Farmers' gazette, and Cheraw advertiser. (Cheraw, S.C.) 1839-1843, December 23, 1840, Page 22, Image 2
meats of those they select as their
representatives in the Federal Legislature;
the second rests upon the fidelity with
which their more immediate representatives*
and other public functionaries discharge
the trusts committed to them.?
The duty of economizing the expenses
of the public service is admitted on all
hands; yet there are few subjects upon
which there exists a wider ditference ol
opinion than is constantly manifested
in regard to the fidelity with which thai
duty is discharged. Neither diversity
sentiment, nor even mutual rccrimina.
tions, upon a point in respect to which
the pubhc mind is so justly sensitive, can
well he entirely avoided ; and least so al
periods of great political excitement.?
An intelligent people, however, seldom
fill to arrive, iu the end, at correct conciu^ipns
in snph a matter. Practical
economy in the management of public
iiiiWs can have no adverse influence tc
oo neu I with more powerful than a large
tu.'pluj revenue; and the unusually largo
appropriations for 1837 may, without
doubt, indcpenicntlvof the extraordinary
requisitions for th^ public service growing
out of the state of our Indian relations,
be, id 110 cons ide? able d gree, traced tc
this source. The sudden and rapid distribution
of the h.rge surplus then i.j the
Treasury, and the equally sudden one
unprecedeatedly s-vere revulsion in the
commerce and the business of the country
pointing with unerring certainty to a
great aud protracted reduction of the
revenue, strengthened the propriety of
the earliest practicable reduction of the
public expenditures.
But, to change a system operating
upon so large a surface, and applicable to
such numerous and diversified interests
and objects, was more than the work of a
day. The attention of every department
of the Government was immediately, and
^ in frrtnd faith, directed to that end : and
? ?
has been so continued to the present
moment. The estimates and appropria.
tions for the year 1333 (the first over
which I hud any control) were somewhat
diminished. The expenditures of 1839were
reduced to twenty six ni llions of dollars.
Those of! 8 40, exclusive of disbursements
for public debt aud trust claims, will
probably not exceed twenty-two and a
half millions ; being between two and
three millious less than those of the preceeding
year, and nine or ten millions less
than those of 1837. Nor has it been
.found necessary, in order to produce this
result, to resort to the power
conferred by Congress, of postponing
certain classes of public works, except by
deferring expenditures for a short period
upon a limited portion of them; and
which postponement terminated some
time since, at the momenl the Treasury
Department, by further receipts from the
.indebted banks, became fully assured of
it? ahilitv to moot them without ureiudice
to th&public service in other respects.?
Causes are in operation which will, it is
believer, justify a st.ll further reduction,
without injury to any important national
interest. The expenses of sustaining the
troops employed in Florida have been
gradually and greatly reduced, through
the persevering etforts of the War Department
; and a reasonable hope may
be entertained that the necessity for military
oper?t:ons in that quarter will soon
cca e. The removal of th 5 Indians from
within our settled borders is nearly completed.
The pension lisf, one of the
1 * '
neaviesi cnarges u}mju me nca^ui^ 10
rapid; y diminishing by death. T:ie in ?st
costly of our public buildings are either
finished, or nearly so; and we may, I
think, safely promise ourselves a continued
exemption from border difficulties.
The available balance in the Tre:sjry on
the 1st of January next is estimated at on?*
nv"ion and a half of dollars. This sum with
tee expected receipts from all sources during
" next year, will, it is believed, be eutfinent
:i enable the Government to meet everv
ga<femen\ and leave a suitable balance in
e Treasury at the end of the year, if the
' tned al meisures connected with the customs
and the public, lands, heretofore recommended,
shall he adopted, and the new appropriations
by Congress shall n ?t carry the exp^ndit
res beyond the official estimates.
The new system established by Congress
fcif the safe-keeping of the public money prescribing
the kind of currency, and providing
additional guards and securities against
los. es, has now been several months in
operation. Although it might be premature,
upon an experience of such limited
% durat on, to form a definite opin'on in regard
to the extent of its influences in correcting
many evils under which the Federal
Government and the country have
hitferto suffered?especially those that
Kov., BTA-vri ni?f nf hjinkintr exnansions. a
???vgiv"? ? c ? r '
depicciare.l currency, and official defalcations
; yet it is hut right to say that nothing
has occurred in the practical operalion
of the system to weaken in the slightest
degree, hut much to strengthen, the confident
anticipations of its friends. The
grounds of these have been heretofore so
fully explained as to require no recapitulation.
