Speech Transcript:

Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:

Being suddenly called in the midst of the last session of Congress by
a painful dispensation of Divine Providence to the responsible station
which I now hold, I contented myself with such communications to the
Legislature as the exigency of the moment seemed to require. The
country was shrouded in mourning for the loss of its venerable Chief
Magistrate and all hearts were penetrated with grief. Neither the
time nor the occasion appeared to require or to justify on my part
any general expression of political opinions or any announcement of
the principles which would govern me in the discharge of the duties
to the performance of which I had been so unexpectedly called. I
trust, therefore, that it may not be deemed inappropriate if I avail
myself of this opportunity of the reassembling of Congress to make
known my sentiments in a general manner in regard to the policy which
ought to be pursued by the Government both in its intercourse with
foreign nations and its management and administration of internal
affairs.

Nations, like individuals in a state of nature, are equal and
independent, possessing certain rights and owing certain duties to
each other, arising from their necessary and unavoidable relations;
which rights and duties there is no common human authority to protect
and enforce. Still, they are rights and duties, binding in morals, in
conscience, and in honor, although there is no tribunal to which an
injured party can appeal but the disinterested judgment of mankind,
and ultimately the arbitrament of the sword.

Among the acknowledged rights of nations is that which each possesses
of establishing that form of government which it may deem most
conducive to the happiness and prosperity of its own citizens, of
changing that form as circumstances may require, and of managing its
internal affairs according to its own will. The people of the United
States claim this right for themselves, and they readily concede it
to others. Hence it becomes an imperative duty not to interfere in
the government or internal policy of other nations; and although we
may sympathize with the unfortunate or the oppressed everywhere in
their struggles for freedom, our principles forbid us from taking any
part in such foreign contests. We make no wars to promote or to
prevent successions to thrones, to maintain any theory of a balance
of power, or to suppress the actual government which any country
chooses to establish for itself. We instigate no revolutions, nor
suffer any hostile military expeditions to be fitted out in the
United States to invade the territory or provinces of a friendly
nation. The great law of morality ought to have a national as well as
a personal and individual application. We should act toward other
nations as we wish them to act toward us, and justice and conscience
should form the rule of conduct between governments, instead of mere
power, self interest, or the desire of aggrandizement. To maintain a
strict neutrality in foreign wars, to cultivate friendly relations,
to reciprocate every noble and generous act, and to perform
punctually and scrupulously every treaty obligation--these are the
duties which we owe to other states, and by the performance of which
we best entitle ourselves to like treatment from them; or, if that,
in any case, be refused, we can enforce our own rights with justice
and a clear conscience.

In our domestic policy the Constitution will be my guide, and in
questions of doubt I shall look for its interpretation to the
judicial decisions of that tribunal which was established to expound
it and to the usage of the Government, sanctioned by the acquiescence
of the country. I regard all its provisions as equally binding. In all
its parts it is the will of the people expressed in the most solemn
form, and the constituted authorities are but agents to carry that
will into effect. Every power which it has granted is to be exercised
for the public good; but no pretense of utility, no honest conviction,
even, of what might be expedient, can justify the assumption of any
power not granted. The powers conferred upon the Government and their
distribution to the several departments are as clearly expressed in
that sacred instrument as the imperfection of human language will
allow, and I deem it my first duty not to question its wisdom, add to
its provisions, evade its requirements, or nullify its commands.

Upon you, fellow-citizens, as the representatives of the States and
the people, is wisely devolved the legislative power. I shall comply
with my duty in laying before you from time to time any information
calculated to enable you to discharge your high and responsible trust
for the benefit of our common constituents.

My opinions will be frankly expressed upon the leading subjects of
legislation; and if--which I do not anticipate--any act should pass
the two Houses of Congress which should appear to me
unconstitutional, or an encroachment on the just powers of other
departments, or with provisions hastily adopted and likely to produce
consequences injurious and unforeseen, I should not shrink from the
duty of returning it to you, with my reasons, for your further
consideration. Beyond the due performance of these constitutional
obligations, both my respect for the Legislature and my sense of
propriety will restrain me from any attempt to control or influence
your proceedings. With you is the power, the honor, and the
responsibility of the legislation of the country.

The Government of the United States is a limited Government. It is
confined to the exercise of powers expressly granted and such others
as may be necessary for carrying those powers into effect; and it is
at all times an especial duty to guard against any infringement on
the just rights of the States. Over the objects and subjects
intrusted to Congress its legislative authority is supreme. But here
that authority ceases, and every citizen who truly loves the
Constitution and desires the continuance of its existence and its
blessings will resolutely and firmly resist any interference in those
domestic affairs which the Constitution has dearly and unequivocally
left to the exclusive authority of the States. And every such citizen
will also deprecate useless irritation among the several members of
the Union and all reproach and crimination tending to alienate one
portion of the country from another. The beauty of our system of
government consists, and its safety and durability must consist, in
avoiding mutual collisions and encroachments and in the regular
separate action of all, while each is revolving in its own distinct
orbit.

