The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, November 07, 1866, Image 2
THE JOURNAL
L. W. P.. CLAIR. EDITOR. .
Friday, December 7,1866.
The President's Message.
We fire indebted to our friends Ki.ouckt. of
tlie Huil "Road, and Ciiattkx. of the Express
line, for a copy of the Daily Xows of Tuesday, |
two days in advance of the liinil, from winch j
we copy the President's Message. Its length
precludes the publication of other matters of
interest.
President's Message.
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate
and House of J'rprcscntaWces:
After a lirief interval the Congress
of the United States resumes its annual
legislative labors. An all-vise
and merciful Providence has abated
the pestilence which visited our shores,
leaving its calamitous traces upon
some portions of our country. Peace,
iv. 1 -...i?: I
oruer, tranquuiuy, ami cjyh suiuiuuty
have been formally declared to
exist throughout the whole of the
United States. In all of the States
civil authority lias superceded the
coercion of arms, and the people, by
their voluntary action, arc maintaining
their governments in full activity
and complete operation. The enforcement
of the laws is no longer ''obstructed
in any State by combinations too
powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary
course of judicial proceedings;
and the animosities engendered by the
war arc rapidly yielding to the beneficent
influences of our free institutions,
and to the kindly effects of
unrestricted social and commercial
intercourse. An entire restoration of
fraternal feeling must be the earnest
wish af every patriotic heart; and we
i* 1 1 1
"Will nave accomplished our granucsc
national achievement when, forgetting
the sad events of the past, and remembering
only their instructive lessons,
we resume our . onward career as a
free, prosperous and united people.
In my message of the 4th of December,
180;), Congress was informed
of the measures which had been insti"! ?
.1 , , 1
tuteu oy tne executive wun a view
to the gradual restoration of the
States in which the insurrection occurred
to their relations with the General
Government. Provisional Governors
had been appointed, Conventions
called, Governors elected, Legislatures
assembled, and Senators
and Representatives chosen to the
Congress of the United States. Courts
had been opened for the enforcement
of laws long in abeyance. The blockade
had been removed, custom-houses
re-established, and the internal revlowo
nnf in -Tavoa it-? rvvil+l,ot
UUUV 1UMO 111 WiUW J-H V1V4V,! lilCbU
tlie people might contribute to the
national income. Fostal operations
had been renewed, and efforts were
being made to restore them to their
former condition of efficiency. The
States themselves had been asked to
take part in the high functions of
amending the Constitution, and of
thus sanctioning the extinction of
African slavery as one of the legitimate
results of our internecine strugMo.
& T
Having progressed thus far, the
Executive Department found that it
had accomplished nearly all that was
within the scope of its constitutional
authority. One thing, however, yet
remained to be done before .the work
of restoration could be completed,
_ .. J xi i. li . i ^ n
ana mat was uie aumiFsion 10 congress
of loyal Senators and Representatives
from tlic States whose people
had rebelled against the lawful
authority of the General Government.
This question devolved upon the respective
Houses, which, by the Constitution,
are made the judges of the
elections, returns, and qualifications
of their own members; and its consideration
at once engaged the attention
of Congress.
In the meantime, the Executive
Department?no other plan having
been proposed by Congress?continued
its efforts to perfect, as far as
was practicable, the restoration of the
proper relations between the citizens
of the respective States, the States
and the Federal Government, extending,
from time to time, as the puplic
interests seem to require, the judical,
revenue, and postal systems of the
country. With the advice awl consent
of the Senate, the necessary officers
were appointed, and appropriations
made l?y Congress for the payment
of their salaries. The proposition
to amend the Federal Constitution,
so as to prevent the existence
of slavery within the United States or
any place subject to thciv jurisdiction,
was ratified by the requisite? number
of States; and 011 the 18th day of December,
I860, it was officially declared
to have become valid as a part of
the United Stales. Ail of the States
in which the rebellion had existed
* promptly amended their Constitutions,
So as to make them conform to the
great change thus effected in the organic
law of the land; declared null
and void all ordinances and laws of
secession; repudiated all pretended
debts and obligations created for the
revolutionary- purposes of the insurrection;
and proceeded, in good faiill,
to the enactment of measures for the
protection and amelioration of the
condition of the colored race. Congress,
however, yet hesitated to admit
any of these States to representation;
and it was not until towards thcclo.sc
of the eighth month of the session
iliat an exception was made in favor
of Tennessee, hv the admission of her
Senators and Kcprcscniativcs.
