Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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$ ?* v in r r e' <njfB ?wmmsiw Aatvamvaaam* VOLUME VII. CIIERAW. SOUTH-CAROLINA, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 50, 184>. NUMBER 45. I ??? III. _u ?? ?^?? By M. MACLEAN. Tbrms:?Published weekly at three dollars a year; with an addition, when not paid within three months, of twenty per cent per annum. Two new subscribers inay take the paper at five dollars in advance; and ten at twenty. Four subscribers, not receiving their papers it? town, may pay a yoar's subscription with the dollars, in advance. A year's subscription always due in advance. Papers not discontinued to solvent subscribers in arrears. Advertisements not cxcocding I Mines inserted for one dollar the first time, and fifty cents each sibsequent time. For insertions at intervals of two weeks 75 cents after the first, and a dollar if the intervals aro longer. Payment duo in advance for advertisements. When the number of insertions is not marked on the copy, the advertisement will be inserted, and charged till ordered out. CTThe postage must be paid on letters to ino editor on the business of the office. From the American Agriculturist. IMPROVEMENT OF SANDY SOILS. In a short jaunt we have recently token through that paradise of New England, the Connecticut valley, we have witnessed a success in the reclaiming of worn out sandy lands, which we hardly dared to expect with the ease, economy and facility with which it has Ween accomplished. The lion. W. Clark of Northampton, has keen the great pioneer in this course, and from the successful results he has achieved we may fairly class him among the great agricultural reform O p C ers of the present day. He has already given to the public the theory of his operations, which we hope to find room to lay before our readers at some future time. Our object now is simply to give his practise. and after our fa'rners have begun t O the good vurk of reclaiming their almost barren wastes, it will be a pleasure for them to look into the modus operandi, and see the reason of their success. There are three essential features in this practise, and the simultaneous adoption 1 t Kn ilocirori or eacn is essvuum iu object. The first is the frequent and thorough use of the roller; the second a constant covering of crops on the ground ; the third is the introduction of clov er and grass as a fertilizer. To illustrate this, we give the history of a single field of some 40 acres of worn out sandy soil, in the vicinity ofN. This field was purchased by Mr. C. some eight or ten years since for nine dollars per acre, while the fertile bottom lands on the other side of the town, would sell readily for $150 to $200. Ilis object was first to get a crop of corn if possible, and the land being too poor for this, he carried on to it a moderate quantity of peat or swamp muck, which was found in tho low places on the same field. We may observe in passing, this peat and muck exists to an almost unlimited extent throughout Now England, and we consider it of vastly <M more intrinsic value to the community that all the gold mines that have da?,zled the eyes of our Southern neighbors for the last fifteen years. With this dressing say of fifteen to thirty loads to the acre, the whole cost of which consi. 's in simply digging and throwing into heaps, to be drained, and acted on by the atmosphere, after which it is carried either by carts or sleds in winter onto the adjacent ground; the land is then ploughed, and whatever scurf, sand grass, rushes, mosses, pusseys and briars there may he on the land are turned under, and such is the digeslibUUy* of the soil all these raw materials are at once converted into humus or gcine as food for the required plants. This sandy soil has the stomach of an ostrich, and if it cannot, as tnat voracious biped has the credit of doing, digest old shoes, iron spikes, and junk bottles, it can dissolve and convert into vegetable chyle, whatever organised matter is giver, to it. The effect of this comparatively slight dressing yielded a first crop of some thirty bushels of corn to the acre, enough to pay for the first cost of the land and the whole expense of producing it. But while the corn was growing, say irorn the 20th July to the 10th August, rye with red and white clover seed was sown, and the corn being so planted as to admit of harrowing two ways, or even four if necessary, it was well got in with the harrow, and the ground being amply protected by the corn during the sultry weather of this season, the new seed took a vigorous start, and as soon as the corn was somewhat matured, it was cut and carried otf the ground, and the new growth then had the entire possession. The roller was then thoroughly applied, os also in the following spring. The