Speech Transcript:

Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:

Our heartfelt gratitude is due to the Divine Being who holds in His
hands the destinies of nations for the continued bestowal during the
last year of countless blessings upon our country.

We are at peace with all other nations. Our public credit has greatly
improved, and is perhaps now stronger than ever before. Abundant
harvests have rewarded the labors of those who till the soil, our
manufacturing industries are reviving, and it is believed that
general prosperity, which has been so long anxiously looked for, is
at last within our reach.

The enjoyment of health by our people generally has, however, been
interrupted during the past season by the prevalence of a fatal
pestilence (the yellow fever) in some portions of the Southern
States, creating an emergency which called for prompt and
extraordinary measures of relief. The disease appeared as an epidemic
at New Orleans and at other places on the Lower Mississippi soon after
midsummer. It was rapidly spread by fugitives from the infected cities
and towns, and did not disappear until early in November. The States
of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee have suffered severely.
About 100,000 cases are believed to have occurred, of which about
20,000, according to intelligent estimates, proved fatal. It is
impossible to estimate with any approach to accuracy the loss to the
country occasioned by this epidemic It is to be reckoned by the
hundred millions of dollars. The suffering and destitution that
resulted excited the deepest sympathy in all parts of the Union.
Physicians and nurses hastened from every quarter to the assistance
of the afflicted communities. Voluntary contributions of money and
supplies, in every needed form, were speedily and generously
furnished. The Government was able to respond in some measure to the
call for help, by providing tents, medicines, and food for the sick
and destitute, the requisite directions for the purpose being given
in the confident expectation that this action of the Executive would
receive the sanction of Congress. About 1,800 tents, and rations of
the value of about $25,000, were sent to cities and-towns which
applied for them, full details of which will be furnished to Congress
by the proper Department.

The fearful spread of this pestilence has awakened a very general
public sentiment in favor of national sanitary administration, which
shall not only control quarantine, but have the sanitary supervision
of internal commerce in times of epidemics, and hold an advisory
relation to the State and municipal health authorities, with power to
deal with whatever endangers the public health, and which the
municipal and State authorities are unable to regulate. The national
quarantine act approved April 29, 1878, which was passed too late in
the last session of Congress to provide the means for carrying it
into practical operation during the past season, is a step in the
direction here indicated. In view of the necessity for the most
effective measures, by quarantine and otherwise, for the protection
of our seaports and the country generally from this and other
epidemics, it is recommended that Congress give to the whole subject
early and careful consideration.

The permanent pacification of the country by the complete protection
of all citizens in every civil and political right continues to be of
paramount interest with the great body of our people. Every step in
this direction is welcomed with public approval, and every
interruption of steady and uniform progress to the desired
consummation awakens general uneasiness and widespread condemnation.
The recent Congressional elections have furnished a direct and
trustworthy test of the advance thus far made in the practical
establishment of the right of suffrage secured by the Constitution to
the liberated race in the Southern States. All disturbing influences,
real or imaginary, had been removed from all of these States.

The three constitutional amendments which conferred freedom and
equality of civil and political rights upon the colored people of the
South were adopted by the concurrent action of the great body of good
citizens who maintained the authority of the National Government and
the integrity and perpetuity of the Union at such a cost of treasure
and life, as a wise and necessary embodiment in the organic law of
the just results of the war. The people of the former slaveholding
States accepted these results, and gave in every practicable form
assurances that the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments,
and laws passed in pursuance thereof, should in good faith be
enforced, rigidly and impartially, in letter and spirit, to the end
that the humblest citizen, without distinction of race or color,
should under them receive full and equal protection in person and
property and in political rights and privileges. By these
constitutional amendments the southern section of the Union obtained
a large increase of political power in Congress and in the electoral
college, and the country justly expected that elections would
proceed, as to the enfranchised race, upon the same circumstances of
legal and constitutional freedom and protection which obtained in all
the other States of the Union. The friends of law and order looked
forward to the conduct of these elections as offering to the general
judgment of the country an important opportunity to measure the
degree in which the right of suffrage could be exercised by the
colored people and would be respected by their fellow-citizens; but a
more general enjoyment of freedom of suffrage by the colored people
and a more just and generous protection of that freedom by the
communities of which they form a part were generally anticipated than
the record of the elections discloses. In some of those States in
which the colored people have been unable to make their opinions felt
in the elections the result is mainly due to influences not easily
measured or remedied by legal protection; but in the States of
Louisiana and South Carolina at large, and in some particular
Congressional districts outside of those States, the records of the
elections seem to compel the conclusion that the rights of the
colored voters have been overridden and their participation in the
elections not permitted to be either general or free.