The Constitution has made it the duty of the President to take care
that the laws be faithfully executed. In a government like ours, in
which all laws are passed by a majority of the representatives of the
people, and these representatives are chosen for such short periods
that any injurious or obnoxious law can very soon be repealed, it
would appear unlikely that any great numbers should be found ready to
resist the execution of the laws. But it must be borne in mind that
the country is extensive; that there may be local interests or
prejudices rendering a law odious in one part which is not so in
another, and that the thoughtless and inconsiderate, misled by their
passions or their imaginations, may be induced madly to resist such
laws as they disapprove. Such persons should recollect that without
law there can be no real practical liberty; that when law is trampled
under foot tyranny rules, whether it appears in the form of a military
despotism or of popular violence. The law is the only sure protection
of the weak and the only efficient restraint upon the strong. When
impartially and faithfully administered, none is beneath its
protection and none above its control. You, gentlemen, and the
country may be assured that to the utmost of my ability and to the
extent of the power vested in me I shall at all times and in all
places take care that the laws be faithfully executed. In the
discharge of this duty, solemnly imposed upon me by the Constitution
and by my oath of office, I shall shrink from no responsibility, and
shall endeavor to meet events as they may arise with firmness, as
well as with prudence and discretion.

The appointing power is one of the most delicate with which the
Executive is invested. I regard it as a sacred trust, to be exercised
with the sole view of advancing the prosperity and happiness of the
people. It shall be my effort to elevate the standard of official
employment by selecting for places of importance individuals fitted
for the posts to which they are assigned by their known integrity,
talents, and virtues. In so extensive a country, with so great a
population, and where few persons appointed to office can be known to
the appointing power, mistakes will sometimes unavoidably happen and
unfortunate appointments be made notwithstanding the greatest care.
In such cases the power of removal may be properly exercised; and
neglect of duty or malfeasance in office will be no more tolerated in
individuals appointed by myself than in those appointed by others. I
am happy in being able to say that no unfavorable change in our
foreign relations has taken place since the message at the opening of
the last session of Congress. We are at peace with all nations and we
enjoy in an eminent degree the blessings of that peace in a
prosperous and growing commerce and in all the forms of amicable
national intercourse. The unexampled growth of the country, the
present amount of its population, and its ample means of
self-protection assure for it the respect of all nations, while it is
trusted that its character for justice and a regard to the rights of
other States will cause that respect to be readily and cheerfully
paid.

A convention was negotiated between the United States and Great
Britain in April last for facilitating and protecting the
construction of a ship canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans
and for other purposes. The instrument has since been ratified by the
contracting parties, the exchange of ratifications has been effected,
and proclamation thereof has been duly made.

In addition to the stipulations contained in this convention, two
other objects remain to be accomplished between the contracting
powers: First. The designation and establishment of a free port at
each end of the canal.

Second. An agreement fixing the distance from the shore within which
belligerent maritime operations shall not be carried on. On these
points there is little doubt that the two Governments will come to an
understanding.

The company of citizens of the United States who have acquired from
the State of Nicaragua the privilege of constructing a ship canal
between the two oceans through the territory of that State have made
progress in their preliminary arrangements. The treaty between the
United States and Great Britain of the 19th of April last, above
referred to, being now in operation, it is to be hoped that the
guaranties which it offers will be sufficient to secure the
completion of the work with all practicable expedition. It is obvious
that this result would be indefinitely postponed if any other than
peaceful measures for the purpose of harmonizing conflicting claims
to territory in that quarter should be adopted. It will consequently
be my endeavor to cause any further negotiations on the part of this
Government which may be requisite for this purpose to be so conducted
as to bring them to a speedy and successful close.

Some unavoidable delay has occurred, arising from distance and the
difficulty of intercourse between this Government and that of
Nicaragua, but as intelligence has just been received of the
appointment of an envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of
that Government to reside at Washington, whose arrival may soon be
expected, it is hoped that no further impediments will be experienced
in the prompt transaction of business between the two Governments.

Citizens of the United States have undertaken the connection of the
two oceans by means of a railroad across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec,
under grants of the Mexican Government to a citizen of that Republic.
It is understood that a thorough survey of the course of the
communication is in preparation, and there is every reason to expect
that it will be prosecuted with characteristic energy, especially
when that Government shall have consented to such stipulations with
the Government of the United States as may be necessary to impart a
feeling of security to those who may embark their property in the
enterprise. Negotiations are pending for the accomplishment of that
object, and a hope is confidently entertained that when the
Government of Mexico shall become duly sensible of the advantages
which that country can not fail to derive from the work, and learn
that the Government of the United States desires that the right of
sovereignty of Mexico in the Isthmus shall remain unimpaired, the
stipulations referred to will be agreed to with alacrity.