In respect to the facility and
convenience it affords in conducting the
public service, and the ability of the Government
to discharge through its agency
every duty attendant on the collection,
transfer, and disbursement of the public
money with promptitude and success, I can
say, with confidence, that the apprehensions
of those who felt it to be their duty
to oppose its adoption have proved to be
unfounded. On the contrary, this branch
of the fiscal affairs of the Government
has been, and it is believed may always
be, thusr carried .pi* with every desirable
facility and security. A few changes and
improvements in the details of the svsrem,
without affecting any principles involved
in it, will be submitted to you Vy
the Secretary of the. Treasury, and will,!
; I am sure, receive at your hands that ati'
tention to which they may, on exutnrna,
j tion, be found to be entitled.
.11 have deemed this brief summary of
.' our fiscal affairs necessary to the due per;
formnnce of a duty specially enjoined
upon me by the Constitution. It will
I serve, also, to illustrate more fully the
' principles by which I have been guided
in refernce to two contested points in our
public policy, which were earliest in their
development, and have been mote itnpor
taut in their consequences, than any that
have arisen under our complicated and difi
ficult, yet admirable system of governi
i nient: I allude to a national debt and a
t j national bank. It. was in these that the
.' political contests bv which the country
i | ha3 been agitated ever since the adoption
| of the Constitution, in a great measure,
[ I originated ; and there is too much reason
. to apprehend that the conflicting .interestsand.
opposing principles thus marshalled
will continue, as heretofore, to produce
1 sin |lar, if not aggravated, consequences.
Coming into office the declared enemy,
of both, I have earnestly endeavored to.
! prevent a resort to either.
The consideration that.a large public
>'d bt affords an apology, and produces in
i j some degree, a necessity, also, for r< sort'
'' - - j ? 4__4 .. C 4 (
i mg to a system ano extent m ui.\ntivn
i f which is not only oppressive throughout,
1 but likewise so apt to iead, in the en 1,
to the commission of that most odious of
I ail offences Against the principles of republican
government?be prostitution of
i political power, conferred for the genera!
. I benefit, to the aggrandizmen*. of particular
classes, and the gratification of indi-1
vidua! cupidity?is alone sufficient, inde- J
i pen lent'y of the weighty objections which ;
have already been urged, to render its '
creation and existence the sources of bitter
and unappeasable discord. If we add to I
t lis its inevitable tendency to produce
and foster extravagant expenditures of
j the pubiic money, by which, a necessity is
j created for.now loans and ne v burdens
i on the People; and, finally, if wc refer to the
1 examples of every Government which has
| existed for proof, how seldom it is that the
i system, when once adopted and implanted
: in the policy of a country, has failed to
i expand itself, until public creJit was ex.
; hausted, and the people wore no longer
; able to.endure its increasing weight, it
I seems impossible to resist the conclusion, <
j that no benefits resulting from its career,
j no extent of conquest, no accession of
j wealth to particular classes, nor any, nor
' all its combined advantages, can counterI
balance its ultimate but certain results?a.
J splendid Government, and an impoverishi
1 1
ca i~coj>?o.
Ifn national bank was, as is undeniable,
| repud ated by the trainers of the Constitu;
lion as incompatible with the rights of the
; States and the liberties of the People; if,
! from the beginning, it has been regarded
; by large portions of our citizens as coming
! in direct collision with that great and vi.
tal arhendment of the Constitution which
declares that all powers not conferred by
j that instrument on the General Govern,
i meut are reserved.to the States s^nd to the
People; if it has been viewed by them as
the first great step in the march of latitudinous
construction, which, unchecked,
would render that sacred instrument of as
little value as an unwritten constitution,
dependent, as it would alone be, for its
meaning,on the interested interpretation!
of a dominant party, and affording no se- j
! curity to the rights of the minority; if such
j is undeniably the case, what rational
'grounds could have been conceived for
i antioioatinu aught but determined opposi
I 1 ^ v " *
tion to such an institution at the present:
day? ...
