Chapter 3 The day after the receipt of this general order at each military post the troops will be paraded at 10 o'clock a.m. and the order read to them, after which all labors for the day will cease.

The national flag will be displayed at half-staff.

At dawn of day thirteen guns will be fired, and afterwards at intervals of thirty minutes between the rising and setting sun a single gun, and at the close of the day a national salute of thirty guns.

The officers of the Army will wear the badge of mourning on the left arm and on their swords and the colors of the several regiments will be put in mourning for the period of six months.

By order: R. JONES,

Adjutant-General.

[The Secretary of the Navy made the same announcement to the Navy as that portion of the above signed by the Secretary of War.]

ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT.

[From the Daily National Intelligencer, July 12, 1850.]

WASHINGTON, July 10, 1850.

In consequence of the death of the President of the United States, I direct that the several Executive Departments be closed until after the funeral of the illustrious deceased, and that they, as well as the Executive Mansion, be placed in mourning, and that the several officers of the Government wear the usual badge of mourning for the term of six months.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

ACTION OF CONGRESS.

[From Senate Journal, Thirty-first Congress, first session, p. 445.]

RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE.

Whereas it has pleased Divine Providence to remove from this life Zachary Taylor, late President of the United States, the Senate, sharing in the general sorrow which this melancholy event must produce, is desirous of manifesting its sensibility on this occasion: Therefore

Resolved, That a committee consisting of Messrs. Webster, Cass, and King be appointed on the part of the Senate to meet such committee as may be appointed on the part of the House of Representatives to consider and report what measures it may be deemed proper to adopt to show the respect and affection of Congress for the memory of the illustrious deceased and to make the necessary arrangements for his funeral.

[From House Journal, Thirty-first Congress, first session, p. 1121.]

RESOLUTION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Whereas it has pleased Divine Providence to remove from this life Zachary Taylor, late President of the United States, the House of Representatives, sharing in the general sorrow which this melancholy event must produce, is desirous of manifesting its sensibility on the occasion: Therefore

Resolved, That a committee consisting of thirteen members be appointed on the part of this House to meet such committee as may be appointed on the part of the Senate to consider and report what measures it may be deemed proper to adopt in order to show the respect and affection of Congress for the memory of the illustrious deceased and to make the necessary arrangements for his funeral.

[The committee consisted of Messrs. Conrad, of Louisiana; McDowell, of Virginia; Winthrop, of Massachusetts; Bissell, of Illinois; Duer, of New York; Orr, of South Carolina; Breck, of Kentucky; Strong, of Pennsylvania; Vinton, of Ohio; Cabell, of Florida; Kerr, of Maryland; Stanly, of North Carolina; Littlefield, of Maine.]

OFFICIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FUNERAL.

[From the Daily National Intelligencer, July 13, 1850.]

WASHINGTON, July 11, 1850.

The Committee of Arrangements of the two Houses of Congress, having consulted with the family of the deceased, have concluded that the funeral of the late President be solemnized on Saturday, the 13th of July, at 12 o'clock; the religious services to be performed by the Rev. Dr. Pyne at the Executive Mansion, according to the usage of the Episcopal Church, in which church the deceased most usually worshiped; the body to be afterwards taken from the President's house to the Congress Burying Ground, accompanied by a military escort and civic procession, and deposited in the receiving tomb.

The military arrangements to be under the direction of Major-General Scott, the General Commanding in Chief of the Army of the United States, and Major-General Walter Jones, of the militia of the District of Columbia.

Commodore Warrington, the senior naval officer now in the city, to have the direction of the naval arrangements.

The marshal of the District of Columbia to have the direction of the civic procession.

All the members of the diplomatic corps, all officers of Government, the clergy of the District and elsewhere, all associations and fraternities, and citizens generally are invited to attend.

And it is respectfully recommended to the officers of the Government that they wear the usual badge of mourning.

ORDER OF THE PROCESSION.

FUNERAL ESCORT.

(In column of march.)

Composed of such corps of the Army and the militia as may be ordered or as may report themselves for duty on the occasion.

CIVIC PROCESSION.

The United States marshal of the District of Columbia and his aids.

The mayors of Washington and Georgetown.

The Committee of Arrangements of the two Houses of Congress.

The chaplains of the two Houses of Congress and the officiating clergyman of the occasion.

Attending physicians to the late President.

Pallbearers.-Hon. Henry Clay, Hon. T.H. Benton, Hon. Lewis Cass, Hon. Daniel Webster, Hon. J.M. Berrien, Hon. Truman Smith, Hon. R.C. Winthrop, Hon. Linn Boyd, Hon. James McDowell, Hon. S.F. Vinton, Hon. Hugh White, Hon. Isaac E. Holmes, G.W.P. Custis, esq., Hon. R.J. Walker, Chief Justice Cranch, Joseph Gales, esq., Major-General Jesup, Major-General Gibson, Commodore Ballard, Brigadier-General Henderson.

The horse used by General Taylor in the late war.

Family and relatives of the late President.

The President of the United States and the heads of Departments.

The Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate.

