MESSAGE' 
 
 v>.^" 
 
 THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 THE TWO HOUSES OF CONGRESS, 
 
 COMMENCEMENT OF THE THIRD SESSION 
 
 THE TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS^ 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 BLAIR A-ND RIVES, PRINTERS, 
 1842. 
 
MESSAGE 
 
 To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Stvites: 
 
 We have continued reason to express our profound gratitude to the great 
 Creator of all things for numberless benefits conferred upon us as a people. 
 Blessed with genial seasons, the husbandman has his garners filled with 
 abundance; and the necessaries of life, not to speak of its luxuries, abound 
 in every direction. While in some other nations steady and industrious 
 labor can hardly find the means of subsistence, the greatest evil which we 
 hax''e to encounter is a surplus of production beyond the home demand, 
 wliich seeks, and with difficulty finds, a partial market in other regions. 
 The health of the country, with partial exceptions, has, for the past year, 
 been well preserved; and, under their free and wise institutions, the Uni- 
 ted States are rapidly advancing towards the consummation of the high 
 destiny which an overruling Providence seems to have marked out for 
 them. Exempt from domestic convulsion, and at peace witlr all the world, 
 we are left free to consult as to the best means of securing and advancing 
 the happiness of the people. Such are the circumstances under which 
 you now assemble in your respective chambers, and which should lead 
 us to unite in praise afid thanksgiving to that great Being who made us, 
 and who preserves us as a nation. 
 
 I congratulate you, fellow-citizens, on the happy change in the aspect , 
 of our foreign affairs since my last annual Message. Causes of complaint 
 at that time existed between the United States and Great Britain, which, 
 attended by irritating circumstances, threatened most seriously the public 
 peace. The difficulty of adjusting amicably the questions at issue be- 
 tween the two countries, was, in no small degree, augmented by the 
 lapse of time since they had their origin. The opinions entertained by 
 the Executive on several of the leading topics in dispute, were frankly 
 set forth in the Message at the opening of your late session. The appoint- 
 ment of a special minister by Great Britain to the United States, with 
 power to negotiate upon most of the points of diff"erence, indicated a de- 
 sire on her part amicably to adjust them ; and that minister was met by 
 the Executive in the same spirit which had dictated his mission. The 
 treaty consequent thereon, having been duly ratified by the two Gov^ern- 
 ments, a copy, together with the correspondence which accompanied it, 
 is lierewith communicated. I trust that, whilst you may see in it nothing 
 objectionable, it may be the means of preserving, for an indefinite period, 
 the amicable relations happily existing between the two Governments. 
 The question of peace or war between the United States and Great 
 Britain, is a question of the deepest interest, not only to themselves, but 
 to the civilized world ; since it is scarcely possible that a war could exist 
 between them, without endangering the peace of Christendom. The im- 
 mediate effect of the treaty upon ourselves Avill be felt in the security 
 afforded to mercantile enterprise, which, no longer apprehensive of inter- 
 
•ruption, adventures its speculations in the most distant sea; and, freighted 
 with the diversified productions of every land, returns to bless our own. 
 There is nothing in the treaty which, in the slightest degree, compromits 
 the honor or dignity of either nation. Next to the settlement of the 
 boundary line, which must always be a matter of difficulty between 
 States as between individuals, the question which seemed to threaten the 
 greatest embarrassment was that connected with the African slave-trade. 
 By the 10th article of the treaty of Ghent, it was expressly declared that 
 ''whereas the traffic in slaves is irreconcilable with the principles of hu- 
 manity and justice; and whereas both his Majesty and the United States 
 are desirous of continuing their efforts to promote its entire abolition; it is 
 hereby agreed that both the contracting parties shall use their best en- 
 deavors to accomplish so desirable an object." In the enforcement ofthe 
 laws and treaty stipulations of Great Britain, a practice had threatened to 
 grow up, on the part of its cruisers,of subjecting to visitation ships sailing 
 under the American flag, w4iich, while it seriously involved our maritime 
 rights, would subject to vexation a branch of our trade which was daily 
 increasing, and \vhich required the fostering care ofthe Government. And 
 although Lord Aberdeen, in his correspondence with the American 
 envoys, at London, expressly disclaimed all right to detain an American 
 ship on the high seas, even if found with a cargo of slaves on board, and 
 restricted the British pretension to a mere claim to visit and inquire; vet it 
 could not well be discerned by the Executive of the United States how 
 such visit and inquiry could be made without detention on the voyage, 
 and consequent interruption to the trade. It was regarded as the right of 
 search, presented only in a new form, and expressed in different words ; 
 and I therefore felt it to be my duty distinctly to declare, in my annual 
 Message to Congress, that no such concession could be made, and that the 
 United States had both the will and the ability to enforce their own laws, 
 and to protect their flag from being used for purposes wholly forbidden by 
 those laws, and obnoxious to the moral censure ofthe world. Taking- 
 the Message as his letter of instructions, our then Minister at Paris felt 
 himself required to assume the same ground in a remonstrance which 
 he felt it to be his duty to present to M. Guizot, and, through him, to the 
 King of the French, against what has been called the Quintuple Treaty; 
 and his conduct, in this respect, met with the approval of this Government. 
 In close conformity with these views, the eighth article of the treaty was 
 framed, which provides that " each nation shall keep afloat in the African 
 seas a force of not less than eighty guns, to act separately and apart, under 
 instructions from their respective Governments, and for the enforcement 
 of their respective laws and obligations." From this it will be seen that 
 the ground assumed in the Message has been fully maintained, at the 
 same time that the stipulations ofthe treaty of Ghent are to be carried out 
 in good faith by the two countries, and that all pretence is removed for 
 interference with our commerce, for any purpose whatever, by a foreign 
 Government. While, therefore, the United States have been standing up 
 for the freedom ofthe seas, they have not thought proper to make that a 
 |)retext for avoiding a fulftlmen't of their treaty stipulations, or a ground 
 for giving countenance to a trade reprobated by our laws. A similar 
 arrangement by the other great powers could not fail to sweep from the 
 ocean the slave-trade, without the interpolation of any new principle into 
 the maritime code. We may be permitted to hope that the example thus 
 
 598658 
 
set will be followed by some, if not all of ihem. We thereby also afford- 
 suitable protection to the fair trader in those seas; thus fulfilling at the 
 same time the dictates of a sound policy, and complying with the claims 
 of justice and humanity. 
 
