United States were repealed so far as the same respected the produce or manufacture of the nation to which such foreign ship or vessel might belong, such repeal to take effect in favor of any foreign nation whenever the President of the United States should be satisfied that the discriminating or countervailing duties of such foreign nation so far as they operate to the disadvantage of the United States have been abolished; and
Whereas satisfactory proof has been received by me from the burgo-masters and senators of the free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg that from and after the 13th day of November, 1815, all discriminating and countervailing duties of the said city so far as they operated to the disadvantage of the United States have been and are abolished:
Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States of America, do hereby declare and proclaim that so much of the several acts imposing duties on the tonnage of ships and vessels and on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the United States as imposed a discriminating duty of tonnage between vessels of the free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg and vessels of the United States and between goods imported into the United States in vessels of Hamburg and vessels of the United States are repealed so far as the same respect the produce or manufacture of the said free Hanseatic city of Hamburg.
Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 1st day of August, A.D. 1818, and the forty-third year of the Independence of the United States.
JAMES MONROE.
By the President:
John Quincy Adams,
_Secretary of State_.
SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE.
NOVEMBER 16, 1818.
_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
The auspicious circumstances under which you will commence the duties of the present session will lighten the burdens inseparable from the high trust committed to you. The fruits of the earth have been unusually abundant, commerce has flourished, the revenue has exceeded the most favorable anticipation, and peace and amity are preserved with foreign nations on conditions just and honorable to our country. For these inestimable blessings we can not but be grateful to that Providence which watches over the destiny of nations.
As the term limited for the operation of the commercial convention with Great Britain will expire early in the month of July next, and it was deemed important that there should be no interval during which that portion of our commerce which was provided for by that convention should not be regulated, either by arrangement between the two Governments or by the authority of Congress, the minister of the United States at London was instructed early in the last summer to invite the attention of the British Government to the subject, with a view to that object. He was instructed to propose also that the negotiation which it was wished to open might extend to the general commerce of the two countries, and to every other interest and unsettled difference between them, particularly those relating to impressment, the fisheries, and boundaries, in the hope that an arrangement might be made on principles of reciprocal advantage which might comprehend and provide in a satisfactory manner for all these high concerns. I have the satisfaction to state that the proposal was received by the British Government in the spirit which prompted it, and that a negotiation has been opened at London embracing all these objects. On full consideration of the great extent and magnitude of the trust it was thought proper to commit it to not less than two of our distinguished citizens, and in consequence the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States at Paris has been associated with our envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at London, to both of whom corresponding instructions have been given, and they are now engaged in the discharge of its duties. It is proper to add that to prevent any inconvenience resulting from the delay incident to a negotiation on so many important subjects it was agreed before entering on it that the existing convention should be continued for a term not less than eight years.
Our relations with Spain remain nearly in the state in which they were at the close of the last session. The convention of 1802, providing for the adjustment of a certain portion of the claims of our citizens for injuries sustained by spoliation, and so long suspended by the Spanish Government, has at length been ratified by it, but no arrangement has yet been made for the payment of another portion of like claims, not less extensive or well founded, or for other classes of claims, or for the settlement of boundaries. These subjects have again been brought under consideration in both countries, but no agreement has been entered into respecting them. In the meantime events have occurred which clearly prove the ill effect of the policy which that Government has so long pursued on the friendly relations of the two countries, which it is presumed is at least of as much importance to Spain as to the United States to maintain. A state of things has existed in the Floridas the tendency of which has been obvious to all who have paid the slightest attention to the progress of affairs in that quarter. Throughout the whole of those Provinces to which the Spanish title extends the Government of Spain has scarcely been felt. Its authority has been confined almost exclusively to the walls of Pensacola and St. Augustine, within which only small garrisons have been maintained. Adventurers from every country, fugitives from justice, and absconding slaves have found an asylum there. Several tribes of Indians, strong in the number of their warriors, remarkable for their ferocity, and whose settlements extend to our limits, inhabit those Provinces. These different hordes of people, connected together, disregarding on the one side the authority of Spain, and protected on the other by an imaginary line which separates Florida from the United States, have violated our laws prohibiting the introduction of slaves, have practiced various frauds on our revenue, and committed every kind of outrage on our peaceable citizens which their proximity to us enabled them to perpetrate. The invasion of Amelia Island last year by a small band of adventurers, not exceeding 150 in number, who wrested it from the inconsiderable Spanish force stationed there, and held it several months, during which a single feeble effort only was made to recover it, which failed, clearly proves how completely extinct the Spanish authority had become, as the conduct of those adventurers while in possession of the island as distinctly shows the pernicious purposes for which their combination had been formed.
This country had, in fact, become the theater of every species of lawless adventure. With little population of its own, the Spanish authority almost extinct, and the colonial governments in a state of revolution, having no pretension to it, and sufficiently employed in their own concerns, it was in a great measure derelict, and the object of cupidity to every adventurer. A system of buccaneering was rapidly organizing over it which menaced in its consequences the lawful commerce of every nation, and particularly of the United States, while it presented a temptation to every people, on whose seduction its success principally depended. In regard to the United States, the pernicious effect of this unlawful combination was not confined to the ocean; the Indian tribes have constituted the effective force in Florida. With these tribes these adventurers had formed at an early period a connection with a view to avail themselves of that force to promote their own projects of accumulation and aggrandizement. It is to the interference of some of these adventurers, in misrepresenting the claims and titles of the Indians to land and in practicing on their savage propensities, that the Seminole war is principally to be traced. Men who thus connect themselves with savage communities and stimulate them to war, which is always attended on their part with acts of barbarity the most shocking, deserve to be viewed in a worse light than the savages. They would certainly have no claim to an immunity from the punishment which, according to the rules of warfare practiced by the savages, might justly be inflicted on the savages themselves.
If the embarrassments of Spain prevented her from making an indemnity to our citizens for so long a time from her treasury for their losses by spoliation and otherwise, it was always in her power to have provided it by the cession of this territory. Of this her Government has been repeatedly apprised, and the cession was the more to have been anticipated as Spain must have known that in ceding it she would in effect cede what had become of little value to her, and would likewise relieve herself from the important obligation secured by the treaty of 1795 and all other compromitments respecting it. If the United States, from consideration of these embarrassments, declined pressing their claims in a spirit of hostility, the motive ought at least to have been duly appreciated by the Government of Spain. It is well known to her Government that other powers have made to the United States an indemnity for like losses sustained by their citizens at the same epoch.
There is nevertheless a limit beyond which this spirit of amity and forbearance can in no instance be justified. If it was proper to rely on amicable negotiation for an indemnity for losses, it would not have been so to have permitted the inability of Spain to fulfill her engagements and to sustain her authority in the Floridas to be perverted by foreign adventurers and savages to purposes so destructive to the lives of our fellow-citizens and the highest interests of the United States. The right of self-defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and to individuals, and whether the attack be made by Spain herself or by those who abuse her power, its obligation is not the less strong. The invaders of Amelia Island had assumed a popular and respected title under which they might approach and wound us. As their object was distinctly seen, and the duty imposed on the Executive by an existing law was profoundly felt, that mask was not permitted to protect them. It was thought incumbent on the United States to suppress the establishment, and it was accordingly done. The combination in Florida for the unlawful purposes stated, the acts perpetrated by that combination, and, above all, the incitement of the Indians to massacre our fellow-citizens of every age and of both sexes, merited a like treatment and received it. In pursuing these savages to an imaginary line in the woods it would have been the height of folly to have suffered that line to protect them. Had that been done the war could never cease. Even if the territory had been exclusively that of Spain and her power complete over it, we had a right by the law of nations to follow the enemy on it and to subdue him there. But the territory belonged, in a certain sense at least, to the savage enemy who inhabited it; the power of Spain had ceased to exist over it, and protection was sought under her title by those who had committed on our citizens hostilities which she was bound by treaty to have prevented, but had not the power to prevent. To have stopped at that line would have given new encouragement to these savages and new vigor to the whole combination existing there in the prosecution of all its pernicious purposes.
In suppressing the establishment at Amelia Island no unfriendliness was manifested toward Spain, because the post was taken from a force which had wrested it from her. The measure, it is true, was not adopted in concert with the Spanish Government or those in authority under it, because in transactions connected with the war in which Spain and the colonies are engaged it was thought proper in doing justice to the United States to maintain a strict impartiality toward both the belligerent parties without consulting or acting in concert with either. It gives me pleasure to state that the Governments of Buenos Ayres and Venezuela, whose names were assumed, have explicitly disclaimed all participation in those measures, and even the knowledge of them until communicated by this Government, and have also expressed their satisfaction that a course of proceedings had been suppressed which if justly imputable to them would dishonor their cause.
