the execution of its provisions.
A naval demonstration by Italy resulted
In an engagement to pay the liabilities
claimed upon th< tr ascertainment; hut this
apparent disposition of the controversy
was followed by a rupture of diplomatic
intercourse between Colombia and Italy,
which still continues, al hough fortunate
ly without acu'e symptoms having super
vened. Notwithstanding this, efforts are
reported to be continuing for the ascer
tainment of Colombia’s c ntineen' l’abilby
on account of Cerruti's debts, under the
fifth article of the award.
A claim of an Amer'can citizen against
the Dominican republic for a public bridge
over the Ozama liver, which has
lieen in diplomatic controversy for several
years, has been settled by expert arbi
tration and an award in favor of the
claimant amount ing to about *90,000. It,
however, remains unpaid despite urgent
demands for its settlement according to
the terms of ihe compact.
The Paris Exposition.
There is now every prospect (hat the par
ticipation of (lie United States in the uni
versal exposition to be held in Paris in
1900, will be on a scale commensurate with
the advanced position held by our pro
ducts and industries in the world's chief
marts.
The preliminary report of Mr Moses P
Handy, who, under the act approved July
19. 1597, was appointed spec al commission
er. with a view to securing all attainable
information necessary to a full and com
plete understanding by Congress in re
gard to Ihe participation of this govern
ment in the Paris exposition, was laid
before you by my message of Dec. G, 1597,
and showed the large opportunities opened
to make known our national progress in
arts, science and manufacturers, as well
as the urgent need of immediate and ade
quate provision to enable due advantage
thereof to be taken. Mr. Handy's death
soon afterwards rendered it necessary for
another to take up and complete his un
finished work, and on Jan. 11 last. Mr.
Thomas W. Cridier, third assistant secre
tary of state, was designated to fulfill that
task. His report was lad before you by
my message on June 14, 1898, with Ihe
gratifying result of awakening renewed
Interest In the projected display. By a
provision in the sundry civil appropria
tion act of July 1, IS9S, a sum not to ex
ceed $650,000 was allotted for the organi
zation of a commission to take oaro of
the proper preparation and installation of
American exhibits and for the display of
suitable exhibits by the several executive
departments, particularly by the depart
ment of agriculture, the fish commission
and the Smithsonian Institution, in repre
sentation of the government of the United
■Rates. Pursuant to that enactment, I ap
nointrd -Mr. Ferdinand W. Peek of Chicago
•ommissioner general, with an assistant
■ommissloner general and secretary.
Mr. Peck at once proceeded to
Paris. where his success in en
'arging the scope and variety of
the United Stales exhibit has been
most gratifying. Notwithstanding tin
omparatlvel.v limits*l ar-u of the expo
ition site—les than one-half that of tie
world’s fa l r at Chicago—the space os
Ignod to the United S'ute* has been In
i creased from the absolute allotment of
157,403 square feet reported by Mr. Handy,
to some 202.000 square feet, with corre
sponding augmentation of the field tor a
truly characteristic representation of the
various important branches of our coun
try's development.' Mi Peck's report wi.l
fce laid berore you. In my judgment its
recommendations will call for your early
consideration, especially as iegards an in
crease of the appropriation to at least
*1,000.000 in all, so that not only may the
assigned space be fully taken up by the
best possible exhibits in every class, but
tne preparation and installation be on so
perfect a sca.e as to rank among the
first in that unparalleled competition of
artistic production, and thus counterbal
ance the disadvantage with which we
start as compared with other countries,
w hose appropriations me on a more gener
ous scale and whose preparations are in a
slate of much greater toiwardness than
our own.
Where our artisan? have the admitted
capacity to excel, where our inventive
genius has in Hated miny of the grandest
discoveries of these later days of the cen
tury and where the native resources of
cur land are as limitless ns they are val
uable to supply the world's needs, It is
our province, us it should he our earnest
care, io lead in the march of human prog
ress and not rest content with any sec
ondary place. Moreover, if this be due
to ourselves, it is no less due to the great
French nation whose guests we become,
and which has in so many ways testi
fied its wish and hope that our partietpa
'ion sha.l befit the place the, two people
have won in the field of universal devel
opment.