 It would have furnished additional cause for congratulation, if the 
 treaty could have embraced all subjects calculated in future to lead to a 
 misunderstanding between the two Governments. The territory of the 
 United States, commonly called the Oregon Territory, lying on the Pa- 
 cific- ocean, north of the forty-second degree of latitude, to a portion of 
 which Great Britain lays claim, begins to attract the attention of our fel- 
 low-citizens; and the tide of population, which has reclaimed what was 
 so lately an unbroken wilderness in more contiguous regions, is prepar- 
 ing to flow over those vast districts which stretch from the Rocky moun- 
 tains to the Pacific ocean. In advance of the acquirement of individual 
 rights to these lands, sound policy dictates that every effort should be re- 
 sorted to by the two Governments to settle their respective claims. It 
 became manifest, at an early hour of the late negotiations, that any at- 
 tempt, for the time being, satisfactorily to determine those rights, would 
 lead to a protracted discussion, which might embrace in its failure other 
 more pressing matters; and the Executive did not regard it as proper to 
 -waive all the advantages of an honorable adjustment of other difficulties 
 of great magnitude and importance, because this, not so immediately 
 pressing, stood in the way. Although the difficulty referred to may not, 
 for several years to come, involve the peace of the two countries, yet I 
 shall not delay to urge on Great Britain the importance of its early settle- 
 ment. Nor will other matters of commercial importance to the two 
 countries be overlooked; and I have good reason to believe that it will 
 comport with the policy of England, as it does with that of the United 
 States, to seize upon this moment, when most of the causes of irritation 
 have passed away, to cement the peace and amity of the two countries, 
 by wisely removing all grounds of probable future collision. 
 
 With the other powers of Europe our relations continue on the most 
 amicable footing. Treaties now existing with them should be rigidly ob- 
 served; and every opportunity, compatible with the interests of the United 
 States, should be seized upon to enlarge the basis of commercial inter- 
 course. Peace with all the world is the true foundation of our policy^ 
 which can only be rendered permanent by the practice of equal and im- 
 partial justice to all. Our great desire should be to enter only into that 
 rivalry which looks to the general good, in the cultivation of the sciences,^ 
 the enlargement of the field for the exercise of the mechanical arts, and 
 the spread of commerce (that great civilizer) to every land and sea. 
 Carefully abstaining from interference in all questions exclusively refer- 
 ring themselves to the political interests of Europe, we may be permitted 
 to hope an equal exemption from the interference of European Govern- 
 ments in what relates to the States of the American continent. 
 
 On the 23d of April last, the commissioners on the part of the United 
 States, under the convention with the Mexican Republic of the 11th of 
 April, 1839, made to the proper department a final report in relation to 
 the proceedings of the commission. From this it appears that the total 
 amount awarded to the claimants by the commissioners and the umpire 
 appointed under that convention, was two million twenty-six tliousand 
 and seventy-nine dollars and sixty-eight cents. The arbiter having con- 
 
sidered that his functions were required by the convention to terminate at 
 the same time with those of the commissioners, returned to the board, 
 undecided for want of time, claims which had been allowed by the 
 American commissioners, to the amount of nine hundred and twenty- 
 eight thousand six hundred and twenty dollars and eighty-eight cents. 
 Other claims, in which the amount sought to be recovered was three 
 million three hundred and thirty-six thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
 seven dollars and five cents, were submitted to the board too late for its 
 consideration. The Minister of the United States at Mexico has been 
 duly authorized to make demand for the payment of the awards, according 
 to the terms of the convention, and the provisions of the act of Congress 
 of the 12th of June, 1840. He has also been instructed to communicate 
 to that Government the expectations of the Government of the United 
 States in relation to those claims which were not disposed of according to 
 the provisions of the convention, and all others of citizens of the United 
 States against the Mexican Government. He has also been furnished 
 v/ith other instructions, to be followed by him in case the Government of 
 Mexico should not find itself in a condition to make present payment of 
 the amount of the awards, in specie or its equivalent. 
 
 I am happy to be able to say that information which is esteemed fa- 
 vorable, both to a just satisfaction of the awards, and a reasonable provision 
 for other claims, has been recently received from Mr. Thompson, the Min- 
 ister of the United States, who has promptly and efficiently executed 
 the instructions of his Government in regard to this important subject. 
 
 The citizens of the United States who accompanied the late Texan ex- 
 pedition to Santa Fe, and who were wrongfully taken and held as pris- 
 oners of war in Mexico, have all been liberated. 
 
 A correspondence has taken place between the Department of State and 
 the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs, upon the complaint of Mexico 
 .that citizens of the United States v/ere permitted to give aid to the inhab- 
 itants of I'exas in the war existing between her and that republic. 
 ■Copies of this correspondence are herewith communicated to Congress, 
 together with copies of letters on the same subject, addressed to the 
 diplomatic cor^s at Mexico, by the American Minister and the Mexican 
 Secretary of State. 
 