In authorizing Major-General Jackson to enter Florida in pursuit of the Seminoles care was taken not to encroach on the rights of Spain. I regret to have to add that in executing this order facts were disclosed respecting the conduct of the officers of Spain in authority there in encouraging the war, furnishing munitions of war and other supplies to carry it on, and in other acts not less marked which evinced their participation in the hostile purposes of that combination and justified the confidence with which it inspired the savages that by those officers they would be protected. A conduct so incompatible with the friendly relations existing between the two countries, particularly with the positive obligation of the fifth article of the treaty of 1795, by which Spain was bound to restrain, even by force, those savages from acts of hostility against the United States, could not fail to excite surprise. The commanding general was convinced that he should fail in his object, that he should in effect accomplish nothing, if he did not deprive those savages of the resource on which they had calculated and of the protection on which they had relied in making the war. As all the documents relating to this occurrence will be laid before Congress, it is not necessary to enter into further detail respecting it.
Although the reasons which induced Major-General Jackson to take these posts were duly appreciated, there was nevertheless no hesitation in deciding on the course which it became the Government to pursue. As there was reason to believe that the commanders of these posts had violated their instructions, there was no disposition to impute to their Government a conduct so unprovoked and hostile. An order was in consequence issued to the general in command there to deliver the posts–Pensacola unconditionally to any person duly authorized to receive it, and St. Marks, which is in the heart of the Indian country, on the arrival of a competent force to defend it against those savages and their associates.
In entering Florida to suppress this combination no idea was entertained of hostility to Spain, and however justifiable the commanding general was, in consequence of the misconduct of the Spanish officers, in entering St. Marks and Pensacola to terminate it by proving to the savages and their associates that they should not be protected even there, yet the amicable relations existing between the United States and Spain could not be altered by that act alone. By ordering the restitution of the posts those relations were preserved. To a change of them the power of the Executive is deemed incompetent; it is vested in Congress only.
By this measure, so promptly taken, due respect was shown to the Government of Spain. The misconduct of her officers has not been imputed to her. She was enabled to review with candor her relations with the United States and her own situation, particularly in respect to the territory in question, with the dangers inseparable from it, and regarding the losses we have sustained for which indemnity has been so long withheld, and the injuries we have suffered through that territory, and her means of redress, she was likewise enabled to take with honor the course best calculated to do justice to the United States and to promote her own welfare.
Copies of the instructions to the commanding general, of his correspondence with the Secretary of War, explaining his motives and justifying his conduct, with a copy of the proceedings of the courts-martial in the trial of Arbuthnot and Ambristie, and of the correspondence between the Secretary of State and the minister plenipotentiary of Spain near this Government, and of the minister plenipotentiary of the United States at Madrid with the Government of Spain, will be laid before Congress.
The civil war which has so long prevailed between Spain and the Provinces in South America still continues, without any prospect of its speedy termination. The information respecting the condition of those countries which has been collected by the commissioners recently returned from thence will be laid before Congress in copies of their reports, with such other information as has been received from other agents of the United States.
It appears from these communications that the Government at Buenos Ayres declared itself independent in July, 1816, having previously exercised the power of an independent government, though in the name of the King of Spain, from the year 1810; that the Banda Oriental, Entre Rios, and Paraguay, with the city of Santa Fee, all of which are also independent, are unconnected with the present Government of Buenos Ayres; that Chili has declared itself independent and is closely connected with Buenos Ayres; that Venezuela has also declared itself independent, and now maintains the conflict with various success; and that the remaining parts of South America, except Monte Video and such other portions of the eastern bank of the La Plata as are held by Portugal, are still in the possession of Spain or in a certain degree under her influence.
By a circular note addressed by the ministers of Spain to the allied powers, with whom they are respectively accredited, it appears that the allies have undertaken to mediate between Spain and the South American Provinces, and that the manner and extent of their interposition would be settled by a congress which was to have met at Aix-la-Chapelle in September last. From the general policy and course of proceeding observed by the allied powers in regard to this contest it is inferred that they will confine their interposition to the expression of their sentiments, abstaining from the application of force. I state this impression that force will not be applied with the greater satisfaction because it is a course more consistent with justice and likewise authorizes a hope that the calamities of the war will be confined to the parties only, and will be of shorter duration.
From the view taken of this subject, founded on all the information that we have been able to obtain, there is good cause to be satisfied with the course heretofore pursued by the United States in regard to this contest, and to conclude that it is proper to adhere to it, especially in the present state of affairs.
I have great satisfaction in stating that our relations with France, Russia, and other powers continue on the most friendly basis.
In our domestic concerns we have ample cause of satisfaction. The receipts into the Treasury during the three first quarters of the year have exceeded $17,000,000.
After satisfying all the demands which have been made under existing appropriations, including the final extinction of the old 6 per cent stock and the redemption of a moiety of the Louisiana debt, it is estimated that there will remain in the Treasury on the 1st day of January next more than $2,000,000.
It is ascertained that the gross revenue which has accrued from the customs during the same period amounts to $21,000,000, and that the revenue of the whole year may be estimated at not less than $26,000,000. The sale of the public lands during the year has also greatly exceeded, both in quantity and price, that of any former year, and there is just reason to expect a progressive improvement in that source of revenue.
It is gratifying to know that although the annual expenditure has been increased by the act of the last session of Congress providing for Revolutionary pensions to an amount about equal to the proceeds of the internal duties which were then repealed, the revenue for the ensuing year will be proportionally augmented, and that whilst the public expenditure will probably remain stationary, each successive year will add to the national resources by the ordinary increase of our population and by the gradual development of our latent sources of national prosperity.
The strict execution of the revenue laws, resulting principally from the salutary provisions of the act of the 20th of April last amending the several collection laws, has, it is presumed, secured to domestic manufactures all the relief that can be derived from the duties which have been imposed upon foreign merchandise for their protection. Under the influence of this relief several branches of this important national interest have assumed greater activity, and although it is hoped that others will gradually revive and ultimately triumph over every obstacle, yet the expediency of granting further protection is submitted to your consideration.
The measures of defense authorized by existing laws have been pursued with the zeal and activity due to so important an object, and with all the dispatch practicable in so extensive and great an undertaking. The survey of our maritime and inland frontiers has been continued, and at the points where it was decided to erect fortifications the work has been commenced, and in some instances considerable progress has been made. In compliance with resolutions of the last session, the Board of Commissioners were directed to examine in a particular manner the parts of the coast therein designated and to report their opinion of the most suitable sites for two naval depots. This work is in a train of execution. The opinion of the Board on this subject, with a plan of all the works necessary to a general system of defense so far as it has been formed, will be laid before Congress in a report from the proper department as soon as it can be prepared.
In conformity with the appropriations of the last session, treaties have been formed with the Quapaw tribe of Indians, inhabiting the country on the Arkansaw, and with the Great and Little Osages north of the White River; with the tribes in the State of Indiana; with the several tribes within the State of Ohio and the Michigan Territory, and with the Chickasaws, by which very extensive cessions of territory have been made to the United States. Negotiations are now depending with the tribes in the Illinois Territory and with the Choctaws, by which it is expected that other extensive cessions will be made. I take great interest in stating that the cessions already made, which are considered so important to the United States, have been obtained on conditions very satisfactory to the Indians.
With a view to the security of our inland frontiers, it has been thought expedient to establish strong posts at the mouth of Yellow Stone River and at the Mandan village on the Missouri, and at the mouth of St. Peters on the Mississippi, at no great distance from our northern boundaries. It can hardly be presumed while such posts are maintained in the rear of the Indian tribes that they will venture to attack our peaceable inhabitants. A strong hope is entertained that this measure will likewise be productive of much good to the tribes themselves, especially in promoting the great object of their civilization. Experience has clearly demonstrated that independent savage communities can not long exist within the limits of a civilized population. The progress of the latter has almost invariably terminated in the extinction of the former, especially of the tribes belonging to our portion of this hemisphere, among whom loftiness of sentiment and gallantry in action have been conspicuous. To civilize them, and even to prevent their extinction, it seems to be indispensable that their independence as communities should cease, and that the control of the United States over them should be complete and undisputed. The hunter state will then be more easily abandoned, and recourse will be had to the acquisition and culture of land and to other pursuits tending to dissolve the ties which connect them together as a savage community and to give a new character to every individual. I present this subject to the consideration of Congress on the presumption that it may be found expedient and practicable to adopt some benevolent provisions, having these objects in view, relative to the tribes within our settlements.
It has been necessary during the present year to maintain a strong naval force in the Mediterranean and in the Gulf of Mexico, and to send some public ships along the southern coast and to the Pacific Ocean. By these means amicable relations with the Barbary Powers have been preserved, our commerce has been protected, and our rights respected. The augmentation of our Navy is advancing with a steady progress toward the limit contemplated by law.