early sowing gives strength to the roots 0 of both rye and clover, and renders hazard of winter killing cither, especially the elover, much less. When from any cause he is prevented from sowing tho clover early, it is omitted till early in the follow if)tr spring ; a posiponuilicm liiaiiuuuiu ug avoided when possible, as it thus loses a year's time, requiring another season to mature. The rye is cut the following summer, when the clover is suffered to re. main, shedding its seed upon the ground for a successive crop. The following season, if in proper condition, it is again put into corn or rye according to its fertility. and the course is again renewed. The land however usually requires an add 11 ion a 1 season in clover, and sometimes * Di~ctt:nf power.?Jod. Gaz. I more, to give the requisite fertility. Mr. C. showed us a field, which from the originally poor condition described, without the addition of any manure or peat or muck, has produced him five crops insevI en years, the last, which had but just taki en off, yielding seventeen bushels to the | acre. This it will be readily admitted is 1 a large crop for poor land, and much j beyond the average yield in New Kngland. The growth of the clover on this j field, of this spring's sowing, was promisi ing in the highest degree, and as evenly set as in the best land, giving every proj mise of a large crop the next season, which of course is designed to be added to the soil for its future improvement. When ) the land is first put into use, (for Mr. C. has several other similar fields which ( . have been variously treated, though al; ways on the same principles,) and it is too 1 poor to produce a paying crop of corn and he has not time to add the muck, he j turns under the surface vegetation, and puts on a crop of rye always accompany , ing this with the clover and after one year's crop from this last, lie never fails in a fair yield of corn. On afield thus treated, without any dressing of muck he got 27 bushels of corn per acre for the first crop, and after an interval of another season, obtained thirty.three bushels on the same land, showing a decided increase in the productiveness of the soil. ! A slight dressing of plaster is generally, i though not always used, and never exO ? ' I ceeds half a bushel to the acre. Mr. C. i admits that more plaster might be useful; j we think one to two bushels per acre would bo applied with decided advantage, but it is purchased at a high price, ifbout $10 per ton, and as economy and a self sustaining policy, has been a prominent i principle in this system, this is all that has thus tar been atforded. The muck U !- . II ~ WOU1U HI Ull L"il5C3 U?J a taiuouit, i uiiiunv.* rating addition, but thi.s he has not always the time to give, and at the prices he has paid for his land, he can afford to leave it once in two or three years in clover, by which it is renovated, and for the present perhaps this may be the most judicious' plan. As lands become dearer, however, j I which they are rapidly doing this under management, they being now worth $20 j to $31) per acre, of no bettor quality than | such as he bought a few years since at $8 to $12, the policy of manuring will be. come more expedient, though the rapidly improving nature of this system will give greater efficacy to the clover crop as a fertilizer. It is surprising to see the elevated noles and barren planes, that so lately exhibited J nothing hut a crawling sand, by the operations of the clover roots, in this otherwise impracticable material, gradually changing its inadhesive character to a O O firmly connected mass, showing a furrow , slice that would gratify the most practised ' eye. Mr. Clark acknowledges his sur- j prise at the facility with which the clover takc9, and attributes it mainly to the use < of the roller. VYre are inclined to con- ! 1~ iKnt inutrn men I hut think UL'UU Hiutn iitiub n?w%. uwv...? w.,. , for his white and other clover he is greatly indebted to the Plaster. Of this we have more to say hereafter. We observed the wcodchucks, who are arrant epicures and gourmands in their .-election of esculents, and especially, of sweet and abundant clover fields, are thoroughly colonized over all the fields ol Mr. C. They follow him, as our politicians do the successful candidate of Exe- j cutive dispensations for John Randolph's seven principles, the five loaves and two fishes. They snuff his green patches of trefoils, and instanter abandon the poverty stricken fields of his unthrifty neighbors. His crop of wood chucks, I though not as important as the shoe crop I at Lynn may soon be well worth the har. ; vesting. Mr. C. has not pursued this cultivation j sufficiently long to have matured a sys\ tcm of rotation, which, however, he vir; tually practises with some variations, J from his own judgment. A little