It will be for the Congress for which these elections were held to
make such examinations into their conduct as may be appropriate to
determine the validity of the claims of members to their seats. In
the meanwhile it becomes the duty of the executive and judicial
departments of the Government, each in its province, to inquire into
and punish violations of the laws of the United States which have
occurred. I can but repeat what I said in this connection in my last
message, that whatever authority rests with me to this end I shall
not hesitate to put forth; and I am unwilling to forego a renewed
appeal to the legislatures, the courts, the executive authorities,
and the people of the States where these wrongs have been perpetrated
to give their assistance toward bringing to justice the offenders and
preventing a repetition of the crimes. No means within my power will
be spared to obtain a full and fair investigation of the alleged
crimes and to secure the conviction and just punishment of the
guilty.

It is to be observed that the principal appropriation made for the
Department of Justice at the last session contained the following
clause: And for defraying the expenses which may be incurred in the
enforcement of the act approved February 28, 1871, entitled "An act
to amend an act approved May 31, 1870, entitled 'An act to enforce
the rights of citizens of the United States to vote in the several
States of this Union, and for other purposes,'" or any acts
amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto. It is the opinion of the
Attorney-General that the expenses of these proceedings will largely
exceed the amount which was thus provided, and I rely confidently
upon Congress to make adequate appropriations to enable the executive
department to enforce the laws.

I respectfully urge upon your attention that the Congressional
elections, in every district, in a very important sense, are justly a
matter of political interest and concern throughout the whole country.
Each State, every political party, is entitled to the share of power
which is conferred by the legal and constitutional suffrage. It is
the right of every citizen possessing the qualifications prescribed
by law to east one unintimidated ballot and to have his ballot
honestly counted. So long as the exercise of this power and the
enjoyment of this right are common and equal, practically as well as
formally, submission to the results of the suffrage will be accorded
loyally and cheerfully, and all the departments of Government will
feel the true vigor of the popular will thus expressed. No temporary
or administrative interests of Government, however urgent or weighty,
will ever displace the zeal of our people in defense of the primary
rights of citizenship. They understand that the protection of liberty
requires the maintenance in full vigor of the manly methods of free
speech, free press, and free suffrage, and will sustain the full
authority of Government to enforce the laws which are framed to
preserve these inestimable rights. The material progress and welfare
of the States depend on the protection afforded to their citizens.
There can be no peace without such protection, no prosperity without
peace, and the whole country is deeply interested in the growth and
prosperity of all its parts.

While the country has not yet reached complete unity of feeling and
reciprocal confidence between the communities so lately and so
seriously estranged, I feel an absolute assurance that the tendencies
are in that direction, and with increasing force. The power of public
opinion will override all political prejudices and all sectional or
State attachments in demanding that all over our wide territory the
name and character of citizen of the United States shall mean one and
the same thing and carry with them unchallenged security and respect.

Our relations with other countries continue peaceful. Our neutrality
in contests between foreign powers has been maintained and
respected.

The Universal Exposition held at Paris during the past summer has
been attended by large numbers of our citizens. The brief period
allowed for the preparation and arrangement of the contributions of
our citizens to this great exposition was well employed in energetic
and judicious efforts to overcome this disadvantage. These efforts,
led and directed by the commissioner-general, were remarkably
successful, and the exhibition of the products of American industry
was creditable and gratifying in scope and character. The reports of
the United States commissioners, giving its results in detail, will
be duly laid before you. Our participation in this international
competition for the favor and the trade of the world may be expected
to produce useful and important results--in promoting intercourse,
friendship, and commerce with other nations.

In accordance with the provisions of the act of February 28, 1878,
three commissioners were appointed to an international conference on
the subject of adopting a common ratio between gold and silver, for
the purpose of establishing internationally the use of bimetallic
money and securing fixity of relative value between those metals.

Invitations were addressed to the various governments which had
expressed a willingness to participate in its deliberations. The
conference held its meetings in Paris in August last. The report of
the commissioners, herewith submitted, will show its results. No
common ratio between gold and silver could be agreed upon by the
conference. The general conclusion was reached that it is necessary
to maintain in the world the monetary functions of silver as well as
of gold, leaving the selection of the use of one or the other of
these two metals, or of both, to be made by each state.