By the last advices from Mexico it would appear, however, that that
Government entertains strong objections to some of the stipulations
which the parties concerned in the project of the railroad deem
necessary for their protection and security. Further consideration,
it is to be hoped, or some modification of terms, may yet reconcile
the differences existing between the two Governments in this
respect.

Fresh instructions have recently been given to the minister of the
United States in Mexico, who is prosecuting the subject with
promptitude and ability.

Although the negotiations with Portugal for the payment of claims of
citizens of the United States against that Government have not yet
resulted in a formal treaty, yet a proposition, made by the
Government of Portugal for the final adjustment and payment of those
claims, has recently been accepted on the part of the United States.
It gives me pleasure to say that Mr. Clay, to whom the negotiation on
the part of the United States had been intrusted, discharged the
duties of his appointment with ability and discretion, acting always
within the instructions of his Government.

It is expected that a regular convention will be immediately
negotiated for carrying the agreement between the two Governments
into effect. The commissioner appointed under the act of Congress for
carrying into effect the convention with Brazil of the 27th of
January, 1849, has entered upon the performance of the duties imposed
upon him by that act. It is hoped that those duties may be completed
within the time which it prescribes. The documents, however, which
the Imperial Government, by the third article of the convention,
stipulates to furnish to the Government of the United States have not
yet been received. As it is presumed that those documents will be
essential for the correct disposition of the claims, it may become
necessary for Congress to extend the period limited for the duration
of the commission. The sum stipulated by the fourth article of the
convention to be paid to this Government has been received.

The collection in the ports of the United States of discriminating
duties upon the vessels of Chili and their cargoes has been
suspended, pursuant to the provisions of the act of Congress of the
24th of May, 1828. It is to be hoped that this measure will impart a
fresh impulse to the commerce between the two countries, which of
late, and especially since our acquisition of California, has, to the
mutual advantage of the parties, been much augmented.

Peruvian guano has become so desirable an article to the agricultural
interest of the United States that it is the duty of the Government to
employ all the means properly in its power for the purpose of causing
that article to be imported into the country at a reasonable price.
Nothing will be omitted on my part toward accomplishing this
desirable end. I am persuaded that in removing any restraints on this
traffic the Peruvian Government will promote its own best interests,
while it will afford a proof of a friendly disposition toward this
country, which will be duly appreciated.

The treaty between the United States and His Majesty the King of the
Hawaiian Islands, which has recently been made public, will, it is
believed, have a beneficial effect upon the relations between the two
countries.

The relations between those parts of the island of St. Domingo which
were formerly colonies of Spain and France, respectively, are still
in an unsettled condition. The proximity of that island to the United
States and the delicate questions involved in the existing controversy
there render it desirable that it should be permanently and speedily
adjusted. The interests of humanity and of general commerce also
demand this; and as intimations of the same sentiment have been
received from other governments, it is hoped that some plan may soon
be devised to effect the object in a manner likely to give general
satisfaction. The Government of the United States will not fail, by
the exercise of all proper friendly offices, to do all in its power
to put an end to the destructive war which has raged between the
different parts of the island and to secure to them both the benefits
of peace and commerce.

I refer you to the report of the Secretary of the Treasury for a
detailed statement of the finances.

The total receipts into the Treasury for the year ending 30th of June
last were $47,421,748.90. The total expenditures during the same
period were $43,002,168.90. The public debt has been reduced since
the last annual report from the Treasury Department $495,276.79.

By the nineteenth section of the act of 28th January, 1847, the
proceeds of the sales of the public lands were pledged for the
interest and principal of the public debt. The great amount of those
lands subsequently granted by Congress for military bounties will, it
is believed, very nearly supply the public demand for several years to
come, and but little reliance can, therefore, be placed on that
hitherto fruitful source of revenue. Aside from the permanent annual
expenditures, which have necessarily largely increased, a portion of
the public debt, amounting to $8,075,986.59, must be provided for
within the next two fiscal years. It is most desirable that these
accruing demands should be met without resorting to new loans.

All experience has demonstrated the wisdom and policy of raising a
large portion of revenue for the support of Government from duties on
goods imported. The power to lay these duties is unquestionable, and
its chief object, of course, is to replenish the Treasury. But if in
doing this an incidental advantage may be gained by encouraging the
industry of our own citizens, it is our duty to avail ourselves of
that advantage.