moro ; experience will enable him to determine, ! whether a crop can he taken more ad; vantageously every second or every third year, hut we are satisfied, with a moderate dressing for the corn, the rotation might he of three years duration, afford, ing alternately com, rye, and clover, the last to be added entire when dry, to the soil, for its improvement. Green crops arc never used as improvers, they always | hjing allowed to mature before turning under. Plaster should always he added, | unless ashes or lime can be more econo! niially applied ; but the former is lirni| ted in supply, and the latter is to be had only at a price which will effectually pre: vents its use in this region. I Hero, then, we have a system for re. i claiming barren wastes within every one's ' reach ; costing nothing, and yielding a * J ? i 1 :r a i- ... __ ii.. great aem ; nuu 11 una were ngiuiy twined into practice, how soon should we I see the naked sand hanks, that exist, to 1 a greater or less extent, everywhere between the AHughanies and the Atlantic, convercd into verdant, luxuriant fields. Vet for the want of the application and steady pjrscverance in this plain, straight forward, simple course, how many will continue to live on in ignorant poverty, when they might, with less toil, and the use ol a moderate share of intelligence, have a competency. A single bar left down in this practice, lets in the whole herd of Pharaoh's lean kine. Without the roller and plaster you get no clover ; if you cut olT the clover when grown, you get no subsequent crop ; or if you crop too closely or rapidly, the cloverbearing properties of the soil are exhausted, and new manures, or years of idle, wasteful fallow are necessary to resuscitate it; whereas, by a careful observance of the above plan, the ground is constantly and profitably at work, bearing its burthens on equitable shares, giving oq/e half or two thirds to you, and reserving the remainder to itself, to enable it to coifit tinue the supply. Though Mr. C. does j not connect anv grazing or stock-feeding ? ? o c with these operations, it is easy to see how it can most advantageously and profitably be associated with them. Cattle '"'I "lioon onn ko mil nn tfUP fiplfts ?IIIU OMWVj/ WV vr.. .w ...w both in fall and spriog, when sufficiently thick and stout to justify it, and when well sodded over with clover, what more mutually advantageous to cattle and land, than such a copartnership? From the South Western Farmer. to prevent wekvil prom destroying corn, &c. Gentlemen : As the season for gathering and housing corn is near at hand, permit me, who have iiad some experience in the culture and keeping of that <rreat article of food, so necessary for the 0 1 J % support of man and beast in America, to to give you my mode of preserving it from the depredations of weevil. My practice is this: In the first place, 1 have removed from the corn house all | the old shucks, blades, cobs, &c. of the crop of the previous year among which there are many weevil; then have the floor at the erih washed well with water, which drives all or the greater part of these destructive insects from the crib; then to every load in the shuck thrown into the crib 1 apply one quart of line salt, well sprinkled over the load after it is thrown into the crib. When another load is gathered and thrown in, another quart of salt is applied in the same manner, and this is repeated during the process of hauling and housing. The exd o pense is trifling; the labor of doing it ! small; and the time consumed not inore than a minute or so for each load. The salt, say half a bushel at a time, is thrown into a tub or some vessel sufficiently tight to hold it ; this vessel is placed in one corner of the crib, from which the quantity fur each load can conveniently be taken as wanted ; and scattered over tin' corn. My d ircction to tho slave, whose business it is to scatter the salt, is ? sprinkle it evenly over every part and - i. I! '? Sill II WI_ i>. The idea of salting corn to prevent the depredations of the weevil, was taken some 10 or 12 years ago, from an agricultural work, the title of which is not now recollected. Since that period, I have adopted the practice annually; and from this experience of 10 or 12 years am confident that this method entirely prevents injury to the corn in the crib by that destructive insect, except to some of the outside cars, which the salt does net reach. iMy corn in July and August, and as long as it lasts, is as free from injury by weevil as on the day it was housed. Salt is riot only used by me in preserv. ing my corn, but 1 also use it when stacking my rye and oats, sprinkling a pint or so to every twoor three courses of sheaves when stacking. Though 1 never heard O D that oats were injured by weevil, yet they tare very destructive to rye and wheat The latter article I have not succeeded in raising ; have no douht however, but that it can be preserved in the same manner, from injury by that insect. Independent of the great benefit of preserving grain in the manner above ' - ' ilin chupL' UCSCTi 5>eil, IIIU Sail jiivati ?nv? 