Foreign Trade \rrnngenients.
The commercial arrangement made with
France on May 28. 1898, under the provis
ions of section 3 of the tariff act of 1897,
wont into effect June 1 following. It
has relieved a portion of out; export trade
from serious embarrassment. Further ne
gotiations are now pending under section
- °f thp same act, with a view to the in
crease of trade between the tw’o countries
'•> their mutual advantage. Negotiations
with other governments In part inter
rupted by the war with Spain, are in
progress under both sections of the tariff
act. I hope to bo able to announce some
of the results of these negotiations dur-
the present sess.on of Congress,
e Negotiations to the same end with Ger
many have been set on foot. Meanwhile,
no effort has been relaxed to convince
the imperial government of the thorough
ness of our inspection of pork products for
exportation, and Jt is trusted that the ef
ficient administration of this measure by
the department of agriculture will be rec
ognized as a gttaraniee of the healthfui
ness of the food stap.es we send abroad
to countries where their use is large and
necessary.
I transmitted to the Senate, on Feb, 10
last, information touching the prohibi
tion against the importation of
iresh fruits from this coun
which had then recently
neen decreed by Germany on the ground
ot danger of disseminaiing the San Jose
scale insect. This precautionary measure
was justified by Gf'miny on ihe score
• if the drastic steps taken in several stutes
of the union against the spread of the
ffiest, the elaborate repor's of the depart
ment of agriculture being put in evidence
to show the danger to German fruit grow
ing interests, should the scale obtain a
odgment in that country. Temporary re
.ief was afforded in the ease of large con
signments of fruit then on the way by In
spection arid admission when found non.
infected. Loiter the prohibiti -n was ex
tended to dried fruits of every kind, but
was relaxed so as to apply only to un
pceled fruit and fruit waste. As was lo
*e expected, the alarm reached to other
■ountpies and Switzerland has adopted a
similar inhibit! n Efforts are in progress
‘o induce the German and Swiss govern
ments to relax Ihe prohibition in favor
>f dried fruits shown to have been cured
under circumstances rendering the exist
ence of animal life impossible.
Friendly Relation* Wltli England
Our relations with Great Britain have
continued ‘on the most friendly footing
Assenting to our request, the protection
' It' Americans and their Interests in Span
ish Jurisdiction was assumed by (he dip
lomatic and consular representatives of
Great Britain, who fulfilled the.r deiicat.
and arduous trust with tact and zeal, die
ting high commendation. 1 may be al
lowed to make fitting allusion to the in
stance of Mr. Ramsden, her mnlesty’s
consul at Santiago de Cuba, whose untime
y death after distinguished services and
untiring effort during the siege of thai
city was sincerely lamented.
In the early part of April last, pursu
ant to a request made at the instance
f the Secretary of Scale by the Br.tish
ambassador at this capi al, the Canadian
government grant and facilities for the pas
sage of four revenue cul'ers from the
great lakes to the Atlantic coast by way
••f the Canar'ian*cans Is and Ihe St. Law
rence river. The vessels had reached Lake
Ontario and were there awaiting the open
ing of na visa l ion, when war was declar
ed between the United States and Spain.
Her majesty's ; overnment thereupon, by
a communication of the latter part of
April, stated that the permission grant
ed before Ihe outbreak of hostilities would
not be withdrawn, provided the United
States government gave assurance that
the vessels in question would proceed
direct to a United States port without
engaging in any hostile operation. This
government promptly agreed to the stip
ulated condition, It being understood that
the vessels would not be prohiblled from
itsisting any hostile a'tack.
It will give me especial satisfaction if I
shall he authorised to communicate to you
a favorable conclusion of pending negoti
ations with Great Britain in respect to
the Dominion of Canada, it is the earn
est wish of this government to remove
all sources of discord and irritation in our
/relations with Ihe neighboring dominion
The trade between the two countries Is
constantly increasing, and it 1s important
to both countries that all reasonable fa
cilities should be granted for Us devel
opment.
The government of Greece strongly urges
the onerousness of the d'y here imposed
upon the currants of that country, amount
ing to 100 per cent, or more of their mar
ket value. This fruit is staled to be ex
clusively a Greek product, not
coming into competition with any domes
tic product. The question of reciprocal
relations with Greece, including the re
storation of currants to the free list is
under consideration.