Could a different result have been ex-1
pected, when the consequences which i
have flowed from its creation, and pirtio- J
ulnrly from its strujijrles to perpetuate its j
existence, had confirmed, in so striking a !
manner, the nppreh ns ons of its earliest j
! opponents; when it had been so clrarlv de- |
nionstrated that a concentrated money- J
power, wielding so vast a capital, and com- j
bining such incalculable means of influ- \
ence, may, in those peculiar conjunctures '
| to which this Government is i navoidahly
expos ?d, prove an overmatch for the po i i- j
cal power of the people themselves; when '
the true character of its rapacity to regu- 1
j late, according to its wiJl and its interests,
j and the interests of its favorites, the value j
: and production of the labor and property i
! of every man in this extended country,
I had been so fully and fearfully developed;
j when it was notorious that all classes of
i this great community had, by moans of
i the power and influence it thus possesses,
; been infected to madness with a spirit of
i heedless speculation; when it had been <
! seen that, secure in the support of the
| combination of influences by wnich it was
J surrounded, it could violate its charter, j
land set the laws at defianco with impuni.
I ry; and when, too, it had become most ]
apparent that to believe that such an ac- j
cumulation of powers can ever he granted
without the certainty of being abused,
was to indulge in a fatal delusion ?
To avoid the necessity of a permanent
debt and its inevitable consequences, I
have advocated, and endeavored to carry
into effect, the policy of confining the appropriations
for the public service to such
objects only as are clearly within the
constitutional authority of the Federal
Government; of excluding from its expenses
those improvident and unauthorized
grants of public money for works of
internal improvement, which' were so
wisely arrested by the constitutional interposition
of my "predecessor, and which,
if they had not been so checked, Would
j long before this time have involved the
j finances of the General Government in
I embarrassments far greater than those
which are now experienced by any of the
States; of limiting all o?rvexj)enditures to
that simple unostentatious, and economical
administration of public affairs, which
' is alone- consistent with the character of
our institutions; of coveting annuaJlyJF
from the customs and the sales of puSlie n
lands a revenue adequate to defray all the.^ w
expenses thus incurred, but, under ,no e
pretence whatsoever, to impose taxes upon fi
j the People to a greater amount than was u
! actually necessary to the public service, h
i conducted upon the principles I have si
j stated. o
- In lieu of a national bank, or a depend- a
j ence upon banks of any description, for si
I the management of our fiscal affairs, I re- f<
j commend the adoption of the system c
; which is now in successful operation.? tl
j That system affords every requisite facility ;a
i for the transaction of the pecuniary cQii- ,sj
cerns of the Government; will, it is confi- :g
i denUy ,anticipated, produce in other re- d
j spccts many of the benefits which have n
! been from time to time expected from the,.?
I creation of a national bank, but which,, b
have never been realized; avoid the uiani- S
fold evils inseparable from such an institu- 5
tion; diminish, to a greater extent thart' ii
could be accomplished by a'riy 6thcf'meaii's' a
of reform, the- patronage of. the federal n
.Governments?a wise policy in nil Gov.- S
j erqinents. but more especially so in one si
i likeours,, which works well only in propor- ir
Jtionas.it Ls.fqade to rely for itr support
upon the unbiassed arid unadulterated p
opinions of i:s constituents; do awav, for- tl
ever, all depen !' nce on corporate bodies, t(
either in .hraising, collecting, safe-keep- c
ing, or. disbursing tire public revenues; and a
place the Government equally above the F
temptation of fostering a dangerous and fi
unconstitutional instil trim at home, or c
the necessity of adapting its policy to the o
views and interests of a still more formid- U
able money-power .a'r >ad. a
It is by adopting and carrying out these o
p-incip!es; under circiimstauccs the most c
arduous and t'isc niraging, that tho at- o
tempt has been made, thus far successful- &
Iv, to demonstate to the People of the.Uni- if
' - -? * - ii i
ted states mat a national 0311K ai uaiuuus,
and a nat-ional debt, except it 1)6 incurred t<
at a period when the honor aud safety'of r
the nation demand the temporary sacrifice a
of a policy, which should only be aba*"- jj
doned in such exigencies* aro not merely ?
unnecessary, but in direct and deadly hos-. ^
tility to the principles of their Govern-.' ^
ment and to their own permanent wol- ^
fare. '
The progress made in h \dcvelopmc it .
of 'liese positions appears in the preceding l(
sketch of the past history and present 0
state of the financial concclmsof the Fed- I
eraL Governm ?nt. Tiie facts them stated f(
fully authorize the assertion that all. the ii
purposes for which this Government was o
instituted have been accomplished during e
four years of greater, pecuniary embar- p
rassmont than were ever before cxponcnced
in time ot peace, and In the face or M
opposition as formidable as any that was r
over before arrayed against the policy of '
an Administration; that this has boon
done when the ordinary revenues of the .