'Miuv.. and straw sweet and sound, which will be more readily eaten by mules and horned cattle, and are no doubt, by this process, rendered more healthy and nutritious. CH. B. GREEN. Mt. Olympus, 15th Aug., 1842. THE COTTON CROP FAILING. There is now every reason to believe, from what we hear from every direction, that the crop of cotton will prove much less than an average one. The forms and bolls arc falling oft" in great quantities; and the rust is destroying much. This is what we hear from our own Mississippi planters. From Alabama, we have the same nows, as the following extract from a letter, dated Aug. 14, will show: 441 have never seen such devastation in I the cotton crop, in so short a time before. Fifteen days ago, every body was to make from 100Q to 1500 lbs. per acre?now, from 3 to GOO at the outside, owing to a cold spell we have had here for two weeks. The cold North and Last winds prevailed all the time, which causedtho cotton to rust, stalk to dry, leaves and forms tc drop." The writer is an acquaintance of Dr. Phillips's, and.sees, as we arc informed t I by Ihc Doctor, more of the planting in. 1 terest than one in a hundred. His testimony, then, is to be relied on ; and a gloomy story it tells of the cotton crop. Even this, however, will produce good? ! for it will still press upon our planters the salutary lesson we have so often urged, thet they should attend less to the quantify of their cotton?more to quality?and more to corn, peas, bacon, sweet potatoes, fruits, sheep, wool, silk, wheat, grasses, &c. ?S. TF. Farmer. MESSAGE. From the President of the U. States, accompany. ing a Treaty icith Great Britain. ! have the satisfaction to communicate to the Senate the results of the negotiations recently held in this city with the British Minister, special and extraordinary. These results comprise? 1st. A Treaty to settle and define the boundaries between the territories of the United States and the possessions of her Britannic Majesty in North America, for the suppression of the African slave trade, and the surrender of criminals, fugitives from justice, in certain cases. 2d. A correspondence on the subject of the interference of the Colonial authorities of the British West Indies with American merchant vessels driven by stress of weather, or carried by violence into the ports of those colonies. 3d. A corrcsjwndencc upon the subject of the attack and destruction of the steamboat Carolino. 4. A correspondence on the subject of impressment. If this treaty shall receive the approbation of the Senate, it will terminate a difference respecting boundary which has long subsisted between the two governments?has been the subject of several ineffectual attempts at settlement, and has sometimes led to great irritation, not without danger of disturbing the existing peace. Both the United States and the states more immediately concerned, have entertained no doubt of the validity of the American title to all the territory which has been I in disoute; but that title was controverted, and the government of the United .States had agreed O O to make the dispute a subject of arbitration. One arbitration had been actually had, but had failed to settle the controversy; and it was found, at the commencement of last year, that a correspondence had been in progress between the two governments for a joint commission, with an ultimate reference to an umpire or arbitrator, with authorily to make a liual decision. That correspondence, however, has been retarded by various occurrences, and had come to no definite result when the special mission of Lord Ashburton was announced. This movement on the part of England afforded, in the judgment of the Executive, a favorable opportunity for making an attempt to settle this long existing controversy by some agreement or treaty,! without further reference to arbitration. It seemed entirely proper that, if this purpose were entertained, consultation should be had with the authorities of the States of Maine and Massachusetts. Letters, therefore, of which copies arc herewith communicated, were addressed to the Governors of those states, suggesting that commissioners should be appointed by each of them, respectively, to repair to this city and confer with the authorities of this government on a line by agreement or compromise, with its equivalents and compensations. This suggestion was met by both states in a spirit of candor and patriotism, and promptly complied with. Four commissioners on tiie part of Maine, and three on the part of Massachusetts, all