The long standing claim for Bernard
Campbell for damages for injuries sus*
tained from a violent assault committed
against him by military authorities in the
Island of Hayti, has been settled by the
agreement ot that republic to pay him
SIO,OOO in American money. Of this sum
*5,000 has already been paid. It Is hoped
that other pending claims of American
citizens against that republic may be
amicably adjusted.
Annexation of Hawaii.
Bending ihe consideration of (he Senate
of the treaty signed June 16, 1898, by the
plenipotentiaries of the Linlted States and
of the republic of Hawaii providing for
the annexation of the islands, a Joint res
olution to accomplish the same purpose
by accepting the offered cession and incor
porating the ceded territory into the union,
was adopted by the Congress and approv
ed July 7, 1898. I thereupon directed the
United States -hip Philadelphia to convey
Hear Admiral Miller to Hono'ulu. and In
trusted io his hands tht* Important legis
lative act to be delivered lo the president
of the republic of Hawaii with whom the
admiral and the United States minister
were authorized to make appropriate
agreements for transferring the sovereign
ly of the islands to the United Stales. This
was simply but impressively accomplished
on the 12th of August last by the delivery
of a certified copy of the resolution to
President Dole, who thereupon yielded up
to the representative of the government
of the United States the sovereignty an
public property of the -Hawaiian islands.
Pursuant to the terms of Ihe joint reso
lution and In exercise of authority thereby
conferred upon me, I directed that ih
civil, judicial and military powers here
tofore exercised by the officers of the gov
ernment of the republic of Hawaii, should
continue to be exercised by those officers
until Congress shall provide a government
for the Incorporated territory, subject to
my power to remove such officers and to
fi.l vacancies. The president, officers an
troops of the republic thereupon took th<
oath of allegiance to the United States
thus providing for the uninterrupted con
tmuance of all the administrative anc’
municipal functions of the annexed terr -
lory, until Congress shall otherwise enact
Following the further provision of the
joint resolution, T appointed the Hons
Shelby \l. Cuilom of Illinois, John T. Mor
gan of Alabama, Hobert R. Hitt of Illi
nois, Sanford B. Dole of Hawaii and Wal
ter F. Frear of Hawaii, as commission to
confer and recommend to Congress such
legislation concerning the Hawaiian Isl
ands as they should deem necessary o
proper. The commissioners having fulfill
ed the mission confided to them, their re
port will be laid before you ai an earl;
day. It is believed that their recommen
dations will have the earnest considera
tion due to the magnitude of the responsi
bility resting upon you, to give such shape
to the relationship of those mid-Paciflt
Sands to our home union as will benefi
both in the highest degree, realizing the
aspirations of the communty that has cas
its lot with us and elected to share our
po ideal heritage, while at the same time
justifying the foresight of those who foi
three-quarters of a century have looker
to the assimi ation of Hawaii as a natu
ral and inevitable consummation, in har
mony with our needs and in fulfilment
of our cherished traditions.
Hnxvnit mu! Japan.
The questions heretofore pending be
tween Hawaii and Japan, growing out of
the alleged mistreatment of Japanest
treaty immigrants, were, I am pleased to
say, adjusted before the act of transfer
by the payment of a reasonable indemnity
to me government of Japan.
Under the provisions of the joint resolu
tion the existing customs relations of Ih-
Hawaiian Islands with the United State;
and with other countries, remain urn
changed, until legislation shall otherwise
provide. The consuls of Hawaii here anJ
in foreign countries continue to fulfill their
commercial agencies, while the 'United
States consulate at Honolulu is maintained
for all appropriate services pertaining to
trade and the revenue. It wou and be de
s table that all foreign consuls in the Ha
waiian Islands should receive new exe
quaturs front, this governin' nt
The attention of Congress is called to the
fact that our consular offices having
.■eased to exist in Hawaii
and being aboul to cease in
other countries coming under the eov
ereignty of the United States, the provis
‘ons for the relief and transportation of
destitute American seanien in hese coun
tries under our . onsu ar regulations will
in consequence, terminate. It is proper,
therefore, that new legislation should he
enacted upon this subject, in order to meet
the changed conditions.