I deem it a subject of niofound
n i /*... I
regret that uongress n::s i.ius uu
failed to admit to seals loyal Senators
.anil Representative.'-' .ruin the other
Stales, viio.se inhabitants villi those
of Tennessee had engaged in the rcbebion.
Ten States?move than
one-fourth of the vliole mimbcr?remain
vithor.t representation; the seats
I of fifty members in the Ilonsc of Representatives,
and of tventy members
in the Senate arc yet vacant?not by
their ovn consent, not by a failure
-L* 1 ?x - ? a?<\"nc!il n!
01 Cl CllUil, Mill. u y u:iv ?v i
Congress to accept their credentials.
Their admission, it is believed, would
have accomplished much toward the
renewal and st; engthenmg of our
relations as one people, and removed
scriour cause for discontent on the
part of the inhabitants of those States.
It would have accorded with the great
principle enunciated in the DechivaI
tion of American Independence, thai
no people ought to bear the burden
of taxation, and yet he denied the
| right of represctalion. It would have
been in consonance with the express
J provisions of the Consiitutson, that
each State shall have at least, one
Iiepvcreniativc," and "that no State,
without its consent, shall he deprived
of its efpial suftiagc in the Senate."
TIic.se provisions were lntenueu to secure
to every State, the right of representation
in each 3Iou.se of Congress
; and so important was it deemed
by tlic framcrs of the Constitution
that the cmialitv of the States in the
Senate should he preseivcd, tluit not
even by an amendment of the Con-;
stitution can any State, without its
consent, be denied a voice in that
branch of the National Legislative.
It is true, it has been assumed that
the existence of the States terminated
by the rebellious acts of their
inhabitants, and that the insurrection
having been suppressed, they were
thenceforward to be considered merely
as conquered leiritories. The
Legislative, Executive and Judicial
Departments of the Government have
however, with distinctness and uniform
consistency, refused to sanction
an assuhption so incompatible with
the nature of our republican system
and with the piofcssed objects of the
war. Throughout the recent legislation
of Congress, the undeniable fact
makes itself apparent that these ten
political communities arc nothing less
than States of this Union.
At the very commencement of the
rebellion each House dcclarcd'witli a
unanimity as remarkable as it was
significant, that the war was not t:wa
ged on our part in any spirit ot oppression,
nor for any purpose of oppression,
nor for any purpose of conquest
or subjugation, nor purpose 01
overthrowing or interfering with the
rights or established institutions of
those States, but-to defend and main
I til in tlic supremacy oi tiie constitution
and all laws nuule in pursuance thcie
of, and to preserve llic Union with
all the dignity, equality and rights
ol'tlic several States uniuipni ca id
tiiat as so^n sis these objects were accomplished
tlic war ought to cease."
In some instance?, Senators ivc;e
permitted to continue their legislative
functions, while in other instances
Representatives were elected and admitted
to seats after their States had
formally declared their right to withdraw
from the Union, ar.d were endeavoring
to maintain that right hy
force of arms. All of the States whose
people were in insurrection, as States,
were included in the apportionment
of the direct tax of twenty millions
of dollars anjually laid upon the United
States hy the act approved nth
August, 18(31. Congress, hy the act
of March 4,1SG2, and by the apportionment
of representation thereunder,
also recognized their presence as
States in the Union; and they have,
for judicial purposes, been divided irto
districts, as States alone can be
divided. The same recognition appears
in the recent legislation in reference
to Tennessee, which evidently
rests upon the fact that the functions
of the State were not destroyed by
the rebellion, but merely suspended;
and that principle is of course applicable
to those States which, like Tennessee,
attempted to renounce their
places in the Union.
The action of tho Eexocutivc Department
of tho Government upon this
subject has been equally definite and
uniform, and tho purposo of the war
was specially stated in the Proclamation
issued by my predecessor on the
22d day September, 18G2. It was then
solemnly proclaimed and declared that
"hereafter, as horotofore, the war will
bo prosecuted for the object of practically
restoring tho constitutional relation
between tho United States and
each of tho States and the people there
of, in which States that relation-is or
may be suspended or disturbed."