Congress having appropriated at its last session the sum of
$5,500,000 to pay the award of the joint commission at Halifax, if,
after correspondence with the British Government on the subject of
the conformity of the award to the requirements of the treaty and to
the terms of the question thereby submitted to the commission, the
President shall deem it his duty to make the payment, communications
upon these points were addressed to the British Government through
the legation of the United States at London. Failing to obtain the
concurrence of the British Government in the views of this Government
respecting the award, I have deemed it my duty to tender the sum named
within the year fixed by the treaty, accompanied by a notice of the
grounds of the payment and a protest against any other construction
of the same. The correspondence upon this subject will be laid before
you.

The Spanish Government has officially announced the termination of
the insurrection in Cuba and the restoration of peace throughout that
island. Confident expectations are expressed of a revival of trade and
prosperity, which it is earnestly hoped may prove well rounded.
Numerous claims of American citizens for relief for injuries or
restoration of property have been among the incidents of the
long-continued hostilities. Some of these claims are in process of
adjustment by Spain, and the others are promised early and careful
consideration.

The treaty made with Italy in regard to reciprocal consular
privileges has been duly ratified and proclaimed.

No questions of grave importance have arisen with any other of the
European powers.

The Japanese Government has been desirous of a revision of such parts
of its treaties with foreign powers as relate to commerce, and it is
understood has addressed to each of the treaty powers a request to
open negotiations with that view. The United States Government has
been inclined to regard the matter favorably. Whatever restrictions
upon trade with Japan are found injurious to that people can not but
affect injuriously nations holding commercial intercourse with them.
Japan, after a long period of seclusion, has within the past few
years made rapid strides in the path of enlightenment and progress,
and, not unreasonably, is looking forward to the time when her
relations with the nations of Europe and America shall be assimilated
to those which they hold with each other. A treaty looking to this end
has been made, which will be submitted for the consideration of the
Senate.

After an interval of several years the Chinese Government has again
sent envoys to the United States. They have been received, and a
permanent legation is now established here by that Government. It is
not doubted that this step will be of advantage to both nations in
promoting friendly relations and removing causes of difference.

The treaty with the Samoan Islands, having been duly ratified and
accepted on the part of both Governments, is now in operation, and a
survey and soundings of the harbor of Pago-Pago have been made by a
naval vessel of the United States, with a view of its occupation as a
naval station if found desirable to the service.

Since the resumption of diplomatic relations with Mexico
correspondence has been opened and still continues between the two
Governments upon the various questions which at one time seemed to
endanger their relations. While no formal agreement has been reached
as to the troubles on the border, much has been done to repress and
diminish them. The effective force of United States troops on the Rio
Grande, by a strict and faithful compliance with instructions, has
done much to remove the sources of dispute, and it is now understood
that a like force of Mexican troops on the other side of the river is
also making an energetic movement against the marauding Indian tribes.
This Government looks with the greatest satisfaction upon every
evidence of strength in the national authority of Mexico, and upon
every effort put forth to prevent or to punish incursions upon our
territory. Reluctant to assume any action or attitude in the control
of these incursions by military movements across the border not
imperatively demanded for the protection of the lives and property of
our own citizens, I shall take the earliest opportunity consistent
with the proper discharge of this plain duty to recognize the ability
of the Mexican Government to restrain effectively violations of our
territory. It is proposed to hold next year an international
exhibition in Mexico, and it is believed that the display of the
agricultural and manufacturing products of the two nations will tend
to better understanding and increased commercial intercourse between
their people.

With Brazil and the Republics of Central and South America some steps
have been taken toward the development of closer commercial
intercourse. Diplomatic relations have been resumed with Colombia and
with Bolivia. A boundary question between the Argentine Republic and
Paraguay has been submitted by those Governments for arbitration to
the President of the United States, and I have, after careful
examination, given a decision upon it.

A naval expedition up the Amazon and Madeira rivers has brought back
information valuable both for scientific and commercial purposes. A
like expedition is about visiting the coast of Africa and the Indian
Ocean. The reports of diplomatic and consular officers in relation to
the development of our foreign commerce have furnished many facts that
have proved of public interest and have stimulated to practical
exertion the enterprise of our people.

The report of the Secretary of the Treasury furnishes a detailed
statement of the operations of that Department of the Government and
of the condition of the public finances.