The Senate of the United States, preceded by the President pro tempore and Secretary.

The Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives, preceded by their Speaker and Clerk.

The Chief Justice and associate justices of the Supreme Court of the United States and its officers.

The diplomatic corps.

Governors of States and Territories.

Ex-members of Congress.

Members of State legislatures.

District judges of the United States.

Judges of the circuit and criminal courts of the District of Columbia, with the members of the bar and officers of the courts.

The judges of the several States.

The Comptroller of the Treasury, Auditors, Treasurer, Register, Solicitor, and Commissioners of Land Office, Pensions, Indian Affairs, Patents, and Public Buildings.

The clerks, etc., of the several Departments, preceded by their respective chief clerks, and all other civil officers of the Government.

Clergy of the District of Columbia and elsewhere.

Officers and soldiers of the Revolution.

Corporate authorities of Washington.

Corporate authorities of Georgetown.

Officers and soldiers who served in the War of 1812 and in the late war.

Presidents, professors, and students of the colleges of the District of Columbia.

Such societies and fraternities as may wish to join the procession, to report to the marshal of the District, who will assign them their respective positions.

Citizens and strangers.

The procession will move from the President's house at 1 o'clock precisely, or on the conclusion of the religious services.

DANIEL WEBSTER,

Chairman of the Committee on the part of the Senate.

CHAS. M. CONRAD,

Chairman of the Committee on the part of the House of Representatives.

[From official records in the War Department.]

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 22.

WAR DEPARTMENT, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

Washington, July 11, 1850.

The joint committees of the Congress of the United States having designated the General in Chief, Major-General Scott, to take charge of the military arrangements for the funeral ceremonies of the late President of the United States, the Secretary of War directs that the Commanding General of the Army give the necessary orders and instructions accordingly. The military arrangements will conform to the directions found in the reports of the special committees of the Senate and House of Representatives.

By order of the Secretary of War:

R. JONES,

Adjutant-General.

GENERAL ORDERS.

HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

Washington, July 12, 1850.

The Major-General Commanding the Army of the United States, having been charged by the joint committees of Congress with the military preparations for the funeral honors to be paid to the illustrious statesman, soldier, and citizen, Zachary Taylor, late President of the United States, directs the following order of arrangement:

ORDER OF THE MILITARY PROCESSION.

FUNERAL ESCORT.

(In column of march.)

Infantry.-Maryland volunteers; volunteer troops from other States; battalion of volunteers from the District of Columbia.

Firing party (to be commanded by an officer of the Army).-Two companies of volunteers from Washington; two companies of volunteers from Baltimore; battalion of United States marines; battalion of United States artillery, as infantry; troop of United States light artillery.

Dismounted officers of volunteers, Marine Corps, Navy, and Army, in the order named.

Mounted officers of volunteers, Marine Corps, Navy, and Army, in the order named.

Major-General Walter Jones, commanding the militia; aids-de-camp.

Major-General Winfield Scott, commanding the Army; aids-de-camp.

The troops will be formed in line in the Avenue, north of the President's mansion, precisely at 11 o'clock a.m., Saturday, the 13th instant, with the right (Brevet Major Sedgwick's troop of light artillery) resting opposite the War Department.

The procession will move at 1 o'clock p.m., when minute guns will be fired by detachments of artillery stationed near St. John's church, the City Hall, and the Capitol, respectively.

On arriving on the north front of the Congressional Burial Ground the escort will be formed in two lines, the first consisting of the firing party, facing the cemetery and 30 paces from it; the second composed of the rest of the infantry, 20 paces in rear; the battery of artillery to take position on the rising ground 100 paces in rear of the second line.

At sunrise to-morrow (the 13th instant) a Federal salute will be fired from the military stations in the vicinity of Washington, minute guns between the hours of 1 and 3, and a national salute at the setting of the sun.

The usual badge of mourning will be worn on the left arm and on the hilt of the sword.

The Adjutant-General of the Army is charged with the details of the military arrangements of the day, aided by the Assistant Adjutants-General on duty at Washington, by Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Swords, of the staff, and Lieutenant W.T. Sherman, Third Artillery.

The United States marshal of the District of Columbia having been charged with the direction of the civic procession, the military will cooperate in the general order of arrangements.

By command of Major-General Scott:

R. JONES,

Adjutant-General.

[From the Daily National Intelligencer, July 12, 1850.]

GENERAL ORDER.

The major-general, zealous to execute the honorable commission in which the joint committees of Congress have associated him with the General in Chief of the Army, deems it proper and conducive to the end in view to make the best preparation in his power for carrying into effect the field arrangements of the military movements in the procession of the funeral of the late President, arrangements which must necessarily await the arrival of the General in Chief. For that purpose he thinks it expedient to appoint a general rendezvous where all the corps and companies of militia, including all who may march from any of the States with those of this District, may assemble at an early hour in the morning of Saturday, the 13th instant, and there receive final orders for being formed and posted. They are therefore requested to take notice that such rendezvous is in front of the City Hall. The corps and companies from the States are requested to repair to this general rendezvous immediately on arrival; those of the District not later than 9 o'clock a.m. The commandants of corps and companies are expected to report, immediately on arriving at the rendezvous, to the major-general or such staff officer as may be detailed for the purpose, the strength of their respective commands.

