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The President’s Messag e.
of the Pre-iilent of the Uni'out .S'alri to
the two Houses of (jontjrtm at th* commence
merit oj the first setxlonof th*. thirty-ninth C<m
gress.
Fellow citizens of the Senate and Houve of
Representatives :
To express gratitude to God, in the name of
the People, for tbo preservation of the United
States, Is my first duty in addressing you Our
thoughts next revert to the death of the late
President by an act of pirricidal treason.
The grief of the nation is still fresh ; it find,
some solace in the consideration that he lived
to enjoy the highest proof of its confi fence by
entering on the renewed term of the Chie!
Magistracy, to which he had been elected ;
that he brought the civil war substantially to
a close ; that his loss whs deplored in all parlg
of the Union ; and that foreign nations have
rendered justice to h>s mem>ry. Hk rear jv
al cast upon mo a heavier weight of cares than
ever devolved upon any one of bis predeces
sors. To fulfil my trust I need the support
and confidence of all who aro associated wi;b
me in the various department-" of Government,
and the support and confidence of the people.
There is but one way in which I can hops to
to gain their necessary aid ; it is, to state with
frankness the principles which guide my con
duct. and heii application to the present s ate
of uffai'S, well aware that the efficiency o'
my labor" will, in a great measures, depend on
your aDd their undivided approbation.
Tho Union of the United States of America
was intended its authors to last as long as
the States tfiemselves shall last. “The Union
■hall bo perpetual" aro the words of the Con
federation. “To form a more perfect Union,”
by an otdinance of the people of the United
States, is the declared purpose es theCoustitu
tion. The hand of Divine Providence was
never more plainly visible in the affairs of men
than in the framing and the adopting of that,
instrument. It is, beyond comparison, the
the greatest eveut in American history ; and
indeed is it not, of all events in modern times,
the most pregnant with consequencei for
every people of the earth ? Tho mem hers of
tne Convention which prepared it, brought to
their work ho "Xptriento of the Confederation,
of their severul States, and of other Republi
can Governments, old and new ; but they
needed and they obtained a wisdom uupeiior
to experience - And when for its validity it
required the approval of a people that occu
pied a largo part of a continent and acted sepa
rately in tnauv distinct conventions, what is
more wonderful than that, after earnest con
tention and long discussion, all feelings and
all opinion were ultimately diawn in one way
to its support ?
The Constitution to which life was thus im
parted contains within itself ample resources
for its own preservation. It has power to en
force the laws, punish treason, and ensure do
mestic tranquility. In case of the usurpation
of tho Government of a State by one man, or
an oligarchy, it becomes a duty of the United
States to make good tho guarantee to that
State of a republican form ol government, and
■0 to muiutain tho homogeueousness of ull.
Does the lapse of tinle reveal delects ? A
simple mode of a endment is provided in the
Constitution itself, so that, its conditions eau
always bem.de to conform to tho require
ments of advancing civilization. No room is
allowed even for the thought of a possibility
ot its coming to au end. And these powers ot
self preservation have always been asserted in
their complete integrity by every pa'notic
Chief Magistrate - by Jefferson and Jackson, no
less than by Washington and Madison The
parting advice of the Father of his Country,
while yet President, to the people of the Uni
ted .States, was, that “the tree Constitution,
which waslhewoikof their hands, might be
sacredly maintained and the inaugural
words of President Jefferson held up “tin
preservation of the Geueial Government, in its
constitutional vigor, as tne sheet anchor 01
our peace at home and safety abroad." The
Constitution is the work ot “the people of the
Uuited Stales,” aud it should be asiudestiucli
ble us the people.
It is not straugu that the framers of the
Constitution wh eh had uo model in the past,
should not have fully comprehended the ex
cellence of their owu work. .Fresh irom a
struggle against arbitrary power, many pa
trioia suffered irom h»iu*.-iug tears of uu ab
sorption of the Stale Governments by the
General Government, and many from a dread
that the Slates would break away trout their
orbits, but the very greatness of our country
should allay the apprehension of encroach
ments by the Geueral Government. The
subjects that come uo questional).y within its
jurirdictiou are so nuim-ious, that it must ever
naturally refuse to be embarrassed by ques
tions that lie beyond it. Were it otheivvise,
the Executive would sink beneath the ounion;
the channels ot justice would be choked ; leg
islatiou be obstiuoe't by excess ; so that there
is a greater temptation toexerc se Some of the
functions of the Geueial Government through
the States thau to trespass on their rightful
sphere “The absolute acquiesence in the
decisions of the majority” was, at the begin
niug of the century, euforced by Jefferson “as
the vital prjuciple of republics,” and the
events of the last lour years have estab islnd.
we will hope forever, that there lies uo appeal
to force.
The maintenance of the Union brings with it
“tho support ot the S ate Governments iu ull
theit rights but it is not one of the rights of
any State Government to renounce its own
place iu the Union, or to nulify the laws of
Union. The largest liberty is to be m detain
ed in the discussion of tho acts af the Federal
Government; but there is no appeal from its
laws, except to the various blanches of Ilia'
Government itself, or to the people, who giant
to the members ot the L gislativo aud ot the
Executive Departments no tenure but a limited
one, aud in that manner always retain the
powers of redress
“The sovereignty of tho States’’ is the lan
guage ot the Confederacy, aud not tho lau
gu ge of the Ccustituii .and. The latter con
tains the emphatic words : Tho Consdtut'ou,
and the laws of the United States which shall
be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties
made or which shall be made under the au
thority of the Uuited States, shall be the su
preme law of tho laud ; and the judges in
every State shall be bound thereby, anything
In the constitution or laws of any State to
the contrary notwithstanding ’
Certainly the Government of the United
States is a limited government; aud so is every
State government a limited government With
ns, this idea of limitation spreads thrbugh
every form of administration, general, State
aud municipal, aud rests on the great distin
guishing principle of the recognition of the
lights of man. The ancient republics absorb
ed the individual iu the State, prescribed his
religion, aud controlled his activity. The
American system rests on the assertion of Un
equal right of every man to life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness ; to freedom of con
•Cience, to the culture aud exercise of all his
faculties Asa consequence, tho State Gov
ernmeut is limited, as to the General Govern
ment in the interest of Union, as to the indivi
dual citizen in the interest of freedom.
