SENATE. TUESDAY, December 2. President's Annual Message. DECEMBER, 1823. Statement of the number of Pensioners, and the sums receivable by them in the several States and Territories, as follows: Maine EDWARD LLOYD,, from the State of Maryland; and, also, ETHAN ALLEN BROWN, from the State of Ohio, severally attended. JOHN BRANCH, appointed a Senator by the Le- New Hampshire gislature of the State of North Carolina, for the term of six years, commencing on the fourth day of March last, produced his credentials, which were read, and the oath prescribed by law was administered to him; and the oath was also administered to Mr. WILLIAMS, whose credentials were read yesterday; and they took their seats in the Senate. Mr. BARBOUR, of the joint committee appointed to wait upon the PRESIDENT, and inform him of the organization of the two Houses, and their readiness to receive any communication from him, reported, that the Committee had attended to the duties assigned them; and that the President was pleased to say, that he would communicate with the two Houses, by Message, this day. On motion of Mr. CHANDLER, it was agreed that the Senate will meet at twelve o'clock on each day of its session, until otherwise ordered. Mr. LANMAN submitted the following resolution for consideration: Resolved, That Mountjoy Bayly, Doorkeeper and Sergeant-at-Arms to the Senate, be, and he hereby is, authorized to employ one assistant and two horses, for the purpose of performing such services as are usually required by the Doorkeeper of the Senate, which expense shall be paid out of the contingent fund. The resolution was read twice by unanimous consent, and considered as in Committee of the Whole; and on the question, "Shall this resolution be engrossed and read a third time?" it was determined in the affirmative. The PRESIDENT communicated a letter from the Secretary of the Senate, with the statements made in obedience to a joint "Resolution requiring from the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives, an annual statement of the expenditures from the contingent fund of the two Houses," approved March 1st, 1823; which were read. REVOLUTIONARY PENSIONERS, &c. The following communications, received from the Secretary of War, were read, and ordered, with the accompanying papers, to be printed: WAR DEPARTMENT, December 1, 1823. SIR: Agreeably to the resolution of the Senate of the United States, passed on the 1st of March last, directing the Secretary of War to report, during the first week of the present session of Congress, the number of Revolutionary pensioners in each State, at this time on the list, and the amount of money received or receivable in each State, on account of Revolutionary pensioners, I herewith transmit a statement showing the number of such pensioners in each State and Territory of the United States, and the sum receivable annually in each on account of said pensioners. I have the honor to be, &c. Hon. J. GAILLARD, J. C. CALHOUN. President, pro tem, Senate U S. Massachusetts Total directing the "Secretary to inform the Senate of the SIR: In compliance with a resolution of the Senate, original amount of a judgment, lately obtained by the United States, in the district court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, against Colonel William Duane, and what credits have been allowed to the defendant since the date of the judgment, the dates of such credits, by whom given, and under what authority," I have the honor to transmit, herewith, reports of the Third and Fifth Auditors, which furnish the informa. tion required. I have the honor to be, &c. J. C. CALHOUN. To the PRESIDENT of the Senate U. S. The resolution directing the supply of newspapers, having been reported by the committee correctly engrossed, was read a third time, and passed. PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: House of Representatives : Many important subjects will claim your attention during the present session, of which I shall endeavor to give, in aid of your deliberations, a just idea in this communication. I undertake this duty with diffidence, from the vast extent of the interests on which I have to treat, and of their great importance to every portion of our Union. I enter on it with zeal, from a thorough conviction that there never was a period, since the establishment of our Revolution, when, regarding the condition of the civilized world, and its bearing on DECEMBER, 1823. President's Annual Message. SENATE. us, there was greater necessity for devotion in the pub-ment to regulate this commerce by treaty, as it has lic servants to their respective duties, or for virtue, patriotism, and union, in our constituents. been to arrange, in like manner, the just claim of the citizens of the United States inhabiting the States and Territories bordering on the lakes and rivers which empty into the St. Lawrence, to the navigation of that river to the ocean. For these and other objects, of high importance to the interests of both parties, a negotiation has been opened with the British Government which, it is hoped, will have a satisfactory result. The Commissioners under the sixth and seventh Meeting in you a new Congress, I deem it proper to present this view of public affairs in greater detail than might otherwise be necessary. I do it, however, with peculiar satisfaction, from a knowledge that, in this respect, I shall comply