All officers not on duty in their respective corps or companies are requested to appear in full uniform and mounted. The post intended for them is in the personal suite of the General in Chief. The major-general knows of no more honorable or more interesting post that he could assign them in time of peace than that of following the lead of the renowned Scott in the procession of the funeral of the renowned Taylor.

WALTER JONES,

Major-General Militia District of Columbia.

RESOLUTION OF CONDOLENCE BY CONGRESS.

[From original in the State Department.]

A RESOLUTION expressing the condolence of Congress for Mrs. Margaret S. Taylor.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be requested to transmit a copy of the proceedings of the two Houses on the 10th instant in relation to the death of the late President of the United States to Mrs. Margaret S. Taylor, and to assure her of the profound respect of the two Houses of Congress for her person and character and of their sincere condolence on the late afflicting dispensation of Providence.

* * *

Millard Fillmore

July 10, 1850, to March 4, 1853

Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore was born February 7, 1800, in the township of Locke (now Summerhill), Cayuga County, N.Y. He was the second son of Nathaniel Fillmore and Phoebe Millard. His ancestors served with distinction in the French and Revolutionary wars. He attended the primitive schools in the neighborhood three months in the year, devoting the other nine to working on his father's farm. His father, having formed a distaste for farming, was desirous that his sons should follow other occupations. Accordingly, Millard, after serving an apprenticeship for a few months, began in 1815 the business of carding and dressing cloth. Was afterwards a school-teacher. In 1819 decided to become a lawyer, and in 1823, although he had not completed the usual course required, was admitted as an attorney by the court of common pleas of Erie County. February 5, 1826, was married to Miss Abigail Powers, daughter of a clergyman. In 1827 was admitted as an attorney and two years later as counselor before the supreme court. In 1830 removed to Buffalo and became a successful lawyer. His political career began and ended with the birth and extinction of the Whig party. Was elected to the legislature of his State in 1828, and served three terms; while there he was distinguished by his advocacy of the act to abolish imprisonment for debt, which passed in 1831. In 1832 was elected to Congress, and after serving one term retired till 1836, when he was reelected, and again returned in 1838 and 1840, declining a renomination in 1842. Was the author of the tariff of 1842. He retired from Congress in 1843. Was an unsuccessful candidate for Vice-President before the Whig convention at Baltimore in 1844. Was nominated by acclamation for governor of New York in the following September, but was defeated by Silas Wright. In 1847 was elected comptroller of the State. In 1848 was nominated by the Whigs for Vice-President on the ticket with General Taylor and was elected in the following November. He presided as Vice-President with strict impartiality during exciting debates in the Senate. By the death of President Taylor became President July 10, 1850. Was a candidate for President at the Whig convention in 1852, but General Scott received the nomination. Three weeks after the close of his Administration his wife died. Afterwards married Caroline C. McIntosh, who survived him. In 1856, while in Rome, he was nominated for the Presidency by the American (Whig) party, but was defeated by Mr. Buchanan. After his retirement from office he resided in Buffalo the remainder of his life. He established the Buffalo Historical Society. Was called upon to welcome distinguished visitors to his city, and frequently presided over conventions and other public meetings, but held no office after retiring from the Presidency. He again visited Europe in 1866. Died at Buffalo, N.Y., March 8, 1874, and was buried in that city in Forest Lawn Cemetery.

SPECIAL MESSAGES.

WASHINGTON, July 10, 1850.

Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:

A great man has fallen among us, and a whole country is called to an occasion of unexpected, deep, and general mourning.

I recommend to the two Houses of Congress to adopt such measures as in their discretion may seem proper to perform with due solemnities the funeral obsequies of Zachary Taylor, late President of the United States, and thereby to signify the great and affectionate regard of the American people for the memory of one whose life has been devoted to the public service, whose career in arms has not been surpassed in usefulness or brilliancy, who has been so recently raised by the unsolicited voice of the people to the highest civil authority in the Government, which he administered with so much honor and advantage to his country, and by whose sudden death so many hopes of future usefulness have been blighted forever.

To you, Senators and Representatives of a nation in tears, I can say nothing which can alleviate the sorrow with which you are oppressed. I appeal to you to aid me, under the trying circumstances which surround me, in the discharge of the duties from which, however much I may be oppressed by them, I dare not shrink; and I rely upon Him who holds in His hands the destinies of nations to endow me with the requisite strength for the task and to avert from our country the evils apprehended from the heavy calamity which has befallen us.