The recognition of these States by
tho Judicial Department of the Government
has also been clear and conclusive
in all proceedings affecting them
as States,had in the Supreme, Circuit,
and District Courts.
In the adni'ssion of Senators and
Representatives from any and all of
tho States, tlcere can bo no just ground
of apprehension that persons who are
disloyal will bo clo'hed with the powers
of legislation; for this could net
happen when the Constitution and the
laws are enforced by a i.'-plant and
fui'.hful Congress. Each House is made
the "judge of tho elections, returns,
and qualifications of its own members,"
auu may "with the concurenco of twothirds,
expel a member." "When a
Senator or Representative presents his
.certificate of election, he may at once
bo admitted or rejected; or.should there
be any question as to his eligibility, his
credentials may be reforcd for invest!-j
Ration to tlio appropriate committee.
If admitted to a seat, it must be upon
evidence satisfactory to the House of
which he hus becomes a member, that
lie possesos the requisite constitutional'and
legal qualfiioations. .
If refused admission asrajnemher
for want of due allegiance t* tnc Government,
and returned to Sis constituents,
they arc admonislnsd that none
but-persons loyal to jblie Unite/1 States
\rill be allowed a voice in the Legislative
Cjuncils of the Nation, and.'the political
power and moral mfliiionec of
Congress are thus effectively exerted in
tho interests of loyalty to tho Government
and fidelity to the Union: Upon
this question, so vitally aflbcfiiig the'
restoration of the Union and the permanency
of our present form of government,
my convictions, heretofore
expressed, have undergone no change;
but to the contrary, their correctness
has been confirmed by reflection and
time. If tho admission of loyal members
to seats in 'lie respective Houses
of Congress was wise and expedient a
year ago, it is no less wise and expedient
now ?if, in the exact condition
of these States at tho present time, it is
lawful to exclude them from reprcsen
tation, I do not see thatalio'question
will bo changed hy tlio fllux of time.
Ten 3'cars hence, ifllie.se States remain
as they are, the right of representation
will bo no stronger?ihe right of exclusion
will be no weaker.
The Constitu'ion of the I'nitcd States
makes it the duly of the President to
recommend to the consideration of Congress
"such measures as he shall judge'
necessary or expedient." I know of no
measure more imperatively demanded
by every consideration of national interest,
sound policy, and equal .justice,
than the admission of loyal members
from -the now unrepresented
This would consummate tlio ^oi k of
restoration, and exert a most 64luttiry
influence in the re-estabiishinent of
peace, liaiinony, and fraternalfeeling;.
It would tend greatly to renew the
confidence of the American people in
the vigor and stability of their institutions.
It wou'd bind us more closely
together as a nation; and enable*us to
show to the world the inherent and recuperative
power of a Government founded
upon tlio will of the people, and established
upon the principles of liberty,
justice, and intelligence. Our increased
strength and enhanced prosperity tvould
irrei'rngably demonstrate the fallacy of
tie arguments against free institutions
drawn from our recent national disorders
by the enemies of rcpubh'ctui government.
The admission of loyal members
from I ho States now excluded from
Congress, by a1!ayiug doubt and .apprehension,
would turn capital, now awai
t:ng an oppmiity for investment, into
the channels of trade and industry. It
would alleviafo the pro-ent t&uhled
condition of those States, and by inducing
emigration, aid in the scttfemont
of fertile regions now uncultivated, and
and load to an increased production of
those staples which have added so
greatly to the wealth of the na.ion and
commerce of tlio world. New fields of
enterprise would be opened to our progressive
pcop'e, and soon the devastations
of war would be repaired,, and all
ivnfi\a iifrmr dn?iPst.indift??ranPf><5f?fiEn/!fid
from the minds of our countrymen)
In our efforts to preserve "tliejiuUy
of Government which constitutes us one
people;'' by restoring the States 4o .the
condition which'they heft prioFrto^tho
rebellion, we should bo cautious, lest
having rescued our nation from perils
of .threatened disintegration, we resort
to consolidation and in the end absolute
despotism, as a remedy for the resort
of similar troubles. The war haying
terminated and with it all occasion for
the exercise of powers of doubtful constitutionality,
we aKould hasten to
bring legislation within the boundaries
prescribed by the Constitution, and to
return to ancient landmarks estabislicd
by our fathers for the guidance of
succeeding generations. The Cohstitu
tion which at any time exists, .unt J
changed by an explicit and authentic
act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory
upon all. '' If, in the opinion,
of the people, the distribution or modification
of the constitutional powers be,
in any particular, wrong, let it be corrected
by an amendment in the way in
which the Constitution designates.?