I communicate with great satisfaction the accession of another State (Illinois) to our Union, because I perceive from the proof afforded by the additions already made the regular progress and sure consummation of a policy of which history affords no example, and of which the good effect can not be too highly estimated. By extending our Government on the principles of our Constitution over the vast territory within our limits, on the Lakes and the Mississippi and its numerous streams, new life and vigor are infused into every part of our system. By increasing the number of the States the confidence of the State governments in their own security is increased and their jealousy of the National Government proportionally diminished. The impracticability of one consolidated government for this great and growing nation will be more apparent and will be universally admitted. Incapable of exercising local authority except for general purposes, the General Government will no longer be dreaded. In those cases of a local nature and for all the great purposes for which it was instituted its authority will be cherished. Each government will acquire new force and a greater freedom of action within its proper sphere. Other inestimable advantages will follow. Our produce will be augmented to an incalculable amount in articles of the greatest value for domestic use and foreign commerce. Our navigation will in like degree be increased, and as the shipping of the Atlantic States will be employed in the transportation of the vast produce of the Western country, even those parts of the United States which are most remote from each other will be further bound together by the strongest ties which mutual interest can create.
The situation of this District, it is thought, requires the attention of Congress. By the Constitution the power of legislation is exclusively vested in the Congress of the United States. In the exercise of this power, in which the people have no participation, Congress legislate in all cases directly on the local concerns of the District. As this is a departure, for a special purpose, from the general principles of our system, it may merit consideration whether an arrangement better adapted to the principles of our Government and to the particular interests of the people may not be devised which will neither infringe the Constitution nor affect the object which the provision in question was intended to secure. The growing population, already considerable, and the increasing business of the District, which it is believed already interferes with the deliberations of Congress on great national concerns, furnish additional motives for recommending this subject to your consideration.
When we view the great blessings with which our country has been favored, those which we now enjoy, and the means which we possess of handing them down unimpaired to our latest posterity, our attention is irresistibly drawn to the source from whence they flow. Let us, then, unite in offering our most grateful acknowledgments for these blessings to the Divine Author of All Good.
JAMES MONROE.
SPECIAL MESSAGES.
NOVEMBER 30, 1818.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I lay before the Senate, for their advice and consent, the several treaties which have recently been made with the Chickasaws, the Quapaws, the Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, Shawnese, Potawatamies, Ottawas, and Chippewas, the Peoria, Kaskaskias, Mitchigamia, Cahokia, and Tamarois, the Great and Little Osages, the Weas, Potawatamies, Delaware and Miami, the Wyandot, and the four Pawnees tribes of Indians.
By reference to the journal of the commissioners it appears that George and Levi Colbert have bargained and sold to the United States the reservations made to them by the treaty of September, 1816, and that a deed of trust of the same has been made by them to James Jackson, of Nashville. I would therefore suggest, in case the Chickasaw treaty be approved by the Senate, the propriety of providing by law for the payment of the sum stipulated to be given to them for their reservations.
JAMES MONROE.
DECEMBER 2, 1818.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate copies of such of the documents referred to in the message of the 17th of last month as have been prepared since that period. They contain a copy of the reports of Mr. Rodney and Mr. Graham, two of the commissioners to South America, who returned first from the mission, and of the papers connected with those reports. They also present a full view of the operations of our troops employed in the Seminole war in Florida.
It would have been gratifying to me to have communicated with the message all the documents referred to in it, but as two of our commissioners from South America made their reports a few days only before the meeting of Congress and the third on the day of its meeting, it was impossible to transmit at that time more than one copy of the two reports first made.
The residue of the documents will be communicated as soon as they are prepared.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _December 2, 1818_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of 25th of last month, requesting to be furnished with such information as may be possessed by the Executive touching the execution of so much of the first article of the late treaty of peace and amity between His Britannic Majesty and the United States as relates to the restitution of slaves, and which has not heretofore been communicated, I lay before the Senate a report made by the Secretary of State on the 1st instant in relation to that subject.
JAMES MONROE.
DECEMBER 2, 1818.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
I transmit to the House of Representatives copies of such documents referred to in the message of the 17th ultimo as have been prepared since that period. They present a full view of the operations of our troops employed in the Seminole war who entered Florida.
The residue of the documents, which are very voluminous, will be transmitted as soon as they can be prepared.
JAMES MONROE.
DECEMBER 12, 1818.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th instant, I transmit a report of the Secretary of War, with copies of the correspondence between the governor of Georgia and Major-General Andrew Jackson on the subject of the arrest of Captain Obed Wright.
JAMES MONROE.
DECEMBER 29, 1818.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I lay before the Senate, for their consideration, a convention, signed at London on the 20th of October last, between the United States and Great Britain, together with the documents showing the course and progress of the negotiation. I have to request that these documents, which are original, may be returned when the Senate shall have acted on the convention.
JAMES MONROE.
DECEMBER 31, 1818.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 24th instant, requesting me to lay before it “copies of the correspondence, if any, between the Department of War and the governor of Georgia, in answer to the letter of the latter to the former dated on the 1st of June of the present year, communicated to the House on the 12th instant; and also the correspondence, if any, between the Department of War and General Andrew Jackson, in answer to the letter of the latter of the date 7th May, 1818, also communicated to the House on the 12th instant,” I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, with a copy of an extract of a letter from Major Van De Venter, chief clerk in the Department of War, in reply to General Jackson’s letter of the 7th of May, 1818.
JAMES MONROE.
DECEMBER 31, 1818.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th instant, requesting me to lay before it “the proceedings which have been had under the act entitled ‘An act for the gradual increase of the Navy of the United States,’ specifying the number of ships which have been put on the stocks, and of what class, and the quantity and kind of materials which have been procured in compliance with the provisions of said act; and also the sums of money which have been paid out of the fund created by the said act, and for what objects; and likewise the contracts which have been entered into in execution of said act on which moneys may not yet have been advanced,” I transmit a report from the Acting Secretary of the Navy, together with a communication from the Board of Navy Commissioners, which, with the documents accompanying it, comprehends all the information required by the House of Representatives.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _January 4, 1819_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I transmit to Congress a proclamation, dated the 22d of last month, of the convention made and concluded at Madrid between the plenipotentiaries of the United States and His Catholic Majesty on the 11th of August, 1802, the ratifications of which were not exchanged until the 21st ultimo, together with the translation of a letter from the minister of Spain to the Secretary of State.
JAMES MONROE.
JANUARY 4, 1819.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate, in pursuance of their resolution of the 30th of last month, requesting to be furnished with the instructions, including that of the 28th of July, 1818, to the plenipotentiaries of the United States who negotiated the convention with His Britannic Majesty signed on the 20th day of October in the same year, copies of all these instructions, including that particularly referred to.
JAMES MONROE.
JANUARY 11, 1819.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant, requesting me “to cause to be laid before it a statement of the effective force composing the military establishment of the United States; also a statement of the different posts and garrisons at and within which troops are stationed, and the actual number of officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates at each post and garrison, respectively; also to designate in such statement the number of artillerists and the number and caliber of ordnance at each of the said posts and garrisons,” I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, which, with the documents accompanying it, contains all the information required.
JAMES MONROE.
JANUARY 29, 1819.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
I transmit to the House of Representatives, in compliance with their resolution of the 4th of this month, a report from the Secretary of State concerning the applications which have been made by any of the independent Governments of South America to have a minister or consul-general accredited by the Government of the United States, with the answers of this Government to the applications addressed to it.
JAMES MONROE.
JANUARY 30, 1819.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 18th instant, requesting me to cause any information not already communicated to be laid before the House whether Amelia Island, St. Marks, and Pensacola yet remain in the possession of the United States, and, if so, by what laws the inhabitants are governed; whether articles imported therein from foreign countries are subject to any, and what, duties, and by what laws, and whether the said duties are collected and how; whether vessels arriving in the United States from Pensacola and Amelia Island, and in Pensacola and Amelia Island from the United States, respectively, are considered and treated as vessels arriving from foreign countries, I transmit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, and likewise one from the Secretary of War, which will afford all the information requested by the House of Representatives.
JAMES MONROE.
FEBRUARY 2, 1819.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I nominate John Overton, Newton Cannon, and Robert Weakly, of Tennessee, as commissioners to negotiate with the Chickasaw tribe of Indians for the cession of a tract of land 4 miles square, including a salt spring, reserved to the said tribe by the fourth article of a treaty concluded with the said Indians on the 19th day of October, 1818.
JAMES MONROE.