States, with proper limitations of power, are
essential to the existence of the Constitution o!
the United States. At the very comment e
mect, when we assumed a place among the
Powers of the earth, the Declaration ot Inde
pendence was adopted by btat s ; so also were
the Articles of Confederation ; aud when‘‘the
people of the United States’ 7 ordained and
established the Constitution, it was the assent
of the States, one by one, which gave it vitali
ty. In the event, too, of any amendment to
the Constitution, the ptopositiou ot (Joneress
needs the confirmation of States. Without
States, one great bianch of the legislative
government wou and be warning And, if we
look beyoftd the letter ot the Constitution to
the character of our country, its capacity for
•omprehendiug within its jurisdiction a v*st
continental empire is due to the system of
States The best security for the perpetual
existence of the States is the “supreme au
thority’ 7 of the Constitution of ih« United
States The perpetuity of the Constitution
brings with it the perpetuity of the States ;
* Iheir mutual relation makes us what wo a:e,
and in our political system th ir connexion is
indissoluble, 'the whole c&anot exist with
out the parts, nor the parts without tiie whole.
So loug as the Constitution of tho United
States endures, the Stale will tn-ure ; the de
struction of the one is the destruction of the
other ; the preservation of the one is the pre
serration ot the other.
J have thus explained my views of the mu
tual relations of tha Constitution and the
.Stales, bccau-c they unfold the principles on
which I have sought to solve the momentous
questions and oveicome the appalling difficul
ties that met me at the very commencement of
iny administration. It has been my steadfa«t
object to o'cape from the swav of m" mentarv
pifl.-iioa, and to derive a bearing policy from
tii« lur.damen’al and unchanging princip es of
the Constitution.
I found the States =uff tricg from tha effects
of a civil war. Resistance to the General
Government appeared to have exhausted it
self. The United State3 had recovered posses
sion of their f Trts and arsenals; and their
armies were in the occupation of every State
which had attempted to secede. Whether the
territory within the limits of those States
shou-d beffitld as conquered territory, under
military authority emanating from the Presi
dent as ILe bead of the army, was the first
question that pre-en'ed itself for df-C’sion.
N .w, mi i’ary governments, established for
an in infinite period, would have off red no
security f°r the early suppression of discon
tent ; would have divided the people into the
vanquishers and the vanquished; and would
have envenom. and hatred, rather than have re
stored •„flection. Once established, no precise
limit to their continuance was conceivable
lhey would have occasioned en incalculable
am! exhausting expense Peaceful emigration
to and Irom that p irtion of the country is one
of the be t means that can be thought of for
the restoration of harmony, and that emigra
tion would have been prevented ; for what
emigrant from abroad, what industrious citi
zen at home, would place himself willingly un
der military rule? ihe chief persons who would
have followed in the train of the army would
have been dependents on the General Govern
ment, or nun who expected profit from the
miseries of "their erring to llow citizene. The
powers of patronage and rule which would
have been exercised, under the President, over
a vast, and populous, and naturally wealthy
region, are greater than, unless under extreme
necessity, I should be willing to entrust to any
one man.; they are such as, for myself, I could
never, unless on occasions of great emergency,
consent to exercise. The wilful use of such
powers, if continued through a period of years,
would have end uigerod the purity of the gene
ral administration and the liberties of the
States which remained loyal.
Besides the policy of military rule over a
conquered territory would have implied that
the Stab b whose inhabitants may have taken
part in the rebellion had, by the act of those
inhabitants, ejasod to exist. But the true theo
ry is, that all pretended acts of secession
wore from tho beginning, null and void. The
States cannot commit treason, nor screen the
individual citizens who may have committed
treason, any more than they can make valid
treaties or engage in lawful commerce with
aiy foreign Power. The States attempting to
recede placed thennelves in a condit on where
their vitality was impaired, but not extinguish
ed—their functions euapauded, but not de
stroyed .
But if uny Siate neglects or refuses to per
form iLB offices, there is the more need that
the General Government should maintain all
its authority, and, as soon as practicable, re
sume the exercise of all its functions. On
tills- principle I have acted, and have gradu
ally and quietly, and by a'most imperceptible
steps, sought to restore the rightful energy ol
the General Government and of the States.—
To that end, Provisional Governors have been
appointed for the States, Conventions called,
Governors elected, Legislatures assembled, and
Senators and Representatives chosen to the
Congress of the Uuited States. At the same
time, the Courts of the United States, as far
as could be done, have been reopened, so that
the iaws of the United States may be enforced
through 'heir agency The blockade has been
removed and the custom houses re established
in ports of entry, so that the revenue of the
United States may be collected. The Post
Office Dcpaitment renews it ceaseless activity,
and the General Government is thereby enab
led to communicate piomptiy with its officers
and agents Tbe courts bring security to per
sons and property ; the opening of the ports
invites the restoration of industry and com
merce ; tho post office renews the facilities of
social intercouse and of business. And is it
not happy for us all, that tho restoiation of
each one of these functions of the General
Govern ent filings witn if a blessing to the
States over wbmh they are extended f Ts it
not a sure promise ot harmony aud renewed
attachment to the Union that, after all that
happened, the return of the Geueral Govern
ment i- itnowu only as a beneficence ?
I know very well that this policy is attended
with some risk; that for its success it requires
at least the acquiescence of the States which it
concerns; that it implies au invitation to thos">
States,by renewing theiraliegianoeto the United
Staffs, to resume their Inactions as States of
the Union. But it is a risk that must be taken;
in the choice of difficulties, it is the smallest
risk; aud to diminish, and, if possible, to re
move all danger, I have felt it incumoent on
me to assert one other power of the General
Dover, merit—the power of pardon. As no
State can throw a defence over the crime of
treason, tbe power ol paid.in Is exclusively vest
ed iu the Executive Government of the United
States In exercising that power, I have taken
every precaution to connect it with the clear
est recognition oi the binding force of the laws
of the United States, and an unqualified ac
kaowiedgment of the great social change of
condition in regard to slavery which has grown
out ot the war.
Ihe next step which I have taken to restore
the constitutional relatiqns of the States, has
been an invitation to them to participate In the
high office of amending tbe Constitution. Every
patriot must wish lor a general amnesty at the
earliest epoch consistent with public safety
For this great end there is need of a concur
reuce of all opinions, and the spirit of mutual
conciliation. All parties in the late terrible
coiifl ct must work together in harmony. It
is not too much to a?k, in the name of the
whole people, that, ou the one side, the plan
of restoration shall proceed in conformity with
a willingness to cast the disorders of the past
into oblivion; and that, on the other, the evi
dence of sincerity in the future maintenance
of the Union shall be put beyond any doubt
by the ratification of the proposed amendment
to the Constitution, which provides for the
abolition of slavery forever within the limits
of our country. So long as the adoption ot this
amendment is delayed, so loug will doubt, and
jealousy, and uncertainty prevail.