Government were generally decreasing, 11
as well from the operation of the laws as J5
the condition of the countiv, without the "
creation of permanent publjo debt or in- 'J
enrring any liability other than such as P
the ordinary resources of the Government v
will speedily discharge, and without .the a
agency of a national bank. . ; I a
If this view of tho procec lings of the ij
Government, for the period it embraces, [\
be warranted by the facts as they are c
known to exist; if the army and navy have ^
been sustained to the full extent authorized
hv law. and which Congress dcemod
~ * w
sufii ;ient for the defence of the country
and the protection of its rights and its ?
honor; if i s ci. il and diplomatic service has
been equally sustained; if ample, pto- u
vision has been made for the administra- v
tio i of jus-ice and the execution of the p
laws; if 'ho claims upon public gratitude in u
behalf of the soldiers of the Revolution ti
have been promptly met and faithfully si
discharged; if there have beon no failures v
in defraying tho very large cxpoditures 5
growing out of that long continued and 0
salutary policy of peacefully removingthe
Indians to regions of comparative safety ^
aid prosperity; if the public faith has, at ^
all times, and every where, been rtiost ,
sc up dously mail ain H by a prompt'disch
irge of the numerous, extended, and P
and diversified dams on the Treasury; if '
all these great and permanent objects, with G
'-many others that might be stated, have, d
for a series of years, marked by peculiar d
obstacles and difficulties, been successful* l<
ly accomplished without a retort toSi per- p
manent debt, or the aid ?f a national hank; c
have we not a right to expect that ja poli- c
Vy. the object of which has been to sustain $
ll.e pv.hlic service independently of either
of y, ? f tful sources of discord, will re- ?
o
ceive tVi hail suction of a people whose ^
unbiassed and fairly elicited judgment f
upon public atTairs is never ultimately
I wrong? *
That embarrassments in the pecuniary \
concerns of individuals, of unexampled ^
extent and duration, have recently existed r
| in this, as in other commercial nations, t
' * 1 i 11 ^ m.
(is uniiouniemy irue. 10 suppose 11 no- u
cessary now to trace these reverses to (
their sources, would be a reflection on the g
intelligence of my fellow-citizens. What- s
ever may have been the obscurity in which t
! the subject was involved during the ear- a
; Her stages of the revulsion, there cannot t
j now be many by whom the whole question b
j is not fully understood. . d
Not deeming it within the constitution- is
! al powers of the General Government to r
repair private losses sustained by reverses e
in business having no connexion with the f
public service, either by direct nppropria- o
I tions from the Treasury, or by special s
legislation designed to secure exclusive c
privileges and immunities to individuals or v
classes in preference to, and at the ex- a
pense of, the great majority necessarily a
debarred from any participation in thein, r
no attempt to do so has been either madje,
recommended, or encouraged, by. the presr s
ent Executive. - . * .. 7-1
It i9 believed, however, that the'great i
purposes for the attainment of which tha
/ "i > . v
federal Government was instituted have I
6t "been lost sight of. Intrusted only
dth certain . limited powers, cautiously \
numerated, .distinctly specified, and de- i
ned writh a precision and clearness which
rould seem to defy misconstruction, it
as been my constant aim to confine invelf
within the limits so clearly marked
ut, and so carefully guarded. Having
Iways been of opinion that the best pre- j
urvative of the union of the States is to he j
mnd in a total abstinence from the excr-1
ise of all doubttnl powers on the part of I
tie Federal Government, rather than in j
ttemtps to assume them by a loose con-j
trucfidi* of the Constitution, or an inenioos
perversion of its words, I have eneavored
to avoid, recommending any
leasurc "which 1 had reason to apprehend
wuhKin the opinion even of a considerale
flsiflority of my fellow-citizens, he tcarded
as trenching on the rights of the
Itates, or the provisions of the hallowedj
istrument of our Union. Viewing the
ggccgate jiowers of the. Federal Govern*,
ibnt ftsf a voluntary concession of the
Itates, it seemed to me that such only
iiouTd be exercised as were 'at the 'time
itended to be-given.'