A duty laid upon an article which can not be produced in this
country, such as tea or coffee, adds to the cost of the article, and
is chiefly or wholly paid by the consumer. But a duty laid upon an
article which may be produced here stimulates the skill and industry
of our own country to produce the same article, which is brought into
the market in competition with the foreign article, and the importer
is thus compelled to reduce his price to that at which the domestic
article can be sold, thereby throwing a part of the duty upon the
producer of the foreign article. The continuance of this process
creates the skill and invites the capital which finally enable us to
produce the article much cheaper than it could have been procured
from abroad, thereby benefiting both the producer and the consumer at
home. The consequence of this is that the artisan and the
agriculturist are brought together, each affords a ready market for
the produce of the other, the whole country becomes prosperous, and
the ability to produce every necessary of life renders us independent
in war as well as in peace.

A high tariff can never be permanent. It will cause dissatisfaction,
and will be changed. It excludes competition, and thereby invites the
investment of capital in manufactures to such excess that when changed
it brings distress, bankruptcy, and ruin upon all who have been misled
by its faithless protection. What the manufacturer wants is uniformity
and permanency, that he may feel a confidence that he is not to be
ruined by sudden exchanges. But to make a tariff uniform and
permanent it is not only necessary that the laws should not be
altered, but that the duty should not fluctuate. To effect this all
duties should be specific wherever the nature of the article is such
as to admit of it. Ad valorem duties fluctuate with the price and
offer strong temptations to fraud and perjury. Specific duties, on
the contrary, are equal and uniform in all ports and at all times,
and offer a strong inducement to the importer to bring the best
article, as he pays no more duty upon that than upon one of inferior
quality. I therefore strongly recommend a modification of the present
tariff, which has prostrated some of our most important and necessary
manufactures, and that specific duties be imposed sufficient to raise
the requisite revenue, making such discriminations in favor of the
industrial pursuits of our own country as to encourage home
production without excluding foreign competition. It is also
important that an unfortunate provision in the present tariff, which
imposes a much higher duty upon the raw material that enters into our
manufactures than upon the manufactured article, should be remedied.

The papers accompanying the report of the Secretary of the Treasury
will disclose frauds attempted upon the revenue, in variety and
amount so great as to justify the conclusion that it is impossible
under any system of ad valorem duties levied upon the foreign cost or
value of the article to secure an honest observance and an effectual
administration of the laws. The fraudulent devices to evade the law
which have been detected by the vigilance of the appraisers leave no
room to doubt that similar impositions not discovered, to a large
amount, have been successfully practiced since the enactment of the
law now in force. This state of things has already had a prejudicial
influence upon those engaged in foreign commerce. It has a tendency
to drive the honest trader from the business of importing and to
throw that important branch of employment into the hands of
unscrupulous and dishonest men, who are alike regardless of law and
the obligations of an oath. By these means the plain intentions of
Congress, as expressed in the law, are daily defeated. Every motive
of policy and duty, therefore, impels me to ask the earnest attention
of Congress to this subject. If Congress should deem it unwise to
attempt any important changes in the system of levying duties at this
session, it will become indispensable to the protection of the revenue
that such remedies as in the judgment of Congress may mitigate the
evils complained of should be at once applied.

As before stated, specific duties would, in my opinion, afford the
most perfect remedy for this evil; but if you should not concur in
this view, then, as a partial remedy, I beg leave respectfully to
recommend that instead of taking the invoice of the article abroad as
a means of determining its value here, the correctness of which
invoice it is in many cases impossible to verify, the law be so
changed as to require a home valuation or appraisal, to be regulated
in such manner as to give, as far as practicable, uniformity in the
several ports.

There being no mint in California, I am informed that the laborers in
the mines are compelled to dispose of their gold dust at a large
discount. This appears to me to be a heavy and unjust tax upon the
labor of those employed in extracting this precious metal, and I
doubt not you will be disposed at the earliest period possible to
relieve them from it by the establishment of a mint. In the meantime,
as an assayer's office is established there, I would respectfully
submit for your consideration the propriety of authorizing gold
bullion which has been assayed and stamped to be received in payment
of Government dues. I can not conceive that the Treasury would suffer
any loss by such a provision, which will at once raise bullion to its
par value, and thereby save (if I am rightly informed) many millions
of dollars to the laborers which are now paid in brokerage to convert
this precious metal into available funds. This discount upon their
hard earnings is a heavy tax, and every effort should be made by the
Government to relieve them from so great a burden.