This is the measure which will effaco tho sad
memory of the p st; this is the measure which
will most certainly call population, and capi
tal, ana security so those parts of the Union
that need them most. Indeed, it is not too
much to ask of the States which are now re
suming their places iu the family of tne Union
to give this pledge of perpetual loyalty and
peace. Until it is done, the oast, however
much we may desiro it, will not be forgotten.
The adoption of the amendment reunites us
beyond all power of disruption. It heals the
wound that is stiff imperfectly closed ; it re
moves slavery, the element which has so long
perplexed and divided the country ; it makes
of us once more a united people, renewed and
strengthened, b - und more than ever to mu
tual affection and support.
ILo amendment to the Constitution being
adopted, it would lemain tor the States, whose
powers have been so long in obeyaace, to re
same their places in the two branches of the
National Legislature, and thereby oomplete
the work of restoration Here it is for ‘you.
fellow-citiz ns of the Senate, and for you, fel
tow citizens of the House of Representatives,
to judge, each of you for yourselves, of the
elections, returns, and qualifications of your
own members.
The till assertion of the powers of the Gen
eral Government requires the holding of Cir
cuit Courts of the United States within the
districts where their authority has been inter
rupted. In the present pcs'ure of our public
affdrs, o'jectiocs have been urged to
ho'diae those courts in any of the States Where
the rebellion has existed ; and it was ascer
tained, ny inquiry, that the Circuit Court of
Cuited States w uid not be bed within the
District of Virginia during the autumn or early
wiuter, cor until Congress sb‘u'd have “an
opportunity to consider and acton the whole
sut j ct. M To your deliberations the restora
tb'ii of this branch of ta? civil authority of the
Uni'ed States is therefore necesearilv referred,
wi h the hope that early provision will be
matte for the resumption of all its functions,
it is manifest that treason, most flagrant in
character, has been committed, bers'os who
are charged with its commission should have
fair and impartial trials in the highest civil
tribunals of the country, in ord-» that the
Constitution and the law* may ba fullv vindi
wated ; the imxth clearly esta'ulished and affi Di
ed that treason is a crime, that traitors
should be punished end the <if .ce made in
famous ; and, at the same time, th»t the ques
tion {may be judicially settle], finally a.d
forever, that no State of its will has the
right to renounce its place in the Union.
The relation 3 of the G neral Government
towards the :'ou r mi lions of inhabitants whom
the war has ca lid into freedom, have enga
ged my most serious consideration On the
propriety of attempting to make the freedmen
electors by the proclamation of the Execu
tive, I took for my council the Constitution
itrelf, the interpretations of’that instrument
by is authors and their contemporaries, and
recent legislation by Congress. When, at the r
first movrm*nt towards indeoendeace, the
Congress of the United States instructed the
several .States to institute govi-rnm-mts of their
own, they left each State to decide for itself
the conditions for the enjoyment of the elec
tive franchise. During ihe period of the Con
federacy, there continued to exist a very great
diversity in the qualifications of electors in
the several States ; and even . withiu a State a
distinction of qualifications prevailed with re
gard to the officers who were to be chosen.
The Constitution oi the United States recog
nises these diversities when its enjoins
that, in tho choice of members of the House
ot Representatives of the United States, “the
electors in each State shall have the qualifica
tions rtqu site for electors of the most num
erous branch of the Slate Legislature ’’ After
the formation of tho Constilotion, it remained,
as before, the uniform usage for each State to
enlarge the body of its electors, accord
ing to its own judgment ; and, under
this system, one State after another
has proceeded to increase tha number of sti
electors, until now universal suffrage, or
something very near it, is the general rule.
So fixed was this reservation of pjwer in the
habits of the people, and so unquestioned has
been the interpretation of the Constitution,
that during tho civil wai the late President
never harbored the purpose—certainjy
avowed the purpose—ot disregarding it; and
in the acts of Congress, during that period,
nothing can be found which, during the con
tiauauco of hostilities, much less after their
close, would have sanctioned any departure
by the Executive from a policy which has so
uniformly obtained. Moreover, a concession
of the elective franchise to the freedmen, by
act of the President of the United States,
must have been extended to all colored men,
wherever found, and so must have established
a change of suffrage in the Norlheva, Middle,
and Western Ssates, not less than in the
Southern and Southwestern Such an act
would have created anew c ass of voters, and
wou'd have been an assumption of power by
the President which nothing in the Constitu
tion or laws of the United States would have
warranted.
On the other baud, every danger of corffiic t
is avoided when the settlement of the question
is referred to the several States. They can,
each for itself, decide on the measure, and
whether it is to be adopted at once and abso
lutely, or introduced gradually and with con
ditions. In my judgement, the freedmen, if
they show patience and manly virtues, will
sooner obtain a participation in the elective
franchise through the States than through the
General Government, even if it had power to
intervene. When the tumult of emotions
that have been raised by the suddenness of
the social change shall have subsided, it may
prove that they will receive the kindliest
usage from some of those on whom trey have
heretofere most closely depended.
But while I have no doubt that now, after
the close of the war, it is not competent for
the General Government to extend the elective
franchise in the several States, it is iqually
clear that good faith requires the security of
the freedmen in their liberty and their proper
ty, their right to labor, and their right to claim
the just return ot their labor. I cannot too
strongly urge a dispassionate treatment ot this
subject, which should b<i carefully kept aloof
from all party strife We must equally avoid
hasty assumptions of any natural impossibility
(or the two races to live side by side, in a state
of mutual benefit and good will. The experi
ment involves us in no Inconsistency ; let us
then, go on and make that experiment in good
faith, and not be too easily diehearteced. The
Country is in need of labor, and the freedmen
are in need ot employment, culture, and protec
tion. While their right of v ffintu’y migration
aud expatriation is not to be questioned, I
would not advise their forced removal and col
onizilion. Let us rather encourage them to
honorable and useful industry, where it may
be beneficial to themselves and to the country ;
and, instead of hasty anticipations of the cer
tainty cf failure, let there be nothing wauting
to the fair trial of tho experiment The change
in their condition is the substitution of labor
by contract for tha status of slavery Tne
freedmen cannot be fairly accused of unwilling
ness to work, so long a3 a doubt remains about
his freedom of choice in his pursuits, and the
certainty of his recov rffig his stipulated wa
ges. In this the interests of the employer •-••rid
the employed coincide. The employer desires
in his workmen spirit and alacrity, and these
can be permanently secured in no other way
Aud if the one ougnt to bo able to enforce the
contract, so ought the other. The pubic inb-r
est will be best promoted, if tbe several States
will, provide adequate protection and remedies
tor the freedmen. Until this is in some way
accomplished, there is no chance for the ad
vantageous use of their labor ; and the blame
of ill success will not rest on them.
