Section 8 of the Act of February 28, 1871, It Is Made the Duty of United

States marshals and their deputies at polls where votes are cast for Representatives in Congress to keep the peace and prevent any violations of the so-called enforcement acts and other offenses against the laws of the United States; and upon a requisition of the marshal of Louisiana, and in view of said armed organizations and other portentous circumstances, I caused detachments of troops to be stationed in various localities in the State, to aid him in the performance of his official duties. That there was intimidation of Republican voters at the election, notwithstanding these precautions, admits of no doubt. The following are specimens of the means used:

On the 14th of October eighty persons signed and published the following at Shreveport:

We, the undersigned, merchants of the city of Shreveport, in obedience to a request of the Shreveport Campaign Club, agree to use every endeavor to get our employees to vote the People's ticket at the ensuing election, and in the event of their refusal so to do, or in case they vote the Radical ticket, to refuse to employ them at the expiration of their present contracts.

On the same day another large body of persons published in the same place a paper in which they used the following language:

We, the undersigned, merchants of the city of Shreveport, alive to the great importance of securing good and honest government to the State, do agree and pledge ourselves not to advance any supplies or money to any planter the coming year who will give employment or rent lands to laborers who vote the Radical ticket in the coming election.

I have no information of the proceedings of the returning board for said election which may not be found in its report, which has been published; but it is a matter of public information that a great part of the time taken to canvass the votes was consumed by the arguments of lawyers, several of whom represented each party before the board. I have no evidence that the proceedings of this board were not in accordance with the law under which they acted. Whether in excluding from their count certain returns they were right or wrong is a question that depends upon the evidence they had before them; but it is very clear that the law gives them the power, if they choose to exercise it, of deciding that way, and, prima facie, the persons whom they return as elected are entitled to the offices for which they were candidates.

Respecting the alleged interference by the military with the organization of the legislature of Louisiana on the 4th instant, I have no knowledge or information which has not been received by me since that time and published. My first information was from the papers of the morning of the 5th of January. I did not know that any such thing was anticipated, and no orders nor suggestions were ever given to any military officer in that State upon that subject prior to the occurrence. I am well aware that any military interference by the officers or troops of the United States with the organization of the State legislature or any of its proceedings, or with any civil department of the Government, is repugnant to our ideas of government. I can conceive of no case, not involving rebellion or insurrection, where such interference by authority of the General Government ought to be permitted or can be justified. But there are circumstances connected with the late legislative imbroglio in Louisiana which seem to exempt the military from any intentional wrong in that matter. Knowing that they had been placed in Louisiana to prevent domestic violence and aid in the enforcement of the State laws, the officers and troops of the United States may well have supposed that it was their duty to act when called upon by the governor for that purpose.

Each branch of a legislative assembly is the judge of the election and qualifications of its own members; but if a mob or a body of unauthorized persons seize and hold the legislative hall in a tumultuous and riotous manner, and so prevent any organization by those legally returned as elected, it might become the duty of the State executive to interpose, if requested by a majority of the members elect, to suppress the disturbance and enable the persons elected to organize the house.

Any exercise of this power would only be justifiable under most extraordinary circumstances, and it would then be the duty of the governor to call upon the constabulary or, if necessary, the military force of the State. But with reference to Louisiana, it is to be borne in mind that any attempt by the governor to use the police force of that State at this time would have undoubtedly precipitated a bloody conflict with the White League, as it did on the 14th of September.

There is no doubt but that the presence of the United States troops upon that occasion prevented bloodshed and the loss of life. Both parties appear to have relied upon them as conservators of the public peace.

The first call was made by the Democrats, to remove persons obnoxious to them from the legislative halls; and the second was from the Republicans, to remove persons who had usurped seats in the legislature without legal certificates authorizing them to seats, and in sufficient number to change the majority.