more fully with the sound principles of our Government. The people being with us exclusively the sovereign, it is indispensable that full information be laid before them on all important subjects, to enable them to exercise that high power articles of the Treaty of Ghent, having successfully with complete effect. If kept in the dark, they must closed their labors in relation to the sixth, have probe incompetent to it. We are all liable to error, and ceeded to the discharge of those relating to the seventh. those who are engaged in the management of public Their progress in the extensive survey, required for affairs are more subject to excitement, and to be led the performance of their duties, justifies the presumpastray by their particular interests and passions, than tion that it will be completed in the ensuing year. the great body of our constituents, who, living at The negotiation which had been long depending home, in the pursuit of their ordinary avocations, are with the French Government on several important calm but deeply interested spectators of events, and of subjects, and particularly for a just indemnity for the conduct of those who are parties to them. To the losses sustained in the late wars by the citizens of the people, every Department of the Government, and United States, under unjustifiable seizures and confisevery individual in each, are responsible, and the more cations of their property, has not, as yet, had the defull their information, the better they can judge of the sired effect. As this claim rests on the same principle wisdom of the policy pursued, and of the conduct of with others which have been admitted by the French each in regard to it. From their dispassionate judg-Government, it is not perceived on what just ground ment, much aid may always be obtained, while their approbation will form the greatest incentive, and most gratifying reward, for virtuous actions, and the dread of their censure the best security against the abuse of their confidence. Their interests, in all vital ques- At the proposal of the Russian Imperial Governtions, are the same, and the bond by sentiment, as ment, made through the Minister of the Emperor rewell as by interest, will be proportionably strengthened siding here, a full power and instructions have been as they are better informed of the real state of public transmitted to the Minister of the United States at St. affairs, especially in difficult conjunctures. It is by Petersburg, to arrange, by amicable negotiation, the such knowledge that local prejudices and jealousies respective rights and interests of the two nations on are surmounted, and that a national policy, extending the northwest coast of this continent. A similar proits fostering care and protection to all the great inter-posal had been made by His Imperial Majesty to the ests of our Union, is formed and steadily adhered to. Government of Great Britain, which has likewise been A precise knowledge of our relations with foreign acceded to. The Government of the United States Powers, as respects our negotiations and transactions with each, is thought to be particularly necessary. | Equally necessary is it, that we should form a just estimate of our resources, revenue, and progress in every kind of improvement connected with the national prosperity and public defence. It is by rendering justice to other nations, that we may expect it from them. It is by our ability to resent injuries, and redress wrongs, that we may avoid them. The Commissioners under the fifth article of the Treaty of Ghent, having disagreed in their opinions respecting that portion of the boundary between the territories of the United States and of Great Britain, the establishment of which had been submitted to them, have made their respective reports, in compliance with that article, that the same might be referred to the decision of a friendly Power. It being manifest, however, that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for any Power to perform that office, without great delay and much inconvenience to itself, a proposal has been made by this Government, and acceded to by that of Great Britain, to endeavor to establish that boundary by amicable negotiation. It appearing, from long experience, that no satisfactory arrangement could be formed of the commercial intercourse between the United States and the British colonies in this hemisphere, by legislative acts, while each party pursued its own course, without agreement or concert with the other, a proposal has been made to the British Govern it can be rejected. A Minister will be immediately appointed to proceed to France, and resume the negotiation on this and other subjects which may arise between the two nations. has been desirous, by this friendly proceeding, of manifesting the great value which they have invariably attached to the friendship of the Emperor, and their solicitude to cultivate the best understanding with his Government. In the discussions to which this interest has given rise, and in the arrangements by which they may terminate, the occasion has been judged proper for asserting, as a principle in which the rights and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European Power. Since the close of the last session of Congress, the commissioners and arbitrators for ascertaining and determining the amount of indemnification which may be due to citizens