I know that sincere philanthropy is earnest
for the immediate realization oi its remotest
aims; but time is always an element in reform.
It is one of the greatest acts on record to have
brought four millions of people into freedom.
The career of free .industry must be fairly
opened to them ; and then their future pros
perity and condition must, after all, rest main
ly on themselves. It they and so perish
away, let us be careful tnat the failure shall
not be attnbutablo to any denial of justice.
In all that relates to the destiny of the freed
men, we need not be too anxious to read the
future ; many incidents which, from a specula
tive point of view, might raiso alarm, will
quietly settle-themselves
Now that slavery is at an end or near its
end, the greatness of it3 evil, in the point of
public economy, becomes and more ap
parent. Slavery was essentially a monopoly
of labor, and as such locked the States where
it prevailed against the incoming of free in
pnstry. Where labor wa3 the property of the
capitalist, the white man was excluded frem
employment, or had but tho second best chance
of finding it; and th. foreign emigrant turned
away from the region where liia condition
would be so precious. With the destruction
of the monopoly, free labor will hasten from
all parts of the civilized world to assit in
developing various and immeasurable recour
ces which have hitherto lain dormant The
eight or nine States nearest the Gulf of Mexi
co have a soil of exuberant fertility, a climate
friendly to long life, .and can sustain a denser
population than is found as yet in any part of
our country. And the future influx of popu'a
tion to them will be mainly from the North,
or from the most cultivated nations in Europe.
From the sufferings that have attended them
duriDg our late stiuggle, let us look away to
the future, which is sure to be laden for them
with greater prosperity than has ever before
been known. Tne removal of thts monopoly
of slave labor is a pledge that those regions
will be peopled by a numerous and enterpris
ing population, which will vie with any in the
Union in compactness, inventive genius,
wealth, and industry.
Our Government springs from and wa3 made
for tie people—not the people for the Gov
ernmant. To them it owes allegiance ; from
-them it must derive its courage, strength, and
wisdon But, while tho Government is thus
bound to deter to the people, from whom it de
rive its existence, it should, from the very
consideration of its origin, be strong ia its
power of resistance to the establishment of in
equalities Monopolies, perpetuities, and class
legislation, are contrary to the genius of free
government, and ought not lo be alloyed,
tlere, thme is no room for favored classes or
monopolies, the principle, .f our Government
is that of equal laws and lteedom of industry.
Wherever monopoly attains a footbohl, it is
sure to be a source oi and mger, discoid, ami
trouble, We shall but fulfil our dudes as
legislatorsbr according -‘equ ii and cx-.m j- -
tce to all men, - ’ special privileges to mme. j
she Government is subordinate to limp, cpi-. !
but, as the agent and representative of the i
people, it must be held superior to monopolies, |
which, in themselves, ought never to be
granted, and which.Jwh<»re they exist, must be
subordinate and yield to the Government
The Constitution confers on Congress the
right to regulate commerce among the several
| States. It is of the fir.-t necessity, tor the
: maintenance of the Union, that that commerce
should be free and un -bstrncteri. No State
can be justified in any device to tax the tran
sit of travel and commerce between Stales.
The position .of many States in such that, if
they were allowed to take advantage of it for
purpose of local revenue, the commerce be
tween States might be injuriously burdened, or
even vi t ally proh bt and. It is te-t, whil-j.tbe
, country is still young, and while the tendency
; to dangerous monopolies of this kind is still
[ feeble, to use the pow-r of Congress so as to
; prevent any selfish impediment to the free
| circulation es men and merchandise. A tax on
! travel and inetebandiso, in their transit, qon
! stitutes one of the worst forms of monopoly,
ard the evil is increased if coupled with a de
nial of the choice of route When the vast
extent of our country is considered, it is plain
that every obstacle to the free circulation of
commerce between the States ough: to be
sternly guarded against by appropriate legisla
tion, within the limits of the Constitution
The report of the Secretary of the Interior
explains the condition of the public lands, the
transactions ot the Patent Offics and the Pen
sion Bureau, the management of our Indian
affairs, the progress made in the construction
of the Pacific Railroad, aud furnishes inferma
tion in referecco to matters of local interest
in the District of Columbia. It also presents
evidence of tho successful operation of the
Homestead Act, under the provisions of which
1,160,533 acres of the public lauds were entered
during the last fiscal year—more than one
fourth of the whole number of acres sold or
of during that period. It
is estimated that the receipts derived frem this
source are sufficient to cover the expenses in
cident to the survey and disposal of the lands
entered under this Act, and that payments in
cash to the extent of from forty to fifty per
cent, will bemade bj settlers, who may thus
at any time acquire title before the exp ration
of the period at wigich it would otherwise vest,
i’he homestead policy was established only
after long and earnest resistance; experience
proves its wisdom. The lands, in the Lands of
industrious settlers, whoso labor creates wealth
and contributes to the publio resources, ar-3
worth more to the United States than if they
had been reserved as a solitude for future pur
chasers.
The lamentable events of the last four years,
and the sacrifices made by tho gallant men of
our Army and Navy, have swe'led the records
of the Pension Bureau to an unprecedented ex
tent. On the 30th day of June last, tha total
number of pensioners was 85,986, requiring for
their annual pay, exclusive of expenses, the
sum of $8,023,445. The number of applica
tions that have been allowed since that date
will require a large increase of this amount for
the next fiscal year. The means for the pay
ment of the stipends due, under existing laws,
to our disabled soldiers aud sailors, and to tho
families of such as have perished in the service
of the country, will no doubt be cheeifullv and
promptly granted. A grateful people will not
hesitate to sanction any measures having for
their object the relief of soldiers mutilated
and families made fatherless in the efforts to
preserve our national existence.
Tho report of the Postmaster General pre
sents an encouraging exhibit of tho operations
of the Post Office Department during the year.
The revenues of the past year from the loyal
States alone exceeded the maximum annual re
ceipts from all the States previous to the re
bellion, in the sum of $6,038,091; and tho
annual average increase of revenue during the
last four years, compared with the revenues of
the four years immediately preceding the re
bellion, was $3,■'533,845. The revenues of the
last fiscal year amounted to $14,556,158, aud
the expenditures to $13,694,728, leaving a sur
plus of receipts over expenditures of $861,430.
Progress has been made in restoring the postal
service in the Southern States. The views pre
sented by the Postmaster General against the
policy of granting subsidies to ocean mail
steamship lines upon established routes, and in
favor of continuing the present system, which
limits the compensation for ocean service to
the postage earnings, are recommended to Ihe
eareiul co sideration of Congress.