 Mexico has thought proper to reciprocate the mission of the United 
 States to that Government, by accrediting to this a minister of the same 
 rank as that of the representative of the United States in Mexico. From 
 the circumstances connected v/ith his mission, favorable results are an- 
 ticipated from it. It is so obviously for the interest of both countries as 
 neighbors andfriends, that all just causes of mutual dissatisfaction should be 
 removed, that it is to be hoped neither will omit or delay the employment 
 of any practicable and honorable means to accomplish that end. 
 
 The affairs pending between this Government and several others of the 
 States of this hemisphere formerly under the dominion of Spain, have 
 again, within the past year, been materially obstructed by the military- 
 revolutions and conflicts in those countries. 
 
 The ratifications of the treaty between the United States and the Re- 
 tpublic of Ecuador, of the 13th of June, 1839, have been exchanged, and 
 that instrument has been duly promulgated on the part of this Govern- 
 ■ment. Copies are now communicated to Congress, with a view to enable 
 that body to make such changes in the laws applicable to our intercourse 
 with that Republic as may be deemed requisite. 
 
6 
 
 Provision has been made by the Government of Chili for the payment 
 of the claim on account of the illegal detention of the brig Warrior at 
 Coquimbo, in 1820. This Government has reason to expect that other 
 claims of our citizens against Chili will be hastened to a final and satis- 
 factory close. 
 
 The empire of Brazil has not been altogether exempt from those con- 
 vulsions which so constantly afflict the neighboring republics. Disturb- 
 ances which recently broke out are, however, now understood to be 
 quieted. But these occurrences, by threatening the stability of the Gov- 
 ernments, or by causing incessant and violent changes in them, or in the 
 persons who administer them, tend greatly to retard provisions for a just 
 indemnity for losses and injuries suifered by individual subjects or citi- 
 zens of other States. The Government of the United States will feel it 
 to be its duty, however, to consent to no delay, not unavoidable, in making 
 satisfaction for wrongs and injuries sustained by its own citizens. Many 
 years, having, in some cases, elapsed, a decisive and effectual course of 
 proceeding will be demanded of the respective Governments against 
 whom claims have been preferred. 
 
 The vexatious, harassing, and expensive war which so long prevailed 
 with the Indian tribes inhabiting the peninsula of Florida, has happily 
 Taeen terminated; whereby our army has been relieved from a service of 
 the most disagreeable character, and the treasury from a large expendi- 
 ture. Some casual outbreaks may occur, such as are incident to the close 
 proximity of border settlers and the Indians; but these, as in all other 
 cases, may be left to the care of the local authorities, aided, when occasion 
 may require, by the forces of the United States. A sufficient number of 
 troops will be maintained in Florida, so long as the remotest apprehen- 
 sions of danger shall exist; yet their duties will be limited rather to the 
 garrisoning of the necessary posts, than to the maintenance of active hos- 
 tilities. It is to be hoped that a territory, so long retarded in its growth, 
 will now speedily recover from the evils incident to a protracted war, 
 exhibiting, in the increased amountof its rich productions, true evidences of 
 returning wealth and prosperity. By the practice of rigid justice towards 
 the numerous Indian tribes residing within our territorial limits, and the 
 exercise of a parental vigilance over tlieir interests, protecting them against 
 fraud and intrusion, and at the same time using every proper expedient 
 to introduce among them the arts of civilized life, we may fondly hope 
 not only to wean them from their love for war, but to inspire them with 
 a love for peace and all its avocations. With several of the tribes, great 
 progress in civilizing them has already been made. The schoolmaster 
 and the missionary are found side by side; and the remnants of what were 
 once numerous and powerful naticwns, may yet be preserved as the builders 
 up of a new name for themselves and their .posterity. 
 
 The balance in the treasury on the 1st of January, 1842, (exclusive of 
 the amount deposited with the States, trust fuiids and indemnities,) was 
 ^230,483 68. The receipts into the treasury during the three first quar- 
 ters of the present year, from all sources, amount to $26,616,593 78; of 
 which more than fourteen millions were received from customs, and 
 about one million from the public lands. The receipts for the fourth 
 quarter are estimated at nearly eight millions; of which four millions are 
 expected from customs, and three millions and a half from loans and 
 treasury notes. The expenditures of the first three quarters of the pres- 
 
ent year exceed twenty-six millions; and those estimated for the fourth 
 quarter amount to about eight millions; and it is anticipated there will he 
 a deficiency of half a million on the 1st of January next; but that the 
 amount of outstanding warrants (estimated at $800,000) will leave an- 
 actual balance of about |>224,000 in the treasury. Among the expen- 
 ditures of the year, are more than eight millions for the public debt, and 
 $600,000 on account of the distribution to the States of the proceeds of 
 salei of the public lands. 
 
 The present tariff of duties was somewhat hastily and hurriedly passed 
 near the close of the late session of Congress. That it should have de- 
 fects, can, therefore, be surprising to no one. To remedy such defects as 
 may be found to exist in many of its numerous provisions, will not fail to 
 claim your serious attention. It may well merit inquiry, whether the ex- 
 action of all duties in cash does not call for the introduction of a system 
 whicli has proved highly beneficial in countries where it has been adopt- 
 ed. I refer to the warehousing system. The first and most prominent 
 effect vv^hich it would produce, would be to protect the market alike against 
 redundant or deficient supplies of foreign fabrics ; both of which, in the 
 long run, are injurious as well to the manufacturer as to the importer. The 
 quantity of goods in store being at all times readily known, it would en- 
 able the importer, with an approach to acc^uracy, to ascertain the actual 
 wants of the market, and to regulate himself accordingly. If, however, 
 he should fall into error, by importing an excess above the public wants, 
 he could readily correct its evils by availing himself of the benefits and 
 advantages of the system thus established. In the storehouse, the goods 
 imported would await the demands of the market; and their issues would 
 be governed by the fixed principles of demand and supply. Thus an 
 approximation ' ould be made to a steadiness and uniformity of price, 
 Avhich, if attainable, would conduce to the decided advantage of mercan- 
 tile and mechanical operations. 
 