I shall most readily concur in whatever measures the wisdom of the two Houses may suggest as befitting this deeply melancholy occasion.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, July 15, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to ratification, a treaty between the United States and the Republic of Peru, signed in this city on the 13th instant by the plenipotentiaries of the parties. A report from the Secretary of State relative to the treaty, and the documents therein referred to, are also herewith transmitted.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, July 17, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

In further answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 27th ultimo, in reference to a proclamation issued by the military officer commanding in New Mexico and other matters, I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of War, communicating information not received at the Department until after the date of his report of the 1st instant on this subject.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, July 17, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 1st instant, requesting the President to furnish the Senate with "the report and map of Lieutenant J.D. Webster, Corps of Topographical Engineers, of a survey of the Gulf coast at the mouth of the Rio Grande and its vicinity," and in compliance therewith, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, accompanied by the report and map above referred to.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, July 18, 1850.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives, in compliance with the request contained in their resolution of the 24th day of January last, the information asked for by that resolution, relating to certain proceedings of the British Government in the forcible seizure and occupation of the island of Tigre; also all the "facts, circumstances, and communications within the knowledge of the Executive relative to any seizure or occupation, or attempted seizure or occupation, by the British Government of any port, river, town, territory, or island belonging to or claimed by any of the States of Central America."

The resolution of the House speaks of the island of Tigre, in the State of Nicaragua. I am not aware of the existence of any such island in that State, and presume that the resolution refers to the island of the same name in the Gulf of Fonseca, in the State of Honduras.

The concluding part of the resolution, requesting the President to communicate to the House all treaties not heretofore published which may have been negotiated with any of the States of Central America "by any person acting by authority of the late Administration or under the auspices of the present Administration," so far as it has reference to treaties negotiated with any of those States by instructions from this Government, can not be complied with, inasmuch as those treaties have not been acted upon by the Senate of the United States, and are now in the possession of that body, to whom by the Constitution they are directed to be transmitted for advice in regard to their ratification.

But as its communication is not liable to the same objection, I transmit for the information of the House a copy of a treaty in regard to a ship canal across the Isthmus, negotiated by Elijah Hise, our late chargé d'affaires in Guatemala, with the Government of Nicaragua on the 21st day of June, 1849, accompanied by copies of his instructions from and correspondence with the Department of State.

I shall cheerfully comply with the request of the House of Representatives to lay before them the treaties negotiated with the States of Central America, now before the Senate, whenever it shall be compatible with the public interest to make the communication. For the present I communicate herewith a copy of the treaty with Great Britain and of the correspondence between the American Secretary of State and the British plenipotentiary at the time it was concluded. The ratifications of it were exchanged at Washington on the 4th day of July instant.

I also transmit the report of the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution of the House was referred, and who conducted the negotiations relative to Central America, under the direction of my lamented predecessor.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, July 20, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

I herewith transmit to the Senate, with a view to its ratification, a convention between the United States and the Mexican Republic for the extradition of fugitives from justice. This convention was negotiated under the directions of my predecessor, and was signed this day by John M. Clayton, Secretary of State, on the part of the United States, and by Senor Don Luis de la Rosa, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Mexico, on the part of that Republic. The length of the boundary line between the two countries, extending, as it does, from the Pacific to the Gulf, renders such a convention indispensable to the maintenance of good order and the amicable relations now so happily subsisting between the sister Republics.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, July 23, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

I lay before the Senate, for their consideration and advice as to its ratification, a treaty concluded in the city of Washington on the 1st day of April, 1850, by and between Ardavan S. Loughery, commissioner on the part of the United States, and delegates of the Wyandott tribe of Indians.

I also lay before the Senate a letter from the Secretary of the Interior and the papers therein referred to.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, July 30, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

I herewith transmit to the Senate, in answer to its resolution of the 5th instant, requesting the President to communicate to that body "any information, if any has been received by the Government, showing that an American vessel has been recently stopped upon the high seas and searched by a British ship of war," the accompanying copies of papers. The Government has no knowledge of any alleged stopping or searching on the high seas of American vessels by British ships of war except in the cases therein mentioned. The circumstances of these cases will appear by the inclosed correspondence, taken from the files of the Navy Department. No remonstrance or complaint by the owners of these vessels has been presented to the Government of the United States.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, August 2, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

I have the honor to transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of War, in answer to a resolution of the Senate passed on the 8th of July last, calling for information in relation to the removal of Fort Polk, etc. The documents accompanying the report contain all the information required by the resolution.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, August 6, 1850.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I herewith transmit to the two Houses of Congress a letter from his excellency the governor of Texas, dated on the 14th day of June last, addressed to the late President of the United States, which, not having been answered by him, came to my hands on his death; and I also transmit a copy of the answer which I have felt it to be my duty to cause to be made to that communication.

Congress will perceive that the governor of Texas officially states that by authority of the legislature of that State he dispatched a special commissioner with full power and instructions to extend the civil jurisdiction of the State over the unorganized counties of El Paso, Worth, Presidio, and Santa Fe, situated on its northwestern limits.

He proceeds to say that the commissioner had reported to him in an official form that the military officers employed in the service of the United States stationed at Santa Fe interposed adversely with the inhabitants to the fulfillment of his object in favor of the establishment of a separate State government east of the Rio Grande, and within the rightful limits of the State of Texas. These four counties, which Texas thus proposes to establish and organize as being within her own jurisdiction, extend over the whole of the territory east of the Rio Grande, which has heretofore been regarded as an essential and integral part of the department of New Mexico, and actually governed and possessed by her people until conquered and severed from the Republic of Mexico by the American arms.