But let there be no change by usurpation
; for " it is the customary weapon
by which free Governments are destroyed."
Washington spoke those words
to his countrymen, when, followed by
tbeir love and gratitude, he voluntarily
retired from the cares of public life ?
"To keep in all things within the pale
of our constitutional powers, and cherish
the Federal Union as the only rock
of safety," were prescribed bv Jefferson |
as rules of action to endear to his I
" countrymen tbe ti*ue principles of
their Constitution, and promote a union
of sentiment and action equally auspicious
to their happiness and safety."?
Jackson held that the ac tion of the General
Government should always be i
strictly confined to the sphere of its appropriate
duties, and justly and forcibly
urged that our Government is not to be
maintained nor our Union preserved
"by invasions of u e rights and powers
of tho several States, in thus attempting
to make our General Government j
strong, we mako it weak. Its true
strength consists in leaving individuals
and States as much as possible to themselves
; in making itself felt, not in its
i.?*
jJLMNClj UUt ill A to UtlliiitUiltU , 11UU ill ALO
eontr 1, but in its protection; not in
binding the States more closely to tlie
centre, but Ipaving each to move unobstructed
in its proper constitutional orbit."
These aro tlio teachings of men
whose deeds and services have made
them illustrious, and who. long since
wit' drawn from the scenes of life, liavo
left to their country the rich legacy of
their example, their wisdom, and their
patriotism. Drawing fresh inspiration
from their lessons, let us emulate them
in love of country and respect for the
Constitution and laws.
Tlio report of the Secretary of the
Treasury affords much information respecting
the revenue and commerce of
the country. His views upon the cur
rency, and with reference to a proper
adjustment of our revenue system, internal
as well as impost, are commended
to tlio caioful consideration of Congross.
In my last annual message I
expressed my general views upon these
subjects. I need now only call attention
to the necessity of carrying into every
department of the Government a system
ofrigid accountability, through retrench r.
i
menr, ana wise economy, w mi juj baceptional
nor unusual expenditures, the
oppressive burdens of taxation can be
lessened by such a modification of our
revenue laws as will be consistent with
the public faith, and legitimate and necessary
wants o1' the Government.
The report presents a much more
satisfactory condition of our finances
than one year ago the most sanguine
could have anticipated. During the j
fiscal year ending the 80th June, lfjOo,
the last year of the war, the public debt
was increased ?941,902,587, and on
ho 81st of October, 1? Go, it amounted
to 0-,740,{;yJ,700. On the 31st day of j
October, 1MGG, it had been reduced to
?2,551,810,006, the diminution during
a period of fourteen months, commencing
September .1, IMG"), and ending
October 31, ISfifi, having been ?200,379,565.
In the last annual report on
the state of the finances, it was estimated
that dur ng the three quarters of
-tho fiscal year oHding the 8uth of June
last, tho debt would be Increased *113,104,947.
During that period, however, it was
reduced 31,190,380, dollars, the receipts
of tlie year having been 89,905,905
dollars, more, and the expenditures
200,529,135 dollars, less,than the eslimates.
Nothing could moro clearly
indicate than these statements tho extent
and availihility of'tie national resources,
and the rapidity and safety
with which, under our form of government,
groat military and naval establishments
can be disbanded, and expenses
reduced irom a war. to a peace
footinrr.
During the fiscal year ending the
30th of June, 1800, the receipts were
$553, 002, 020, and llie expenditures
$520,750,040, leaving an available sur'plus
of *37,201,000. It is estima'ed
that the receipts fur the fiscal year end
in."- the 3l)th .June IfSU/, will be
001,:)SO, and Hint the expenditures will
reach tlio sum of ?31G,438,078, leaving
in the Treasury a sir-plus of $1138,683,308.