 The apprehension may be well entertained, that, without something to 
 ameliorate the rigor of cash payments, the entire import trade may fall 
 into the hands of a few wealthy capitalists in this country and in Europe. 
 The small importer, who requires all the money he can raise for invest- 
 ments abroad, and who can but ill afford to pay the lowest duty, would 
 have to subduct in advance a portion of his funds, in order to pay the 
 duties, and would lose the interest upon the amount thus paid for all the 
 time the goods might remain unsold; which might absorb his profits. 
 The rich capitalist abroad, as well as at home, would thus possess, after 
 a short time, an almost exclusive monopoly of the import trade; and laws 
 designed for the benefit of all, would thus operate for the benefit of the 
 few, — a result wholly uncongenial with the spirit of our institutions, and 
 anti-republican in all its tendencies. The warehousing system would 
 enable the importer to watch the market, and to select his own time for 
 offering his goods for sale. A profitable portion of the carrying trade in 
 articles entered for the benefit of drawback, must also be most seriously 
 affected, v/ithout the adoption of some expedient to relieve the cash sys- 
 tem. The warehousing system would afford that relief, since the carrier 
 would have a safe recourse to the public storehouses, and might, without 
 advancing the duty, reship within some reasonable period to foreign 
 ports. A further effect of the measure would be to supersede the system 
 of drawbacks, thereby effectually protecting the Government against 
 
8 
 
 fraud, as the right of debenture would not attach to goods after their 
 withdrawal from the public stores. 
 
 In revising the existing tariff" of duties, should you deem it proper to do 
 so at your present session, I can only repeat the suggestions and recom- 
 mendations which, upon several occasions, I have heretofore felt it to be 
 my duty to off"er to Congress. , The great primary and controlling inter- 
 est of the American people is union; union, not only in the mere forms of 
 government — forms which may be broken — ^but union founded in an at- 
 tachment of States and individuals for each other. This union in senti- 
 ment and feeling can only be preserved by the adoption of that course of 
 policy which, neither giving exclusive benefits to some, nor imposing un- 
 necessary burdens upon others, shall consult the interests of all, by pur- 
 suing a course of moderation, and thereby seeking to harmonize public 
 opinion, and causing the people everywhere to feel and to know that the 
 Government is careful of the interests of all alike. Nor is there any sub- 
 ject in regard to which moderation, connected with a wise discrimination, 
 is more necessary than in the imposition of duties on imports. Whether 
 reference be had to revenue — the primary object in the imposition of 
 taxes — or to the incidents which necessarily flow h'om their imposition, 
 this is entirely true. Extravagant duties defeat their end and object, not 
 only by exciting in the public mind an hostility to the manufacturing in- 
 terests, but by inducing a system of smuggling on an extensive scale, and 
 the practice of every manner of fraud upon the revenue, which the utmost 
 vigilance of Government cannot eff"ectually suppress. An opposite 
 course of policy would be attended by results essentially different, of which 
 eveiy interest of society — and none more than those of the manufac- 
 turer — would reap important advantages. Among the most striking of its 
 benefits would be that derived from the general acquiescence of the coun- 
 try in its support, and the consequent permanency and stability which 
 would be given to all the operations of industry. It cannot be too often 
 repeated, that no system of legislation can be wise, which is fluctuating 
 and uncertain. No interest can thrive under it. The prudent capitalist 
 will never adventure his capital in manufacturing establishments, or in 
 any other leading pursuit of life, if there exists a state of uncertainty as 
 to whether the Government will repeal to-morrow what it has enacted to- 
 day. Fitful profits, however high, if threatened with a ruinous reduction 
 by a vacillating policy on the part of Government, will scarcely tempt him 
 to trust the money which he has acquired by a life of labor upon the un- 
 certain adventure. I, therefore, in the spirit of conciliation, and influ- 
 enced by no other desire than to rescue the great interests of the country 
 from the vortex of political contention, and in the discharge of the high 
 and solemn duties of the place which I now occupy, recommend moder- 
 ate duties, imposed with a wise discrimination as to their several objects, 
 as being not only most likely to be durable, but most advantageous to 
 every interest of society. 
 
 The report of the Secretary of the War Department exhibits a very 
 full and satisfactory account of the various and important interests com- 
 mitted to the charge of that officer. It is particularly gratifying to find 
 that the expenditures for the military service are greatly reduced in 
 amount ; that a strict system of economy has been introduced into the 
 service, and the abuses of past years greatly reformed. The fortifications 
 on our maritime frontier have been prosecuted with much vigor, and at 
 
9 
 
 many points our defences are in a very considerable state of forwardness. 
 The suggestions in reference to the establishment of means of communi- 
 cation with our territories on the Pacific, and to the surveys so essential 
 to a knowledge of the resources of the intermediate country, are entitled 
 to the most favorable consideration. While I would propose nothing in- 
 consistent with friendly negotiations to settle the extent of our claims in 
 that region, yet a prudent forecast points out the necessity of such meas- 
 ures as may enable us to maintain our rights. The arrangements made 
 for preserving our neutral relations on the boundary between us and 
 Texas, and keeping in check the Indians in that quarter, will be main- 
 tained so long as circumstances may require. 
 