The legislature of Texas has been called together by her governor for the purpose, as is understood, of maintaining her claim to the territory east of the Rio Grande and of establishing over it her own jurisdiction and her own laws by force.

These proceedings of Texas, may well arrest the attention of all branches of the Government of the United States, and I rejoice that they occur while the Congress is yet in session. It is, I fear, far from being impossible that, in consequence of these proceedings of Texas, a crisis may be brought on which shall summon the two Houses of Congress, and still more emphatically the executive government, to an immediate readiness for the performance of their respective duties.

By the Constitution of the United States the President is constituted Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, and of the militia of the several States when called into the actual service of the United States. The Constitution declares also that he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed and that he shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the Union.

Congress has power by the Constitution to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, and suitable and appropriate acts of Congress have been passed as well for providing for calling forth the militia as for placing other suitable and efficient means in the hands of the President to enable him to discharge the constitutional functions of his office.

The second section of the act of the 28th of February, 1795, declares that whenever the laws of the United States shall be opposed or their execution obstructed in any State by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings or the power vested in the marshals, the President may call forth the militia, as far as may be necessary, to suppress such combinations and to cause the laws to be duly executed.

By the act of March 3, 1807, it is provided that in all cases of obstruction to the laws either of the United States or any individual State or Territory, where it is lawful for the President to call forth the militia for the purpose of causing the laws to be duly executed, it shall be lawful for him to employ for the same purposes such part of the land or naval force of the United States as shall be judged necessary.

These several enactments are now in full force, so that if the laws of the United States are opposed or obstructed in any State or Territory by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the judicial or civil authorities it becomes a case in which it is the duty of the President either to call out the militia or to employ the military and naval force of the United States, or to do both if in his judgment the exigency of the occasion shall so require, for the purpose of suppressing such combinations. The constitutional duty of the President is plain and peremptory and the authority vested in him by law for its performance clear and ample.

Texas is a State, authorized to maintain her own laws so far as they are not repugnant to the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States; to suppress insurrections against her authority, and to punish those who may commit treason against the State according to the forms provided by her own constitution and her own laws.

But all this power is local and confined entirely within the limits of Texas herself. She can possibly confer no authority which can be lawfully exercised beyond her own boundaries.

All this is plain, and hardly needs argument or elucidation. If Texas militia, therefore, march into any one of the other States or into any Territory of the United States, there to execute or enforce any law of Texas, they become at that moment trespassers; they are no longer under the protection of any lawful authority, and are to be regarded merely as intruders; and if within such State or Territory they obstruct any law of the United States, either by power of arms or mere power of numbers, constituting such a combination as is too powerful to be suppressed by the civil authority, the President of the United States has no option left to him, but is bound to obey the solemn injunction of the Constitution and exercise the high powers vested in him by that instrument and by the acts of Congress.

Or if any civil posse, armed or unarmed, enter into any Territory of the United States, under the protection of the laws thereof, with intent to seize individuals, to be carried elsewhere for trial for alleged offenses, and this posse be too powerful to be resisted by the local civil authorities, such seizure or attempt to seize is to be prevented or resisted by the authority of the United States.

The grave and important question now arises whether there be in the Territory of New Mexico any existing law of the United States opposition to which or the obstruction of which would constitute a case calling for the interposition of the authority vested in the President.

The Constitution of the United States declares that-

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land.

If, therefore, New Mexico be a Territory of the United States, and if any treaty stipulation be in force therein, such treaty stipulation is the supreme law of the land, and is to be maintained and upheld accordingly.

In the letter to the governor of Texas my reasons are given for believing that New Mexico is now a Territory of the United States, with the same extent and the same boundaries which belonged to it while in the actual possession of the Republic of Mexico, and before the late war. In the early part of that war both California and New Mexico were conquered by the arms of the United States, and were in the military possession of the United States at the date of the treaty of peace.

By that treaty the title by conquest was confirmed and these territories, provinces, or departments separated from Mexico forever, and by the same treaty certain important rights and securities were solemnly guaranteed to the inhabitants residing therein.

By the fifth article of the treaty it is declared that-

The boundary line between the two Republics shall commence in the Gulf of Mexico 3 leagues from land, opposite the mouth of the Rio Grande, otherwise called Rio Bravo del Norte, or opposite the mouth of its deepest branch if it should have more than one branch emptying directly into the sea; from thence up the middle of that river, following the deepest channel where it has more than one, to the point where it strikes the southern boundary of New Mexico; thence westwardly, along the whole southern boundary of New Mexico (which runs north of the town called Paso) to its western termination; thence northward along the western line of New Mexico until it intersects the first branch of the river Gila (or, if it should not intersect any branch of that river, then to the point on the said line nearest to such branch, and thence in a direct line to the same); thence down the middle of the said branch and of the said river until it empties into the Rio Colorado; thence across the Rio Colorado, following the division line between Upper and Lower California, to the Pacific Ocean.