The interpretation of certain provisions
of the extradition convention of Dec, 11
1861, has been at various t mes, the occa
sion of controversy with the government
of Mexico. An acute difference arose in
the case of the Mexican demand for the
delivery of Jesus Guerra who, having led
a marauding expedition near the border
with the proclaimed purpose of initiating
in Insurrection against President Diaz es
caped info Texas Extraction was re
fused on the ground that the alleged of
fense was political in its character and.
therefore, came within the treay proviso
of non-surrender. ‘The Mexican contention
was that the excepton only related to
purely political offens- s, and that as Guer
ra's acts were admixed with the common
■rime of murder, arson, kidnapping and
robbery, the option of non-delivery became
' old. a position which the government was
unable to admit in view of the received in
ternational doctrine and practice in the
-natter. The Mexican government, in view
of this, gave notice Jan. 24, ISOS, of til*
termination cf convention, to take effec.
w-elve months from that date, at the sam
time inviting the conclusion of anew con
vention toward which negotiations are or.
foot.
Extradition Statutes.
In this relat'on I may refer to the ne
cessity of some amendment of our existin'
extradition statute. It is a common stip
ulation of such treaties that neither party
shall he bound to give up its own citizen:
vlth the added proviso in one of our
Ireat’es that with Japan, that it may sur
render if it see fit It is held in this coun
try by an almost unifo in course of de
cisions that wnere a treaty negatives tin
obligation to surrender, the President if
invested with legal authority to act. Thp
confermen- of such authority would be in
the line of that sound morality which
shrinks from affording secure asylum to
the author of a heinous crime. Again
statutory provision might well be made for
what is slvled extradition by way of
transit, whereby a fugitive surrendered b\
cne foreign government to another may be
conveyed across the territory of the Uni
ted Slates to the jurisdiction of the tie
mandina state. A recommendation in this
behalf, made in the President's message
of ISS6. was not acted unon The matter
is presented tor your consideration.
Siuiigirlingr on Mexican Border,
The problem of the Mexican free zone
has been often discussed with regard to
its convenience as a provocative of smug
gling into the United States, along an ex
tensive and thinly guarded land birder.
The effort made by the joint resolution
of March 1, 1893, to remedy the abuse
charged by suspend ng the privilege of
free transportation in bond across the
territory of the United States to Mexico,
failed of good result, as is stated in report
No. 702 of the House of Representatives,
submitted in the last session, March 11,
1893. As the question is one to be con
veniently met by wise concurrent legis
lation of the two countries looking to the
protection of the revenues by harmonious
measures opera ting equally on either side
of the boundary, rather than by conven
tional arrangements, I suggest that Con
gress consider the advisability of author
izing and inviting a conference of repre
sentatives of the treasury departmems of
the United States and Mexico to consider
the subject in ail its complex bearings,
and make report with pertinent recom
mendation lo the respective government*,
for ihe Information and consideration of
their Congresses.
The Mexican water boundary commis
sion has adjusted all matters submitted
lo it to the satisfaction of boih govern
ments, save in three important cases, that
of the “Chamiza;," at El Paso, Tex.,
where the two commissioners failed to
agree, and wherein for this case only this
government has proposed to Mexico Ihe
addition of a third member; the proposed
elimination of what are known as "ban
cos” small isolated islands formed by
utttng off of Iwnds in the Bio Grand,
from the operation of the treaties of ISS4
amt 18X9, recommended by the commis
sioners and approved by this government.
hut still under cons deration by Mexico;
and the subject of the equitaole distri
bution of the waters of the Rio Grande,
for which the commissi ners recommend
ed an international dam and reservoir,
ipproved by Mexico, but slid under con
sideration by this government. Pending
these questions, it is necessary lo exiend
.he life of the commission, w iiioh expires
Dec. 23 next.
The coronation of the young Queen of
ihe Netherlands was made the occasion
of fitting congratulations.
Tile McCord Claim.