It appears, from the report of the Secretary
of the Navy, that while, at thecommenoernewt
ot tho present year, there were in commission
530 vesse-s of all classes and descriptions,
armed with 3,000 guns aud manned by 51.000
men, the number ot vessels at present in com
mission is 117, with 830 guns and men.
By this prompt reduction of the naval forces
the expenses of the Government have been
largely diminished, and a number of vessel?,
purchased for naval purposes Irom the mer
chant marine, hive been returned to tho peac s
tut pursuits of commerce. Since the suppres
sion of active hostilities our foreign cquadron
have been re-established, and consist of ve.-sels
much more efficient than those employed on
similar service previous to the rebellion. The
tuggesfion for the enlargement of ike navy
yards, and especially for the establishment of
one in fresh water for iron clad vessels, is de
serving of consideration, as is also the recom
mendation for a different location anu moro
ample grounds for the Naval Academy.
lif the report of the Secretary of War, a
general summary is givea of tire military
campaigns of 1564 and 1865, ending in the
suppression of armed resistance to the nation
al authority iu the insurgent States. The op
erations of the general administrative Bureaus
of the War Department during the past year
are detailed, aud au estimate mode of the ap
propriations that will be required for military
purposes in the fiscal year commencing the
30;h day of Jnne, 1866. Tho national mili
tarv force on the Ist of May, 1865, numbered
1,000,516 men. It is proposed tc reduce the
military e.-tablisbment to a peace footing, com
prehending fifty thousand troops of all arms,
organized so as to admit of an enlargement by
filling up the raL'K.3 to eighty-two thousand
six hundred, if tha circumstances of the coun
try should require au nugumentation of the
army. The volunteer force has been
reduced by the discharge from service of over
e ; giit hundred thoeand troops, and the De
partment is proceeding rapidly, in the work of
farther reduction. Tne wer estmates are re
duced from $516,240,131 to $33,814,461,
which amount, in the opinion of the Depart
ment, is adequate tor a peace establishment
ihe measures of retrenchment in each Bureau
and Branch of the service exhibit a diiigeut
economy worthy of commendation. Refer
ence aiso made in the report to the necessity
of providing for a uniform militia system, and
to the propriety of making suitable provisions
for wounded and and disabled officers and
soldiers.
The revenue system of the country is a sub
ject. of vital interest to its honor and prosperi
ty, and should command tho earnest consider
ation of Congress. The Secretary of the Treas
ury will lay before you a full and detailed re
port of the receipts and disbursements of the
last fiscal year, of the first quarter of the pres
eat fiscal year, of the probable receipts and
expenditures for the other three quarters, and
the estimates for the year following the 30 h
of June, 1866. I might content myself with
a reference to that report, in which you will
find all the informal on required lor your de
liberations and decision. But the paramount
importance of the subject so presses itself on
my own mind, that I cannot but lay before you
my views of the measures which are required
for the good charac er, and, I might almost
say, for the existence of this people. The life
of a republic lies certainly in the energy, vir
tue aud iate ligence of its cit zms ; but it is
equally truethLc a good leveoue system is the
the life of an organized government. I meet
you at a time when the nation has voluntarily
burdened itself with a debt unprecedented in
our annals Vast as is its amount, fades away
into nothing when compared with the countless j
blessings that wiU be conferred, upon our
country and upon mm by tha preservation of |
the nation’s life. Now, on ihe fitst occasion j
of the meeting of Congress smee the return of ;
peace, it is of the utmost importmoe to inaug- i
urate a ju-t policy, which shall at once be put I
in motion, and which shall commend itself to j
those who come after ns for its contiau mee.— i
We must aim at nothing lees than tho complete !
tfracement of the financial evils that ntcessa- j
rny folio ved a state ct civil war. We must
endeavor to apply the earliest remedy to the ;
dera- gel state of the cu reney, an t Lot shrink j
Irom devising a policy which, without being
oppressive to tho people, snail immediately be- ’
g>n to effect a redaction oi the debt, and, if J
persisted in, discharge it fully within a dcii- j
niie fixed m inber ot years.
It is our first duty io prepare in earnest for
our recovery fiotn the ever inoieaelag evils of j
an irredeemable currency, without a sudden j
I revulsioa, and yet without untimely procras j
■ tination. For that end, we must, each in our |
; respective positions, prepare the way. I hold j
it the duty of of tbe Executive to insist upon '
i frugality in the expenditure ; and a sparing I
ecemmy is itseit a gieat national resource. |
Os the banks to .which authority hab been
civpn to issue notes secured by bonds of the
United States, we may require the greatest'
moderation and prudence, and the law must
be rigidely iaforeed when its limits are ex
ceeded. We may, each one ot us, counsel
onr setivo and enterprising conntrymeu to be
constantly on theli guard, to liquidate debts
contracted in a paper currency, and, by con
ducting business as nearly as possib e on a
system of cash paj meat or short credits, to
hold themselves prepared to return to the
standard of gold and silver. To aid our fel
iew-citizens in the prudent management of
their monetary affairs, tha duty devolves on
us to diminish by law the amount es paper
money now in circulation. Five years ago
the bank note circulation of the country
amounted to not much more than two hun
dred millions ; now the circulation, bank and
national, exceeds seven hundred millions. The
simple statement of the fact recommends more
strongly thau any words of mine could do,
tha necessity of our restraining this expansion
Tbe gradual reduction of the currency is the
only measure that can save the busiuess of the
country from disastrous calamities ; and this
can be almost imperceptibly accomplished by
gradually funding the national circulation in
securities that may bo made redeemable at the
pleastue of the Government.
Our debt is doubiy secure—first in tha ac
tuai wealth and still greater undeveloped re
sources of the country ; and next iu the char
acter of our insti:utions. The most intelli
gent observers among political economists
have not failed to remark, that tbe public
debt of a country is safe in proportion a3 its
people are free ; that the debt of a republic is
the safest of all. Our history confirms and
establishes the theory, and is, i firmly believe,
destined to give it a still more signal illustra
tion. Tho secret ot this superiority springs
not merely from the fact that in a republic the
national obligations are distributed more wide
ly through countless numbers in all classes of
society ; it has its root in tho character of our
laws. Here all men contribute to the public
welfare, and bear their fair share of the public
burdens. Daring the war, under the impulses
of patriotism, the men of tha great body of
the people, without regard to their own com-
parative want of wealth, thronged to our
armies and filled our fleets of war, and held
themselves ready to offer their livos for the
pub’ic good. Now, in their turn the property
and income of the country should bear their
just proportion of the burden of taxation,
while in our impost system, through means of
which increased vitality is incidentally im
parted to all the industrial interests of the
nation, the duties should be so adjusted as to
fall most heavily on articles of luxury, leaving
tne necessaries of li f « as tree from taxation as
the absoluto wants of the Government, econo -
mically auministered, will justify. No favored
class should demand freedom from assessment,
and ihe taxes should be so distributed as not
to fall unduly on the poor, but rather on the
accumulated wealtn of the country. Wo
should look at the national debt just as it is—
not as a national blessing, but as a heavy bur
den on tha industry of the country, to bo di3-
ihugtd without unnecessary delay.