More than three-fourths of our population are engaged in the
cultivation of the soil. The commercial, manufacturing, and
navigating interests are all to a great extent dependent on the
agricultural. It is therefore the most important interest of the
nation, and has a just claim to the fostering care and protection of
the Government so far as they can be extended consistently with the
provisions of the Constitution. As this can not be done by the
ordinary modes of legislation, I respectfully recommend the
establishment of an agricultural bureau, to be charged with the duty
of giving to this leading branch of American industry the
encouragement which it so well deserves. In view of the immense
mineral resources of our country, provision should also be made for
the employment of a competent mineralogist and chemist, who should be
required, under the direction of the head of the bureau, to collect
specimens of the various minerals of our country and to ascertain by
careful analysis their respective elements and properties and their
adaptation to useful purposes. He should also be required to examine
and report upon the qualities of different soils and the manures best
calculated to improve their productiveness. By publishing the results
of such experiments, with suitable explanations, and by the
collection and distribution of rare seeds and plants, with
instructions as to the best system of cultivation, much may be done
to promote this great national interest.

In compliance with the act of Congress passed on the 23d of May,
1850, providing, among other things, for taking the Seventh Census, a
superintendent was appointed and all other measures adopted which were
deemed necessary to insure the prompt and faithful performance of that
duty. The appropriation already made will, it is believed, be
sufficient to defray the whole expense of the work, but further
legislation may be necessary in regard to the compensation of some of
the marshals of the Territories. It will also be proper to make
provision by law at an early day for the publication of such
abstracts of the returns as the public interests may require.

The unprecedented growth of our territories on the Pacific in wealth
and population and the consequent increase of their social and
commercial relations with the Atlantic States seem to render it the
duty of the Government to use all its constitutional power to improve
the means of intercourse with them. The importance of opening "a line
of communication, the best and most expeditious of which the nature
of the country will admit," between the Valley of the Mississippi and
the Pacific was brought to your notice by my predecessor in his annual
message; and as the reasons which he presented in favor of the measure
still exist in full force, I beg leave to call your attention to them
and to repeat the recommendations then made by him.

The uncertainty which exists in regard to the validity of land titles
in California is a subject which demands your early consideration.
Large bodies of land in that State are claimed under grants said to
have been made by authority of the Spanish and Mexican Governments.
Many of these have not been perfected, others have been revoked, and
some are believed to be fraudulent. But until they shall have been
judicially investigated they will continue to retard the settlement
and improvement of the country. I therefore respectfully recommend
that provision be made by law for the appointment of commissioners to
examine all such claims with a view to their final adjustment.

I also beg leave to call your attention to the propriety of extending
at an early day our system of land laws, with such modifications as
may be necessary, over the State of California and the Territories of
Utah and New Mexico. The mineral lands of California will, of course,
form an exception to any general system which may be adopted. Various
methods of disposing of them have been suggested. I was at first
inclined to favor the system of leasing, as it seemed to promise the
largest revenue to the Government and to afford the best security
against monopolies; but further reflection and our experience in
leasing the lead mines and selling lands upon credit have brought my
mind to the conclusion that there would be great difficulty in
collecting the rents, and that the relation of debtor and creditor
between the citizens and the Government would be attended with many
mischievous consequences. I therefore recommend that instead of
retaining the mineral lands under the permanent control of the
Government they be divided into small parcels and sold, under such
restrictions as to quantity and time as will insure the best price
and guard most effectually against combinations of capitalists to
obtain monopolies.

The annexation of Texas and the acquisition of California and New
Mexico have given increased importance to our Indian relations. The
various tribes brought under our jurisdiction by these enlargements
of our boundaries are estimated to embrace a population of 124,000.
Texas and New Mexico are surrounded by powerful tribes of Indians,
who are a source of constant terror and annoyance to the inhabitants.
Separating into small predatory bands, and always mounted, they
overrun the country, devastating farms, destroying crops, driving off
whole herds of cattle, and occasionally murdering the inhabitants or
carrying them into captivity. The great roads leading into the
country are infested with them, whereby traveling is rendered
extremely dangerous and immigration is almost entirely arrested. The
Mexican frontier, which by the eleventh article of the treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo we are bound to protect against the Indians within
our border, is exposed to these incursions equally with our own. The
military force stationed in that country, although forming a large
proportion of the Army, is represented as entirely inadequate to our
own protection and the fulfillment of our treaty stipulations with
Mexico. The principal deficiency is in cavalry, and I recommend that
Congress should, at as early a period as practicable, provide for the
raising of one or more regiments of mounted men.

For further suggestions on this subject and others connected with our
domestic interests and the defense of our frontier, I refer you to the
reports of the Secretary of the Interior and of the Secretary of War.