 For several years angry contentions have grown out of the disposition 
 directed by law to be made of the mineral lands held by the Government 
 in several of the States. The Government is constituted the landlord, 
 and the citizens of the States wherein lie the lands are its tenants. The 
 relation is an unwise one ; and it would be much more conducive of 
 the public interest that a sale of the lands should be made, than that 
 they should remain in their present condition. The supply of the ore 
 would be more abundantly and certainly furnished M'-hen to be drawn 
 from the enterprise and the industry of the proprietor, than under the 
 present system. 
 
 The recommendation of the Secretary in regard to the improvements 
 of the Western waters, and certain prominent harbors on the lakes, 
 merits, and I doubt not will receive, your serious attention. The great 
 importance of these subjects to the prosperity of the extensive region re- 
 ferred to, and the security of the whole country in time of war, cannot 
 escape observation. The losses of life and property which annually oc- 
 cur in the navigation of the Mississippi alone, because of the dangerous 
 obstructions in the river, make a loud demand, upon Congress for the 
 adoption of efficient measures for their removal. 
 
 The report of the Secretary of the Navy will bring you acquainted with 
 that important branch of the public defences. Considering the already 
 vast and daily increasing commerce of the country, apart from the expo- 
 sure to hostile inroad of an extended seaboard, all that relates to the 
 navy is calculated to excite particular attention. Whatever tends to add 
 to its efficiency, without entailing unnecessary charges upon the treasury, 
 is well worthy of your serious consideration. It will be seen, that while 
 an appropriation exceeding by more than a million the appropriations of the 
 present year, is asked by the Secretary, yet that, in this sum, is proposed 
 to be included $400,000 for the purchase of clothing, which, when once 
 expended, will be annually reimbursed by the sale of the clothes, and will 
 thus constitute a perpetual fund, without any new appropriation to the 
 same object. To this may also be added $50,000 asked to cover the ar- 
 rearages of past years, and $250,000 in order to maintain a competent 
 squadron on the coast of Afiica; all of which, when deducted, will reduce 
 the expenditures nearly within the limits of those of the current year. 
 W^hile, however, the expenditures will thus remain very nearly the same 
 as of the antecedent year, it is proposed to add greatly to the operations of 
 the marine, and, in lieu of only twenty-five ships in commission, and but 
 little in the way of building, to keep, with the same expenditure, forty-one 
 vessels atloat, and to build twelve ships of a small class. 
 
 A strict system of accountabihty is established, and great pains are 
 
10 
 
 taken to insure industry, fidelity and economy, in every department of 
 duty. Experiments have been instituted to test the quality of various 
 materials, particularly copper, iron, and coal, so as to prevent fraud and 
 imposition. 
 
 It will appear by the report of the Postmaster General, that the great 
 point which, for several years, has been so much desired, has, during the 
 current year, been fully accomplished. The expenditures of the depart- 
 ment for the current year have been brought within its income, without 
 lessening its general usefulness. There has been an increase of revenue 
 equal to $166,000 for the year 1842 over that of 1841, without, as it is. 
 believed, any addition liaving been made to the number of letters and 
 newspapers transmitted through the mails. The Post Office laws have 
 been honestlyadministered,and fidelity has been observed in accounting for, 
 and paying over by the subordinates of the department, the moneys which 
 have been received. For the details of the service, I refer you to the 
 report. 
 
 I flatter myself that the exhibition thus made of the condition of the 
 public administration will serve to convince you that every proper atten- 
 tion has been paid to the interests of the country by those who have been 
 called to the heads of the different departments. The reduction in the 
 annual expenditures of the Government already accomplished, furnishes 
 a sure evidence that economy in the application of the public moneys is 
 regarded as a paramount duty. 
 
 At peace with all the world — the personal liberty of the citizen sacredly 
 maintained, and his rights secured under political institutions deriving all 
 their authority from the direct sanction of the people — with a soil fertile 
 almost beyond example, and a country blessed with every diversity of 
 climate and production, what remains to be done in order to advance the 
 happiness and prosperity of such a people? Under ordinary circumstances, 
 this inquiry could readily be answered. The best that probably could be 
 done for a people inhabiting such a country, would be to fortify their peace 
 and security in the prosecution of their various pursuits, by guarding them 
 against invasion from without, and violence from within. The rest, for 
 the greater part, might be left to their own energy and enterprise. The 
 chief embarrassments which, at the moment, exhibit themselves, have 
 arisen from over-action ; and the most difficult task which remains to be 
 accomplished is that of correcting and overcoming its effects. Between 
 the years 1833 and 1838, additions were made to bank capital and bank 
 issues, in the form of notes designed for circulation, to an extent enor- 
 mously great. The question seemed to be, not how the best currency- 
 could be provided, but in what manner the greatest amount of bank paper 
 could be put in circulation. Thus, a vast amount of what was called 
 money — since, for the time being, it answered the purposes of money — 
 was thrown upon the country, an over-issue which was attended, as a 
 necessary consequence, by an extravagant increase of the prices of all articles 
 of property, the spread of a speculative mania all over the country, and has 
 finally ended in a general indebtedness on the part of States and in- 
 dividuals, the prostration of pubhc and private credit, a depre-^iation 
 in the market value of real and personal estate, and has left large dis- 
 tricts of country almost entirely without any circulating medium. In 
 viev/ of the fact that, in 1830, the whole bank-note circulation within 
 the United States amounted to but .$61,323,898, according to the 
 