it is estimated by the Secretary of the
Treasury that tho expenditures for the fiscal
year ending the 30tb of June, 1866, will exceed
the receipts $112,194,947. It is gratifying,
however, to state that it is also estimated that
the revenue for the year ending the 30th of
June, 1867, will exceed the expenditures in the
sum of $111,682,818. This amount or so much
as may be deemed sufficient for the purpose,
may be applied to the reduction of the public
debt, whi ;b, on the 31st day of October, 18G5,
was $2,740,854,7q0. Every reduction will di
minish tbe total amount ot interest to be paid,
aud so enlarge the means of still further re
ductions, until the whole shai' be liquidated ;
and this, as will be soen from the estimates ot
the Secretary of ihe Treasury, may be accom
plished by annual payments even within a pe
riod not exceeding thirty years. I have faith
that we shall do all this within a reasonable
time ; we have amazed the world by
"he suppression of a civil war which wus
thought to be beyond the control of anv Gov
> rnenent, po we shall equally show the supe
riority of our inslitudons by the prompt and
faithful discharge of cur national obligations
The department of agriculture, under its
pr sent direction, is accomplishing much in
t Jevelopitig and utilizing tho vast agricultural
. capabilities of the couutry, and for informa-
I tion respecting the, details of its management
reference is made to tho annual report of the
Commissioner.
I have (.welt thus fully on our domestic af
fairs because cf their transcendsnt importance.
Under any circumstances, our great extout of
territory and variety of climate, producing al
most every thing that is necessary for the
wants, and even thecomfojts of man, make ua
singularly iudspefident of the varying poffcv
•f foreign powers, and protects us against every
temptation to “entangling alliances,’’ while at
the present moment cho re establishment of
harmony, aud the strength that comes from
harmony, wiil be our best security against
‘•nations who feel power and forget right.”—
For myself, it has been and it will be my con
stant aim to promote peace and amity with all
so eign nations and Powers ; and I Lavs every
reason to believe that they all, without excen
tion, are animated by the same disposition.
Our relations with the Emperor of China, so
recent in iheir origin, are most friendly Our
commerce with bis dominions is receiving new
developments ; and it is very pleasing to find
that the Government cf that <:reat Empire
manifests satisfaction with our policy, and re
poses just confidence in the fairness which
marks our intercourse. The unbroken har
mony between the United States and the Em
peror of Russia is receiving anew support fiorn
an enterprise designed to carry telegraphic
lines across the continent o' Asia, through hi3
dominions, and so to connect us with all Eu
rope by anew channel of intercourse. Our
commerce with South America is about to re
ceive encouragement by a direct line of mail
steamships to Ihe rising Empire of Brazil. The
distinguished party of men of science who have
recently left oar country to make a scientific
exploration cf the natural history and rivers
aud mountain ranges of that region, have re
ceived from the Emperor that generous wel
come wi ich was to have been expected from
h:a constant friendship for the United States,
and his weliknown zeal in promoting the ad
vancement of knowledge.. A hope is entertain
ed that our commerce with the rich and popu
lous countries that border the Mediterranean
sea may be largely increased. Nothing will be
wanting, on the part of this Government, to
extend the protection of our flag over the en
terprise of our fellow-citizens. We receive
from the Powers in that region assurances of
good will; and it is worthy of note that a spe
e'ai envoy has brought us messages of condo
lence on the death of our late Chief Magistrate
from tha Bey of Tunis, whose rule includes the
old dominions of Cattbage, on the African
coast.
Our domestic contest, now happily ended,
has left some trace?) in our relations with one
at least of the great maritime Powers. The
formal accordance o‘ belligerent rights to the
insurgent States was unprecedented, and has
not been justified by the issue. But in the
systems of neutrality pursued by tbe powers
which made that concession, there was a mark
ed difference The materials of war ior the
insurgent States were furnished in a great
measure, from tbe workshops of Great Britain;
and British ships, manned by British
and prepared tor receiving British armaments,
sailed from the ports of Great Britain to make
war on American commerce, under tho shelter
of a commission from the insurgent States.
Tte;e ships, having once escaped from British
por's, ever afterwards entered them in every
pa t J the world, to refit, and so to renew their
depreciations. The consequences of this con
duct were most to the States then in
r-. teiiicp, increasing their desolation and mis
ery by the prolongation of our civil contest
I; had, moreover, the effect, to a great extent,
to drive the American flag from the sea, and to
transfer much of our shipping and our com
mercej to the very power, whose subjects rad
created the necessity for such a change. These
events took place before I was called to the
administration oi tne Government. The sin
cere desire of peace by which I am animated
led me io approve the proposal, already made,
to submit the questions which had thus arisen
between tho countries to arbitration. These
questions arc of such momsnt that they mud
have ficrumanded the aiteolton of the great
powers, and are so interwoven with the peace
and inte-re?! pf every one of them as to have
ensured an impart'a! decision. I regret to in
form you that Great Briiaio declined the abit
raraent, but ou the other hand, invited us to
format'on of a j >int commission to settle mu
tual claims betweeu the two countries, from
vrhirh those for the depredations before men
tioned should be excluded The preposi ion,
In teat very unsatisfactory form, has b.eu de
clined.
i lie United States di i not present the subject
as an impeachment of tho good faith of a Bow
er which was professing the most friendly dis
positions, but as involving quettions of public
law. of which the settlement is essential to tho
peace of nations ; and, though pecuniary rep
aration to their injured citizsna would have
followed incidentally on a decision against
Great Britain-such compensation was not their
primvy ntj jet. They had a higher motive
and it was m the interests ol peace and justice
to establish important principles of iuternal
law. The correspondence will be placed be
fore you. The ground on which the British
Minister rests his justification is, substantial
ly, that the municipal law of a nation, and
the domestic interpretations ot that law, are
tho uiwaeuro of it t duty as a neutral ; aud I
feel bound to declare ray opinion, before vou
and before tbe world, that that justification
cannot be sustain eel before the tribunal of na
tions. At the game time Ido not advise to
any present attempt at redress bvacts ot leg
islation. For the future, friendship between
the iwo countries must rest on the bas : s ol
mutual justice
From the moment of the establishmen tflof
our free Constitution, tbe civilized world has
bean convulsed by revolutions in the interests
ot democracy or of monarchy ; but through
all those revolutions the United States have
wisely and firmly refused to become propagan
dists ot republicanism It is tho only govern
ment suite! to onr condition; but we have never
sought to impose it on others; and we have
consistently followed the advice of Wahington
to recommend it only by the careful preserva
tion and prudent use of the blessing. During
all the intervening period the policy of Euro
pean Powers and of the United States has, on
the whole, been harmonious. - Twice, indeed,
rumors of the invasion of some parts of Ameri
ca, in the interest of monarchy, have prevailed ;
twice my predecessors have had occasion to
announce the viowsot this nation in respect to
such interference.