Nobody was disturbed by the military who had a legal right at that time to occupy a seat in the legislature. That the Democratic minority of the house undertook to seize its organization by fraud and violence; that in this attempt they trampled under foot law; that they undertook to make persons not returned as elected members, so as to create a majority; that they acted under a preconcerted plan, and under false pretenses introduced into the hall a body of men to support their pretensions by force if necessary, and that conflict, disorder, and riotous proceedings followed are facts that seem to be well established; and I am credibly informed that these violent proceedings were a part of a premeditated plan to have the house organized in this way, recognize what has been called the McEnery senate, then to depose Governor Kellogg, and so revolutionize the State government.

Whether it was wrong for the governor, at the request of the majority of the members returned as elected to the house, to use such means as were in his power to defeat these lawless and revolutionary proceedings is perhaps a debatable question; but it is quite certain that there would have been no trouble if those who now complain of illegal interference had allowed the house to be organized in a lawful and regular manner. When those who inaugurate disorder and anarchy disavow such proceedings, it will be time enough to condemn those who by such means as they have prevent the success of their lawless and desperate schemes.

Lieutenant-General Sheridan was requested by me to go to Louisiana to observe and report the situation there, and, if in his opinion necessary, to assume the command, which he did on the 4th instant, after the legislative disturbances had occurred, at 9 o'clock p.m., a number of hours after the disturbances. No party motives nor prejudices can reasonably be imputed to him; but honestly convinced by what he has seen and heard there, he has characterized the leaders of the White Leagues in severe terms and suggested summary modes of procedure against them, which, though they can not be adopted, would, if legal, soon put an end to the troubles and disorders in that State. General Sheridan was looking at facts, and possibly, not thinking of proceedings which would be the only proper ones to pursue in time of peace, thought more of the utterly lawless condition of society surrounding him at the time of his dispatch and of what would prove a sure remedy. He never proposed to do an illegal act nor expressed determination to proceed beyond what the law in the future might authorize for the punishment of the atrocities which have been committed, and the commission of which can not be successfully denied. It is a deplorable fact that political crimes and murders have been committed in Louisiana which have gone unpunished, and which have been justified or apologized for, which must rest as a reproach upon the State and country long after the present generation has passed away.

I have no desire to have United States troops interfere in the domestic concerns of Louisiana or any other State.

On the 9th of December last Governor Kellogg telegraphed to me his apprehensions that the White League intended to make another attack upon the statehouse, to which, on the same day, I made the following answer, since which no communication has been sent to him:

Your dispatch of this date just received. It is exceedingly unpalatable to use troops in anticipation of danger. Let the State authorities be right, and then proceed with their duties without apprehension of danger. If they are then molested, the question will be determined whether the United States is able to maintain law and order within its limits or not.

I have deplored the necessity which seemed to make it my duty under the Constitution and laws to direct such interference. I have always refused except where it seemed to be my imperative duty to act in such a manner under the Constitution and laws of the United States. I have repeatedly and earnestly entreated the people of the South to live together in peace and obey the laws; and nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see reconciliation and tranquillity everywhere prevail, and thereby remove all necessity for the presence of troops among them. I regret, however, to say that this state of things does not exist, nor does its existence seem to be desired, in some localities; and as to those it may be proper for me to say that to the extent that Congress has conferred power upon me to prevent it neither Kuklux Klans, White Leagues, nor any other association using arms and violence to execute their unlawful purposes can be permitted in that way to govern any part of this country; nor can I see with indifference Union men or Republicans ostracized, persecuted, and murdered on account of their opinions, as they now are in some localities.

I have heretofore urged the case of Louisiana upon the attention of Congress, and I can not but think that its inaction has produced great evil.

To summarize: In September last an armed, organized body of men, in the support of candidates who had been put in nomination for the offices of governor and lieutenant-governor at the November election in 1872, and who had been declared not elected by the board of canvassers, recognized by all the courts to which the question had been submitted, undertook to subvert and overthrow the State government that had been recognized by me in accordance with previous precedents. The recognized governor was driven from the statehouse, and but for his finding shelter in the United States custom-house, in the capital of the State of which he was governor, it is scarcely to be doubted that he would have been killed.