I commend also to your favorable consideration the suggestion
contained in the last-mentioned report and in the letter of the
General in Chief relative to the establishment of an asylum for the
relief of disabled and destitute soldiers. This subject appeals so
strongly to your sympathies that it would be superfluous in me to say
anything more than barely to express my cordial approbation of the
proposed object.

The Navy continues to give protection to our commerce and other
national interests in the different quarters of the globe, and, with
the exception of a single steamer on the Northern lakes, the vessels
in commission are distributed in six different squadrons.

The report of the head of that Department will exhibit the services
of these squadrons and of the several vessels employed in each during
the past year. It is a source of gratification that, while they have
been constantly prepared for any hostile emergency, they have
everywhere met with the respect and courtesy due as well to the
dignity as to the peaceful dispositions and just purposes of the
nation.

The two brigantines accepted by the Government from a generous
citizen of New York and placed under the command of an officer of the
Navy to proceed to the Arctic Seas in quest of the British commander
Sir John Franklin and his companions, in compliance with the act of
Congress approved in May last, had when last heard from penetrated
into a high northern latitude; but the success of this noble and
humane enterprise is yet uncertain.

I invite your attention to the view of our present naval
establishment and resources presented in the report of the Secretary
of the Navy, and the suggestions therein made for its improvement,
together with the naval policy recommended for the security of our
Pacific Coast and the protection and extension of our commerce with
eastern Asia. Our facilities for a larger participation in the trade
of the East, by means of our recent settlements on the shores of the
Pacific, are too obvious to be overlooked or disregarded.

The questions in relation to rank in the Army and Navy and relative
rank between officers of the two branches of the service, presented
to the Executive by certain resolutions of the House of
Representatives at the last session of Congress, have been submitted
to a board of officers in each branch of the service, and their
report may be expected at an early day.

I also earnestly recommend the enactment of a law authorizing
officers of the Army and Navy to be retired from the service when
incompetent for its vigorous and active duties, taking care to make
suitable provision for those who have faithfully served their country
and awarding distinctions by retaining in appropriate commands those
who have been particularly conspicuous for gallantry and good
conduct. While the obligation of the country to maintain and honor
those who, to the exclusion of other pursuits, have devoted
themselves to its arduous service is acknowledged, this obligation
should not be permitted to interfere with the efficiency of the
service itself.

I am gratified in being able to state that the estimates of
expenditure for the Navy in the ensuing year are less by more than
$1,000,000 than those of the present, excepting the appropriation
which may become necessary for the construction of a dock on the
coast of the Pacific, propositions for which are now being considered
and on which a special report may be expected early in your present
session.

There is an evident justness in the suggestion of the same report
that appropriations for the naval service proper should be separated
from those for fixed and permanent objects, such as building docks
and navy yards and the fixtures attached, and from the extraordinary
objects under the care of the Department which, however important,
are not essentially naval.

A revision of the code for the government of the Navy seems to
require the immediate consideration of Congress. Its system of crimes
and punishments had undergone no change for half a century until the
last session, though its defects have been often and ably pointed
out; and the abolition of a particular species of corporal
punishment, which then took place, without providing any substitute,
has left the service in a state of defectiveness which calls for
prompt correction. I therefore recommend that the whole subject be
revised without delay and such a system established for the
enforcement of discipline as shall be at once humane and effectual.

The accompanying report of the Postmaster-General presents a
satisfactory view of the operations and condition of that Department.
At the close of the last fiscal year the length of the inland mail
routes in the United States (not embracing the service in Oregon and
California) was 178,672 miles, the annual transportation thereon
46,541,423 miles, and the annual cost of such transportation
$2,724,426. The increase of the annual transportation over that of
the preceding year was 3,997,354 miles and the increase in cost was
$342,440. The number of post-offices in the United States on the 1st
day of July last was 18,417, being an increase of 1,670 during the
preceding year.

The gross revenues of the Department for the fiscal year ending June
30, 1850, amounted to $5,552,971.48, including the annual
appropriation of $200,000 for the franked matter of the Departments
and excluding the foreign postages collected for and payable to the
British Government.

The expenditures for the same period were $5,212,953.43, leaving a
balance of revenue over expenditures of $340,018.05.

I am happy to find that the fiscal condition of the Department is
such as to justify the Postmaster-General in recommending the
reduction of our inland letter postage to 3 cents the single letter
when prepaid and 5 cents when not prepaid. He also recommends that
the prepaid rate shall be reduced to 2 cents whenever the revenues of
the Department, after the reduction, shall exceed its expenditures by
more than 5 per cent for two consecutive years; that the postage upon
California and other letters sent by our ocean steamers shall be much
reduced, and that the rates of postage on newspapers, pamphlets,
periodicals, and other printed matter shall be modified and some
reduction thereon made.