The eighth article of the treaty is in the following terms:

Mexicans now established in territories previously belonging to Mexico, and which remain for the future within the limits of the United States as defined by the present treaty, shall be free to continue where they now reside or to remove at any time to the Mexican Republic, retaining the property which they possess in the said territories, or disposing thereof and removing the proceeds wherever they please without their being subjected on this account to any contribution, tax, or charge whatever. Those who shall prefer to remain in the said territories may either retain the title, and rights of Mexican citizens or acquire those of citizens of the United States; but they shall be under the obligation to make their election within one year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty; and those who shall remain in the said territories after the expiration of that year without having declared their intention to retain the character of Mexicans shall be considered to have elected to become citizens of the United States. In the said territories property of every kind now belonging to Mexicans not established there shall be inviolably respected. The present owners, the heirs of these, and all Mexicans who may hereafter acquire said property by contract shall enjoy with respect to it guaranties equally ample as if the same belonged to citizens of the United States.

The ninth article of the treaty is in these words:

The Mexicans who, in the territories aforesaid, shall not preserve the character of citizens of the Mexican Republic, conformably with what is stipulated in the preceding article, shall be incorporated into the Union of the United States and be admitted at the proper time (to be judged of by the Congress of the United States) to the enjoyment of all the rights of citizens of the United States according to the principles of the Constitution, and in the meantime shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty and property and secured in the free exercise of their religion without restriction.

It is plain, therefore, on the face of these treaty stipulations that all Mexicans established in territories north or east of the line of demarcation already mentioned come within the protection of the ninth article, and that the treaty, being a part of the supreme law of the land, does extend over all such Mexicans, and assures to them perfect security in the free enjoyment of their liberty and property, as well as in the free exercise of their religion; and this supreme law of the land, being thus in actual force over this territory, is to be maintained until it shall be displaced or superseded by other legal provisions; and if it be obstructed or resisted by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the civil authority the case is one which comes within the provisions of law and which obliges the President to enforce those provisions. Neither the Constitution nor the laws nor my duty nor my oath of office leave me any alternative or any choice in my mode of action.

The executive government of the United States has no power or authority to determine what was the true line of boundary between Mexico and the United States before the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, nor has it any such power now, since the question has become a question between the State of Texas and the United States. So far as this boundary is doubtful, that doubt can only be removed by some act of Congress, to which the assent of the State of Texas may be necessary, or by some appropriate mode of legal adjudication; but in the meantime, if disturbances or collisions arise or should be threatened, it is absolutely incumbent on the executive government, however painful the duty, to take care that the laws be faithfully maintained; and he can regard only the actual state of things as it existed at the date of the treaty, and is bound to protect all inhabitants who were then established and who now remain north and east of the line of demarcation in the full enjoyment of their liberty and property, according to the provisions of the ninth article of the treaty. In other words, all must be now regarded as New Mexico which was possessed and occupied as New Mexico by citizens of Mexico at the date of the treaty until a definite line of boundary shall be established by competent authority.

This assertion of duty to protect the people of New Mexico from threatened violence, or from seizure to be carried into Texas for trial for alleged offenses against Texan laws, does not at all include any claim of power on the part of the Executive to establish any civil or military government within that Territory. That power belongs exclusively to the legislative department, and Congress is the sole judge of the time and manner of creating or authorizing any such government.

The duty of the Executive extends only to the execution of laws and the maintenance of treaties already in force and the protection of all the people of the United States in the enjoyment of the rights which those treaties and laws guarantee.

It is exceedingly desirable that no occasion should arise for the exercise of the powers thus vested in the President by the Constitution and the laws. With whatever mildness those powers might be executed, or however clear the case of necessity, yet consequences might, nevertheless, follow of which no human sagacity can foresee either the evils or the end.

Having thus laid before Congress the communication of his excellency the governor of Texas and the answer thereto, and having made such observations as I have thought the occasion called for respecting constitutional obligations which may arise in the further progress of things and may devolve on me to be performed, I hope I shall not be regarded as stepping aside from the line of my duty, notwithstanding that I am aware that the subject is now before both Houses, if I express my deep and earnest conviction of the importance of an immediate decision or arrangement or settlement of the question of boundary between Texas and the Territory of New Mexico. All considerations of justice, general expediency, and domestic tranquillity call for this. It seems to be in its character and by position the first, or one of the first, of the questions growing out of the acquisition of California and New Mexico, and now requiring decision.

No government can be established for New Mexico, either State or Territorial, until it shall be first ascertained what New Mexico is, and what are her limits and boundaries. These can not be fixed or known till the line of division between her and Texas shall be ascertained and established; and numerous and weighty reasons conspire, in my judgment, to show that this divisional line should be established by Congress with the assent of the government of Texas. In the first place, this seems by far the most prompt mode of proceeding by which the end can be accomplished. If judicial proceedings were resorted to, such proceedings would necessarily be slow, and years would pass by, in all probability, before the controversy could be ended. So great a delay in this case is to be avoided if possible. Such delay would be every way inconvenient, and might be the occasion of disturbances and collisions. For the same reason I would, with the utmost deference to the wisdom of Congress, express a doubt of the expediency of the appointment of commissioners, and of an examination, estimate, and an award of indemnity to be made by them. This would be but a species of arbitration, which might last as long as a suit at law.