From the statehouse, before he had been driven to the custom-house, a call was made, in accordance with the fourth section, fourth article, of the Constitution of the United States, for the aid of the General Government to suppress domestic violence. Under those circumstances, and in accordance with my sworn duties, my proclamation of the 15th of September, 1874, was issued. This served to reinstate Governor Kellogg to his position nominally, but it can not be claimed that the insurgents have to this day surrendered to the State authorities the arms belonging to the State, or that they have in any sense disarmed. On the contrary, it is known that the same armed organizations that existed on the 14th of September, 1874, in opposition to the recognized State government, still retain their organization, equipments, and commanders, and can be called out at any hour to resist the State government. Under these circumstances the same military force has been continued in Louisiana as was sent there under the first call, and under the same general instructions. I repeat that the task assumed by the troops is not a pleasant one to them; that the Army is not composed of lawyers, capable of judging at a moment's notice of just how far they can go in the maintenance of law and order, and that it was impossible to give specific instructions providing for all possible contingencies that might arise. The troops were bound to act upon the judgment of the commanding officer upon each sudden contingency that arose, or wait instructions which could only reach them after the threatened wrongs had been committed which they were called on to prevent. It should be recollected, too, that upon my recognition of the Kellogg government I reported the fact, with the grounds of recognition, to Congress, and asked that body to take action in the matter; otherwise I should regard their silence as an acquiescence in my course. No action has been taken by that body, and I have maintained the position then marked out.

If error has been committed by the Army in these matters, it has always been on the side of the preservation of good order, the maintenance of law, and the protection of life. Their bearing reflects credit upon the soldiers, and if wrong has resulted the blame is with the turbulent element surrounding them.

I now earnestly ask that such action be taken by Congress as to leave my duties perfectly clear in dealing with the affairs of Louisiana, giving assurance at the same time that whatever may be done by that body in the premises will be executed according to the spirit and letter of the law, without fear or favor.

I herewith transmit copies of documents containing more specific information as to the subject-matter of the resolution.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, January 14, 1875.

To the Senate of the United States:

Senate bill No. 1044, "to provide for the resumption of specie payments," is before me, and this day receives my signature of approval.

I venture upon this unusual method of conveying the notice of approval to the "House in which the measure originated" because of its great importance to the country at large and in order to suggest further legislation which seems to me essential to make this law effective.

It is a subject of congratulation that a measure has become law which fixes a date when specie resumption shall commence and implies an obligation on the part of Congress, if in its power, to give such legislation as may prove necessary to redeem this promise.

To this end I respectfully call your attention to a few suggestions:

First. The necessity of an increased revenue to carry out the obligation of adding to the sinking fund annually 1 per cent of the public debt, amounting now to about $34,000,000 per annum, and to carry out the promises of this measure to redeem, under certain contingencies, eighty millions of the present legal-tenders, and, without contingency, the fractional currency now in circulation.

How to increase the surplus revenue is for Congress to devise, but I will venture to suggest that the duty on tea and coffee might be restored without permanently enhancing the cost to the consumers, and that the 10 per cent horizontal reduction of the tariff on articles specified in the law of June 6, 1872, be repealed. The supply of tea and coffee already on hand in the United States would in all probability be advanced in price by adopting this measure. But it is known that the adoption of free entry to those articles of necessity did not cheapen them, but merely added to the profits of the countries producing them, or of the middlemen in those countries, who have the exclusive trade in them.

Second. The first section of the bill now under consideration provides that the fractional currency shall be redeemed in silver coin as rapidly as practicable. There is no provision preventing the fluctuation in the value of the paper currency. With gold at a premium of anything over 10 per cent above the currency in use, it is probable, almost certain, that silver would be bought up for exportation as fast as it was put out, or until change would become so scarce as to make the premium on it equal to the premium on gold, or sufficiently high to make it no longer profitable to buy for export, thereby causing a direct loss to the community at large and great embarrassment to trade.