I have been strengthened, too, in the
ropriely of this course, by the conviction
laf all efforts to go beyond this, tend only
) produce dissatisfaction and distrust?to
xcite jealousies, and to provoke resistncfe.
Instead of adding strength to the
federal Government, even when successll,
they must ever prove a source of inurable
weakness, by alienating a portion
f. those whose adhesion is indispensable
> the great aggregate of united strength,
nd whose voluntary attachment is, in mv
stimation, far more essential to the efiiiency
of a government strong .in the best
f all possible strength-?the confidence
rid attachment of all those, who makeup
x constituent elements.
Thus believing, it has been my purpose
[> secure to the whole People, and toovev
member of the Confederacy, by gener
I, salutary, aud equal laws alone, the
enefit of those republican institutions
fhico it was the end and aim of the Con.
titution to establish, and the impartial innonce
of vhich is, in my judgment, inispensable
to their preservation. I can.
lot bring myself to believe that the lastng-happiness
c*f the People, the prosperity
f the States or the perraenancy of their
Jnion, can be maintained by giving preerence
or priority to any class of citizens,
a the distribution of benefits or privileges,
r by the adoption of measures which
nrich one portion of the Union at the exensc
of another; nor chn I see, in the inerferencc
of the Federal Government
nth the local legislation and reserved
ights of the States, a remedy for present,
r a security against future, dangers.
The first, and assuredly not the least,
mportant step towards relieving the
ountry from the condition into which it
ad been plunged by excesses in trade,
anking, and credits of all kinds, was to
lace the business transactions of the Goernnient
itself on a solid basis ; giving
? ? ? -?11 ?1.._ r.._
no receiving in mi ciiiua vmuu iui va.n?.,
nd neither countenancing nor encouragig
in others that delusive system of creda
from which it has been found so diffiult
to escape, and which has left nothing
chind it but the wrecks that mark its fa.
il career.
That the financial affairs of fhc Govrnment
arc now, and have been during
ie whole period of these wide-spreading
iffi :ulties, conducted with a strict and in.
ariable regard to this great fundamental
rinciple, and that by the assumption and
laintenance of the stand thus taken on
ic very tine^hold of the approaching crin,
more than by any other cause or ca lses
whatever, the community at la'g ; has
een shielded from the incalculable evils
fa general and indefinite suspension of
iccic payments, and a consequent anniilation,
for the whole period it might
ave Justed, of a just and invariable stanard
of value, will, it is believed, r.t this
eriod, scarcely he questioned.
A sic adv adh re nee, on the part of the
<
rovernment, to the policy which has protlccd
such salutary results, aided by ju.
icious State legislation, and, what is not
i8s important, by the industry, enterprise
erscverance, and economy ofthe Atncfuan
People, cannot fail to raise the whole
ountry, at an early period, to a state of
olid and enduring prosperity, not subject
o be again overthrown by the suspension
f banks or the explosion of a bloated credt
system. It is for the People and their
teprescntativcs to decide whether or not
he permanent welfare of the country
which all good citizens equally desire,
lowever widely they may differ as to the
ricans of its accomplishment) shall be in
his way secured ; or whether the mangement
of the pecuniary concerns of the
Jovernmcnt?and, by consequence, to a
;reat extent, those of individuals also?
hall be carried back to a condition of
hings which fostered those contractions
nd expansions of the currency, and
hose reckless abuses of credit, from the
aleful effects of which the courirry has so
leeply suffered?a return that can prom?e,
in the end, no better results than to
eproducc the ombarrassments the Gov.
4 1 . on(t fn rpmni'A
milium Hits CApCI icuvru , uuu IV >v...v..
rom the shoulders of the present, to those
if fresh victims, the bitter fruits of that
piritof speculative enterprise to which
>ur countrymen are so liable, and upon
vhich the lessons of experience are so unvailin^.
The choice is an important one,
nd I sincerely hope that it may be wisely
nade.