The ordinary revenues from all sources for the fiscal year ended June
30, 1878, were $257,763,878.70; the ordinary expenditures for the same
period were $236,964,326.80, leaving a surplus revenue for the year of
$20,799,551.90. The receipts for the present fiscal year, ending June
30, 1879, actual and estimated, are as follows: Actual receipts for
the first quarter, commencing July 1, 1878, $73,389,743.43; estimated
receipts for the remaining three quarters of the year,
$191,110,256.57; total receipts for the current fiscal year, actual
and estimated, $264,500,000. The expenditures for the same period
will be, actual and estimated, as follows: For the quarter commencing
July 1, 1878, actual expenditures, $73,344,573.27; and for the
remaining three quarters of the year the expenditures are estimated
at $166,755,426.73, making the total expenditures $240,100,000, and
leaving an estimated surplus revenue for the year ending June 30,
1879, of $24,400,000. The total receipts during the next fiscal year,
ending June 30, 1880, estimated according to existing laws, will be
$264,500,000, and the estimated ordinary expenditures for the same
period will be $236,320,412.68, leaving a surplus of $28,179,587.32
for that year.

In the foregoing statements of expenditures, actual and estimated, no
amount is allowed for the sinking fund provided for by the act
approved February 25, 1862, which requires that 1 per cent of the
entire debt of the United States shall be purchased or paid within
each fiscal year, to be set apart as a sinking fund. There has been,
however, a substantial compliance with the conditions of the law. By
its terms the public debt should have been reduced between 1862 and
the close of the last fiscal year $518,361,806.28; the actual
reduction of the ascertained debt in that period has been
$720,644,739.61, being in excess of the reduction required by the
sinking fund act $202,282,933.33.

The amount of the public debt, less cash in the Treasury, November 1,
1878, was $2,024,200,083.18 a reduction since the same date last year
of $23,150,617.39.

The progress made during the last year in refunding the public debt
at lower rates of interest is very gratifying. The amount of 4 per
cent bonds sold during the present year prior to November 23, 1878,
is $100,270,900, and 6 per cent bonds, commonly known as
five-twenties, to an equal amount, have been or will be redeemed as
calls mature.

It has been the policy of the Department to place the 4 per cent
bonds within easy reach of every citizen who desires to invest his
savings, whether small or great, in these securities. The Secretary
of the Treasury recommends that the law be so modified that small
sums may be invested, and that through the post-offices or other
agents of the Government the freest opportunity may be given in all
parts of the country for such investments.

The best mode suggested is that the Department be authorized to issue
certificates of deposit, of the denomination of $10, bearing interest
at the rate of 3.65 per cent per annum and convertible at any time
within one year after their issue into the 4 per cent bonds
authorized by the refunding act, and to be issued only in exchange
for United States notes sent to the Treasury by mail or otherwise.
Such a provision of law, supported by suitable regulations, would
enable any person readily, without cost or risk, to convert his money
into an interest-bearing security of the United States, and the money
so received could be applied to the redemption of 6 per cent bonds.

The coinage of gold during the last fiscal year was $52,798,980. The
coinage of silver dollars under the act passed February 28, 1878,
amounted on the 23d of November, 1878, to $19,814,550, of which
amount $4,984,947 are in circulation, and the balance, $14,829,603,
is still in the possession of the Government.

With views unchanged with regard to the act under which the coinage
of silver proceeds, it has been the purpose of the Secretary
faithfully to execute the law and to afford a fair trial to the
measure.

In the present financial condition of the country I am persuaded that
the welfare of legitimate business and industry of every description
will be best promoted by abstaining from all attempts to make radical
changes in the existing financial legislation. Let it be understood
that during the coming year the business of the country will be
undisturbed by governmental interference with the laws affecting it,
and we may confidently expect that the resumption of specie payments,
which will take place at the appointed time, will be successfully and
easily maintained, and that it will be followed by a healthful and
enduring revival of business prosperity.

Let the healing influence of time, the inherent energies of our
people, and the boundless resources of our country have a fair
opportunity, and relief from present difficulties will surely
follow.

The report of the Secretary of War shows that the Army has been well
and economically supplied; that our small force has been actively
employed and has faithfully performed all the service required of it.
The morale of the Army has improved and the number of desertions has
materially decreased during the year.

The Secretary recommends--

1. That a pension be granted to the widow of the late Lieutenant
Henry H. Benner, Eighteenth Infantry, who lost his life by yellow
fever while in command of the steamer. J.M. Chambers, sent with
supplies for the relief of sufferers in the South from that disease.

2. The establishment of the annuity scheme for the benefit of the
heirs of deceased officers, as suggested by the Paymaster-General.

3. The adoption by Congress of a plan for the publication of the
records of the War of the Rebellion, now being prepared for that
purpose.

4. The increase of the extra per diem of soldier teachers employed in
post schools, and liberal appropriations for the erection of buildings
for schools and libraries at the different posts.

5. The repeal or amendment of the act of June 18, 1878, forbidding
the use of the Army "as a posse comitatus, or otherwise, for the
purpose of executing the laws, except in such cases and under such
circumstances as such employment of said force may be expressly
authorized by the Constitution or by act of Congress."