As the present law commands final resumption on the 1st day of January, 1879, and as the gold receipts by the Treasury are larger than the gold payments and the currency receipts are smaller than the currency payments, thereby making monthly sales of gold necessary to meet current currency expenses, it occurs to me that these difficulties might be remedied by authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to redeem legal-tender notes, whenever presented in sums of not less than $100 and multiples thereof, at a premium for gold of 10 per cent, less interest at the rate of 2-1/2 per cent per annum from the 1st day of January, 1875, to the date of putting this law into operation, and diminishing this premium at the same rate until final resumption, changing the rate of premium demanded from time to time as the interest amounts to one-quarter of 1 per cent. I suggest this rate of interest because it would bring currency at par with gold at the date fixed by law for final resumption. I suggest 10 per cent as the demand premium at the beginning because I believe this rate would insure the retention of silver in the country for change.

The provisions of the third section of the act will prevent combinations being made to exhaust the Treasury of coin.

With such a law it is presumable that no gold would be called for not required for legitimate business purposes. When large amounts of coin should be drawn from the Treasury, correspondingly large amounts of currency would be withdrawn from circulation, thus causing a sufficient stringency in currency to stop the outward flow of coin.

The advantages of a currency of a fixed known value would also be reached. In my opinion, by the enactment of such a law business and industries would revive and the beginning of prosperity on a firm basis would be reached.

Other means of increasing revenue than those suggested should probably be devised, and also other legislation.

In fact, to carry out the first section of the act another mint becomes a necessity. With the present facilities for coinage, it would take a period probably beyond that fixed by law for final specie resumption to coin the silver necessary to transact the business of the country.

There are now smelting furnaces, for extracting the silver and gold from the ores brought from the mountain territories, in Chicago, St. Louis, and Omaha--three in the former city--and as much of the change required will be wanted in the Mississippi Valley States, and as the metals to be coined come from west of those States, and, as I understand, the charges for transportation of bullion from either of the cities named to the mint in Philadelphia or to New York City amount to $4 for each $1,000 worth, with an equal expense for transportation back, it would seem a fair argument in favor of adopting one or more of those cities as the place or places for the establishment of new coining facilities.

I have ventured upon this subject with great diffidence, because it is so unusual to approve a measure--as I most heartily do this, even if no further legislation is attainable at this time--and to announce the fact by message. But I do so because I feel that it is a subject of such vital importance to the whole country that it should receive the attention of and be discussed by Congress and the people through the press, and in every way, to the end that the best and most satisfactory course may be reached of executing what I deem most beneficial legislation on a most vital question to the interests and prosperity of the nation.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, January 20, 1875.

To the House of Representatives:

I have the honor to transmit herewith a report from a board composed of one person named by the head of each Executive Department and of the Department of Agriculture and Smithsonian Institution, for the purpose of securing a complete and harmonious arrangement of the articles and materials designed to be exhibited from the Executive Departments of the Government at the international exhibition to be held in the city of Philadelphia in the year 1876 for the purpose of celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the independence of the United States. The report gives a statement of what is proposed to be exhibited by each Department, together with an estimate of the expense which will have to be incurred. Submitting to Congress the estimate made by the board, I recommend that Congress make a suitable appropriation to enable the different Departments to make a complete and creditable showing of the articles and materials designed to be exhibited by the Government, and which will undoubtedly form one of the most interesting features of the exhibition.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, January 20, 1875.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

In my annual message of December 1, 1873, while inviting general attention to all the recommendations made by the Secretary of War, your special consideration was invited to "the importance of preparing for war in time of peace by providing proper armament for our seacoast defenses. Proper armament is of vastly more importance than fortifications. The latter can be supplied very speedily for temporary purposes when needed; the former can not."