It can not be doubted that the proposed reductions will for the
present diminish the revenues of the Department. It is believed that
the deficiency, after the surplus already accumulated shall be
exhausted, may be almost wholly met either by abolishing the existing
privileges of sending free matter through the mails or by paying out
of the Treasury to the Post-Office Department a sum equivalent to the
postage of which it is deprived by such privileges. The last is
supposed to be the preferable mode, and will, if not entirely, so
nearly supply that deficiency as to make any further appropriation
that may be found necessary so inconsiderable as to form no obstacle
to the proposed reductions.

I entertain no doubt of the authority of Congress to make
appropriations for leading objects in that class of public works
comprising what are usually called works of internal improvement.
This authority I suppose to be derived chiefly from the power of
regulating commerce with foreign nations and among the States and the
power of laying and collecting imposts. Where commerce is to be
carried on and imposts collected there must be ports and harbors as
well as wharves and custom-houses. If ships laden with valuable
cargoes approach the shore or sail along the coast, light-houses are
necessary at suitable points for the protection of life and property.
Other facilities and securities for commerce and navigation are hardly
less important; and those clauses of the Constitution, therefore, to
which I have referred have received from the origin of the Government
a liberal and beneficial construction. Not only have light-houses,
buoys, and beacons been established and floating lights maintained,
but harbors have been cleared and improved, piers constructed, and
even breakwaters for the safety of shipping and sea walls to protect
harbors from being filled up and rendered useless by the action of
the ocean, have been erected at very great expense. And this
construction of the Constitution appears the more reasonable from the
consideration that if these works, of such evident importance and
utility, are not to be accomplished by Congress they can not be
accomplished at all. By the adoption of the Constitution the several
States voluntarily parted with the power of collecting duties of
imposts in their own ports, and it is not to be expected that they
should raise money by internal taxation, direct or indirect, for the
benefit of that commerce the revenues derived from which do not,
either in whole or in part, go into their own treasuries. Nor do I
perceive any difference between the power of Congress to make
appropriations for objects of this kind on the ocean and the power to
make appropriations for similar objects on lakes and rivers, wherever
they are large enough to bear on their waters an extensive traffic.
The magnificent Mississippi and its tributaries and the vast lakes of
the North and Northwest appear to me to fall within the exercise of
the power as justly and as clearly as the ocean and the Gulf of
Mexico. It is a mistake to regard expenditures judiciously made for
these objects as expenditures for local purposes. The position or
sight of the work is necessarily local, but its utility is general. A
ship canal around the Falls of St. Mary of less than a mile in length,
though local in its construction, would yet be national in its purpose
and its benefits, as it would remove the only obstruction to a
navigation of more than 1,000 miles, affecting several States, as
well as our commercial relations with Canada. So, too, the breakwater
at the mouth of the Delaware is erected, not for the exclusive benefit
of the States bordering on the bay and river of that name, but for
that of the whole coastwise navigation of the United States and, to a
considerable extent, also of foreign commerce. If a ship be lost on
the bar at the entrance of a Southern port for want of sufficient
depth of water, it is very likely to be a Northern ship; and if a
steamboat be sunk in any part of the Mississippi on account of its
channel not having been properly cleared of obstructions, it may be a
boat belonging to either of eight or ten States. I may add, as
somewhat remarkable, that among all the thirty-one States there is
none that is not to a greater or less extent bounded on the ocean, or
the Gulf of Mexico, or one of the Great Lakes, or some navigable
river.

In fulfilling our constitutional duties, fellow-citizens, on this
subject, as in carrying into effect all other powers conferred by the
Constitution, we should consider ourselves as deliberating and acting
for one and the same country, and bear constantly in mind that our
regard and our duty are due not to a particular part only, but to the
whole.

I therefore recommend that appropriations be made for completing such
works as have been already begun and for commencing such others as may
seem to the wisdom of Congress to be of public and general
importance.