persons of distinction and high character, were duly appointed and commissioned, ^ a 1 1 1 ? llinmffoli'Aa 1 f tlin j unci Iv^l IVJ IIIIIC ill pit'StULlil^ lliV/liiotiiuo Ub vuv [ scat of the government of the United States. ' | These commissioners have been in correspondence with this government during the period of the discussions ; have enjoyed its confidence and freest communications; have aided the general object with their counsel and advice; and in the end, have unanimously signified their assent to the line proposed in the treaty. Ordinarily, it would be no easy task to reconcile and bring togcthersuch a variety of interests in a matter in itself difficult and perplexed ; but the efforts of the government in attempting to accomplish this desirable object, have been seconded and sustained by a spirit of accommodation and conciliation on 1 the part of the States concerned, to which much of the success of these efforts is to be ascribed. Connected with the settlement of the line of the j Northeastern boundary, so far as it respects the j States of Maine and Massachusetts, is the continj uation of that line along the highlands to the northwcstcrnmost head of Connecticut river. , Which of the sources of that stream is entitled to this character, has been matter of controversy and of some interest to the State of New Hampshire. The King of the Netherlands decided the main branch to be the north westernmost head of the Connecticut. This did not satisfy the claim of New Hampshire. The line agreed to in the pre4 A 4 A - **- '1 * '? 4lio Kotirl nf SCIll ircaij- 1UIIUWS UlU lli^nwuua in Uiv ..?v. ,,. Hall's stream, and thence down that river embracing the whole claim of New Hampshire, and establishing her title to 100,000 acres of territory, j more than she would have had by the decision of ' the King of the Netherlands. j By the treaty of 1783, the line is to proceed down the Connecticut river to the 45th degree of north latitude, and thence west by that parallel, till it strikes the St. Lawrence. Recent examinations having ascertained that the line heretofore received as the true line of latitude between those points was erroneous, and that the correction of this error would not only leave, on the British side, a considerable tract of territory, heretofore sup posed to belong to the States of Vermont and New-York, but also Rouse's Point, the s'.tc of a military work of the United States, it has nccn regarded us un object of importance, not only to establish the rights and jurisdiction of those States, > upon the line to which they have been considered i to extend, but also to comprehend Rouse's Point within the territory of the United States. The relinquishment, by the British Government, of all I! the territory south of the line heretofore considered 1 I I to be the true line, lias been obtained ; and the I 1 consideration for this relinquishment, is to enure , by the provisions of the treaty to the States of , .Maine and Massachusetts. The line of boundary, then, from the sources i of the St. Croix to the St. Lawrence, so far as ."Maine and Massachusetts arc concerned, is fixed by their own consent and for considerations satis, factory to them ; the chief of these considerations being the privilege of transjwrting the lumber and agricultural products grown and raised in Maine on the waters of the St. John's and its tributaries i I I down that river to the ocean, free from imjHjeitioa I or disability. The importance of this privilege, j perpetual in its terms, to a country covered at present by pine forests of great value, and much of it capable hereafter of agricultural improvement, is not a matter upon which the opinion of intelligent men is likely to he divided, So far as New Hampshire is concerned, the treaty secures all that she requires, and New-York and Vermont are quieted to the extent of their claim and occupation. The difference which would be made in the northern boundary of these two States, by correcting the parallel of latitude, may be seen in Tanner's Maps, (183G) now Atlas. Maps No*. 6 and 9. From the intersection of the 45th deg. of north latitude with the St. Lawrence, and aloug that river and the lakes to the water communication between Lake Huron and Lake Superior, the line was definitely agreed on by the Commissioners of the two Governments, under the 6th article of the Treaty of Ghent. Hut between this last mentioned point and the Lake of the Woods, the Commissioners acting under the 7th artielc of that treaty found several matters of disagreement, and therefore made no joint report to their respective Governments. The first of these was Sugar Island, or St. George's Island, lying in St- Mary's river, or the water communication between Lakes Huron and Superior. By the present treaty this is| land is embraced in the territories of the United