Fur iho tkenl year ending Juno
30, 1868, it irj estimated that the receipts
will amount to ?-130,1)06,00.'), and
that the expenditures will he ?8.30,347,
6-11?showing anexc ss of ?85,753,8.39
in favor of the Governuient. These estimated
receipts may he dimimnshed
by a reduction of excise aud import duties
; but after aU necessary reductions
shell have been made, the revenue of
the present aud of following years will
doubtless bo sufficieet to cover nil legitimate
charges upon the Treasury,
aud le-ve a large annual surplus to be
applied to the payment of the principal
debt. There seems now to be no good
reason why taxes may not be reduced
as the country advances in population
and wealth, and yet tho dobt be extinguished
within the next quarter of a
century.
rni l 0 TTT^,,
J. lie report oi tue ueereiai j ui n iiz
furnishes valuable and important information
in reference to tiro operations
of his Department during the past year.1
Few volunteers now remain in the service,
and they are being discharged as
rapidly as they can be roplae "d by regular
troops. The army lias been prompt
ly paid, carefully provided with medical
treatment, well sheltered and subsisted,
and is to bo furnished with breech-loading
small arms. The military strength
of the nation lias been unimpaired by
the discharge of volunteers, the disposition
of unserviceable or perishable
stores, and the retrenchment of expenditure.
Sufficient war material to meet
any emergency lias been retained, and,
from the disbanded volunteers standing
ready to respond to the national call,
largo armies can be rapidly organized,
equipped, and concentrated. Fortifications
on the coast and frontier have received,
or are being prepared for more
powerful armaments; lake surveys and
harbor and river improvements are in
courso of energetic prosecution. Preparations
have been made for the pay
v rtSv.rjrL'f-iajmi. -y lament
of tho additional bounties authorized
during the recent session of Congress,-under
such regulations as Trill
protect the Government from fraud,
and secure to the honorably-discharged
soldier the well-earned reward of his
faithfulness and gallantry. More than
six thousand maimed soldiers havo received
artificial limbs or other surgical
apparatus; and forty-one national cemeteries,
containing the remains of 104,G-6
Union soldiers, have already been
established. The total estimate for military
appropriations is 20f?,CG9.
It is stated in tlio report of the Secretary
of the Navy that the naval force
at this time consists of two hundred
and seventy-eight vessels, armed with
two thousand three hundred and fiftyone
guns. Of these, one hundred and
fifteen vessels, carrying one thousand
and twenty-nine guns, are in commission,
distributed cliiefly among seven
squadrons. The number of men in the
service is thirteen thousand six hundred.
Great activity and vigilance have been
displayed by all the squadrons, and
movements have been judiciously and
efficiently arranged in such manner as
would best promote American commerce,
and protect the rights and interests
of our countrymen abroad. The
vessels unemployed are undergoing repairs,
or are laid up until their services
maybe required. Most of the iron-clad
fleet is at League Island, in the vicinity
of Philadelphia, a place which, until
decisive action should bo take-: by Congress,
was selected by the Secretary of
the Navy as the most eligible location
for that class of vessels. It is important
that a suitable station should be provided
for the iron-ciacJ fleet.
It is intended that those vessels shall
be in proper condition for any omcr
gency, and it is desirable that the bill
accepting League Island for naval purposes,
which passed the House of Pcpr
soatatives at its last session, should
receive final acfr.on at an early period,
in order that thero may be a suitable
public station for this class of vessels,
as well as a navy yard of area sufficient
for the wants of tho son-ice, on the
Delaware river. The Naval Pension
fund amounts to .511,750,001), having
been increased S?,750,000 during the
year. Tho expenditures of the Dcpartmentofthc
fiscal year ending 30th June
last were $43,324,526, the estimates
for the coming year amount to $23,558,
436. Attention is invited to tho condition
of our seamen, and the importance
of legislative measures for their relief
and improvement. The suggestions in
hehalf of this deserving class of our fellow-c;tizens
are earnestly recommended
to tho favorable attention of Congress.
The report of the Postmaster General
presents a most satisfactory condition
of the postal servico, and submits recommendations
which deserve the consideration
of Congress. The revenues
of the Department for the year ending
June the 30, I860, were 614,380,080,
and the expend itures$ 15,352,079. showing
an excess of the latter of $905,093.
In anticipation of this deficiency, however,
a special appropriation was mado
by Congress in the act approved July
28, 18GG. Including the standing appropriaiton
of 8700,000 for free mail
matter, as a legitimate portion of the
revenues yet remaining unexpended,
actual deficiency for the past year is
only $204,02?a sum within $51,141 of
the amount estimated in the annual report
of 18G4. The decrease of revenue
compared with he previous year was
one and one-fifth per cent., and the increase
of expenditures, owing principally
to the enlargement of the mail service
in the S ;uth, was, twelve per cent.