The difficulties and delays incident to the settlement of private
claims by Congress amount in many cases to a denial of justice. There
is reason to apprehend that many unfortunate creditors of the
Government have thereby been unavoidably ruined. Congress has so much
business of a public character that it is impossible it should give
much attention to mere private claims, and their accumulation is now
so great that many claimants must despair of ever being able to
obtain a hearing. It may well be doubted whether Congress, from the
nature of its organization, is properly constituted to decide upon
such cases. It is impossible that each member should examine the
merits of every claim on which he is compelled to vote, and it is
preposterous to ask a judge to decide a case which he has never
heard. Such decisions may, and frequently must, do injustice either
to the claimant or the Government, and I perceive no better remedy
for this growing evil than the establishment of some tribunal to
adjudicate upon such claims. I beg leave, therefore, most
respectfully to recommend that provision be made by law for the
appointment of a commission to settle all private claims against the
United States; and as an ex parte hearing must in all contested cases
be very unsatisfactory, I also recommend the appointment of a
solicitor, whose duty it shall be to represent the Government before
such commission and protect it against all illegal, fraudulent, or
unjust claims which may be presented for their adjudication. This
District, which has neither voice nor vote in your deliberations,
looks to you for protection and aid, and I commend all its wants to
your favorable consideration, with a full confidence that you will
meet them not only with justice, but with liberality. It should be
borne in mind that in this city, laid out by Washington and
consecrated by his name, is located the Capitol of our nation, the
emblem of our Union and the symbol of our greatness. Here also are
situated all the public buildings necessary for the use of the
Government, and all these are exempt from taxation. It should be the
pride of Americans to render this place attractive to the people of
the whole Republic and convenient and safe for the transaction of the
public business and the preservation of the public records. The
Government should therefore bear a liberal proportion of the burdens
of all necessary and useful improvements. And as nothing could
contribute more to the health, comfort, and safety of the city and
the security of the public buildings and records than an abundant
supply of pure water, I respectfully recommend that you make such
provisions for obtaining the same as in your wisdom you may deem
proper.

The act, passed at your last session, making certain propositions to
Texas for settling the disputed boundary between that State and the
Territory of New Mexico was, immediately on its passage, transmitted
by express to the governor of Texas, to be laid by him before the
general assembly for its agreement thereto. Its receipt was duly
acknowledged, but no official information has yet been received of
the action of the general assembly thereon. It may, however, be very
soon expected, as, by the terms of the propositions submitted they
were to have been acted upon on or before the first day of the
present month.

It was hardly to have been expected that the series of measures
passed at your last session with the view of healing the sectional
differences which had sprung from the slavery and territorial
questions should at once have realized their beneficent purpose. All
mutual concession in the nature of a compromise must necessarily be
unwelcome to men of extreme opinions. And though without such
concessions our Constitution could not have been formed, and can not
be permanently sustained, yet we have seen them made the subject of
bitter controversy in both sections of the Republic. It required many
months of discussion and deliberation to secure the concurrence of a
majority of Congress in their favor. It would be strange if they had
been received with immediate approbation by people and States
prejudiced and heated by the exciting controversies of their
representatives. I believe those measures to have been required by
the circumstances and condition of the country. I believe they were
necessary to allay asperities and animosities that were rapidly
alienating one section of the country from another and destroying
those fraternal sentiments which are the strongest supports of the
Constitution. They were adopted in the spirit of conciliation and for
the purpose of conciliation. I believe that a great majority of our
fellow citizens sympathize in that spirit and that purpose, and in
the main approve and are prepared in all respects to sustain these
enactments. I can not doubt that the American people, bound together
by kindred blood and common traditions, still cherish a paramount
regard for the Union of their fathers, and that they are ready to
rebuke any attempt to violate its integrity, to disturb the
compromises on which it is based, or to resist the laws which have
been enacted under its authority.

The series of measures to which I have alluded are regarded by me as
a settlement in principle and substance--a final settlement of the
dangerous and exciting subjects which they embraced. Most of these
subjects, indeed, are beyond your reach, as the legislation which
disposed of them was in its character final and irrevocable. It may
be presumed from the opposition which they all encountered that none
of those measures was free from imperfections, but in their mutual
dependence and connection they formed a system of compromise the most
conciliatory and best for the entire country that could be obtained
from conflicting sectional interests and opinions.

For this reason I recommend your adherence to the adjustment
established by those measures until time and experience shall
demonstrate the necessity of further legislation to guard against
evasion or abuse.

By that adjustment we have been rescued from the wide and boundless
agitation that surrounded us, and have a firm, distinct, and legal
ground to rest upon. And the occasion, I trust, will justify me in
exhorting my countrymen to rally upon and maintain that ground as the
best, if not the only, means of restoring peace and quiet to the
country and maintaining inviolate the integrity of the Union.

And now, fellow-citizens, I can not bring this communication to a
close without invoking you to join me in humble and devout thanks to
the Great Ruler of Nations for the multiplied blessings which He has
graciously bestowed upon us. His hand, so often visible in our
preservation, has stayed the pestilence, saved us from foreign wars
and domestic disturbances, and scattered plenty throughout the land.

Our liberties, religions and civil, have been maintained, the
fountains of knowledge have all been kept open, and means of
happiness widely spread and generally enjoyed greater than have
fallen to the lot of any other nation. And while deeply penetrated
with gratitude for the past, let us hope that His all-wise providence
will so guide our counsels as that they shall result in giving
satisfaction to our constituents, securing the peace of the country,
and adding new strength to the united Government under which we live.