On both occasions the remonstrance of the
United States was respected, from a deep cons
vielion, on the part of European Governments,
that the system of non-enterference and mutual
abstinence from propagandism was the true rule
for the two hemispheres. Since those times
we have advanced in wealth and power; but
wc retain the same purpose to leave ihe nations
of Europe to choose their own dynasties and
form their own systems of government, 'This
consistent moderation may justly demand a
corresponding moderation. We should regard
it as a great calamity to ourselves, to the cause
of good government, and to the peace of the
world, should any European Power challenge
the American people, as it were, to the defence
of republicanism against foreign interference,
Wc cannot foresee and are unwilling to conaid
jgr what opportunities might present themselves
what combinations might offer to protect our
selves against designs inimical to our form o
government. The United States desire to ac
in the future as they have ever acted hereto
fore; they never will be driven from that
course but by the aggression of European
Powers ; and wc rely on the wisdom aud justice
of those Powers to respect the system of non
interference which has so long been sanctioned
by time, and which, by its good results, has
approved itself to both continents.
The correspondence between the United
Stales and France, in reference to questions
which have become subjects of discussion bes
tween the two Governments, will, at a proper
time, be laid before Congress.
When, on the organization of our Govern
ment, under the Constitution, the President of
the United States delivered his inaugural ad-<
dress to the two Houses of Congress, he said
to them, and through them to the country and
to mankind, that “ the preservation of the sacred
fire of liberty and the dcs'iny of the republi
can model of government are justly consider
ed as deeply, perhaps as finally staked on the
experiment inUusted to the American people.”
And the House of Representatives answered
Washington by the voice of Madison: “ We
adore the invisible hand which has led the
American people, through so many, difficulties,
to cherish a conscious responsibility for the des
tiny of republican liberty.” More than seven
ty-six years have glided away since these
words were spoken; the United States have
passed through severer trials than were' fore
seen ; and now, at this new epoch in our ex
istence as one nation, with our Union purified
by sorrows, and strengthened by conflict, and
established by thp virtue of the people, the
greatness of the occasion invites us once more
to repeat, with solemnity, the pledges of our
fathers to hold ourselves answerable bqfore our
fellow-men for the success of the republican
form ot government. Experience has proved
its sufficiency in peace and in war ; it has vin
dicated its authority through dangers, and
afflictions, and sudden and terrible emergencies,
which would have crushed any system that had
been less firmly fixed in the heart of the people
At the inauguration of Washington the for
eign relations of the country were few, and its
trade was repressed by hostile regulations ; now
ail the civilized nations of the globe welcome
our commerce, and their Governments profess
towards us amity. Then our country felt its
way hesitatingly along an untried path, with
States so little bound together by rapid means
of communication as to ho hardly known to one
another, and with historic traditions extending
over very few years ; now intercourse between
the States is swift and intimate; the experience
of centuries has been crowded into a few gener
ations, and has created an intense, indestructible
nationality. Then our jurisdiction did notreach
beyond the inconvenient boundaries of the terri
tory which had achieved inpependence ; now,
through cessions of lands, first colonized by
Spain and France, the country has acquired a
more complex character, and has for its natural
limits the chain of Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico,
and on the east and the west the two great
oceans. Other nations were wasted by civil
wars for ages before they could establish for
themselves the necessary degree of unity ; the
latent conviction that our form of government
is the best ever known to the world, has enabled
us to emerge from civil war within four years,
with a complete vindication of the constitutional
authority of the General Government, and with
our local liberties and Stafe institutions unim
pared
The throngs of emigrants that crowd to our
shores are witnesses of the confidence of all peo
ples in our pertnanrnep. Here is the great land
of free labor, where industry i3 blessed with un
exampled rewards, and the bread of the work
ingman is sweetened by the consciousness that
the cause of the country “is his own cause, his
own safety, h's own dignity.” Here every one
enjoys the free use ofhis faculties and the choice
of activity as a natural right. Here, under the
combined influence of a fruitful soil, genial
climes, and happy institutions, population has
increased fifteen-fold within a century. Here,
through the easy development of boundless re
sources, wealth has increased with two-fold
greater rapidity than numbers, so that we have
become secure against the financial vicissitudes
of other countries, and, alike in business and in
opinion, arc self-centred and truly independent.
Here more and more care is given to provide edu
cation for every one born on our soil. Here re
ligion, released from political connection with
the civil government, refuses to subserve the
craft ot statesmen, and becomes,in i"s indepen
dence, the spiritual life of the people. Here tol
eration is extended to every opinion, in the
quiet certainty that truth needs only a fair*
field to secure the victory. Here the human
mind goes forth uushackeled in the pursuit of
scieace, to collect stores of knowledge and
acquire an ever-increasing mastery over the
forces of nature. Here the national domain is
offered and held in millions of separate free
holds, so that our fellow-citizens, beyond the oc
cupants of any other part ofthe earth, constitute
in reality a people. Here exists the democratic
form of government; and that form oi govern
n\ent, by the confession of European statesmen,
“gives a power of which no other form is capa
ble, because it incorporates every man with the
State, and arouses every thing that belongs to
the sou!.”_
Where, in past history, does a parallel ex
ist to the public hippiaess which is within th«
reach of the people of the. United States?—
\\ here, in any part of the globe, can institu
tions bo found so suited to thtir habits or so
entitled to their love as their own free Consti
tution ? Every one of them, then, in what
ever part of the land he has his home, must
wish its perpetuity. Who of them will not
now acknowledge,in the words of Washington,
that “ every step by which the people of the
United States have advanced to the character of
an independent nation, scenrs to have been dis- ,|
tinguished by some token of Providential
agenc) ? Who will not join with me in the
prayer, that the invisible hand which has led us
through the clouds that gloomed around our <
path, will so guide us onward to a perfect res- <
toration of fraternal affection, that «we of this
day may be able to transmit our great inheri
tance, of State Governments in all their rights,
of tbe General Government in its whole.consti
tutional vigor, to our posterity, and they to
theirs through countless generations ?