On the 30th June last tliero were in
operation six thousand nine hundred
and thirty mad routos, with en aggregate
loncth of one hundi'ed and ehrhtv
I r c? u ?
I thousand nine hundred and twenty-one
Hides, an aggregate annual transportation
of seventy-one xnil'ion eight hundred
and thirty-seven thousand nine
i hundred and fourteen miles, and an
aggregates annual cost, including all
expenditures, of$8,-410,184. Thelcnglh
of railroad routes is tliirty-two thousand
and ninety-two miles, and the annual
transportation thirty million six hundred
and nine thousand four hundred
and sixty-seven miles. The length of
steamboat routes, is fourteen thousand
three hundred and forty-six miles, aud
xi. i x x..x:? xi ~
bllU ilUUUUl l*TUii?pUl UUllUJl UUW lillUlUU
four hundred and eleven thousand nine
hundred and sixty-two miles. The
mail fierv'iC'6 is rapidly increasing
tl rov.ghout Hie whole country, and its
steady extension in the Southern States
indicates their constantly improving
condition. Tho growing importance
of the foreign service also merits attention.
Tho rostoffice Department of
Great Dritain and our own have agreed
upon a preliminary basis for a new Postal
Convention, which it is believed will
prove eminently beneficial^ 'the,commercial
interests of the United States,
inasmuch as it contemplates a reduction
of the international letter postage to
one-half the existing rates; a reduction
of postage with all other countries to
and f-om which correspondence is transmitted
in the liritish mail, or in closed
mails through the United Kingdom;
the establishment of uniform and rca
Lonablo charges lor the sea and territorial
transit of correspondence in closed
mails; and an allowance to each I'ostoffice
Department of the riglit to use all
mail communications established under
the authority of the other for the dispatch
of correspondence, cither in open
or closed mails, on the same terms as
those applicable to the inhabitants of
the country providing the means of
trasmission.
The report of the Secretary of the
Interior oxljibits tho condition of those
branches of the public tor; icc which
y* %
are committed to his superv Ision. During
tho last fiscal year, four mPliorf
six hundred and twenty nine thousand r.
three hundred and twelve acres of "w"
public land were disposed of, one mil- .
lion eight hundred and ninety-two thou- X', sand
live hundred and sixteen acres of
which wero entered under tho homestead
act. The policy originally adopted
relative to tho public- lands hn& J
undergone essential modifications; Im- \
mediate revenue and not their rapid >
settlement, was the cardinal feature of >
our land system. Long experienceand
earnest discussion have resulted ii*
the conviction that the early development
of our agricultural resource -, andthe
diffusion of an energetic popula-tion
over vast territory, arc objects of*
" *- J * 1
lar greater importance- to tne nauonui
growth and prosperity than the proceedsof
the sale of the land to the highest
bidder iu open market. The pre-emption
laws confer upon tho pioneer who
| complies with the terms they impose
! the privilege of purchasing a limitedportion
of "un&fl'crcd lauds'1 at the
I minimum prices. The homestead enactments
relieve the settler from the pay!
ment of purchase money, and secure
him a permanent home upon the con-.
dition of residence for a term of years.
This liberal policy invites emigration
from the old, andfrom the more crowded
portions of tho new world. Its propitious
results are undoubted, and w;,l
be more signally manifested when time
shall have given to it a wider development.
.
Congress has me do liberal grants of
public land to corporations, in aid of
the construction of railroad* and other
t 1 : _ ....
internal 1111J uvuiiii UU). uiiuuiu w a
policy hereafter prevail, more stringent
provisions will be required to secure a
faithful application of the fund. The
title to the lauds should not pass, by
patent or otherwise, but remain in the . ^
Government and subject to its control
until some portion of the road has been
actually built. Pt rtions of them might
then, from time to time, be conveyed
to the corporation, but never in a greater
ratio to the whole quanti fcy embraced
in the grant than the completed parts
! boar to the entire length of ihe projee|
ted improvement. This restriction would
1 not opera*: to the prejudice of^anv un;
dertaking conceived in good faith and
| executed with reasonable energy, as it"
! is the Rattled nraei.ice to \\ Itlidraw from
market the lands falling within the op-:
oration of such grants, and thus to exclude
the inception of a subsequent adverse
1 Wit. A branch of the conditions
which C'ongnss may deem proper, to
inipoce should work a forfeiture of claim'
to the lands so withdrawn but ^ficon-".