of the United States, under the decision of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia, in conformity to the convention concluded at St. Petersburg, on the twelfth of July, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, have assembled in this city, and organized themselves as a board for the performance of the duties assigned to them by that treaty. The commission constituted under the eleventh article of the treaty of twenty-second February, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, between the United States and Spain, is also in session here; and as the term of three years, limited by the treaty for the execution of the trust, will expire before the period of the next regular meeting of Congress, the attention of the Legislature will be drawn to the measures which may be necessary to accomplish the objects for which the commission was instituted. In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives, adopted at their last session, instruc tions have been given to all the Ministers of the United States accredited to the Powers of Europe and America, to propose the proscription of the African slave trade, by classing it under the denomination, and inflicting on its perpetrators the punishment of piracy. Should this proposal be acceded to, it is not doubted that this odious and criminal practice will be promptly and entirely suppressed. It is earnestly hoped that it will be acceded to, from a firm belief that it is the most effectual expedient that can be adopted for the purpose. At the commencement of the recent war between France and Spain, it was declared by the French Government that it would grant no commission to privateers, and that neither the commerce of Spain herself, nor of neutral nations, should be molested by the naval force of France, except in the breach of a lawful blockade. This declaration, which appears to have been faithfully carried into effect, concurring with principles proclaimed and cherished by the United States, from the first establishment of their independence, suggested the hope that the time had arrived when the proposal for adopting it as a permanent and invariable rule in all future maritime wars might meet the favorable consideration of the great European Powers. Instructions have accordingly been given to our Ministers with France, Russia, and Great Britain, to make those proposals to their respective Governments; and, when the friends of humanity reflect on the essential amelioration to the condition of the human race, which would result from the abolition of private war on the sea, and on the great facility by which it might be accomplished, requiring only the consent of a few sovereigns, an earnest hope is indulged that these overtures will meet with an attention, animated by the spirit in which they were made, and that they will ultimately be successful. DECEMBER, 1823. The actual condition of the public finances more than realizes the favorable anticipations that were entertained of it at the opening of the last session of Congress. On the first of January there was a balance in the Treasury of four millions two hundred and thirtyseven thousand four hundred and twenty-seven dollars and fifty-five cents. From that time to the thirtieth of September, the receipts amounted to upwards of sixteen millions one hundred thousand dollars, and the expenditures to eleven millions four hundred thousand dollars. During the fourth quarter of the year, it is estimated that the receipts will at least equal the expenditures, and that there will remain in the Treasury, on the first day of January next, a surplus of nearly nine millions of dollars. On the first of January, eighteen hundred and twenty-five, a large amount of the war debt, and a part of the Revolutionary debt, become redeemable. Additional portions of the former will continue to become redeemable, annually, until the year eighteen hundred and thirty-five. It is believed, however, that, if the United States remain at peace, the whole of that debt may be redeemed by the ordinary revenue of those years, during that period, under the provision of the act of March third, eighteen hundred and seventeen, creating the Sinking Fund; and in that case the only part of the debt that will remain, after the year eighteen hundred and thirty-five, will be the seven millions of five per cent. stock subscribed to the Bank of the United States, and the three per cent. Revolutionary debt, amounting to thirteen millions two hundred and ninety-six thousand and ninety-nine dollars and six cents, both of which are redeemable at the pleasure of the Government. The state of the Army, and its organization and discipline, has been gradually improving for several years, and has now attained a high degree of perfection. The military disbursements have been regularly made, and the accounts regularly and promptly rendered for settlement. The supplies of various descriptions have been of good quality, and regularly issued at all of the posts. A system of economy and accountability has been introduced into every branch of the service, desirable state has been attained by the act reorganizwhich admits of little additional improvement. This ing the staff of the Army, passed on the fourteenth of April, eighteen hundred and eighteen. The moneys appropriated for fortifications have been regularly and economically applied, and all the