6. The passage of a joint resolution of Congress legalizing the
issues of rations, tents, and medicines which were made for the
relief of sufferers from yellow fever.

7. That provision be made for the erection of a fireproof building
for the preservation of certain valuable records, now constantly
exposed to destruction by fire.

These recommendations are all commended to your favorable
consideration.

The report of the Secretary of the Navy shows that the Navy has
improved during the last fiscal year. Work has been done on
seventy-five vessels, ten of which have been thoroughly repaired and
made ready for sea. Two others are in rapid progress toward
completion. The total expenditures of the year, including the amount
appropriated for the deficiencies of the previous year, were
$17,468,392.65. The actual expenses chargeable to the year, exclusive
of these deficiencies, were $13,306,914.09, or $767,199.18 less than
those of the previous year, and $4,928,677.74 less than the expenses
including the deficiencies. The estimates for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1880, are $14,562,381.45, exceeding the appropriations of
the present year only $33,949.75, which excess is occasioned by the
demands of the Naval Academy and the Marine Corps, as explained in
the Secretary's report. The appropriations for the present fiscal
year are $14,528,431.70, which, in the opinion of the Secretary, will
be ample for all the current expenses of the Department during the
year. The amount drawn from the Treasury from July 1 to November 1,
1878, is $4,740,544.14, of which $70,980.75 has been refunded,
leaving as the expenditure for that period $4,669,563.39, or
$520,899.24 less than the corresponding period of the last fiscal
year.

The report of the Postmaster-General embraces a detailed statement of
the operations of the Post-Office Department. The expenditures of that
Department for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1878, were
$34,165,084.49. The receipts, including sales of stamps, money-order
business, and official stamps, were $29,277,516.95. The sum of
$290,436.90, included in the foregoing statement of expenditures, is
chargeable to preceding years, so that the actual expenditures for
the fiscal year ended June 30, 1878, are $33,874,647.59. The amount
drawn from the Treasury on appropriations, in addition to the
revenues of the Department, was $5,307,652.82. The expenditures for
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1880, are estimated at $36,571,900
and the receipts from all sources at $30,664,023.90, leaving a
deficiency to be appropriated out of the Treasury of $5,907,876.10.
The report calls attention to the fact that the compensation of
postmasters and of railroads for carrying the mail is regulated by
law, and that the failure of Congress to appropriate the amounts
required for these purposes does not relieve the Government of
responsibility, but necessarily increases the deficiency bills which
Congress will be called upon to pass.

In providing for the postal service the following questions are
presented: Should Congress annually appropriate a sum for its
expenses largely in excess of its revenues, or should such rates of
postage be established as will make the Department self-sustaining?
Should the postal service be reduced by excluding from the mails
matter which does not pay its way? Should the number of post routes
be diminished? Should other methods be adopted which will increase
the revenues or diminish the expenses of the postal service?

The International Postal Congress which met at Paris May 1, 1878, and
continued in session until June 4 of the same year, was composed of
delegates from nearly all the civilized countries of the world. It
adopted a new convention (to take the place of the treaty concluded
at Berne October 9, 1874), which goes into effect on the 1st of
April, 1879, between the countries whose delegates have signed it. It
was ratified and approved, by and with the consent of the President,
August 13, 1878. A synopsis of this Universal Postal Convention will
be found in the report of the Postmaster-General, and the full text
in the appendix thereto. In its origin the Postal Union comprised
twenty-three countries, having a population of 350,000,000 people. On
the 1st of April next it will comprise forty-three countries and
colonies, with a population of more than 650,000,000 people, and will
soon, by the accession of the few remaining countries and colonies
which maintain organized postal services, constitute in fact as well
as in name, as its new title indicates, a universal union,
regulating, upon a uniform basis of cheap postage rates, the postal
intercourse between all civilized nations.

Some embarrassment has arisen out of the conflict between the customs
laws of this country and the provisions of the Postal Convention in
regard to the transmission of foreign books and newspapers to this
country by mail. It is hoped that Congress will be able to devise
some means of reconciling the difficulties which have thus been
created, so as to do justice to all parties involved.

The business of the Supreme Court and of the courts in many of the
circuits has increased to such an extent during the past year that
additional legislation is imperative to relieve and prevent the delay
of justice and possible oppression to suitors which is thus
occasioned. The encumbered condition of these dockets is presented
anew in the report of the Attorney-General, and the remedy suggested
is earnestly urged for Congressional action. The creation of
additional circuit judges, as proposed, would afford a complete
remedy, and would involve an expense, at the present rate of salaries
of not more than $60,000 a year.