FEBRUARY 2, 1819.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 13th of last month, requesting me “to cause to be laid before it a statement showing the measures that have been taken to collect the balances stated to be due from the several supervisors and collectors of the old direct tax of two millions; also a similar statement of the balances due from the officers of the old internal revenue, and to designate in such statement the persons who have been interested in the collection of the said debts and the sums by them respectively collected, and the time when the same were collected,” I transmit a report of the Secretary of the Treasury, which, with the documents accompanying it, contains all the information required.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _February 3, 1819_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I communicate to Congress copies of applications received from the minister of Great Britain in behalf of certain British subjects who have suffered in their property by proceedings to which the United States by their military and judicial officers have been parties. These injuries have been sustained under circumstances which appear to recommend strongly to the attention of Congress the claim to indemnity for the losses occasioned by them, which the legislative authority is alone competent to provide.
JAMES MONROE.
FEBRUARY 5, 1819.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 25th of last month, requesting me “to cause to be laid before it a copy of the rules and regulations adopted for the government of the Military Academy at West Point; also how many cadets have been admitted into the Academy, the time of the residence of each cadet at that institution, and how many of them have been appointed officers in the Army and Navy of the United States,” I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, which, with the accompanying documents, will afford all the information required by the said resolution.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _February 6, 1819_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I transmit to Congress a copy of a letter from Governor Bibb to Major-General Jackson, connected with the late military operations in Florida. This letter has been mislaid, or it would have been communicated with the other documents at the commencement of the session.
JAMES MONROE.
FEBRUARY 6, 1819.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I transmit to Congress, for their consideration, applications which have been received from the minister resident of Prussia and from the senates of the free and Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Bremen, the object of which is that the advantages secured by the act of Congress of 20th of April last to the vessels and merchandise of the Netherlands should be extended to those of Prussia, Hamburg, and Bremen. It will appear from these documents that the vessels of the United States and the merchandise laden in them are in the ports of those Governments, respectively, entitled to the same advantages in respect to imposts and duties as those of the native subjects of the countries themselves.
The principle of reciprocity appears to entitle them to the return of the same favor on the part of the United States, and I recommend it to Congress that provision to that effect may be made.
JAMES MONROE.
FEBRUARY 22, 1819.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate a treaty of amity, settlement, and limits between the United States of America and His Catholic Majesty, concluded and signed this day, for the decision of the Senate as to its ratification. Copies of the correspondence between the Secretary of State and the minister from Spain connected with this subject since the renewal of the negotiation are likewise inclosed.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _February 26, 1819_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
The treaty of amity, settlement, and limits between the United States and His Catholic Majesty having been on the part of the United States ratified, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, copies of it are now transmitted to Congress. As the ratification on the part of Spain may be expected to take place during the recess of Congress, I recommend to their consideration the adoption of such legislative measures contingent upon the event of the exchange of the ratifications as may be necessary or expedient for carrying the treaty into effect in the interval between the sessions, and until Congress at their next session may see fit to make further provision on the subject.
JAMES MONROE.
MARCH 2, 1819.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
A convention having been concluded between John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, especially authorized therefor by me, and the chiefs and headmen of the Cherokee Nation of Indians, likewise duly authorized and empowered by said nation, I now lay the original instrument before the Senate for the exercise of its constitutional power respecting the ratification thereof.
JAMES MONROE.
THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE.
WASHINGTON, _December 7, 1819_.
_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
The public buildings being advanced to a stage to afford accommodation for Congress, I offer you my sincere congratulations on the recommencement of your duties in the Capitol.
In bringing to view the incidents most deserving attention which have occurred since your last session, I regret to have to state that several of our principal cities have suffered by sickness, that an unusual drought has prevailed in the Middle and Western States, and that a derangement has been felt in some of our moneyed institutions which has proportionably affected their credit. I am happy, however, to have it in my power to assure you that the health of our cities is now completely restored; that the produce of the year, though less abundant than usual, will not only be amply sufficient for home consumption, but afford a large surplus for the supply of the wants of other nations, and that the derangement in the circulating paper medium, by being left to those remedies which its obvious causes suggested and the good sense and virtue of our fellow-citizens supplied, has diminished.
Having informed Congress, on the 27th of February last, that a treaty of amity, settlement, and limits had been concluded in this city between the United States and Spain, and ratified by the competent authorities of the former, full confidence was entertained that it would have been ratified by His Catholic Majesty with equal promptitude and a like earnest desire to terminate on the conditions of that treaty the differences which had so long existed between the two countries. Every view which the subject admitted of was thought to have justified this conclusion. Great losses had been sustained by citizens of the United States from Spanish cruisers more than twenty years before, which had not been redressed. These losses had been acknowledged and provided for by a treaty as far back as the year 1802, which, although concluded at Madrid, was not then ratified by the Government of Spain, nor since, until the last year, when it was suspended by the late treaty, a more satisfactory provision to both parties, as was presumed, having been made for them. Other differences had arisen in this long interval, affecting their highest interests, which were likewise provided for by this last treaty. The treaty itself was formed on great consideration and a thorough knowledge of all circumstances, the subject-matter of every article having been for years under discussion and repeated references having been made by the minister of Spain to his Government on the points respecting which the greatest difference of opinion prevailed. It was formed by a minister duly authorized for the purpose, who had represented his Government in the United States and been employed in this long-protracted negotiation several years, and who, it is not denied, kept strictly within the letter of his instructions. The faith of Spain was therefore pledged, under circumstances of peculiar force and solemnity, for its ratification. On the part of the United States this treaty was evidently acceded to in a spirit of conciliation and concession. The indemnity for injuries and losses so long before sustained, and now again acknowledged and provided for, was to be paid by them without becoming a charge on the treasury of Spain. For territory ceded by Spain other territory of great value, to which our claim was believed to be well founded, was ceded by the United States, and in a quarter more interesting to her. This cession was nevertheless received as the means of indemnifying our citizens in a considerable sum, the presumed amount of their losses. Other considerations of great weight urged the cession of this territory by Spain. It was surrounded by the Territories of the United States on every side except on that of the ocean. Spain had lost her authority over it, and, falling into the hands of adventurers connected with the savages, it was made the means of unceasing annoyance and injury to our Union in many of its most essential interests. By this cession, then, Spain ceded a territory in reality of no value to her and obtained concessions of the highest importance by the settlement of long-standing differences with the United States affecting their respective claims and limits, and likewise relieved herself from the obligation of a treaty relating to it which she had failed to fulfill, and also from the responsibility incident to the most flagrant and pernicious abuses of her rights where she could not support her authority.
It being known that the treaty was formed under these circumstances, not a doubt was entertained that His Catholic Majesty would have ratified it without delay. I regret to have to state that this reasonable expectation has been disappointed; that the treaty was not ratified within the time stipulated and has not since been ratified. As it is important that the nature and character of this unexpected occurrence should be distinctly understood, I think it my duty to communicate to you all the facts and circumstances in my possession relating to it.
Anxious to prevent all future disagreement with Spain by giving the most prompt effect to the treaty which had been thus concluded, and particularly by the establishment of a government in Florida which should preserve order there, the minister of the United States who had been recently appointed to His Catholic Majesty, and to whom the ratification by his Government had been committed to be exchanged for that of Spain, was instructed to transmit the latter to the Department of State as soon as obtained, by a public ship subjected to his order for the purpose. Unexpected delay occurring in the ratification by Spain, he requested to be informed of the cause. It was stated in reply that the great importance of the subject, and a desire to obtain explanations on certain points which were not specified, had produced the delay, and that an envoy would be dispatched to the United States to obtain such explanations of this Government. The minister of the United States offered to give full explanation on any point on which it might be desired, which proposal was declined. Having communicated this result to the Department of State in August last, he was instructed, notwithstanding the disappointment and surprise which it produced, to inform the Government of Spain that if the treaty should be ratified and transmitted here at any time before the meeting of Congress it would be received and have the same effect as if it had been ratified in due time. This order was executed, the authorized communication was made to the Government of Spain, and by its answer, which has just been received, we are officially made acquainted for the first time with the causes which have prevented the ratification of the treaty by His Catholic Majesty. It is alleged by the minister of Spain that this Government had attempted to alter one of the principal articles of the treaty by a declaration which the minister of the United States had been ordered to present when he should deliver the ratification by his Government in exchange for that of Spain, and of which he gave notice, explanatory of the sense in which that article was understood. It is further alleged that this Government had recently tolerated or protected an expedition from the United States against the Province of Texas, These two imputed acts are stated as the reasons which have induced His Catholic Majesty to withhold his ratification from the treaty, to obtain explanations respecting which it is repeated that an envoy would be forthwith dispatched to the United States. How far these allegations will justify the conduct of the Government of Spain will appear on a view of the following facts and the evidence which supports them:
It will be seen by the documents transmitted herewith that the declaration mentioned relates to a clause in the eighth article concerning certain grants of land recently made by His Catholic Majesty in Florida, which it was understood had conveyed all the lands which till then had been ungranted; it was the intention of the parties to annul these latter grants, and that clause was drawn for that express purpose and for none other. The date of these grants was unknown, but it was understood to be posterior to that inserted in the article; indeed, it must be obvious to all that if that provision in the treaty had not the effect of annulling these grants, it would be altogether nugatory. Immediately after the treaty was concluded and ratified by this Government an intimation was received that these grants were of anterior date to that fixed on by the treaty and that they would not, of course, be affected by it. The mere possibility of such a case, so inconsistent with the intention of the parties and the meaning of the article, induced this Government to demand an explanation on the subject, which was immediately granted, and which corresponds with this statement. With respect to the other act alleged, that this Government had tolerated or protected an expedition against Texas, it is utterly without foundation. Every discountenance has invariably been given to any such attempt from within the limits of the United States, as is fully evinced by the acts of the Government and the proceedings of the courts. There being cause, however, to apprehend, in the course of the last summer, that some adventurers entertained views of the kind suggested, the attention of the constituted authorities in that quarter was immediately drawn to them, and it is known that the project, whatever it might be, has utterly failed.