The claim of Victor H. McCord against
Peru, which for a number of years has
been pressed by this government and on
-everal occasions attracted the attenl.on
of the Congress, has been satisfactorily
adjusted. A protocol was signed May 17,
S9S. whereby the fact of liability bemg
admitted, the question of the amount to
tie awarded was submitted lo the chief
justice of Canada as sole arbitrator. His
award sets the indemnity due the claim
ant at $19,000 The government of Peru
aas given the prescribed notification of its
mention to abrogate the treaty of friend
ship, commerce and navigation concluded
with this country Aug. 31, 1887. As that
treaty contains many important provisions
necessary to the maintenance of com
merce and good relations which could with
difficulty be replaced by the negotiation
of renewed provisions within the brief
twelve months intervening before the
treaty terminates, I have invited sugges
tions by Peru as lo the particular pro
visions it is desired to annul, in the hope
jf reaching an agreement whereby the
remaining articles may be provisionally
saved.
His majesty, the Czar, having announc
ed his purpose to raise the imperial Rus
sian mission at this capital to the rank
of an embassy, I responded under ihe au
thority conferred by the act of March 3,
1893, by commissioning and accredit ng the
actual representative ai St. Petersburg in
the capacity of ambassador extraordinary
and. p.enipotentiary. The Russian ambas
sador to this country has since presented
nis credentials.
The Citarla Pence Proposal*.
The proposal of the Czar for a genera!
reduction of the vast military establ.sh
ments that weigh so heavily upon many
people in time of peace, was eommuni
. ated to this government w.th an earnest
invitation to be represented in the confer
ence which it is contemplated to assemble
with a view to discuss,ng the means of
■accomplishing so desirable a result. His
majesty was at once informed of the cor-
I ai sympathy of this government with
che principle involved, in his exa.ted pro
tosol, and of the readiness of the United
states to take part in the conference. The
active m litary force of the United Slates,
as measured by our population, territorial
area and taxable Wealth, is. and under
any conceivable prospective condiiions.
must continue to be, in time of peace so
conspicuously less than that of the arm
ed Powers to whom Ihe Czar s appeal Is
• ■sneeißlly addressed, that the question can
have for us no especial importance save
is mat king an au.-pi,iotas step toward Ihe
betterment of the condition of the modern
■eoplcs and the cultivation of peace and
good will among them; but In (his view,
ti Itehooves us as a nation to lend coun
tenance arid aid lo ihe beneficent project.
The claims of owners of American seai
ng vessels for seizure by Russian cruis
ers In Bering sea ate being pressed to a
S"ttlement Ihe equities of Ihe cases justify
the expectation that a measure of repara
tion will eventually be accorded in har
mony with precedent and in the light of
the proven facts.
The recommendation made In my special
message of Apr 1 27 iast is renewed, that
appropriation he made to reimburse the
master and owners of the Russian bark
Hans for wrongful arrest of the master
and detention of the vessel in February,
596, "by officers of the United
States District Court for the Southern
district of Mississippi. The papers accom
panying my said message make out a
most meritorious claim and justify the ur
gency with which it has been presented
by the government of Russia.
Samoan Affair*.
Malietoa Eaupepa, King of Samoa, died
on Aug. 22 iast. According to Article 1,
of the general act of Berlin “his successor
shall be duly elected according to the
laws and customs of Samoa.” '
Arrangements having been agreed upon
by the signatories of the general act for
the return of Mataafa and the other exiled
Samoan chiefs, they were brought from
Jaisit by a German war vessel and land
ed at Apia on Sept. IS last.
Whether the death of Malietoa and the
return of his old lime rival Mataafa will
add to the und. s.rable comp ications which
the execution of the tripartite general act
has heretofore developed remains to be
seen. The efforts of this government wil.,
as heretofore, be addressed toward a
harmonious and exact fulfillment of the
terms of the inteinalional engagement to
which the United States became a party
in 18S9.
The Cheek claim against Siam, after
some five years of controversy, has been
adjusted by arbiiration under an agree
ment signed July 6, 1897. an award of $187,-
987.75, with release of the Cheek estate
from mortgage claims, having been ren
dered March 21, 1898, in favor of the claim
ant by the arbitrator, Sir Nicholas John
Hannen, British chief Justice for China
and Japan.
An envoy from Slam has been accredited
lo this government and has preserved his
credentials.
Humanity ill the IVnr.