The annual reports of the Secretary of the Interior and of the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs present an elaborate account of the
present condition of the Indian tribes and of that branch of the
public service which ministers to their interests. While the conduct
of the Indians generally has been orderly and their relations with
their neighbors friendly and peaceable, two local disturbances have
occurred, which were deplorable in their character, but remained,
happily, confined to a comparatively small number of Indians. The
discontent among the Bannocks, which led first to some acts of
violence on the part of some members of the tribe and finally to the
outbreak, appears to have been caused by an insufficiency of food on
the reservation, and this insufficiency to have been owing to the
inadequacy of the appropriations made by Congress to the wants of the
Indians at a time when the Indians were prevented from supplying the
deficiency by hunting. After an arduous pursuit by the troops of the
United States, and several engagements, the hostile Indians were
reduced to subjection, and the larger part of them surrendered
themselves as prisoners. In this connection I desire to call
attention to the recommendation made by the Secretary of the
Interior, that a sufficient fund be placed at the disposal of the
Executive, to be used, with proper accountability, at discretion, in
sudden emergencies of the Indian service.

The other case of disturbance was that of a band of Northern
Cheyennes, who suddenly left their reservation in the Indian
Territory and marched rapidly through the States of Kansas and
Nebraska in the direction of their old hunting grounds, committing
murders and other crimes on their way. From documents accompanying
the report of the Secretary of the Interior it appears that this
disorderly band was as fully supplied with the necessaries of life as
the 4,700 other Indians who remained quietly on the reservation, and
that the disturbance was caused by men of a restless and mischievous
disposition among the Indians themselves. Almost the whole of this
band have surrendered to the military authorities; and it is a
gratifying fact that when some of them had taken refuge in the camp
of the Red Cloud Sioux, with whom they had been in friendly
relations, the Sioux held them as prisoners and readily gave them up
to the officers of the United States, thus giving new proof of the
loyal spirit which, alarming rumors to the contrary notwithstanding,
they have uniformly shown ever since the wishes they expressed at the
council of September, 1877, had been complied with.

Both the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of War unite in
the recommendation that provision be made by Congress for the
organization of a corps of mounted "Indian auxiliaries," to be under
the control of the Army and to be used for the purpose of keeping the
Indians on their reservations and preventing or repressing disturbance
on their part. I earnestly concur in this recommendation. It is
believed that the organization of such a body of Indian cavalry,
receiving a moderate pay from the Government, would considerably
weaken the restless element among the Indians by withdrawing from it
a number of young men and giving them congenial employment under the
Government, it being a matter of experience that Indians in our
service almost without exception are faithful in the performance of
the duties assigned to them. Such an organization would materially
aid the Army in the accomplishment of a task for which its numerical
strength is sometimes found insufficient.

But while the employment of force for the prevention or repression of
Indian troubles is of occasional necessity, and wise preparation
should be made to that end, greater reliance must be placed on humane
and civilizing agencies for the ultimate solution of what is called
the Indian problem. It may be very difficult and require much patient
effort to curb the unruly spirit of the savage Indian to the
restraints of civilized life, but experience shows that it is not
impossible. Many of the tribes which are now quiet and orderly and
self-supporting were once as savage as any that at present roam over
the plains or in the mountains of the far West, and were then
considered inaccessible to civilizing influences. It may be
impossible to raise them fully up to the level of the white
population of the United States; but we should not forget that they
are the aborigines of the country, and called the soil their own on
which our people have grown rich, powerful, and happy. We owe it to
them as a moral duty to help them in attaining at least that degree
of civilization which they may be able to reach. It is not only our
duty, it is also our interest to do so. Indians who have become
agriculturists or herdsmen, and feel an interest in property, will
thenceforth cease to be a warlike and disturbing element. It is also
a well-authenticated fact that Indians are apt to be peaceable and
quiet when their children are at school, and I am gratified to know,
from the expressions of Indians themselves and from many concurring
reports, that there is a steadily increasing desire, even among
Indians belonging to comparatively wild tribes, to have their
children educated. I invite attention to the reports of the Secretary
of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs touching the
experiment recently inaugurated, in taking fifty Indian children,
boys and girls, from different tribes, to the Hampton Normal
Agricultural Institute in Virginia, where they are to receive an
elementary English education and training in agriculture and other
useful works, to be returned to their tribes, after the completed
course, as interpreters, instructors, and examples. It is reported
that the officer charged with the selection of those children might
have had thousands of young Indians sent with him had it been
possible to make provision for them. I agree with the Secretary of
the Interior in saying that "the result of this interesting
experiment, if favorable, may be destined to become an important
factor in the advancement of civilization among the Indians."