These facts will, it is presumed, satisfy every impartial mind that the Government of Spain had no justifiable cause for declining to ratify the treaty. A treaty concluded in conformity with instructions is obligatory, in good faith, in all its stipulations, according to the true intent and meaning of the parties. Each party is bound to ratify it. If either could set it aside without the consent of the other, there would be no longer any rules applicable to such transactions between nations. By this proceeding the Government of Spain has rendered to the United States a new and very serious injury. It has been stated that a minister would be sent to ask certain explanations of this Government; but if such were desired, why were they not asked within the time limited for the ratification? Is it contemplated to open a new negotiation respecting any of the articles or conditions of the treaty? If that were done, to what consequences might it not lead? At what time and in what manner would a new negotiation terminate? By this proceeding Spain has formed a relation between the two countries which will justify any measures on the part of the United States which a strong sense of injury and a proper regard for the rights and interests of the nation may dictate.
In the course to be pursued these objects should be constantly held in view and have their due weight. Our national honor must be maintained, and a new and a distinguished proof be afforded of that regard for justice and moderation which has invariably governed the councils of this free people. It must be obvious to all that if the United States had been desirous of making conquests, or had been even willing to aggrandize themselves in that way, they could have had no inducement to form this treaty. They would have much cause for gratulation at the course which has been pursued by Spain. An ample field for ambition is open before them, but such a career is not consistent with the principles of their Government nor the interests of the nation.
From a full view of all circumstances, it is submitted to the consideration of Congress whether it will not be proper for the United States to carry the conditions of the treaty into effect in the same manner as if it had been ratified by Spain, claiming on their part all its advantages and yielding to Spain those secured to her. By pursuing this course we shall rest on the sacred ground of right, sanctioned in the most solemn manner by Spain herself by a treaty which she was bound to ratify, for refusing to do which she must incur the censure of other nations, even those most friendly to her, while by confining ourselves within that limit we can not fail to obtain their well-merited approbation. We must have peace on a frontier where we have been so long disturbed; our citizens must be indemnified for losses so long since sustained, and for which indemnity has been so unjustly withheld from them. Accomplishing these great objects, we obtain all that is desirable.
But His Catholic Majesty has twice declared his determination to send a minister to the United States to ask explanations on certain points and to give them respecting his delay to ratify the treaty. Shall we act by taking the ceded territory and proceeding to execute the other conditions of the treaty before this minister arrives and is heard? This is a case which forms a strong appeal to the candor, the magnanimity, and the honor of this people. Much is due to courtesy between nations. By a short delay we shall lose nothing, for, resting on the ground of immutable truth and justice, we can not be diverted from our purpose. It ought to be presumed that the explanations which may be given to the minister of Spain will be satisfactory, and produce the desired result. In any event, the delay for the purpose mentioned, being a further manifestation of the sincere desire to terminate in the most friendly manner all differences with Spain, can not fail to be duly appreciated by His Catholic Majesty as well as by other powers. It is submitted, therefore, whether it will not be proper to make the law proposed for carrying the conditions of the treaty into effect, should it be adopted, contingent; to suspend its operation, upon the responsibility of the Executive, in such manner as to afford an opportunity for such friendly explanations as may be desired during the present session of Congress.
I communicate to Congress a copy of the treaty and of the instructions to the minister of the United States at Madrid respecting it; of his correspondence with the minister of Spain, and of such other documents as may be necessary to give a full view of the subject.
In the course which the Spanish Government have on this occasion thought proper to pursue it is satisfactory to know that they have not been countenanced by any other European power. On the contrary, the opinion and wishes both of France and Great Britain have not been withheld either from the United States or from Spain, and have been unequivocal in favor of the ratification. There is also reason to believe that the sentiments of the Imperial Government of Russia have been the same, and that they have also been made known to the cabinet of Madrid.
In the civil war existing between Spain and the Spanish Provinces in this hemisphere the greatest care has been taken to enforce the laws intended to preserve an impartial neutrality. Our ports have continued to be equally open to both parties and on the same conditions, and our citizens have been equally restrained from interfering in favor of either to the prejudice of the other. The progress of the war, however, has operated manifestly in favor of the colonies. Buenos Ayres still maintains unshaken the independence which it declared in 1816, and has enjoyed since 1810. Like success has also lately attended Chili and the Provinces north of the La Plata bordering on it, and likewise Venezuela.
This contest has from its commencement been very interesting to other powers, and to none more so than to the United States. A virtuous people may and will confine themselves within the limit of a strict neutrality; but it is not in their power to behold a conflict so vitally important to their neighbors without the sensibility and sympathy which naturally belong to such a case. It has been the steady purpose of this Government to prevent that feeling leading to excess, and it is very gratifying to have it in my power to state that so strong has been the sense throughout the whole community of what was due to the character and obligations of the nation that very few examples of a contrary kind have occurred.
The distance of the colonies from the parent country and the great extent of their population and resources gave them advantages which it was anticipated at a very early period would be difficult for Spain to surmount. The steadiness, consistency, and success with which they have pursued their object, as evinced more particularly by the undisturbed sovereignty which Buenos Ayres has so long enjoyed, evidently give them a strong claim to the favorable consideration of other nations. These sentiments on the part of the United States have not been withheld from other powers, with whom it is desirable to act in concert. Should it become manifest to the world that the efforts of Spain to subdue these Provinces will be fruitless, it may be presumed that the Spanish Government itself will give up the contest. In producing such a determination it can not be doubted that the opinion of friendly powers who have taken no part in the controversy will have their merited influence.
It is of the highest importance to our national character and indispensable to the morality of our citizens that all violations of our neutrality should be prevented. No door should be left open for the evasion of our laws, no opportunity afforded to any who may be disposed to take advantage of it to compromit the interest or the honor of the nation. It is submitted, therefore, to the consideration of Congress whether it may not be advisable to revise the laws with a view to this desirable result.
It is submitted also whether it may not be proper to designate by law the several ports or places along the coast at which only foreign ships of war and privateers may be admitted. The difficulty of sustaining the regulations of our commerce and of other important interests from abuse without such designation furnishes a strong motive for this measure.
At the time of the negotiation for the renewal of the commercial convention between the United States and Great Britain a hope had been entertained that an article might have been agreed upon mutually satisfactory to both countries, regulating upon principles of justice and reciprocity the commercial intercourse between the United States and the British possessions as well in the West Indies as upon the continent of North America. The plenipotentiaries of the two Governments not having been able to come to an agreement on this important interest, those of the United States reserved for the consideration of this Government the proposals which had been presented to them as the ultimate offer on the part of the British Government, and which they were not authorized to accept. On their transmission here they were examined with due deliberation, the result of which was a new effort to meet the views of the British Government. The minister of the United States was instructed to make a further proposal, which has not been accepted. It was, however, declined in an amicable manner. I recommend to the consideration of Congress whether further prohibitory provisions in the laws relating to this intercourse may not be expedient. It is seen with interest that although it has not been practicable as yet to agree in any arrangement of this important branch of their commerce, such is the disposition of the parties that each will view any regulations which the other may make respecting it in the most friendly light.
By the fifth article of the convention concluded on the 20th of October, 1818, it was stipulated that the differences which have arisen between the two Governments with regard to the true intent and meaning of the fifth article of the treaty of Ghent, in relation to the carrying away by British officers of slaves from the United States after the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty of peace, should be referred to the decision of some friendly sovereign or state to be named for that purpose. The minister of the United States has been instructed to name to the British Government a foreign sovereign, the common friend to both parties, for the decision of this question. The answer of that Government to the proposal when received will indicate the further measures to be pursued on the part of the United States.