These views gain increased strength and pertinence as the years roll by, and I have now again the honor to call special attention to the condition of the "armament of our fortifications" and the absolute necessity for immediate provision by Congress for the procurement of heavy cannon. The large expenditures required to supply the number of guns for our forts is the strongest argument that can be adduced for a liberal annual appropriation for their gradual accumulation. In time of war such preparations can not be made; cannon can not be purchased in open market nor manufactured at short notice; they must be the product of years of experience and labor.

I herewith enclose copies of a report of the Chief of Ordnance and of a board of ordnance officers on the trial of an 8-inch rifle converted from a 10-inch smooth-bore, which shows very conclusively an economical means of utilizing these useless smooth-bores and making them into 8-inch rifles, capable of piercing 7 inches of iron. The 1,294 10-inch Rodman guns should, in my opinion, be so utilized, and the appropriation requested by the Chief of Ordnance of $250,000 to commence these conversions is urgently recommended.

While convinced of the economy and necessity of these conversions, the determination of the best and most economical method of providing guns of still larger caliber should no longer be delayed. The experience of other nations, based on the new conditions of defense brought prominently forward by the introduction of ironclads into every navy afloat, demands heavier metal and rifle guns of not less than 12 inches in caliber. These enormous masses, hurling a shot of 700 pounds, can alone meet many of the requirements of the national defenses. They must be provided, and experiments on a large scale can alone give the data necessary for the determination of the question. A suitable proving ground, with all the facilities and conveniences referred to by the Chief of Ordnance, with a liberal annual appropriation, is an undoubted necessity.

The guns now ready for trial can not be experimented with without funds, and the estimate of $250,000 for the purpose is deemed reasonable and is strongly recommended.

The constant appeals for legislation on the "armament of fortifications" ought no longer to be disregarded if Congress desires in peace to prepare the important material without which future wars must inevitably lead to disaster.

This subject is submitted with the hope that the consideration it deserves may be given it at the present session.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, January 25, 1875.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of the commission of engineers appointed in compliance with the act of Congress approved June 22, 1874, to investigate and report a permanent plan for the reclamation of the alluvial basin of the Mississippi River subject to inundation.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, January 26, 1875.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I have the honor to transmit herewith, for the information of Congress, a report of the progress made to this date by the United States Centennial Commission appointed in accordance with the requirements of the act approved June 1, 1872.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, February 1, 1875.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification, a treaty concluded on the 30th ultimo between this Government and His Hawaiian Majesty, on the subject of commercial reciprocity. I also transmit, for the information of the Senate, the papers mentioned in the subjoined list, relating to the commerce between the United States and the Hawaiian Islands.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 1, 1875.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I have the honor to lay before Congress a communication of the Secretary of War relative to the action taken in issuing certain supplies to the suffering people in Kansas and Nebraska, in consequence of the drought and grasshopper plague, and to respectfully request that such action be approved.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 8, 1875.

To the Senate of the United States:

Herewith I have the honor to send, in accordance with the resolution of the Senate of the 3d instant, all the information in my possession not heretofore furnished relating to affairs in the State of Arkansas.

I will venture to express the opinion that all the testimony shows that in the election of 1872 Joseph Brooks was lawfully elected governor of that State; that he has been unlawfully deprived of the possession of his office since that time; that in 1874 the constitution of the State was by violence, intimidation, and revolutionary proceedings overthrown and a new constitution adopted and a new State government established.

These proceedings, if permitted to stand, practically ignore all rights of minorities in all the States. Also, what is there to prevent each of the States recently readmitted to Federal relations on certain conditions changing their constitutions and violating their pledges if this action in Arkansas is acquiesced in?

I respectfully submit whether a precedent so dangerous to the stability of State government, if not of the National Government also, should be recognized by Congress. I earnestly ask that Congress will take definite action in this matter to relieve the Executive from acting upon questions which should be decided by the legislative branch of the Government.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 19, 1875.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

Under the requirements of section 6 of the "act for the government of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes," approved June 20, 1874, I have the honor to submit herewith the report of the board of audit upon the amount equitably chargeable to the street-railroad companies pursuant to the charters of said companies or the acts of Congress relating thereto, together with the reasons therefor.