A report from the Secretary of War preenting
a detailed view of the affairs of
hat Departmentaccompanies this com.
nunication.
The desultory duties connected with
the removal of the I.ndians.in which the c
iirmy has- been constantly engaged on the /
northern and western frontiers, and in C
Florida, have rendered it impracticable to ^
carry into full effect the plan recommended r
by the Secretary for improving its discip- ^
tine. In every instance where the regi- ^
uients have been concentrated, they have 5
made great progress ; and the results may c
be anticipated from a continuance of this \
system^ During the last season, a part '
of the troops have been employed in re- j
I moving Indians from the interior to the i
| territory assigned them in the West?a (
I duty which they have performed efficient- ;
ly and with praiseworthy humanity ; and <
that portion of them which has been stationod
in Florida .continued active opera- ]
tion, there throughout the heats of sura- .
' J
mer. \
The policy of the United States in re- ,
gard to the Indians, of which a succinent 1
.account is given in my message of 1828, i
aivl. ofjthe. wisdom and expediency of '
which Tam fully satisfied, has been con- '
tinued m active operation throughout the J
whole period of my administration. Since
the spring of 1837, more than forty thou- j
sand Indians have - been removed to their
new hoines wcst of the Mississippi; and I |
am happy to add that all accounts coucur
in representing tho result of this measure
as eminently beneficial to that people.
The emigration of the Seminoles alone
has been attended with serious difficulty,
and occasioned bloodshed, hostilities having
been commcuccd by the Indians in
Florida, under the apprehension that they
would be compelled, by force, to comply
wiffi their treaty stipulations. * The cxe.
xKtinn rtf (hn irnuiv nf Paviic's Landing.
j VUlilill U1 IllV/ v? ?J ? ? - <r
i signed in 1832, but not ratified until 1831
t was postponed, at the solicitation, of the
! Indians, un'il 1836, when they again re.
newcd their agreement to remove peacesbly
to their new homes in the West. In
the face of this solemn and renewed compact,
they broke their faith, and commonccd
hostilities by the massacre of Major
Dade's command, the inurder of their agent,
General Thompson, and other acts of
cruel treachery. When th>9 alarming
and unexpected intelligence reached the
seat of Government, every efibrt appears
to have been made to reinforce General
Clinch, who commanded the troops then
in Florida. General Eustis was despatched
with reinforcements from Charleston;
troops were called out from Alabama, Tennesee,
and General Scott was sent to take
the command, with ample powers and am.
pie moans. At the first alarm, General
Gaines organized a force at New Orleans,
I and, without waiting fof orders, landed in
Floi ida, where he delivered over the troops
he had brought with him to General Scott.
Otnr. Cat! was subsequently appoint**!
X- n r> r) at
10 COIIUUCl it suiuuici uniii|mi^ut ?..v., ?.
the close of it, was replaced by (Jen. Jesup.
These events and changes took
place under the administration of my predecessor.
Notwithstanding the exertions
of the experienced officers who had command
there for eighteen months, on entering
upon the administration of the Governmcnt
I found the Territory of Florida
a prey to Indian atrocities. A strenuous
effort wa9 immediately made to bring these
hostilities to a close; and the army* under
(Jen. Jesup, was reinforced until it amounted
to ten thousand men, and furnished
with abundant supplies of every descrip-.
tion. In this campaign a great number
of the enemy were captured and destroyed;
but the character of the contest only was
j changed. The Indians, having been dci
feated in every engagement, dispersed in
small bands throughout the country* and
became an enterprising, formidable, and
ruthless banditti. Gen. Taylor, who succeeded
G.-n. Jrsup. usadjhis best exertions
to subdue the:n.nnd was seconded in his
efforts by the officers under his command ;
but he, too, failed to protect the Territory
from their depredations. By an act of
signal and cruel treachery, they broke the
truce made with them by Gen. Macomb,
who was sent from Washington for the
purpose of carrying intoetfcct the expressed
wishes of Congress, and have continued
tlteir d. va tio. s ever s: nee. Gen. Armistc-ad,
whas in Florida when Gen. Taylor
left the Army, by permission, ass med ,
the command, and, after active sum ner
o;>eration8, wa< met by propositions for
peace: and, from the fortunate coincidence
of the arrival in Florida, at the same
! pcrio i of a delegation from the Semi notes,
wh^arc happily settled west of the Missis,
sippi, and are now anxious to persuade
their countrymen to join them there, hopes
were for some time entertained that the
Indians might be induced to leave the
Territory without further difficulty. These
hopes have proved fallacious, and hostilities
have been renewed throughout the
whole of the Territory. That this contest
has endured so long, is to be attribnted to
causes beyond the control of the Government.