Although the pecuniary embarrassments which affected various parts of the Union during the latter part of the preceding year have during the present been considerably augmented, and still continue to exist, the receipts into the Treasury to the 30th of September last have amounted to $19,000,000. After defraying the current expenses of the Government, including the interest and reimbursement of the public debt payable to that period, amounting to $18,200,000, there remained in the Treasury on that day more than $2,500,000, which, with the sums receivable during the remainder of the year, will exceed the current demands upon the Treasury for the same period.
The causes which have tended to diminish the public receipts could not fail to have a corresponding effect upon the revenue which has accrued upon imposts and tonnage during the three first quarters of the present year. It is, however, ascertained that the duties which have been secured during that period exceed $18,000,000, and those of the whole year will probably amount to $23,000,000.
For the probable receipts of the next year I refer you to the statements which will be transmitted from the Treasury, which will enable you to judge whether further provision be necessary.
The great reduction in the price of the principal articles of domestic growth which has occurred during the present year, and the consequent fall in the price of labor, apparently so favorable to the success of domestic manufactures, have not shielded them against other causes adverse to their prosperity. The pecuniary embarrassments which have so deeply affected the commercial interests of the nation have been no less adverse to our manufacturing establishments in several sections of the Union.
The great reduction of the currency which the banks have been constrained to make in order to continue specie payments, and the vitiated character of it where such reductions have not been attempted, instead of placing within the reach of these establishments the pecuniary aid necessary to avail themselves of the advantages resulting from the reduction in the prices of the raw materials and of labor, have compelled the banks to withdraw from them a portion of the capital heretofore advanced to them. That aid which has been refused by the banks has not been obtained from other sources, owing to the loss of individual confidence from the frequent failures which have recently occurred in some of our principal commercial cities.
An additional cause for the depression of these establishments may probably be found in the pecuniary embarrassments which have recently affected those countries with which our commerce has been principally prosecuted. Their manufactures, for the want of a ready or profitable market at home, have been shipped by the manufacturers to the United States, and in many instances sold at a price below their current value at the place of manufacture. Although this practice may from its nature be considered temporary or contingent, it is not on that account less injurious in its effects. Uniformity in the demand and price of an article is highly desirable to the domestic manufacturer.
It is deemed of great importance to give encouragement to our domestic manufacturers. In what manner the evils which have been adverted to may be remedied, and how far it may be practicable in other respects to afford to them further encouragement, paying due regard to the other great interests of the nation, is submitted to the wisdom of Congress.
The survey of the coast for the establishment of fortifications is now nearly completed, and considerable progress has been made in the collection of materials for the construction of fortifications in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Chesapeake Bay. The works on the eastern bank of the Potomac below Alexandria and on the Pea Patch, in the Delaware, are much advanced, and it is expected that the fortifications at the Narrows, in the harbor of New York, will be completed the present year. To derive all the advantages contemplated from these fortifications it was necessary that they should be judiciously posted, and constructed with a view to permanence, The progress hitherto has therefore been slow; but as the difficulties in parts heretofore the least explored and known are surmounted, it will in future be more rapid. As soon as the survey of the coast is completed, which it is expected will be done early in the next spring, the engineers employed in it will proceed to examine for like purposes the northern and northwestern frontiers.
The troops intended to occupy a station at the mouth of the St. Peters, on the Mississippi, have established themselves there, and those who were ordered to the mouth of the Yellow Stone, on the Missouri, have ascended that river to the Council Bluff, where they will remain until the next spring, when they will proceed to the place of their destination. I have the satisfaction to state that this measure has been executed in amity with the Indian tribes, and that it promises to produce, in regard to them, all the advantages which were contemplated by it.
Much progress has likewise been made in the construction of ships of war and in the collection of timber and other materials for shipbuilding. It is not doubted that our Navy will soon be augmented to the number and placed in all respects on the footing provided for by law.
The Board, consisting of engineers and naval officers, have not yet made their final report of sites for two naval depots, as instructed according to the resolutions of March 18 and April 20, 1818, but they have examined the coast therein designated, and their report is expected in the next month.
For the protection of our commerce in the Mediterranean, along the southern Atlantic coast, in the Pacific and Indian oceans, it has been found necessary to maintain a strong naval force, which it seems proper for the present to continue. There is much reason to believe that if any portion of the squadron heretofore stationed in the Mediterranean should be withdrawn our intercourse with the powers bordering on that sea would be much interrupted, if not altogether destroyed. Such, too, has been the growth of a spirit of piracy in the other quarters mentioned, by adventurers from every country, in abuse of the friendly flags which they have assumed, that not to protect our commerce there would be to abandon it as a prey to their rapacity. Due attention has likewise been paid to the suppression of the slave trade, in compliance with a law of the last session. Orders have been given to the commanders of all our public ships to seize all vessels navigated under our flag engaged in that trade, and to bring them in to be proceeded against in the manner prescribed by that law. It is hoped that these vigorous measures, supported by like acts by other nations, will soon terminate a commerce so disgraceful to the civilized world.
In the execution of the duty imposed by these acts, and of a high trust connected with it, it is with deep regret I have to state the loss which has been sustained by the death of Commodore Perry. His gallantry in a brilliant exploit in the late war added to the renown of his country. His death is deplored as a national misfortune.
JAMES MONROE.
SPECIAL MESSAGES.
WASHINGTON, _December 7, 1819_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit herewith to the Senate a collection of the commercial regulations of the different foreign countries with which the United States have commercial intercourse, which has been compiled in compliance with the resolution of the Senate of 3d March, 1817.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _December 14, 1819_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In conformity with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 24th of February last, I now transmit a report of the Secretary of State, with extracts and copies of several letters, touching the causes of the imprisonment of William White, an American citizen, at Buenos Ayres.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1819_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
Some doubt being entertained respecting the true intent and meaning of the act of the last session entitled “An act in addition to the acts prohibiting the slave trade,” as to the duties of the agents to be appointed on the coast of Africa, I think it proper to state the interpretation which has been given of the act and the measures adopted to carry it into effect, that Congress may, should it be deemed advisable, amend the same before further proceeding is had under it.
The obligation to instruct the commanders of all our armed vessels to seize and bring into port all ships or vessels of the United States, wheresoever found, having on board any negro, mulatto, or person of color in violation of former acts for the suppression of the slave trade, being imperative, was executed without delay. No seizures have yet been made, but as they were contemplated by the law, and might be presumed, it seemed proper to make the necessary regulations applicable to such seizures for carrying the several provisions of the act into effect.
It is enjoined on the Executive to cause all negroes, mulattoes, or persons of color who may be taken under the act to be removed to Africa. It is the obvious import of the law that none of the persons thus taken should remain within the United States, and no place other than the coast of Africa being designated, their removal or delivery, whether carried from the United States or landed immediately from the vessels in which they were taken, was supposed to be confined to that coast. No settlement or station being specified, the whole coast was thought to be left open for the selection of a proper place at which the persons thus taken should be delivered. The Executive is authorized to appoint one or more agents residing there to receive such persons, and $100,000 are appropriated for the general purposes of the law.
On due consideration of the several sections of the act, and of its humane policy, it was supposed to be the intention of Congress that all the persons above described who might be taken under it and landed in Africa should be aided in their return to their former homes, or in their establishment at or near the place where landed. Some shelter and food would be necessary for them there as soon as landed, let their subsequent disposition be what it might. Should they be landed without such provision having been previously made, they might perish.
It was supposed, by the authority given to the Executive to appoint agents residing on that coast, that they should provide such shelter and food, and perform the other beneficent and charitable offices contemplated by the act. The coast of Africa having been little explored, and no persons residing there who possessed the requisite qualifications to entitle them to the trust being known to the Executive, to none such could it be committed. It was believed that citizens only who would go hence well instructed in the views of their Government and zealous to give them effect would be competent to these duties, and that it was not the intention of the law to preclude their appointment. It was obvious that the longer these persons should be detained in the United States in the hands of the marshals the greater would be the expense, and that for the same term would the main purpose of the law be suspended. It seemed, therefore, to be incumbent on me to make the necessary arrangements for carrying this act into effect in Africa in time to meet the delivery of any persons who might be taken by the public vessels and landed there under it.
On this view of the policy and sanctions of the law it has been decided to send a public ship to the coast of Africa with two such agents, who will take with them tools and other implements necessary for the purposes above mentioned. To each of these agents a small salary has been allowed–$1,500 to the principal and $1,200 to the other.