So far as I am able to comprehend the case, the general facts are now all known, and Congress is as capable of deciding on it justly and properly now as it probably would be after the report of the commissioners. If the claim of title on the part of Texas appears to Congress to be well founded in whole or in part, it is in the competency of Congress to offer her an indemnity for the surrender of that claim. In a case like this, surrounded, as it is, by many cogent considerations, all calling for amicable adjustment and immediate settlement, the Government of the United States would be justified, in my opinion, in allowing an indemnity to Texas, not unreasonable or extravagant, but fair, liberal, and awarded in a just spirit of accommodation.

I think no event would be hailed with more gratification by the people of the United States than the amicable adjustment of questions of difficulty which have now for a long time agitated the country and occupied, to the exclusion of other subjects, the time and attention of Congress.

Having thus freely communicated the results of my own reflections on the most advisable mode of adjusting the boundary question, I shall nevertheless cheerfully acquiesce in any other mode which the wisdom of Congress may devise. And in conclusion I repeat my conviction that every consideration of the public interest manifests the necessity of a provision by Congress for the settlement of this boundary question before the present session be brought to a close. The settlement of other questions connected with the same subject within the same period is greatly to be desired, but the adjustment of this appears to me to be in the highest degree important. In the train of such an adjustment we may well hope that there will follow a return of harmony and good will, an increased attachment to the Union, and the general satisfaction of the country.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, August 8, 1850.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

It has been suggested that the language in the first paragraph of my message to the two Houses of Congress of the 6th instant may convey the idea that Governor Bell's letter to my predecessor was received by him before his death. It was addressed to him, but appears, in point of fact, to have been sent to me from the post-office after his death.

I make this communication to accompany the message and prevent misapprehension.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, August 10, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Department of the Interior and the papers which accompanied it, being the first part of the results of investigations by Henry R. Schoolcraft, esq., under the provisions of an act of Congress approved March 3, 1847, requiring the Secretary of War "to collect and digest such statistics and materials as may illustrate the history, the present condition, and future prospects of the Indian tribes of the United States,"

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, August 24, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

I have the honor to transmit herewith a report submitted by the Secretary of the Treasury, to whom was referred the resolution of the Senate of the 3ist July last, requesting to be furnished with certain information in relation to the commerce, etc., of the district of Brazos Santiago, in Texas.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, August 26, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

I have the honor to inclose herewith a letter just received from the Secretary of War, transmitting a communication from the Colonel of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, with accompanying papers, which he requests may be taken as a supplement to the "report and map of Lieutenant J.D. Webster, Corps of Topographical Engineers, of a survey of the Gulf coast at the mouth of the Rio Grande and its vicinity," called for by a resolution of the Senate of the 1st of July last.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, September 2, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

I have the honor herewith to transmit to your honorable body a report from the Secretary of the Navy, accompanied by copies of the correspondence relating to the resignation of Edward C. Anderson, a lieutenant in the Navy, in answer to a resolution of the Senate of August 28, 1850, adopted in executive session.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, September 9, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant, I have the honor herewith to transmit to the Senate a letter from the Secretary of State, accompanied by a copy of the report of the commissioner to China made in pursuance of the provisions of the act to carry into effect certain provisions of the treaties between the United States and China and the Ottoman Porte, giving certain judicial powers, etc.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, September 9, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

In compliance with the request of the Hon. Manuel Alvarez, acting governor, etc., I have the honor to transmit to the Senate herewith a copy of the constitution recently adopted by the inhabitants of New Mexico, together with a digest of the votes for and against it.

Congress having just passed a bill providing a Territorial government for New Mexico, I do not deem it advisable to submit any recommendation on the subject of a State government.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, September 12, 1850.

The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

SIR: In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives adopted September 2, 1850, calling upon me to communicate the full and exact cost of each of the lines of mail steamers now in service, etc., I have the honor to transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of the Navy and Postmaster-General, containing the desired information.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, September 16, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 9th instant, adopted in executive session, asking information in reference to the nomination of John Howard Payne as consul to Tunis, I have the honor to transmit a report from the Secretary of State, giving the desired information.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, September 23, 1850.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

Having been informed that it is the wish of the family and relatives of the late lamented President of the United States that his remains should be removed to the State of Kentucky, and being desirous of manifesting the most sincere and profound respect for the character of the deceased, in which I doubt not Congress will fully concur, I have felt it to be my duty to make known to you the wishes of the family, that you might previous to your adjournment adopt such proceedings and take such order on the subject as in your wisdom may seem meet and proper on the occasion.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

[The remains of the late President of the United States were removed from Washington to Louisville, Ky., October 25, 1850.]