Experienced generals have had
the command of the troops: officers and
soldiers have alike distinguished themselves
for their activity, patience, and enduring
courage; the Army has been constantly
furnished with supplies of every description
; and we must look for the causes
which have so long procrastinated the issue
of the contest, in the vast extent of the
theatre of hostilities, the almost insurmountable
obstacles presented by the natnre
of the country, the climate, and the wily
character of the savages.
The sites for marine hospitals on the
rivers and lakes, which I was authorized
to select and cause to be purchased, have
all been designated; but, the appropriation
1 not proving sufficient, conditional arrangeI
ments only have been made for their aci
W' f 4_
quisition. it is ior congress iu ucnuv
wliether those conditional purchases shall
be sanctioned, and the humane intentions
of the law carried into full effect.
The Navy, as will appear from the accompanying
report of the Secretary, has
b"ben usefully and honorably employed in
the protection of our commerce and citizen* i
in the Meditctrahean, the Pacific fin (h$
:oast of Brazil, and jn the Gulf of Mexico,
t small squadron, consisting of the frigate
yojistellation and the aloop-oT-war Boston, utiler
Commodore Keawy, is now on its way
o the China and Indian seas, for the purpoee
?f attending to our interests in that quarter;
md Commander Aulick, in the sloop^of-war
forktown, has been instructed to visit the
Sandwich and .Society Islands, and the coasts
f Now Zealand and Jap n, together with other
torts and islands frequented by our whale
'hips, for the purpose of giving them countenincc
and protection, should they be required
3ther smaller vessels have been, and slillsre
jmpl->yed in prosecuting "the surveys of the
:oast of the United States, directed by varioos .
icts of Congress ; and those which have been
completed will shortly be laid,before you.
The exploring expedition, at the latest date, .
was preparing to leave the Bay of Is amis,
N?*w Zealand, in further prosecution of ob.
ects which have thus far been successfully accomplished.
The discovery of as new contint?nt,
which was first seen in latitude 66 deg. 2
min. south longitude 151 deg. 27 min. east,
and afterwards in latitude 66 deg. 31 min.
south, longitude 153 deg. 40 min. cast, by
Lieutenants Wilkes and Hudson, for sn extent
of eighteen hundred miles, but op which
they were prevented from landing by vast bod^
iesof ico which encompassed it, is one of the
honorable results of the enterprise Lieutenant
Wilkes bears testimony to the zeal and
good conduct of his officers and menand it is
bu> justice to that officer to state that he appears
to have performed the duties assigned
him with an fcrdor, ability, and perseverance
whichgive every assuranceof sn honorable issue
to the undertaking.
Tho report of the Postmaster General,
herewith transmitted, will exhibit the service
of thai Department the past year, and its pre>
sent condition. The transportation lias been?
maintained during the year to the full extent
authorized by the existing laws. Borne improvements
have been effected which the-pub- .
lie interest seemed urgently to demand, but {?
not involving any material additional expenditure.
The contractors have generally performed
their engagements with fide ity. The .
postmast irs, with few exceptions, have ren.
dercd their accounts and paid their quarterly balances
with prointitude. And the wholo.
service of the Department has maintained the
efficiency for which it has tor several years
been distinguished.
The acts of Congress establishing new mail
routes, and requiring more expensive services
on others, and the increasing wants of the
country, have, for three years past, carried
the ex|>endilures something beyond the accnr
ing revenues; the excess having been in t, until
the past year, by the surplus which had
previously accumulated. That surplus having
been exhausted, and the anticipated increase
in the revenue not having been realized, Owing
to rh? depression in the commercial business
of the country, the finances of tb* Dc.
partment exhibit a small deficiency at the
close of the last fiscal year. Its resources,
1 - ? ? .I >L- rain, tif
nowcver? *rc Biiipic p aihj iw? icuuv\ ? ??%? -
compensation fur the transportation service,
which may be expected on the future letting*.