All our public agents on the coast of Africa receive salaries for their services, and it was understood that none of our citizens possessing the requisite qualifications would accept these trusts, by which they would be confined to parts the least frequented and civilized, without a reasonable compensation, Such allowance therefore seemed to be indispensable to the execution of the act. It is intended also to subject a portion of the sum appropriated to the order of the principal agent for the special objects above stated, amounting in the whole, including the salaries of the agents for one year, to rather less than one third of the appropriation. Special instructions will be given to these agents, defining in precise terms their duties in regard to the persons thus delivered to them, the disbursement of the money by the principal agent, and his accountability for the same. They will also have power to select the most suitable place on the coast of Africa at which all persons who may be taken under this act shall be delivered to them, with an express injunction to exercise no power founded on the principle of colonization or other power than that of performing the benevolent offices above recited by the permission and sanction of the existing government under which they may establish themselves. Orders will be given to the commander of the public ship in which they will sail to cruise along the coast to give the more complete effect to the principal object of the act.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _December 17, 1819_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of Congress of the 27th March, 1818, the journal, acts, and proceedings of the convention which formed the present Constitution of the United States have been published. The resolution directs that 1,000 copies should be printed, of which one copy should be furnished to each member of the Fifteenth Congress, and the residue to be subject to the future disposition of Congress. The number of copies sufficient to supply the members of the late Congress having been reserved for that purpose, the remainder are now deposited at the Department of State subject to the order of Congress. The documents mentioned in the resolution of the 27th March, 1818, are in the process of publication.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _December 24, 1819_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
On the 23d of February. 1803, a message from the President of the United States was transmitted to both Houses of Congress, together with the report of the then Secretary of State, Mr. Madison, upon the case of the Danish brigantine _Henrick_ and her cargo, belonging to citizens of Hamburg, recommending the claim to the favorable consideration of Congress. In February, 1805, it was again presented by a message from the President to the consideration of Congress, but has not since been definitively acted upon.
The minister resident from Denmark and the consul-general from Hamburg having recently renewed applications in behalf of the respective owners of the vessel and cargo, I transmit herewith copies of their communications for the further consideration of the Legislature, upon whose files all the documents relating to the claim are still existing.
JAMES MONROE.
DECEMBER 31, 1819.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate, for its advice and consent as to the ratification, three treaties which have been concluded in the course of the present year with the Kickapoos, the Chippaways, and the Kickapoos of the Vermillion by commissioners who were duly authorized for the purpose.
With the Chippaways there is a supplementary article stipulating certain advantages in their favor on condition that the same shall be ratified by the Executive, with the advice and consent of the Senate, which I likewise submit to your consideration.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _January 8, 1820_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 14th December, 1819, requesting me to cause to be laid before it any information I may possess respecting certain executions which have been inflicted in the Army of the United States since the year 1815 contrary to the laws and regulations provided for the government of the same, I transmit a report from the Secretary of War containing a detailed account in relation to the object of the said resolution.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _January 8, 1820_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 20th of January, 1819, requesting me “to cause a report to be laid before them at their next session of such facts as may be within the means of the Government to obtain shewing how far it may be expedient or not to provide by law for clothing the Army with articles manufactured in the United States,” I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, which, with the accompanying documents, comprehends all the information required by the Senate in their resolution aforesaid.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _January 19, 1820_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives requesting me “to lay before it at as early a day as may be convenient an account of the expenditure of the several sums appropriated for building fortifications from the year 1816 to the year 1819, inclusive, indicating the places at which works of defense have been begun, the magnitude of the works contemplated at each place, their present condition, the amount already expended, and the estimated amount requisite for the completion of each, also the mode by which the fortifications are built, by contract or otherwise,” I now transmit to the House a report from the Secretary of War, to whom the said resolution was referred, which, with the documents accompanying it, contains all the information required.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _February 8, 1820_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In conformity with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 24th January, 1820, requesting me “to inform the House what loans, if any, have been made since the peace, to private citizens, of powder, lead, and other munitions belonging to the Government by officers of any department of the Army or Navy, specifying the times, terms, objects, and extent of such loans, the names of the persons by whom and to whom made, the different times of repayment, and also the amount of the ultimate loss, if any, likely to be incurred by the Government in consequence thereof,” I now transmit a report from the Secretary of War, which, with the accompanying documents, contains all the information that can be furnished on the subject.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _March 1, 1820_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 4th of February last, requesting to be informed what progress has been made in surveying certain parts of the coast of North Carolina and in ascertaining the latitude and longitude of the extreme points of Cape Hatteras, Cape Look Out, and Cape Fear, according to a resolution of the 19th of January, 1819, I have to state that it is intended to carry the resolution of the 19th of March into effect in the present year. The cooperation of the Board of Engineers with Naval Commissioners being necessary in executing that duty, and the Board having been engaged last year in surveying the eastern coast of our Union, it would have interfered with previous arrangements and been attended with increased expense had they been withdrawn from it. The Board will, however, be employed during the present summer in the regular execution of its duties in the survey of the coast of North Carolina, when instructions will be given it to afford the necessary aid to carry the resolution of the 19th of January of the last year into effect.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _March 4, 1820_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate, in pursuance of their resolution of the 4th of January last, a report from the Secretary of State, with a list of fines incurred under the act of Congress entitled “An act in addition to the act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States,” which appear from the records of the Department of State to have been remitted by the Executive authority of the United States.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _March 8, 1820_.
The PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE:
I transmit to the Senate copies of sundry papers having relation to the treaty of 22d February, 1819, between the United States and Spain, which have been received at the Department of State, and have not before been communicated to the Senate.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _March 8, 1820_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, which, with the accompanying documents, will shew that the act of the 20th May, 1812, respecting the northern and western boundaries of the State of Ohio, has been executed.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _March 17, 1820_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
It being stipulated by the fourth article of the articles of agreement and cession entered into on the 24th of April, 1802, with the State of Georgia that the United States should at their own expense extinguish for the use of that State, as soon as it might be done on reasonable terms, the Indian title to all the lands within its limits, and the legislature of Georgia being desirous to make a further acquisition of said lands at this time, presuming that it may be done on reasonable terms; and it being also represented that property of considerable value which had been taken by the Creek and Cherokee Indians from citizens of Georgia, the restoration of which had been provided for by different treaties, but which has never been made, it is proposed to hold a treaty with those nations, and more particularly with the Creeks, in the course of this summer. For the attainment of these objects I submit the subject to the consideration of Congress, that a sum adequate to the expenses attending such treaty may be appropriated should Congress deem it expedient.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1820_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 16th of February, 1820, requesting me to cause to be laid before it “abstracts of the bonds or other securities given under the laws of the United States by the collectors of the customs, receivers of public moneys for lands, and registers of public lands, paymasters in the Army, and pursers in the Navy, who are now in office, or who have heretofore been in office, and whose accounts remain unsettled, together with a statement of such other facts as may tend to shew the expediency or inexpediency of so far altering the laws respecting such officers that they may hereafter be appointed for limited periods, subject to removal as heretofore,” I transmit to the Senate a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, which, with the documents accompanying it, will afford all the information required.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _March 27, 1820_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I transmit to Congress an extract of a letter from the minister plenipotentiary of the United States at St. Petersburg, of the 1st of November last, on the subject of our relations with Spain, indicating the sentiments of the Emperor of Russia respecting the nonratification by His Catholic Majesty of the treaty lately concluded between the United States and Spain, and the strong interest which His Imperial Majesty takes in promoting the ratification of that treaty. Of this friendly disposition the most satisfactory assurance has been since given directly to this Government by the minister of Russia residing here.
I transmit also to Congress an extract of a letter from the minister plenipotentiary of the United States at Madrid of a later date than those heretofore communicated, by which it appears that, at the instance of the charge d’affaires of the Emperor of Russia, a new pledge had been given by the Spanish Government that the minister who had been lately appointed to the United States should set out on his mission without delay, with full power to settle all differences in a manner satisfactory to the parties.
I have further to state that the Governments of France and Great Britain continue to manifest the sentiments heretofore communicated respecting the nonratification of the treaty by Spain, and to interpose their good offices to promote its ratification.
It is proper to add that the Governments of France and Russia have expressed an earnest desire that the United States would take no steps for the present on the principle of reprisal which might possibly tend to disturb the peace between the United States and Spain. There is good cause to presume from the delicate manner in which this sentiment has been conveyed that it is founded in a belief as well as a desire that our just objects may be accomplished without the hazard of such an extremity.
On full consideration of all these circumstances, I have thought it my duty to submit to Congress whether it will not be advisable to postpone a decision on the questions now depending with Spain until the next session. The distress of that nation at this juncture affords a motive for this forbearance which can not fail to be duly appreciated. Under such circumstances the attention of the Spanish Government may be diverted from its foreign concerns, and the arrival of a minister here be longer delayed. I am the more induced to suggest this course of proceeding from a knowledge that, while we shall thereby make a just return to the powers whose good offices have been acknowledged, and increase by a new and signal proof of moderation our claims on Spain, our attitude in regard to her will not be less favorable at the next session than it is at the present.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _May 9, 1820_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I communicate to Congress a correspondence which has taken place between the Secretary of State and the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of His Catholic Majesty since the message of the 27th March last, respecting the treaty which was concluded between the United States and Spain on the 22d February, 1819.