WASHINGTON, September 27, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

I herewith transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 23d instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with the papers1 therein referred to.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, September 28, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to your resolution of the 24th instant, expressing an opinion adverse to the alleged resignation of Lieutenant Anderson, of the Navy, I have the honor herewith to transmit a report from the Secretary of the Navy, accompanied by the correspondence in reference to such resignation.

Regarding the opinion of the Senate in this matter with the most profound respect, I have given to the subject the most anxious consideration, and submitted the question to the deliberation of my Cabinet, and after a careful examination of the whole correspondence they are unanimously of opinion that Lieutenant Anderson tendered his resignation, which was duly accepted, and that he was therefore rightfully dropped from the Register. I concur fully in this opinion. With these convictions I feel compelled to adhere to the decision of my lamented predecessor, and can only regret that I have the misfortune in this instance to differ from those for whom, individually and collectively, I entertain the highest respect.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

PROCLAMATION.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States of the 24th of May, 1828, entitled "An act in addition to an act entitled 'An act concerning discriminating duties of tonnage and impost' and to equalize the duties on Prussian vessels and their cargoes," it is provided that upon satisfactory evidence being given to the President of the United States by the government of any foreign nation that no discriminating duties of tonnage or impost are imposed or levied in the ports of the said nation upon vessels wholly belonging to citizens of the United States, or upon the produce, manufactures, or merchandise imported in the same from the United States or from any foreign country, the President is thereby authorized to issue his proclamation declaring that the foreign discriminating duties of tonnage and impost within the United States are and shall be suspended and discontinued so far as respects the vessels of the said foreign nation and the produce, manufactures, or merchandise imported into the United States in the same from the said foreign nation or from any other foreign country, the said suspension to take effect from the time of such notification being given to the President of the United States and to continue so long as the reciprocal exemption of vessels belonging to citizens of the United States and their cargoes, as aforesaid, shall be continued, and no longer; and

Whereas satisfactory evidence has lately been received by me from the Government of the Republic of Chile, through an official communication of Se?or Don Manuel Carvallo, accredited to this Government as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of that Republic, under date of the 31st of October, 1850, that no other or higher duties of tonnage and impost are imposed or levied in the ports of Chile upon vessels wholly belonging to citizens of the United States and upon the produce, manufactures, or merchandise imported in the same from the United States and from any foreign country whatever than are levied on Chilean ships and their cargoes in the same ports and under like circumstances:

Now, therefore, I, Millard Fillmore, President of the United States of America, do hereby declare and proclaim that so much of the several acts imposing discriminating duties of tonnage and impost within the United States are and shall be suspended and discontinued so far as respects the vessels of Chile and the produce, manufactures, and merchandise imported into the United States in the same from Chile and from any other foreign country whatever, the said suspension to take effect from the day above mentioned and to continue thenceforward so long as the reciprocal exemption of the vessels of the United States and the produce, manufactures, and merchandise imported into Chile in the same, as aforesaid, shall be continued on the part of the Government of Chile.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 1st day of November, A.D. 1850, and the seventy-fifth of the Independence of the United States.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

By the President:

W.S. DERRICK,

Acting Secretary of State.

FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE.

WASHINGTON, December 2, 1850.

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 clearly 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 changes. 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 I,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, religious 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.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

SPECIAL MESSAGES.

WASHINGTON, December 9, 1850.

To the House of Representatives:

I communicate to the House of Representatives a translation of a note of the 5th instant addressed to the Secretary of State by the minister of the Mexican Republic accredited to this Government, relative to a subject2 to which the attention of Congress was invited in my message at the opening of the present session.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

[The same message was sent to the Senate.]

WASHINGTON, December 12, 1850.

To the Senate of the United States:

I herewith transmit a report of the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents, relating to the African slave trade, in answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 28th of August last.

MILLARD FILLMORE.

WASHINGTON, December 13, 1850.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I have the pleasure of announcing to Congress the agreement on the part of Texas to the propositions offered to that State by the act of Congress approved on the 9th day of September last, entitled "An act proposing to the State of Texas the establishment of her northern and western boundaries, the relinquishment by the said State of all territory claimed by her exterior to said boundaries and of all her claims upon the United States, and to establish a Territorial government for New Mexico."

By the terms of that act it was required that the agreement of Texas to the propositions contained in it should be given on or before the 1st day of December, 1850. An authenticated transcript of a law passed by the legislature of Texas on the 25th day of November, agreeing to and accepting the propositions contained in the act of Congress, has been received. This law, after reciting the provisions of the act of Congress, proceeds to enact and declare as follows, viz:

Therefore, first. Be it enacted by the legislature of the State of Texas, That the State of Texas hereby agrees to and accepts said propositions; and it is hereby declared that the said State shall be bound by the terms thereof according to their true import and meaning. Second. That the governor of this State be, and is hereby, requested to cause a copy of this act, authenticated under the seal of the State, to be furnished to the President of the United States by mail as early as practicable, and also a copy thereof, certified in like manner, to be transmitted to each of the Senators and Representatives of Texas in Congress. And that this act take effect from and after its passage.