Ironi the general reduction of prices, with the
increase of revenue that may reasonably be
antiaipated from the revival of. commensal
activity, must soon place the finances of the
Department in a prosperous condition.
Considering the unfavorable circumstances
which have existed during the past year, it is
a gratifying result that tlie revenue has not
declined, as compared with the precluding
year, but on the contrary, exhibita a smallincrease;
the circumstances r? f rrrd to having
had no oilier effect than to check the expected
income.
It wi I l? seen that the Postmaster C. nrra!
suggests certain improvements in the psl.?)di*h.
in. nl, designed to reducu lh>* weightvf the mail*,
cheap :ii t.ie transport .tion. ensure greater regularity
in the service, and secure a considers be
reduction in the rates ol' l/lt'T-post g ?an
ject highly desirable. The ?u!>j-*ct is one(i*f guncr I
luU-roM to the roiniiiuniiy, and is respecttul y reco
inncndcd to your coin.iderat.on.
Tim suppression of the African slave, trade b.. a
received the coutinued mllentio? oftho (invorn.
incut. The brig Dolphin.and scIioo.hu ( rampus
have lawn emp oyed during the last se-isun on
llio r.o ist of Africa, for the unrpo. e of preventing
mqcIi portion* of that uade Wwia siid t> b pro*
scented under the American Aug. Afto cruising
off those parts of the coast muei usually resorUd
to by slavers, until the commencement of tiio
rainy ?. a-on. these vessels returned to the United
Slates for supplies, amJ have since been des.
pa chcd on a similar service.
From the reports of the commanding officers,
it appear* that the trade is now prfucipolly carried
on under Portuguese colors; and they express the
opinion that the apprehension of their pres- uce on
tlie slave-court has, in a great degree, arrested tl.e
prostitution of the American flag ?o this inhuman
jjurjjose. It is hoped that, by con inn ng to mainlaut
this f >rco in that quarter, and by the exertions
of the officers in command, much will be done to
put a slop to whatever portion of this traffic may
nave been carried ou under the American flag,
and to prevent its use in a trade which, while it
viol ties the laws, is equally an outrage oft the
rights of others and the feelings of humanity. Tho
eflorts of the several Government* who are anxiously
reeking to suppress this t.affic must, however,
l*e directed against the facilities afforded by
what a. e now recognis d a* legetim&te commercial
pursuits, Ik.'fore that'object can be fully accomplish,
ed. Supplies of provisions, watc^-casks, merchandise,.and
articles connected with the prosecution
of the slave trade, are it is understood, freely
carried by vessels of diiierrnt nations to the slave
-..-i ti.o aiTiu,i< ni' ti n hrtnN are
I<H;H/IIC3J ain MV VUV??9 W? ...?
trnn?j>orted openly from one slave utafion to another,
without interruption or punishment hy eiti er
of the nations to which they ijelong, engaged in
the commerce of that region. 1 submit to your
judgments whe. her this Government, haviug been
the first to prohibit, by adequate penalties, the
slave trade?first to declare it piracy?should not
be the first, also, to firbidtoits citizens all trade
with the slave factories on the coast of Africa;
giving au example to nil nations in this respect
wutch if fairly followed, c ?nnot f iil to produce the
most effective results in breaking up those dens of
iniquity.
M. VAN KUREN,
WASHijrcTox, December, 6 1840.
Most Hosbible.?It is stated in late
English papers, that Robert.arid Ann
Sandys, of Stockport, were arrested ami
convicted of the horrible and revolting
crime of having poisoned their two chiL
dren, for the purpose of procuring th? bu?
rial fees, ?3 8s 6d for each person, allow,
ed by a sick and burial society. This is
a case exposing an extent of human de
?i - i- ?ii i
pravity wh ich has seldom ueeu ci|u?ueu.
It revives the particulars of an act of atro.
city committed at Zurich nearly a century
ago, where a grave digger of the cathe*
dral poisoned the sacrament wine, in order
that his diabolical plan might increase his
business; eight persons died.
The Hon. Jokl Hoffman, dfVa. Whig,
has resigned his seal in Congress, because
his J?strict gave 'a majority fc?r the Van
Buren ticket at the late iieotoral election,
r 'v; 1