States. Both from soil and position, it is regarded as of much value. Another matter of difference was the manner of extending the line from the point at which the Commissioners arrived, north of Isle Royalc, in Lake Superior, to the Lake of the Woods. The British Conunissioners insisted on proceeding to the Fond du Lac, at the southwest angle of the Lake, and thcncc by the River St. Louis to the Rainy Lake. The American Commissioner sup terms of the treaty,, would, it is obvious, occasion, j ally intersect Islands. The manner in which the commissioners of the two Governments dealt with this difficult subject, may be 6cen in their rejwrts. But where the line, thus following the middle of the river, or water course, did not meet with is- | lands, yet it was liable sometimes to leave the only practicable navigable channel altogether on one side, The treaty made no provision for the common use of the waters by the citizens and subjects of both countries. It has happened, therefore, in a few instances, that the use of the river, in particular places, would be greatly diminished, to one party or the other, if in fact there was not a choice in the use ofchan- : nels and passages. Thus at the Long Sault, in tlie St. Lawrence, a dangerous passage, practicable only for boats, the only safe run is between the Long Sault islands and Barnhardt's island, all which belong to the United States on one side, : and the American shore on the other.? On the other hand, by far the best pass ?go , for vessels of any depth of water, from] J posed the true course to be to proceed by the way of the Dog River. Attempts were made to compromise this ditrercnce, but without success. The details of these proceedings arc found at lengtli in the printed, separate reports of the Commissioners. From the imperfect knowledge of this remote country, at the date of the treaty of peace, some of the descriptions in that treaty do not harmonise witli its natural features as now ascertained. 14 Long Lake" is no where to be under found that name. There is reason for supposing, however, that the sheet of water intended by that name, is the estuary at the mouth of Pigeon River. The present treaty adopts therefore that estuary and river, and afterwards pursues the usual route, across the height of land by the various portages and small lakes, till the line reaches Rainy L*ke; from which the Commisioners agreed on the extension of it to its termination, in the northwest angle of the Lake of the Woods. The region of country on and near the shore of the Lake between Pigeon River on the north, and Fond du Lac und the River St. Louis on the south and west, considered valuable as a mineral region, is thus included within the United States. It embraces a territory of four millions of acres, northward of the claim set up the British Commissioner under the j treaty of Ghent. From the height of land at the ; head of Pineon River, westerly to the Rainy Lake, the country is understood to be of little value, being described by surveyors and marked on the map as a region of rock and water. From the north west angle of the Lake of the , Woods, wliich is found to be in latituJc 45 dcg. 23 min. 55 see. north, existing treaties require the j line to be run due South to its intersection with the 45th parallel, and thence along that parallel to , the Rocky Mountains. After sundry informal communications with the British Minister upon the subject of the claims of the two countries to territory west of the Rocky . Mountains, so little probability is found to exist of coining to any agreement on that subject at present, that it was not thought expedient to make it one of the subjects of formal negotiation, to be en- j tcrcd upon between this Government and the British Minister, as part of his duties unier the , special mission. By the treaty of 1783, the line of division along , the rivers and lakes, from the place where the 45th ; parallel of north latitude strikes the St. Lawrence, i to the outlet of Lake Superior, is invariably to be | drawn through the middle of such waters, ' and not through the middle of their m ain channels. Such a line if extended according to the literal Lake Eric into the Detroit River, is between Lois Rlanc, a British island, and the Canadian shore. So again there are several channels or passages, of different degrees of facility and usefulness, betweenthe several islands in the river St. Clair, at or near its entry into the lake of Hlat name. In these three cases the treaty provides that all the several channels and; passages shall be free and open to the use of the citizens and subjects of botk parties. The treaty obligations subsisting between the two countries for the suppression of the African slave trade, and the complaints made to this Government within the last three or four years, many of lliom