works advanced as rapidly as the amount appropriated would The Ministers who were appointed to the Republics of Colombia and Buenos Ayres, during the last session of Congress, proceeded, shortly afterwards, to their destinations. Of their arrival there, official intelligence has not yet been received. The Minister appointed to the Republic of Chili will sail in a few days. An early appointment will also be made to Mexico. A Minister has been received from Colom-admit. bia, and the other Governments have been informed that Ministers, or diplomatic agents of inferior grade, would be received from each, accordingly as they might prefer the one or the other. The Minister appointed to Spain proceeded, soon after his appointment, for Cadiz, the residence of the Sovereign to whom he was accredited. In approaching that port, the frigate which conveyed him was warned off by the commander of the French squadron, by which it was blockaded, and not permitted to enter, although apprized, by the captain of the frigate, of the public character of the person whom he had on board, the landing of whom was the sole object of his proposed entry. This act, being considered an infringement of the rights of ambassadors and of nations, will form a just cause of complaint to the Government of France, against the officer by whom it was committed. Three important works will be completed in the course of the year; that is, Fort Washington, Fort Delaware, and the fort at the Rigolets, in Louisiana. The Board of Engineers, and the Topographical corps, have been in constant and active service, in surveying the coast, and projecting the works necessary for its defence. The Military Academy has attained a degree of perfection in its discipline and instruction, equal, it is believed, to any institution of its kind in any country. The money appropriated for the use of the Ordnance department has been regularly and economically applied. The fabrication of arms at the national armories, and by contract with the department, has been gradually improving in quality and cheapness. It is believed that their quality is now such as to admit of but little improvement. The completion of the fortifications renders it ne cessary that there should be a suitable appropriation for the purpose of fabricating the cannon and carriages necessary for those works. Under the appropriation of five thousand dollars for exploring the Western waters for the location of a site for a Western armory, a commission was instituted, consisting of Colonel McRee, Colonel Lee, and Captain Talcott, who have been engaged in exploring the country. They have not yet reported the result of their labors, but it is believed that they will be prepared to do it at an early part of the session of Congress. During the month of June last, General Ashley and his party, who were trading under a license from the Government, were attacked by the Ricarees while peaceably trading with the Indians, at their request. Several of the party were killed and wounded, and their property taken or destroyed. Colonel Leavenworth, who commanded Fort Atkinson, at the Council Bluffs, the most western post, apprehending that the hostile spirit of the Ricarees would extend to other tribes in that quarter, and that thereby the lives of the traders on the Missouri, and the peace of the frontier, would be endangered, took immediate measures to check the evil. With a detachment of the regiment stationed at the Bluffs, he successfully attacked the Ricaree village, and it is hoped that such an impression has been made on them, as well as on the other tribes on the Missouri, as will prevent a recurrence of future hostility. SENATE. The usual force has been maintained in the Mediterranean sea, the Pacific ocean, and along the Atlantic coast, and has afforded the necessary protection to our commerce in those seas. In the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico, our naval force has been augmented, by the addition of several small vessels, provided for by the "act authorizing an additional naval force for the suppression of piracy," passed by Congress at their last session. That armament has been eminently successful in the accomplishment of its object. The piracies by which our commerce in the neighborhood of the Island of Cuba had been afflicted, have been repressed, and the confidence of our merchants, in a great measure, restored. The patriotic zeal and enterprise of Commodore Porter, to whom the command of the expedition was confided, has been fully seconded by the officers and men under his command. And, in reflecting with high satisfaction, on the honorable manner in which they have sustained tha reputation of their country and its Navy, the sentiment is alloyed only by a concern, that, in the fulfilment of that arduous service, the diseases incident to the season, and to the climate in which it was discharged, have deprived the nation of many useful lives, and among them of several officers of great promise. In the month of August, a very malignant fever made its appearance at Thompson's Island, which threatened the destruction of our station there. Many perished, and the commanding officer was severely attacked. Uncertain as to his fate, and knowing that most of the medical officers had been rendered inca The report of the Secretary of War, which is herewith transmitted, will exhibit, in greater detail, the condition