U.S. GRANT.

VETO MESSAGES.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, January 30, 1875.

To the House of Representatives:

I have the honor to return herewith House bill No. 4462, entitled "An act for the relief of Alexander Burtch," from which I withhold my approval for the reasons given in the accompanying letter of the Secretary of War.

U.S. GRANT.

WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington City, January 28, 1875.

The PRESIDENT.

SIR: I have the honor to return House bill No. 4462, "for the relief of Alexander Burtch."

It appears from the records of this office that Alexander Burtch, Company H, First Indiana Artillery, enlisted July 24, 1861, for three years, reenlisted as a veteran January 1, 1864, and deserted at Fort Gaines, Ala., September 25, 1865, and was a deserter at large at date of muster-out of his company, January 10, 1866.

This Department emphatically objects to this bill becoming a law upon the ground of its great injustice to every soldier who served honorably until his services were no longer required by the Government.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

WM. W. BELKNAP,

Secretary of War.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 12, 1875.

To the House of Representatives:

I have the honor to return herewith House bill No. 2352, entitled "An act granting a pension to Lewis Hinely," from which I withhold my approval for the reasons given in the accompanying letter of the Secretary of the Interior.

U.S. GRANT.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Washington, February 11, 1875.

The PRESIDENT.

SIR: I have the honor to return herewith House bill No. 2352, "granting a pension to Lewis Hinely."

I am informed by the Commissioner of Pensions that the act does not designate the person for whose benefit it was passed. His true name, as verified by his own signature to papers on file in the Pension Office, is Louis Heinlig, and as there were several soldiers in the company and regiment named in the act whose names are similar to that specified therein, a correction appears to be necessary in order that the beneficiary of the act may be properly identified should the bill become a law.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

C. DELANO, Secretary.

WASHINGTON, March 3, 1875.

To the House of Representatives:

House bill No. 3341 is herewith returned without my approval, for the reasons, first, that it appropriates from the Treasury a large sum of money at a time when the revenue is insufficient for current wants and this proposed further drain on the Treasury. The issue of bonds, authorized by the bill to a very large and indefinite amount, would seriously embarrass the refunding operations now progressing, whereby the interest of the bonded debt of the United States is being largely reduced. Second, I do not believe that any considerable portion of the ex-soldiers who, it is supposed, will be beneficiaries of this appropriation are applicants for it, but, rather, it would result more in a measure for the relief of claim agents and middlemen who would intervene to collect or discount the bounties granted by it. The passage of this bill at this time is inconsistent with the measures of economy now demanded by the necessities of the country.

U.S. GRANT.

SPECIAL MESSAGES.

WASHINGTON, March 8, 1875.

To the Senate of the United States:

I nominate in the Medical Department, Army of the United States, Benjamin F. Pope, assistant surgeon, to rank from May 14, 1867.

Note.--October 5, 1870, Assistant Surgeon B.F. Pope, United States Army, applied for discharge to date December 31, 1870, under section 3, act of July 15, 1870.

By letter from the Adjutant-General's Office, War Department, November 2, 1870, he was informed he could not be discharged as requested, as the President had decided staff officers did not come under the provisions of the act.

Subsequently the President decided that staff officers who applied and could be spared could go out under the act. Accordingly, Assistant Surgeon Pope was discharged, on his original application, to date December 31, 1870, by special order of that date, this because time did not permit to communicate with him, and the belief that his desire to leave the service was unchanged.

He drew a year's pay and mileage under the order, came to Washington, and on May 19, 1871, applied for revocation of the order of discharge on the ground that, having been officially notified of disapproval, he had made arrangements to remain in service. Forwarded by the Surgeon-General recommended. Disapproved by the Secretary of War May 23, 1871.

June 17, 1871, the order of discharge was revoked. Assistant-Surgeon Pope then refunded the year's pay and mileage and drew pay for continuous service.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, March 9, 1875.