Immediately upon the outbreak of the
war with Spain the Swiss government ful
filling the high miss.on it has deservedly
assumed as the patron of the
internal Red Cross proposed
io the United States and Spain that they
-hould severally recognize and carry into
xecution during the continuation of hos
tilities, the additional articles proposed by
the international conference of Geneva,
Oct. 20, 1868. extending the effects of the
existing Red Cross convention of 1864 to
the conduct of a naval war. Following
the example set by France and Germany
in 1870 in adopting such a modus vivendi,
and in view of the accession of the United
States to those additional articles in 1882,
although the exchange of ratifications
thereof still remained uneffected, the
Swiss proposal was promptly and cordially
accepted by us, and simultaneously by
Spain.
This government feels a keen satisfaction
in having thus been enabled to testify its
adherence to the broadest principles of hu
manity, even amidst Ihe clash of war. and
it is to be hoped that the extension of
the Red Cross compact to hostilities by
ea. as well as on land, may soon become
in accomplished fact through the general
promulgation of (he add tionai naval Red
Cross articles by the maritime powers now
parties to the convention of 1564.
The important question of the claim of
Switzerland lo the perpelua. cantonal alle
giance of American citizens of Swiss origin
has not made hopeful progress toward a
solution, and controversies in this regard
still continue.
To Settle With Turkey.
The newly accredited envoy of Ihe Unit
ed Stales to the Ottoman Porte carries
instructions looking to the dispatch of mat
ters in controversy w.th Turkey for a
number of years. He.ls especially charg
ed to press for u Just settlement of our
claims for Indemnity by reason of Ihe dc
strucllon of ihe property of Ameriean mis.
sUnari’*
the Armenian troubles of 1893, as well as
for the recognition of older claims of
equal Justness.
He is also instructed to seek an adjust
ment of the dispute growing out of ihe
refusal of Turkey to recognize the acquired
citizenship of Ottoman born persons nat
uralized in the United Slates since 186a
without prior imperial •consent; and m
the same general relation he is directed
to endeavor to bring about a solution . f
the question which has more or less acute
ly existed since 1869, concerning the juris
dictional rights of the United States j,
matters of criminal procedure and punish
ment undei article iv of the treaty of lS3i
This latter difficulty grows out of a ver
bai difference, c.aimed by Turkey io he
essential between the original Turkish lex,
and the promulgated translation.
. After more than two years from the ap
pointment of a consul of this country to
Erzerum, he has received hts exequatur
The arbitral tribunal appointed under
the treaty of Feb. 2, 1897, between Greet
Britain and Venezuela to determine th„
boundary line between the latter and the
colony of British Guiana is to convene i(
Paris during the present month. It j s a
source of much gratification to this gov
ernment lo see the friendly resort of arbi
tration applied to the settlement of thi
controversy, -not alone because of
the earnest part we have had
in bringing about the result
but also because the two members narm.i
on behalf of Venezuela, Mr. Chief Just, e
Ful.er and Mr. Justice Brewer, chosen
from our highest court, appropriately i,
tify the continuing inteugt we feel In ti
definitive adjustment of the question ac
cording to the strictest rule of justice. The
British members, Lord Hersehel! and Sir
Richard Collins, are jurists of no its*
exalted repute, while the fifth member
and president of the tribunal, M. F. De-
Martens, has earned a world-wide repu
tation as an authority upon international
law.
The claim of Felipe Scandeila against
Venezuela for arbitrary expulsion and in
jury to his business, has been adjusted by
the revocation of the order of expulsion,
and by the payment of the sum of $16,09)!
Bureau of American Republic*.
I have the satisfaction of being able to
slate that the bureau of American repub
lics. created in 1890 as the organ for pro
moting commercial intercourse and fra
lernal relations among the countries of
the Western Hemisphere, has become a
more efficient instrument of the wise pur.
pose of its founders, and is receiving the
cordial support of the contributing mem
bers of the international union which are
actually represented in its board of man
agement. A commercial directory in two
volumes, containing a mass of statistical
matter descriptive of the industrial and
commercial interests of the various coun
tries, has been printed in English, Span
ish. Portuguese and French and a monthly
bulletin published in these four languages
and distributed in the Latin-American
countries as well as in the_ United States,
has proved to be a vaudtjle medium for
disseminating information and furthering
the varied interests of the international
union.