The question whether a change in the control of the Indian service
should be made was at the last session of Congress referred to a
committee for inquiry and report. Without desiring to anticipate that
report, I venture to express the hope that in the decision of so
important a question the views expressed above may not be lost sight
of, and that the decision, whatever it may be, will arrest further
agitation of this subject, such agitation being apt to produce a
disturbing effect upon the service, as well as on the Indians
themselves.

In the enrollment of the bill making appropriations for sundry civil
expenses, at the last session of Congress, that portion which
provided for the continuation of the Hot Springs Commission was
omitted. As the commission had completed the work of taking testimony
on the many conflicting claims, the suspension of their labors, before
determining the rights of claimants, threatened for a time to
embarrass the interests, not only of the Government, but also of a
large number of the citizens of Hot Springs, who were waiting for
final action on their claims before beginning contemplated
improvements. In order to prevent serious difficulties, which were
apprehended, and at the solicitation of many leading citizens of Hot
Springs and others interested in the welfare of the town, the
Secretary of the Interior was authorized to request the late
commissioners to take charge of the records of their proceedings and
to perform such work as could properly be done by them under such
circumstances to facilitate the future adjudication of the claims at
an early day and to preserve the status of the claimants until their
rights should be finally determined. The late commissioners complied
with that request, and report that the testimony in all the cases has
been written out, examined, briefed, and so arranged as to facilitate
an early settlement when authorized by law. It is recommended that
the requisite authority be given at as early a day in the session as
possible, and that a fair compensation be allowed the late
commissioners for the expense incurred and the labor performed by
them since the 25th of June last.

I invite the attention of Congress to the recommendations made by the
Secretary of the Interior with regard to the preservation of the
timber on the public lands of the United States. The protection of
the public property is one of the first duties of the Government. The
Department of the Interior should therefore be enabled by sufficient
appropriations to enforce the laws in that respect. But this matter
appears still more important as a question of public economy. The
rapid destruction of our forests is an evil fraught with the gravest
consequences, especially in the mountainous districts, where the
rocky slopes, once denuded of their trees, will remain so forever.
There the injury, once done, can not be repaired. I fully concur with
the Secretary of the Interior in the opinion that for this reason
legislation touching the public timber in the mountainous States and
Territories of the West should be especially well considered, and
that existing laws in which the destruction of the forests is not
sufficiently guarded against should be speedily modified. A general
law concerning this important subject appears to me to be a matter of
urgent public necessity.

From the organization of the Government the importance of encouraging
by all possible means the increase of our agricultural productions has
been acknowledged and urged upon the attention of Congress and the
people as the surest and readiest means of increasing our substantial
and enduring prosperity.

The words of Washington are as applicable to-day as when, in his
eighth annual message, he said: It will not be doubted that, with
reference either to individual or national welfare, agriculture is of
primary importance. In proportion as nations advance in population and
other circumstances of maturity this truth becomes more apparent, and
renders the cultivation of the soil more and more an object of public
patronage. Institutions for promoting it grow up, supported by the
public purse; and to what object can it be dedicated with greater
propriety? Among the means which have been employed to this end none
have been attended with greater success than the establishment of
boards (composed of proper characters) charged with collecting and
diffusing information, and enabled by premiums and small pecuniary
aids to encourage and assist a spirit of discovery and improvement.
This species of establishment contributes doubly to the increase of
improvement, by stimulating to enterprise and experiment, and by
drawing to a common center the results everywhere of individual skill
and observation and spreading them thence over the whole nation.
Experience accordingly hath shewn that they are very cheap
instruments of immense national benefits. The preponderance of the
agricultural over any other interest in the United States entitles it
to all the consideration claimed for it by Washington. About one-half
of the population of the United States is engaged in agriculture. The
value of the agricultural products of the United States for the year
1878 is estimated at $3,000,000,000. The exports of agricultural
products for the year 1877, as appears from the report of the Bureau
of Statistics, were $524,000,000. The great extent of our country,
with its diversity of soil and climate, enables us to produce within
our own borders and by our own labor not only the necessaries, but
most of the luxuries, that are consumed in civilized countries. Yet,
notwithstanding our advantages of soil, climate, and
inter-communication, it appears from the statistical statements in
the report of the Commissioner of Agriculture that we import annually
from foreign lands many millions of dollars worth of agricultural
products which could be raised in our own country.