of the department in its various branches, and the progress which has been made in its admin-pedient to send to that post an officer of rank and istration, during the three first quarters of the year. I transmit a return of the militia of the several States, according to the last reports which have been made by the proper officers in each, to the Department of War. By reference to this return, it will be seen that it is not complete, although great exertions have been made to make it so. As the defence, and even the liberties of the country, must depend, in times of imminent danger, on the militia, it is of the highest importance, that it be well organized, armed, and disciplined, throughout the Union. The report of the Secretary of War shows the progress made during the three first quarters of the present year, by the application of the fund appropriated for arming the militia. Much difficulty is found in distributing the arms according to the act of Congress providing for it, from the failure of the proper departments in many of the States, to make regular returns. The act of May the twelfth, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, provides that the system of tactics and regulations of the various corps of the regular Army, shall be extended to the militia. This act has been very imperfectly executed, from the want of uniformity in the organization of the militia, proceeding from the defects of the system itself, and especially in its application to that main arm of the public defence. It is thought that this important subject, in all its branches, merits the attention of Congress. The report of the Secretary of the Navy, which is now communicated, furnishes an account of the administration of that department, for the three first quarters of the present year, with the progress made in augmenting the Navy, and the manner in which the vessels in commission have been employed. pable of discharging their duties, it was thought ex experience, with several skilful surgeons, to ascertain the origin of the fever, and the probability of its recurrence there in future seasons; to furnish every assistance to those who were suffering, and, if practicable, to avoid the necessity of abandoning so important a station. Commodore Rodgers, with a promptitude which did him honor, cheerfully accepted that trust, and has discharged it in the manner anticipated from his skill and patriotism. Before his arrival, Commodore Porter, with the greater part of the squadron, had removed from the island, and returned to the United States, in consequence of the prevailing sickness. Much useful information has however been obtained, as to the state of the island, and great relief afforded to those who had been necessarily left there. Although our expedition, co-operating with an invigorated administration of the government of the Island of Cuba, and with the corresponding active exertions of a British naval force in the same seas, have almost entirely destroyed the unlicensed piracies from that island, the success of our exertions has not been equally effectual to suppress the same crime, under other pretences and colors, in the neighboring island of Porto Rico. They have been committed there under the abusive issue of Spanish commissions. At an early period of the present year, remonstrances were made to the Governor of that island, by an agent, who was sent for the purpose, against those outrages on the peaceful commerce of the United States, of which many had occurred. That officer, professing his own want of authority to make satisfaction for our just complaints, answered only by a reference of them to the Government of Spain. The Minister of the United States to that Court was specially instructed to urge the necessity of the immediate and effectual interposition of that Government, directing restitution and indemnity for wrongs already committed, and interdicting the repetition of them. The Minister, as has been seen, was debarred access to the Spanish Government, and, in the mean time, several new cases of flagrant outrage have occurred, and citizens of the United States in the Island of Porto Rico have suffered, and others been threatened with assassination, for asserting their unquestionable rights, even before the lawful tribunals of the country. The usual orders have been given to all our public ships, to seize American vessels engaged in the slave trade, and bring them in for adjudication, and I have the gratification to state, that not one so employed has been discovered, and there is good reason to believe that our flag is now seldom, if at all, disgraced by that traffic. It is a source of great satisfaction, that we are always enabled to recur to the conduct of our Navy with pride and commendation. As a means of national defence, it enjoys the public confidence, and is steadily assuming additional importance. It is submitted, whether a more efficient and equally economical organization of it might not, in several respects, be effected. It is supposed that higher grades than now exist by law, would be useful. They would afford well-merited rewards to those who have long and faithfully served their country; present the best incentives to good conduct, and the best means of insuring a proper discipline; destroy the inequality in that respect between military and naval services; and relieve our officers from many inconveniences