After the failure of His Catholic Majesty for so long a time to ratify the treaty, it was expected that this minister would have brought with him the ratification, or that he would have been authorized to give an order for the delivery of the territory ceded by it to the United States. It appears, however, that the treaty is still unratified and that the minister has no authority to surrender the territory. The object of his mission has been to make complaints and to demand explanations respecting an imputed system of hostility on the part of citizens of the United States against the subjects and dominions of Spain, and an unfriendly policy in their Government, and to obtain new stipulations against these alleged injuries as the condition on which the treaty should be ratified.
Unexpected as such complaints and such a demand were under existing circumstances, it was thought proper, without compromising the Government as to the course to be pursued, to meet them promptly and to give the explanations that were desired on every subject with the utmost candor. The result has proved what was sufficiently well known before, that the charge of a systematic hostility being adopted and pursued by citizens of the United States against the dominions and subjects of Spain is utterly destitute of foundation, and that their Government in all its branches has maintained with the utmost rigor that neutrality in the civil war between Spain and the colonies which they were the first to declare. No force has been collected nor incursions made from within the United States against the dominions of Spain, nor have any naval equipments been permitted in favor of either party against the other. Their citizens have been warned of the obligations incident to the neutral condition of their country; their public officers have been instructed to see that the laws were faithfully executed, and severe examples have been made of some who violated them.
In regard to the stipulation proposed as the condition of the ratification of the treaty, that the United States shall abandon the right to recognize the revolutionary colonies in South America, or to form other relations with them when in their judgment it may be just and expedient so to do, it is manifestly so repugnant to the honor and even to the independence of the United States that it has been impossible to discuss it. In making this proposal it is perceived that His Catholic Majesty has entirely misconceived the principles on which this Government has acted in being a party to a negotiation so long protracted for claims so well founded and reasonable, as he likewise has the sacrifices which the United States have made, comparatively, with Spain in the treaty to which it is proposed to annex so extraordinary and improper a condition.
Had the minister of Spain offered an unqualified pledge that the treaty should be ratified by his Sovereign on being made acquainted with the explanations which had been given by this Government, there would have been a strong motive for accepting and submitting it to the Senate for their advice and consent, rather than to resort to other measures for redress, however justifiable and proper; but he gives no such pledge; oil the contrary, he declares explicitly that the refusal of this Government to relinquish the right of judging and acting for itself hereafter, according to circumstances, in regard to the Spanish colonies, a right common to all nations, has rendered it impossible for him under his instructions to make such engagement. He thinks that his Sovereign will be induced by his communications to ratify the treaty, but still he leaves him free either to adopt that measure or to decline it. He admits that the other objections are essentially removed and will not in themselves prevent the ratification, provided the difficulty on the third point is surmounted. The result, therefore, is that the treaty is declared to have no obligation whatever; that its ratification is made to depend not on the considerations which led to its adoption and the conditions which it contains, but on a new article unconnected with it, respecting which a new negotiation must be opened, of indefinite duration and doubtful issue.
Under this view of the subject the course to be pursued would appear to be direct and obvious if the affairs of Spain had remained in the state in which they were when this minister sailed. But it is known that an important change has since taken place in the Government of that country which can not fail to be sensibly felt in its intercourse with other nations. The minister of Spain has essentially declared his inability to act in consequence of that change. With him, however, under his present powers nothing could be done. The attitude of the United States must now be assumed on full consideration of what is due to their rights, their interest and honor, without regard to the powers or incidents of the late mission. We may at pleasure occupy the territory which was intended and provided by the late treaty as an indemnity for losses so long since sustained by our citizens; but still, nothing could be settled definitively without a treaty between the two nations. Is this the time to make the pressure? If the United States were governed by views of ambition and aggrandizement, many strong reasons might be given in its favor; but they have no objects of that kind to accomplish, none which are not founded in justice and which can be injured by forbearance. Great hope is entertained that this change will promote the happiness of the Spanish nation. The good order, moderation, and humanity which have characterized the movement are the best guaranties of its success.
The United States would not be justified in their own estimation should they take any step to disturb its harmony. When the Spanish Government is completely organized on the principles of this change, as it is expected it soon will be, there is just ground to presume that our differences with Spain will be speedily and satisfactorily settled.
With these remarks I submit it to the wisdom of Congress whether it will not still be advisable to postpone any decision on this subject until the next session.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _May 11, 1820_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit herewith to the Senate a report from the Secretary of State, together with the returns of causes depending in the courts of the United States, collected conformably to a resolution of the Senate of the 18th of January, 1819.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _May 12, 1820_.
The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
I transmit to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary of State, with the document prepared in pursuance of a resolution of the House of the 14th ultimo, on the subject of claims of citizens of the United States for Spanish spoliations upon their property and commerce.
JAMES MONROE.
PROCLAMATION.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States of the 3d of March, 1815, so much of the several acts imposing duties on the ships and vessels and on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the United States as imposed a discriminating duty of tonnage between foreign vessels and vessels of the United States and between goods imported into the United States in foreign vessels and vessels of the United States were repealed so far as the same respected the produce or manufacture of the nation to which such foreign ship or vessel might belong, such repeal to take effect in favor of any foreign nation whenever the President of the United States should be satisfied that the discriminating or countervailing duties of such foreign nation so far as they operate to the disadvantage of the United States have been abolished; and
Whereas satisfactory proof has been received by me from the burgo-masters and senate of the free and Hanseatic city of Lubeck that from and after the 30th day of October, 1819, all discriminating or countervailing duties of the said city so far as they operated to the disadvantage of the United States have been and are abolished:
Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States of America, do hereby declare and proclaim that so much of the several acts imposing duties on the tonnage of ships and vessels and on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the United States as imposed a discriminating duty of tonnage between vessels of the free and Hanseatic city of Lubeck and vessels of the United States and between goods imported into the United States in vessels of Lubeck and vessels of the United States are repealed so far as the same respect the produce or manufacture of the said free Hanseatic city of Lubeck.
[SEAL.]
Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 4th day of May, A.D. 1820, and forty-fourth year of the Independence of the United states.
JAMES MONROE.
By the President:
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
_Secretary of State_.
FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.
WASHINGTON, _November 14, 1820_.
_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:
In communicating to you a just view of public affairs at the commencement of your present labors, I do it with great satisfaction, because, taking all circumstances into consideration which claim attention, I see much cause to rejoice in the felicity of our situation. In making this remark I do not wish to be understood to imply that an unvaried prosperity is to be seen in every interest of this great community. In the progress of a nation inhabiting a territory of such vast extent and great variety of climate, every portion of which is engaged in foreign commerce and liable to be affected in some degree by the changes which occur in the condition and regulations of foreign countries, it would be strange if the produce of our soil and the industry and enterprise of our fellow-citizens received at all times and in every quarter an uniform and equal encouragement. This would be more than we would have a right to expect under circumstances the most favorable. Pressures on certain interests, it is admitted, have been felt; but allowing to these their greatest extent, they detract but little from the force of the remarks already made. In forming a just estimate of our present situation it is proper to look at the whole in the outline as well as in the detail. A free, virtuous, and enlightened people know well the great principles and causes on which their happiness depends, and even those who suffer most occasionally in their transitory concerns find great relief under their sufferings from the blessings which they otherwise enjoy and in the consoling and animating hope which they administer. From whence do these pressures come? Not from a government which is founded by, administered for, and supported by the people. We trace them to the peculiar character of the epoch in which we live, and to the extraordinary occurrences which have signalized it. The convulsions with which several of the powers of Europe have been shaken and the long and destructive wars in which all were engaged, with their sudden transition to a state of peace, presenting in the first instance unusual encouragement to our commerce and withdrawing it in the second even within its wonted limit, could not fail to be sensibly felt here. The station, too, which we had to support through this long conflict, compelled as we were finally to become a party to it with a principal power, and to make great exertions, suffer heavy losses, and to contract considerable debts, disturbing the ordinary course of affairs by augmenting to a vast amount the circulating medium, and thereby elevating at one time the price of every article above a just standard and depressing it at another below it, had likewise its due effect.
It is manifest that the pressures of which we complain have proceeded in a great measure from these causes. When, then, we take into view the prosperous and happy condition of our country in all the great circumstances which constitute the felicity of a nation–every individual in the full enjoyment of all his rights, the Union blessed