ANDREW JOHNSON.
Washington, December 4, 1865.
XKWB SOMMItiT.
The Hon. W. W. Boyce, who represented
South Carolina in tho United States Congreßsj I
for nearly eight years, is about to commence j*
the practice of the law in Washington city. j
A Maryland paper says that quite a cargo of *
deluded negroes, who abandoned their homes j
in Maryland durmg the third year of tho war,
for freedom and felicity at Norfolk, was re
cently landed on the St. Mary’s river shore, in
a destitute and suffering condition; Aged and
infirm negroes of both sexes, and children,
constitute tha bulk of theso unfortunate immi
grants.
The Michigan farmers are said to have
cleared a million and a half of dollars by tf\p
apple trade.
The noted yacht Wanderer, sold by tbo Gov
ernment saveral months since to parties in
Rockland, Me, is now on tho marine railway
there, being rebuilt throughout. The pur
chasers of the vessel, on opening her, found
her rotten, and i-he is to be entirely reframed
and resealed ; only the original ouisido plunk
and a few timbers will remain iu her. The
parties paid Government $6,600 for her, and
those who have examined her say it nil cost
S7OOO to repair her. She will cost her pur
chasers more than anew vessel of the samo
tonnage, but they will save her beautiful
model.
A large fire In Mobile on November 28th,
destroyed eight dwellings and a stable. Loss,
$40,000 and uo insurance.
Robberies are quite frequent in Ohio. George
W. Van Gordon, a resident of Warren, Trutn
bull county, Ohio, who had recently sold a
farm in lowa for sl2 000, and had returned to
Warren to buy a lam in that vicinity, was
robbed of all his money a few evenings since.
Tha safe of Barrett & Co.’s store, at Spriug
Vailey, Ohio, was blown open recently, and
robbed of SIO,OOO in notes, money and Gov
ernment bonds.
Judge Batch of the C rcuit Court of Berke
ley county, West Virginia, recently charged the
Graud Jury that true bills should be ffiund
any persons who have been iu actual
arms against the United States, or State Gov
ernment, and that the jury should present
them for treason against the State of Virginia.
He said that West Virginia was a sovereign
State, and not a carcass thrown by a cord
around the neck of the President of the United
States, to ba tossed from one position to anoth
r at his will. Amnesty proclamations and exe
cutive clemency could not vitiate the status
of West Virginia, so loug as West Virginia and
her laws were not repugnant to the Constitu
tion of the United States, and that those who
have violate! the Conststution and statutes of
the State should not go unpunished ; that
her laws should be executed, and until the
jury should do its whole duty in presenting
murderers, horse thieves, and other disturbers
of the public peace, it would not be discharged.
The “ Williamantic Linen Company” of
Hartford, Conn who havo now nothing to
do with linen, but .the name—have a large
Cotton Thread Mill in operation, of which tile
profits last year were over 300 per cent. Out
of their profits they built anew and immeuso
mill of granite, without resorting to the’uso of a
emt of their capital. Tbeir capital is now
about one million.
A lettor from Rio Janeiro says there is a
strong tide of emigration from the United
States to Brazil. Nearly all are refugees Irom
the Mouthern States.
One of the latest swindles is one which Ins
been successfully tried in Philadelphia. Bo
gus telegrams, tho printed biauks of which are
ex ict imitations of those used by the telegraph
companies, aro sent to persons interested in
oil matters, informing them that shme misera
ble company has struck a flo-ving well.—
The recipient swallows the bait, perhaps tells
his frieuds of his good news and the shares of
the broken corporation are eagerly bought up
at advanced prices.
The elephant Romeo, a delicate creature,
weighing only five and a quarter tons, broke
loose in Philadelphia, a few nights ago, over
turning and smashing up a wagon, tearing
down tree boxes, uprooting a tree, and show
ing fight when an attempt was made to secure
him. He was finally captured, however, aud
returned to his quarters. His owners will have
a bill of damages to pay for his sportiveness,
amounting to about 1,000.
The official vote of New York city gives the
Democratic majority, between the two pricipal
candidates, Bar low and Slocum, 24,388, while
on the whole ticket it averaged a little less
than 24,000. The average majority of the Un- 1
ion ticket in the States is 30,000'
An application ir to be made to (ho New
York Legislature, at its next session, for a
loan of $1 500,000 and a donation of 100,000
acres of land belonging to the State to aid in
tho construction of the New York Northern
Central Railroad across the northern wilder
ness at some point on tho St. Lawrence river,
to connect with the Athens Railroad at
Schenectady.
Next year, 1866, 13 the "centenary of the
existence of mothodism in the United States,
or the one hundredth year since-the organiza
tion was first formed, which was afterwards
ripened into what is now known as tho metho-
dist Episcopal church.
A Canadian lady crossed the river to Buffa
lo in bridal array, the other night, to be mar
ried, when tho meroiiess revenue inspector
confiscated her wedding outfit on suspicion
that she was a smuggler.
The Honorable J. L. M. Curry has been ap
pointed President of Howard College, Alaba
ma, at a salary of five thousand dollars a year.
The Honorable Amos Kendall, Postmaster
General under Jackson, is building in Wash
ington a ho use of war.hip; “the Calvary Bap
tist Church,’’ at a cost of seventy-five thous
and dollars, which he proposes to give to tho
society of the Church, on condition that, when
finished, they will furnish it.
Mr. A D Horr, of Provideuee R I, had in
his market recently some oysters which would
delight an epicure. Fifteen of them weighed
nineteen pounds. One weighed two pounds,
they were taken from a deserted bed off Baw
turet. It was supposed that this bed had yield
ed all its treasures years ago, bht a neglected
corner contained about six hundred of these
large s zed oysters. Mr. Horr thinks that
they must be fifteen years old.
Governor Brownlow, of Tennessee, recently
said that within two weeks he had received
twenty-ono letters from parties at the North,
asking information about East Tennessee,
where they proposed to settle. Some of them
represented neighborhoods who wished to go
there in a body.
Gottechalk gave concerts in Panama early
in October, and soon after left for South
America. He seems anxious to keep ahe id of
the tidings of his questionable conduct in
California.
The prize fight between Davirand Elliott for
the championship of the American prize-ring,
has terminated in a fizzle, both parties agree
ing to draw their own stakes, SI,OOO a side.
The backers of both men, with principals, met
at the office of the stakeholder, Geo. Wilkes,
and arrived at this conclusion.
A biff is before the Missouri Legislature to
sell the State tobacco warehouse property in
8t Louis, located near tbe Lindell house, and
parties are ready to pay $200,000 for it, and to
erect an opera house on the site,