n 
 
 Treasury statements, and that an addition had been made thereto of 
 the enormous sum of $88,000,000 in seven years, (the circulation on 
 the 1st January, 1837, being stated at $149,185,890,) aided by the great 
 facihties afforded ni obtaining loans from European capitalists, who were 
 seized with the same speculative mania which prevailed in the United 
 States — and the large importations of funds from abroad, the result of 
 stock sales and loans — no one can be surprised at the apparent, but un- 
 substantial, state of prosperity which everywhere prevailed over the land; 
 and while little cause of surprise should be felt at the present prostration 
 of everything, and the ruin which has befallen so many of our fellow- 
 citizens in the sudden withdrawal from circulation of so large an amount 
 of bank issues since 1837 — exceeding, as is believed, the amount added 
 ot the paper currency for a similar perdod antecedent to 1837 — it ceases to 
 be a matter of astonishment that such extensive shipwreck should have 
 been made of private fortunes, or that difficulties should exist in meeting 
 their engagements on the part of the debtor States. Apart from which, 
 if there be taken into account the immense losses sustained in the 
 dishonor of numerous banks, it is less a matter of surprise that insolv- 
 ency should have visited many of our fellovz-citizens, than that so many 
 should have escaped the blighting influences of the times. 
 
 In the solemn conviction of these truths, and with an ardent desire to 
 meet the pressing necessities of the country, I felt it to be my duty to 
 cause to be submitted to you, at the commencement of your late session, 
 the plan of an Exchequer; the whole power and duty of maintaining^ 
 which, in purity and vigor, was to be exercised by the Representatives 
 of the people and of the States, and, therefore, virtually by the people them- 
 selves. It was proposed to place it under the control and direction of a 
 treasury board, to consist of three commissioners, whose duty it should 
 be to see that the law of its creation was faithfully executed; and that the 
 great end of supplying a paper medium of exchange, at all times converti- 
 ble into gold and silver, should be attained. The board, thus consti- 
 tuted, was given as much permanency as could be imparted to it, without 
 endangering the proper share of responsibility which should attach to all 
 public agents. In order to insure all the advantages of a well-matured 
 experience, the commissioners were to hold their offices for the respective 
 periods of two, four, and six years; thereby securing, at all times, in the 
 management of the Exchequer, the services of two men of experience; 
 and to place them in a condition to exercise perfect independence of mind 
 and action, it was provided that their removal should only take place for 
 actual incapacity or infidelity to the trust, and to be followed by the President 
 with an exposition of the causes of such removal, should it occur. It was 
 proposed to establish subordinate boards in each of the States, under the 
 same restrictions and limitations of the power of removal, which, with 
 the central board, should receive, safely keep, and disburse the public 
 moneys; and in order to furnish a sound paper medium of exchange, the 
 Exchequer should retain of the revenues of the Government a sum not to 
 exceed $5,000,000 in specie, to be set apart as required by its operations, 
 and to pay the public creditor, at his own option, either in specie or treas- 
 ury notes, of denominations not less than five, nor exceeding one hun- 
 dred dollars; which notes should be redeemed at the several places of 
 issue, and to be receivable at all times and everywhere in payment of 
 Government dues; with a restraint upon such issue of bills, that the same 
 
12 
 
 should not exceed the maximum of $15,01)0,000. In order to guard 
 against all the hazards incident to fluctuations in trade, the Secretary of 
 the Treasury was invested with authority to issue $5,000,000 of Govern- 
 ment stock, should the same at any time be regarded as necessary, in 
 order to place beyond hazard the prompt redemption of the bills which 
 might be thrown into circulation: thus, in fact, making the issue of 
 $15,000,000 of Exchequer bills rest substantially on $10,000,000; 
 and keeping in circulation never more than one and one-half dollar 
 for every dollar in specie. When to this it is added that the bills are 
 not only everywhere receivable in Government dues, but that the Gov- 
 ernment itself would be bound for their ultimate redemption, no rational 
 doubt can exist that the paper which the Exchequer would furnish would 
 readily enter into general circulation, and be maintained at all times at or 
 above par with gold and silver ; thereby realizing the great want of the 
 age, and fulfilling the wishes of the people. In order to reimburse the 
 Government the expenses of the plan, it was proposed to invest the Ex- 
 chequer Avith the limited authority to deal in bills of exchange, unless 
 prohibited by the State in which an agency might be situated, having 
 only thirty days to run, and resting on a fair and bona fide basis. The 
 legislative will on this point might be so plainly announced, as to avoid 
 all pretext for partiality or favoritism. It was furthermore proposed to in- 
 vest this treasury agent with authority to receive on deposite, to a limited 
 amount, the specie funds of individuals, and to grant certificates therefor, 
 to be redeemed on presentation, under the idea (which is believed to be 
 well founded) that such certificates would come in aid of the Exchequer 
 bills in supplying a safe and ample paper circulation. Or, if in place of 
 the contemplated dealings in exchange, the^Exchequer should be author- 
 ized not only to exchange its bills for actual deposites of specie, but for 
 specie or its equivalents to sell drafts, charging therefor a small but rea- 
 sonable premium, I cannot doubt but that the benefits of the law would 
 be speedily manifested in the revival of the credit, trade, and business of 
 the whole country. Entertaining this opinion, it becomes my duty to 
 urge its adoption upon Congress, by reference to the strongest considera- 
 tions of the public interests, with such alterations in its details as Con- 
 gress may in its wisdom see fit to make. 
 
 I am well aware that this proposed alteration and amendment of the 
 laws establishing the Treasury Department has encountered various ob- 
 jections; and that, among Others, it has been proclaimed a Government 
 bank of fearful and dangerous import. It is proposed to confer upon it 
 no extraordinary powers. It purports to do no more than pay the debts 
 of the Government with the redeemable paper of the Government; in 
 which respect, it accomplishes precisely what the Treasury does daily at 
 this time — in issuing to the public creditors the treasury notes, which, un- 
 der law, it is authorized to issue. It has no resemblance to an ordinary 
 bank, as it furnishes no profits to private stockholders, and lends no capi- 
 tal to individuals. If it be objected to as a Government bank, and the ob- 
 jection be available, then should all the laws in relation to the Treasury be 
 repealed, and the capacity ofthe Government to collect what is due to it, 
 or pay what it owes, be abrogated. 
 