veyed, and of tiile.to the lands con-,?
veyed which remain unscld. '
Operations on the scvevd hues or tlie'FW
_cifio Railroad have been prosecuted'with nn?r
cxnmpled vigor and success. ~ Shouhl no.uqr,
fni-ncopD mine ni* deluv ii is Miifiilciiir
ly anticipated Unit thW jff-v.t ihorbugtifsifJ?w''
will be completed before-the expiration of the
period designated by CongreS3. ' ...
During the last fiscal year ihe amnnnt paid
to pensioners, including the oxncusesr of disbursement,
was thirteen nt'llioi four hmnift d
and fifiy-ninc thousand jinc hundred .and- ' ?
ninety-six dollars: nndJ fifty thousand- owe
hundred and seventy.seven names were added
to the pension rolls. The. entire number
of pensioners. June 30; IStili. was one hundred
and tweniy-six thousand seven hundred,
and i tveuiy-! wo. This fact furnishes molan-'
choly aiui si viking proof of the sacrificed. '
made to vindicate the constitutional au.hoi-it.y
of the Federal Government, and (o ruaiu
lain mvioiaic rue integrity 01 mc union?Tlicy
impose upon us corresponding obliga'-'
lions. Ji is estimated I hat tbmy-ihrce million
dollars will be required lo meet the exigencies
of this branch of the service (luring
l lie next fiscal yen v.
Twenties have been concluded with the Indians
who, c.tiiccd into mined opposition to
ourGoveriiine.it nt 'lie oi'.ibreak of the rebellion,
have uncondi. tonally submitted to our
authority, and manifested an earnest deslro
fo" a renewal of friendly reluiions.
During tlieycar ending September 30.1SC6,
eight thousand seven hundred and sixreen
patents for useful inventions and designs
were issued, mid nt tliqt date the balance in
the treasury to .lie credit of the Patent fund
was .wo hundred anil twenty-eight thousand
two hundred and ninety-soveii dol'urs. ^
As a subject upon wh'eh depends an int^ ^
nicusc muoiinl of tip; production and coinniercc'of
the eouiiiry, I recommend lo Congross*
such leg's'ai ion as may be necessary
for ilie preservation of tbo levees of the M??
? parlance il'iit early steps should be taken riot
onU* to sild to the efficiency of these havricta
against destructive iuundai'one hut lot the
removal of till obstructions to-*Iie fiee and t
safe navigation of that great channel of I ratio ' .
and commerce. , ;l
T!ie Disirict of Columbia, under existing
IdAiij ><? uo[ cutitloil to,t,hat representation, in
the National Councils which, from our earliest
history, has been uniformly accorded to each
Territory established fioni time to time vvitliin
our lim'ts. It maintains peculiar relations
to Congress, to whom the Constitution has
granted the power of exercising exclusive
legislation over the scat of government! Otrr
fellow-citizens residing in the District, whose
interests arc thus confided to the special
guardianship of Congress, exceed in numW
the population of several of our Territories,
ami no ji'Si reason is perceived why a delegate
of their choice should not be admitted
to a seat in the Ilbuso of Representatives,**-*
No mode seems so appropriate avid eftccipiil
of enabling liierlf toniake known their pccu-J
liar conut'joji anu warns, ana 01 securing ityc
local legislation adapted to thctn. I therefore
recomr.icnd the passage of a law author^
issi tg the electors of the District of Columbia
tn choose a delegate, to be allowed the same
l-'ghis and privileges as a delegate representing
a Territory, The increasing enterprise
a .til rapid jn ogress of improvement'in tho
District ere highly gratifying, and I trust
thai, the efforts of the municipal auUtofitjpa
to promote the prosperity of the national me*
tvopolis will receive the efficient and genex1-.
ous co-operation of Congress.
The report of the Commissioners of .Agriculture
reviews the operations of his Department
during the past year, and asks the ait}
of Congress in its efforts to encourage those
States which, scourged by war, are now
earnestly engaged in the reorganization of
domestic industry. *
it is a subject of congratulation flint ng
foreign combinations against our domestip
peace and safety, or our legitimate influence
aiuoug the unions, have been fanned or ati