To the Senate of the United States:

Pursuant to the authority conferred upon me by the joint resolution of Congress approved on the 17th of June last, due notice was, on the 1st day of July last, given to the Government of Belgium, through the minister of the United States at Brussels, of the desire of this Government to terminate the treaty between the United States and His Majesty the King of the Belgians of the 17th of July, 1858. It being deemed advisable, however, that another instrument, with provisions more consonant with the interests of this country, should be entered into with that Government, I directed that negotiations should be set on foot for the purpose. They have resulted in the treaty between the same parties of the 8th instant, which is now transmitted for the consideration of the Senate with a view to its ratification.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, March 15, 1875.

To the Senate:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 12th of March instant, I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying correspondence.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 17, 1875.

To the Senate of the United States:

I have the honor to transmit herewith communications from the Secretaries of War and the Interior, in answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 15th instant, requesting "any information in my possession in regard to the proposed emigration to the Black Hills country, in the Sioux Indian Reservation; whether such emigration is with the consent of the Indian tribes holding said country under the treaty of February 24, 1869, and, if not, what measures will be taken in relation to the same."

U.S. GRANT.

PROCLAMATIONS.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas it is provided in the Constitution of the United States that the United States shall protect every State in the Union, on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature can not be convened), against domestic violence; and

Whereas it is provided by the laws of the United States that in all cases of insurrection in any State or of obstruction to the laws thereof it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, on application of the legislature of such State, or of the executive (when the legislature can not be convened), to call forth the militia of any other State or States, or to employ such part of the land and naval force as shall be judged necessary, for the purpose of suppressing such insurrection or of causing the laws to be duly executed; and

Whereas the legislature of the State of Mississippi, now in session, have represented to me, in a concurrent resolution of that body, that several of the legally elected officers of Warren County, in said State, are prevented from executing the duties of their respective offices by force and violence; that the public buildings and records of said county have been taken into the possession of and are now held by lawless and unauthorized persons; that many peaceable citizens of said county have been killed, and others have been compelled to abandon and remain away from their homes and families; that illegal and riotous seizures and imprisonments have been made by such lawless persons; and, further, that a large number of armed men from adjacent States have invaded Mississippi to aid such lawless persons, and are still ready to give them such aid; and

Whereas it is further represented as aforesaid by said legislature that the courts of said county can not be held, and that the governor of said State has no sufficient force at his command to execute the laws thereof in said county and suppress said violence without causing a conflict of races and endangering life and property to an alarming extent; and

Whereas the said legislature as aforesaid have made application to me for such part of the military force of the United States as may be necessary and adequate to protect said State and the citizens thereof against the domestic violence hereinbefore mentioned and to enforce the due execution of the laws; and

Whereas the laws of the United States require that whenever it may be necessary, in the judgment of the President, to use the military force for the purposes aforesaid, he shall forthwith, by proclamation, command such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within a limited time:

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States, do hereby command said disorderly and turbulent persons to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within five days from the date hereof, and that they refrain from forcible resistance to the laws and submit themselves peaceably to the lawful authorities of said county and State.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 21st day of December, A.D. 1874, and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-ninth.

U.S. GRANT.

By the President: HAMILTON FISH, Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas objects of interest to the United States require that the Senate should be convened at 12 o'clock on the 5th day of March next to receive and act upon such communications as may be made to it on the part of the Executive:

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States, have considered it to be my duty to issue this my proclamation, declaring that an extraordinary occasion requires the Senate of the United States to convene for the transaction of business at the Capitol, in the city of Washington, on the 5th day of March next, at 12 o'clock at noon on that day, of which all who shall at that time be entitled to act as members of that body are hereby required to take notice.

Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, at Washington, the 17th day of February, A.D. 1875, and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-ninth.

U.S. GRANT.