 This is the chief purpose ofthe proposed Exchequer; and surely, if, in the 
 aQcomplishment of a purpose so essential, it affords a sound circulating 
 medium to the country and facihties to trade, it should be regarded as no 
 
13 
 
 slight recommendation of it to public consideration. Properly guarded 
 by the provisions of law, it can run into no dangerous evil; nor can any 
 abuse arise under it, but such as the Legislature itself will be answera- 
 ble for, if it be tolerated; since it is but the creature of the law, and 
 is susceptible at all times of modification, amendment, or repeal, at 
 the pleasure of Congress. I know that it has been objected that the 
 system would be liable to be abused by the legislature — by whom 
 alone it could be abused — in the party conflicts of the day; that 
 such abuse Avould manifest itself in a change of the law, which 
 would authorize an excessive issue of paper for the purpose of inflating 
 prices and winning popular favor. To that it may be answered, that the 
 ascription of such a motive to Congress is altogether gratuitous and inad- 
 missible. The theory of our institutions would lead us to a diflerent con- 
 clusion. But a perfect security against a proceeding so reckless would be 
 found to exist in the very nature of things. The political party which 
 should be so blind to the true interests of the country as to resort to such 
 an expedient, would inevitably meet with a final overthrow, in the fact that, 
 the moment the paper ceased to be convertible into specie, or otherwise 
 promptly redeemed, it would become worthless, and would, in the end, 
 dishonor the Government, involve the people in ruin, and such political 
 party in hopeless disgrace. At the same time, such a view involve.s the 
 utter impossibility of furnishing any currency other than that of the pre- 
 cious metals; for, 'if the Government itself cannot forego the temptation of 
 excessive paper issues, what reliance can be placed in corporations, upon 
 whom the temptations of individual aggrandizement would most strongly 
 operate? The people would have to blame none but themselves for any 
 injury that might arise from a course so reckless, since their agents would 
 be the wrongdoers, and they the passive spectators. 
 
 There can be but three kinds of public currency: 1st. Gold and silver; 
 2d. The paper of State institutions; or, 3d. A representative of the pre- 
 cious metals, provided by the General Government, or under its authority. 
 The sub-treasury system rejected the last, in any form; and, as it was be- 
 lieved that no reliance could be placed on the issues of local institutions, 
 for the purposes of general circulation, it necessarily and unavoidably 
 adopted specie as the exclusive currency for its own use. And this must 
 ever be the case, unless one of the other kinds be used. The choice, in 
 the present state of public sentiment, lies between an exclusive specie cur- 
 rency on the one hand, and Government issues of some kind on the other. 
 That these issues cannot be made by a chartered institution, is supposed 
 to be conclusively settled. They must be made, then, directly by Gov- 
 ernment agents. For several years past, they have been thus made in 
 the form of treasury notes, and have answered a valuable purpose. Their 
 usefulness has been limited by their being transient and temporary ; their 
 ceasing to bear interest at given periods, necessarily causes their speedy 
 return, and thus restricts their range of circulation; and being used only 
 in the disbursements of Government, they cannot reach those points 
 where they are most required. By rendering their use permanent, to the 
 moderate extent already mentioned, by oflering no inducement for their 
 return, and by exchanging them for coin and other values, they will con- 
 stitute, to a certain extent, the general currency so much needed to mam- 
 tain the internal trade of the country. And this is the Exchequer plan, 
 so far as it may operate in furnishing a currency. 
 
14 
 
 I cannot forego the occasion to urge its importance to the credit of the 
 Government in a financial point of view. The great necessity of resort- 
 ing to every proper and becoming expedient, in order to place the treas- 
 luy on a footing of the highest respectability, is entirely obvious. The 
 credit of the Government may be regarded as the very soul of the Gov- 
 ernment itself — a principle of vitality, without which all its movements 
 are languid, and all its operations embarrassed. In this spirit the Exe- 
 cutive felt itself bound, by the most imperative sense of duty, to submit 
 to Congress, at its last session, the propriety of making a specific pledge 
 of the land fund, as the basis for the negotiation of the loans authorized 
 to be contracted. I then thought that such an application of the pub- 
 lic domain would, without doubt, liave placed at the command of the 
 Government ample funds to relieve the treasury from the temporary 
 embarrassments under which it labored. American credit has sufiered 
 a considerable shock in Europe, from the large indebtedness of the States, 
 and the temporary inability of some of them to meet the interest on their 
 debts. The utter and disastrous prostration of the United States Bank of 
 Pennsylvania had contributed largely to increase the sentiment of distrust, 
 by reason of the loss and ruin sustained by the holders of its stock — a large 
 portion of whom were foreigners, and many of whom were alike ignorant 
 of our political organization, and of our actual responsibilities. It was the 
 anxious desire of the Executive that, in the efiort to negotiate the loan 
 abroad, the American negotiator might be able to point the money-lender 
 to the fund mortgaged for the redemption of the principal and interest of any 
 loan he might contract, and thereby vindicate the Government from all 
 suspicion of bad faith, or inability to meet its engagements. Congress 
 differed from the Executive in this view of the subject. It became, 
 nevertheless, the duty of the Executive to resort to every expedient in 
 its power to negotiate the authorized loan. After a failure to do so in 
 the American market, a citizen of high character and talent was sent 
 to Europe — with no better success; and thus the mortifying spectacle 
 has been presented, of the inability of this Government to obtain a 
 loan so small as not in the whole to amount to more than one fourth 
 of its ordinary annual income; at a time when the Governments of 
 Europe, although involved in debt, and with their subjects heavily 
 burdened with taxation, readily obtain loans of any amount at a greatly 
 reduced rate of intei-est. It would he unprofitable to look further into 
 this anomalous slate of things; but I cannot conclude v%athout adding, 
 that, for a Government which has paid off its debts of two wars 
 with the largest maritime power of Europe, and now owing a debt which 
 Is almost next to nothing, when compared with its boundless resources — a 
 Governm.ent the strongest in the world, because emanating- from the popu- 
 lar will, and firmly rooted in tiie affections of a great and free people — aud 
 whose fidelity to its engagements has never been questioned ; — for such a 
 Government to have tendered to the capitalists of other countries an oppor- 
 tunity for a small investment of its stock, and yet to have failed, implies 
 either the most unfounded distrust in its good faitli, or a purpose, to obtain 
 which the course pursued is the most fi\tal winch could hnvo been adopted. 
 It has now become obvious to all men that the Government must look to its 
 own means for supplying its wants ; and it is consoling to know that these 
 means are altogether adequate for the object. The Exchequer, if adopted, 
 will greatly aid in bringing about this result. Upon what i regard as a 
 