and mortifications, which occur when our vessels meet those of other nations-ours being the only service in which such grades do not exist. A report of the Postmaster General, which accompanies this communication, will show the present state of the Post Office Department, and its general operations for some years past. DECEMBER, 1823. two hundred and fifty-six thousand seven hundred and forty-nine dollars and thirty-one cents; making a total amount of balances due to the Department, of three hundred and ninety-one thousand nine hundred and ninety-four dollars and fifty-nine cents. These balances embrace all delinquencies of postmasters and contractors, which have taken place since the organization of the Department. There was due by the Department to contractors on the first day of July last, twenty-six thousand five hundred and forty-eight dollars and sixty-four cents. The transportation of the mail, within five years past, has been greatly extended, and the expenditures of the Department proportionably increased. Although the postage, which has accrued within the last three years, has fallen short of the expenditures two hundred and sixty-two thousaud eight hundred and twenty-one dollars and forty-six cents, it appears that collections have been made, from the outstanding balances, to meet the principal part of the current demands. and fifty thousand dollars of the above balances can be collected, and that a considerable part of this sum can only be realized by a resort to legal process. Some improvement in the receipts for postage, is expected. A prompt attention to the collection of moneys received by postmasters, it is believed, will enable the Department to continue its operations without aid from the Treasury, unless the expenditure shall be increased by the establishment of new mail routes. It is estimated that not more than two hundred A revision of some parts of the post office law may be necessary; and it is submitted, whether it would not be proper to provide for the appointment of postmasters, where the compensation exceeds a certain amount, by nomination to the Senate, as other officers of the General Government are appointed. Having communicated my views to Congress, at the commencement of the last session, respecting the encouragement which ought to be given to our manufactures, and the principle on which it should be founded, I have only to add, that those views remain unchanged, and that the present state of those countries with which we have the most immediate political relations, and greatest commercial intercourse, tends to confirm them. Under this impression, I recommend a review of the tariff, for the purpose of affording such additional protection to those articles which we are prepared to manufacture, or which are more immediately connected with for defence and independence of the country. There is established by law eighty-eight thousand six hundred miles of post roads, on which the mail is now transported eighty-five thousand seven hundred miles; and contracts have been made for its transportation on all the established routes, with one or two exceptions. There are five thousand two hundred and forty post offices in the Union, and as many postmasters. The gross amount of postage which accrued from the first of July, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, to the first of July, one thousand eight The actual state of the public accounts, furnishes hundred and twenty-three, was one million one hun- additional evidence of the efficiency of the present sysdred and fourteen thousand three hundred and forty- tem of accountability, in relation to the public expenfive dollars and twelve cents. During the same pediture. Of the moneys drawn from the Treasury, riod, the expenditures of the Post Office Department since the fourth of March, one thousand eight hundred amounted to one million one hundred and sixty-nine and seventeen, the sum remaining unaccounted for, thousand eight hundred and eighty-five dollars and on the thirtieth of September last, is more than a milfifty-one cents; and consisted of the following items: lion and a half of dollars less than on the thirtieth of compensation to postmasters, three hundred and fifty- September preceding; and during the same period, a three thousand nine hundred and ninety-five dollars reduction of nearly a million of dollars has been made and ninety-eight cents; incidental expenses, thirty in the amount of the unsettled accounts for moneys thousand eight hundred and sixty-six dollars and thir- advanced previously to the fourth of March, one thouty-seven cents; transportation of the mail, seven hun-sand eight hundred and seventeen. It will be obvious dred and eighty-four thousand six hundred dollars and eight cents; payments into the Treasury, four hundred and twenty-three dollars and eight cents. On the first of July last, there was due to the Department, from postmasters, one hundred and thirty-five thousand two hundred and forty-five dollars and twentyeight cents; from late postmasters and contractors, that, in proportion as the mass of accounts of the latter description is diminished, by settlement, the difficulty of settling the residue is increased, from the consideration, that, in many instances, it can be obtained only by legal process. For more precise details on this subject, I refer to a report from the First Comptroller of the Treasury. |