During Ihe past year the Important work
of collecting Information of practical ben
efit to American industries and
trade through the agency of
the di-riomatie and ronsti’ar offi
ces has been steadily advanced, and :n
order to lay much data before the public
with the ’.east delay, the .practice was be
gun in January, 1898, dr'issuing the com
mercial reports from day to day as they
are received by the department of state.
It is believed that for promptitude, as well
as fullness of information, the service thus
supplied to our merchants and manufac
turers wiil be found to show sensible im
provement. and to merit the liberal sup
port of Congrfess.
Exempt Commerce From War.
The experience of the last year bring
forcibly home to us a sens**of the burdens
and the waste of war. We desire, in com
mon with most civilized nations, to reduce
to the lowest possible point the damage
sustained in time of war by peaceable
trade and commerce. It is true we may
suffer in such cases less than other com
mun.ti. s, but all nations are damaged rnor e
or less by the state of uneasiness and ap
prehension into which an outbreak of hos
tilities throws the entire commercial
world. It should be our object, therefore,
to minimize, so far as practicable, this
inevitable loss and disturbance. This pur
pose can probably best be accomplished
by an international agreement to regard
all private property at sea as exempt from
capture or destruction by/the forces of
belligerent powers. United States
government has for many years advocated
this humane and beneficent principle, and
is now in position to recommend It to
other powers without thb imputation of
selfish motives. I, therefore, suggest for
your consideration, that the executive be
authorized to correspond with the gov
ernments of the principal maritime pow
ers with a view of Incorporating into the
permanent law of civilized nations the
pripeiple of the exemption of ail private
property at sea, not contraband of
war, from capture or destruction by
bei igerent powets.
Receipts nntl Disbursements.
The Secretary of the Treasury reports
that the receipts of the government from
all sources during the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1898, including $64,751,223 receive.!
from sale of Pacific Railroads, amounted
to $495,321,335, and its expenditures to $443.-
368.582. There was collected from customs
$149,575,062, and from internal revenue $170,-
900,641. Our dutiable imports amounted to
$324,635,479, a decrease of $68,156,690 over the
preceding year and importations free of
duty amounted to $291,414,175, a decrease
from the preceding year of $90,524,068. In
ternal revenue receipts exceeded those of
the preceding year by $24,212,067.
The tax collected on distilled spirits was
$92,546,999; on manufactured tobacco, $36,-
230,522 and on fermented liquors. $39,515,421.
We exported merchandise during the year
amounting to $1,231,482,330, an increase of
$180,488,774 from the preceding year.
It is estimated upon the basis of present
revenue laws that the receipts of the gov
ernment for the year ending June 30, 1899,
will be $577,874,647 and Us expenditures $659,-
874,647, resulting in a deficiency of $112,000,-
000.
On the Ist of December. 1898, there was
held in the treasury gold goin amounting
to $138,441,547. gold bullion amounting to
$138,502,545, silver bullion amounting to
$93,359,250, and other forms of money
amounting lo $451,963,931.
On the same dale the amount of money
of all kinds in circulation or not included
in treasury holdings, was $1.856,579,G04, an
increase for the year of $165,794,966. Esti
mating our popu ation at 75,194,000 at the
time mentioned, the per capita circulation
was $25.09. On the same date there was
in the treasury gold bullion amounting to
$138,502,545.
The IVnttonnl Credit.
The provisions made for strengthening
the resources of the treasury in connection
with the war ha? given increased confi
dence in the purpose and power of the
government to maintain the present stand
ard and has established more firmly than
ever the national credit at home an 1
abroad. A marked evidence of this is
found in the In-flow of gold to the treas
ury. H net gold holdings on Nov. 1. 1898,
were $239,885,162, as compared with $153,573 -
147 on Nov. 1, 1897, and on increase of net
cash of $207,756,100, Nov, 1, 1897. to $300,-
233,275 Nov. 1, 1893. The present ratio of
net treasury gold lo outstanding govern
ment I.abilities, including United Slab's
notes, treasury notes of 1890, silver/erd
ftcates, currency certificates, standaill sti
ver dohars and fractional silver coln#Nuv.