but too well founded, of the Visitation, seizure and detention of American vessels on that coast, by British cruizers, could not but form a delicate and highly important part of the negotiations which have now been held. The early and prominent part which, the Government of the United States has taken for the abolition of this unlawful and inhuman traffic, is well known. By the tenth article of the treaty of Ghent, it is declared that the traffic in slaves is irrcconcileable with the principles of humanity and justice, and that both His Majesty and the United Slates are desirous of continuing their efforts'!? promote its entire abolition ; and it is thereby agreed that both the contracting parties shall use thoir best endeavors to accomplish so dosiralde an object. The Government of the United States has by law declared the African slave trade piracy ; and at its suggestion other nations have made similar enactments. It has not been wantins in honest and zealous t efforts, made in conformity with the wornes of the whole country, to accomplish the entire abolition of traffic in slaves upon tho African coast; but these efforts and thoso of other countries, directed to the same end, have proved, to a consider - n * rn a! able degree, unsuccessful. ireancs am known to have been entered into some., years ogo between England and France,, by which the former power, which usually maintains a large naval force on the African station, was authoriscd^to seiao and bring in for adjudication, vessels found engaged in the slave tro^e under the French flag. It is known that in December last, ,1 treaty was signed in London by the representatives of England, France, Russia, Prussia, and Austria, having for its pro-, fesscd object a strong and unitei) eflbrt the live powers to put an end to the tra&\ tic. This treaty was not officially com-, municated to the Government of the United States, hut its provisions and stij*. ulatjons are supposed to be accurately known to the public. It is understood ta be not yet ratified on the part of France. No application or request has been made to this government to become party to this treaty ; but the course it might take in regard to it, has excited no small degree of attention and discussion in Eu? rope as the principles upon which it is / 1..I ?U<\ i-tiitnl/itinno it linn. IOUIJUCU utiu iiiu ??"i tains have caused warm animadvertion* and great political excitement, In my message at the commencement of the present session of Congress, I endeavored to statu the principles wliich this government supports respecting the right of search and thc lnhnunity of Hags.?Desirous of maintaining thogc principles fully, at the same time that existing obligations should be fulfilled, I have thought it most consistent with the honor and dignity of the country, that it should execute its own laws, and perform its own obligations, by its own means and its own power. The examination or visitation of the merchant vessels of onenation by the cruisers of another, for any purposes except those known and ac. knowledgcd by the law of nations, under whatever restraints or regulations it may take place, may lead to dangerous results. It is far better by other means, to supersede any supposed necessity, or any motive for such examination or visit. Interference with a merchant vessel by an armed cruiser is al. ways a delicate proceeding, apt to touch the point of national honor, as well as to affect the interests of individuals. It has been thought, therefore, exj?odicnt, not only in accordance with the stipula. tions of the treaty of Ghent, but at the sainc timo as removing all pretext on the part of others for violating the immunities of the American flag upon the seas, as they ex'st and are defined by the law of nations, to enter into the articles now sub, mitted to the Senate. The treaty which I now submit to you, proposes no alteration, mitigation, or modification of the rules of the law of nations. It provides simply that each of the two governments shall maintain on the coast of Africa a sufficient squadron to enforce, separately, and respectively, the laws, rights, and obligations, of the two countries, for the suppressions of the slave trade. Another consideration of great imjwrtance has recommended this mode of fulfilling the duties and obligations of the country. Our commerce along the western coast of Africa is extensive, and supposed to be increasing. There is reason to think that in many eases those engaged in it have met with interruptions and annoyances, caused by the jealousy and instigation of rivals engaged in the same trade. Many complaints on this subject have reached the government. A rcspcc. table naval force on the coast is the natural resort and security against farther ocurrcnccs of this kind. The surrender to justice of persons who, having