15 ^ 
 
 well-founded supposition, that its bills would be readily sought for by the 
 ;public creditors, and that the issue would, in a short time, reach the maxi- 
 mum of $15,000,000, it is obvious that $10,000,000 would thereby be add- 
 ed to the available means of the treasury, without cost or charge. Nor can 
 I fail to urge the great and beneficial effects which would be produced in 
 aid of all the active pursuits of life. Its effects upon the solvent ;State 
 banks, while it would force into liquidation those of an opposite character 
 through Its weekly settlements, would be highly beneficial ; and. with the 
 advantages of a sound currency, the restoration of confidence and credit 
 would ibllow, with a numerous train of blessings. My convictions are 
 most strong that these benefits would flow from the adoption of this meas- 
 ure ; but, if the result should be adverse, there is this security in connex- 
 ion with It— that the law creating it may be repealed at the pleasure of the 
 Legislature, without the slightest implication of its good faith. 
 
 I recommend to Congress to take into consideration the propriety of re- 
 imbursing a fine imposed on General Jackson, at New Orleans, at the time 
 of the attack and defence of that city, and paid by him. Without design- 
 ing any reflection on the judicial tribunal which imposed the fine, the re- 
 mission at this day may be regarded as not unjust or inexpedient. The 
 voice of the civil authority was heard amidst the glitter of arms, and obey- 
 ed by those who held the sword — thereby giving additional lustre to a 
 memorable military achievement. If the laws were offended, their majesty 
 was fully vindicated ; and, although the penalty incurred and paid is worthy 
 of little regard in a pecuniary point of view, it can hardly be doubted that 
 it would be gratifying to the war-worn veteran, now in retirement and in 
 the winter of his days, to be relieved from the circumstances in which that 
 judgment placed him. There are cases in which public functionaries may 
 be called on to weigh the public interest against their own personal haz- 
 ards ; and, if the civil law be violated from praiseworthy motives, or an 
 overruling sense of public danger and public necessity'', punishment may 
 well be restrained within that limit which asserts and maintains the author- 
 ity of the law, and the subjection of the military to the civil power. The de- 
 fence of New Orleans, while it saved a city from the hands of the enemy, 
 placed the name of General Jackson among those of the greatest captains 
 of the age, and illustrated one ol the brightest pages of our history. Now 
 that the causes of excitement existing at the time have ceased to operate, it 
 is believed that the remission of this fine, and whatever of gratification that 
 remission might cause the eminent man who incurred and paid it, would 
 be in accordance with the general feeling and wishes of the American 
 people. 
 
 I have thus, fellow-citizens, acquitted myself of my duty under the Con- 
 stitution^ by laying before you, as succinctly as I have been able, the state 
 of the Union, and by inviting your attention to measures of much im- 
 portance to the country. The Executive will most zealously unite its ef- 
 forts with those of the Legislative Department in the accomplishment of 
 all that is required to relieve the wants of a common constituency, or ele- 
 vate the destinies of a beloved country. 
 
 JOHN TYLER. 
 
 Washington, December, 1842. 
 
CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE AND APPENDIX. 
 
 These works havesuch awjde circulation, and have been so universally approved and sought 
 after by the public, that we deem it necessary only in this prospectus to say that they will be • 
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 which they wi41 be printed, and the prices for them. 
 
 The Congressional Globe is made up of the daily proceedings of the two Houses of Congress. 
 The speeches of the members are abridged, or condensed, to bring them into a reasonable or 
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 for one number a week; and the balance of the session enough for two or three numbers a 
 week. The present session of Congress will furnush matter enough, we suppose, for twenty-five 
 or thirty numbers. 
 
 The Appendix is madcap of the President's annual message, the reports of the principal 
 officers of the Government that acrompany'it, and all the long speeches of members .^^C Con- 
 gress, written out or revised by themselves. It is printed in the same form as the Cc&igres- 
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 should be any ambiguity in the synopsis of the speech, or any denial of its correctness, as pub- 
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 can obtain a full history of the proceedings of Congress. Gales and Seaton's Register of 
 Debates, which contained a history, was suspended in the year 1837, and has not since been 
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 a large quantity of type, and keeping the Congressional matter that we set up for the Daily 
 and Semi-weekly Globes standing for the Congressional Globt- and Appendix. 
 
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 close of each session, and sent to all subscribers' for them. 
 
 The reports of tlie Congressional Globe and Appendix are not in the least degree affected by the party bias of ihc 
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 Congre; 
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