Numerous questions arise in the practice of advanced agriculture
which can only be answered by experiments, often costly and sometimes
fruitless, which are beyond the means of private individuals and are a
just and proper charge on the whole nation for the benefit of the
nation. It is good policy, especially in times of depression and
uncertainty in other business pursuits, with a vast area of
uncultivated, and hence unproductive, territory, wisely opened to
homestead settlement, to encourage by every proper and legitimate
means the occupation and tillage of the soil. The efforts of the
Department of Agriculture to stimulate old and introduce new
agricultural industries, to improve the quality and increase the
quantity of our products, to determine the value of old or establish
the importance of new methods of culture, are worthy of your careful
and favorable consideration, and assistance by such appropriations of
money and enlargement of facilities as may seem to be demanded by the
present favorable conditions for the growth and rapid development of
this important interest.

The abuse of animals in transit is widely attracting public
attention. A national convention of societies specially interested in
the subject has recently met at Baltimore, and the facts developed,
both in regard to cruelties to animals and the effect of such
cruelties upon the public health, would seem to demand the careful
consideration of Congress and the enactment of more efficient laws
for the prevention of these abuses.

The report of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Education shows very
gratifying progress throughout the country in all the interests
committed to the care of this important office. The report is
especially encouraging with respect to the extension of the
advantages of the common-school system in sections of the country
where the general enjoyment of the privilege of free schools is not
yet attained.

To education more than to any other agency we are to look as the
resource for the advancement of the people in the requisite knowledge
and appreciation of their rights and responsibilities as citizens, and
I desire to repeat the suggestion contained in my former message in
behalf of the enactment of appropriate measures by Congress for the
purpose of supplementing with national aid the local systems of
education in the several States.

Adequate accommodations for the great library, which is overgrowing
the capacity of the rooms now occupied at the Capitol, should be
provided without further delay. This invaluable collection of books,
manuscripts, and illustrative art has grown to such proportions, in
connection with the copyright system of the country, as to demand the
prompt and careful attention of Congress to save it from injury in its
present crowded and insufficient quarters. As this library is national
in its character, and must from the nature of the case increase even
more rapidly in the future than in the past, it can not be doubted
that the people will sanction any wise expenditure to preserve it and
to enlarge its usefulness.

The appeal of the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution for the
means to organize, exhibit, and make available for the public benefit
the articles now stored away belonging to the National Museum I
heartily recommend to your favorable consideration.

The attention of Congress is again invited to the condition of the
river front of the city of Washington. It is a matter of vital
importance to the health of the residents of the national capital,
both temporary and permanent, that the lowlands in front of the city,
now subject to tidal overflow, should be reclaimed. In their present
condition these flats obstruct the drainage of the city and are a
dangerous source of malarial poison. The reclamation will improve the
navigation of the river by restricting, and consequently deepening,
its channel, and is also of importance when considered in connection
with the extension of the public ground and the enlargement of the
park west and south of the Washington Monument. The report of the
board of survey, heretofore ordered by act of Congress, on the
improvement of the harbor of Washington and Georgetown, is
respectfully commended to consideration.

The report of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia presents
a detailed statement of the affairs of the District.

The relative expenditures by the United States and the District for
local purposes is contrasted, showing that the expenditures by the
people of the District greatly exceed those of the General
Government. The exhibit is made in connection with estimates for the
requisite repair of the defective pavements and sewers of the city,
which is a work of immediate necessity; and in the same connection a
plan is presented for the permanent funding of the outstanding
securities of the District.

The benevolent, reformatory, and penal institutions of the District
are all entitled to the favorable attention of Congress. The Reform
School needs additional buildings and teachers. Appropriations which
will place all of these institutions in a condition to become models
of usefulness and beneficence will be regarded by the country as
liberality wisely bestowed.

The Commissioners, with evident justice, request attention to the
discrimination made by Congress against the District in the donation
of land for the support of the public schools, and ask that the same
liberality that has been shown to the inhabitants of the various
States and Territories of the United States may be extended to the
District of Columbia.

The Commissioners also invite attention to the damage inflicted upon
public and private interests by the present location of the depots
and switching tracks of the several railroads entering the city, and
ask for legislation looking to their removal. The recommendations and
suggestions contained in the report will, I trust, receive the careful
consideration of Congress.

Sufficient time has, perhaps, not elapsed since the reorganization of
the government of the District under the recent legislation of
Congress for the expression of a confident opinion as to its
successful operation, but the practical results already attained are
so satisfactory that the friends of the new government may well urge
upon Congress the wisdom of its continuance, without essential
modification, until by actual experience its advantages and defects
may be more fully ascertained.

Rutherford. B. Hayes