By the President: HAMILTON FISH, Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas by the eighth section of the act of Congress entitled "An act for the creation of a court for the adjudication and disposition of certain moneys received into the Treasury under an award made by the tribunal of arbitration constituted by virtue of the first article of the treaty concluded at Washington the 8th of May, A.D. 1871, between the United States of America and the Queen of Great Britain," approved June 23, 1874, it is provided--

That the judges of the court created by this act shall convene in the city of Washington as soon as conveniently may be after their appointment; and the said court shall exist for one year from the date of its first convening and organizing; and should it be found impracticable to complete the work of the said court before the expiration of the said one year, the President may by proclamation extend the time of the duration thereof to a period not more than six months beyond the expiration of the said one year; and in such case all the provisions of this act shall be taken and held to be the same as though the continuance of the said court had been originally fixed by this act at the limit to which it may be thus extended.

And whereas it has been made satisfactorily to appear to me that the said court convened on the 22d of July, 1874, and that a large portion of the business of said court still remains undisposed of, and that it is found impracticable to complete the work of the said court before the expiration of the said one year from its first convening and organizing:

Now, therefore, be it known that I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the provisions of the said eighth section of the act of Congress aforesaid, do hereby extend the time of the duration of said "Court of Commissioners of Alabama Claims" for a period of six months from and after the 22d day of July, A.D. 1875.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name and have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 2d day of June, A.D. 1875, and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-ninth.

U.S. GRANT.

By the President: HAMILTON FISH, Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

In accordance with a practice at once wise and beautiful, we have been accustomed, as the year is drawing to a close, to devote an occasion to the humble expression of our thanks to Almighty God for the ceaseless and distinguished benefits bestowed upon us as a nation and for His mercies and protection during the closing year.

Amid the rich and free enjoyment of all our advantages, we should not forget the source from whence they are derived and the extent of our obligation to the Father of All Mercies.

We have full reason to renew our thanks to Almighty God for favors bestowed upon us during the past year.

By His continuing mercy civil and religious liberty have been maintained, peace has reigned within our borders, labor and enterprise have produced their merited rewards; and to His watchful providence we are indebted for security from pestilence and other national calamity.

Apart from national blessings, each individual among us has occasion to thoughtfully recall and devoutly recognize the favors and protection which he has enjoyed.

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States, do recommend that on Thursday, the 25th day of November, the people of the United States, abstaining from all secular pursuits and from their accustomed avocations, do assemble in their respective places of worship, and, in such form as may seem most appropriate in their own hearts, offer to Almighty God their acknowledgments and thanks for all His mercies and their humble prayers for a continuance of His divine favor.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 27th day of October, A.D. 1875, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundredth.

U.S. GRANT.

By the President: HAMILTON FISH, Secretary of State.

EXECUTIVE ORDERS.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 9, 1875.

In order to carry out the provisions of the fifth section of the act of Congress entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, and for other purposes," approved March 3, 1875, the board heretofore appointed to take charge of the articles and materials to be exhibited by the several Executive Departments, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Agricultural Department at the International Exhibition of 1876 is hereby continued under the following regulations and distribution of duties, viz:

The funds appropriated by the above-named section will be drawn from the Treasury upon the requisition of the chairman of the board, and be disbursed as are other public moneys under the existing laws relating to disbursing officers.

An officer of the Army will be detailed by the Secretary of War as disbursing officer of the board.

Each representative of an Executive Department and the representatives of the Smithsonian Institution, of the Agricultural Department, and the United States Commissioner of Food Fishes will have charge of the matters pertaining to his respective Department, subject to the general advisement of the board; and all bills will be paid by the disbursing officer upon vouchers certified by such representative and countersigned by the chairman of the board.

The disbursing officer will render monthly accounts current of all advances to and disbursements by him to the First Auditor of the Treasury for audit and settlement in the same manner as are other accounts of disbursing officers of the Government.

Each representative will be held responsible to the head of his respective Department for all public property of the United States furnished by the head of such Department or otherwise coming to his hands for the purposes of the exhibition, and will render proper accounts of the same to such head of Department until the property is returned.

U.S. GRANT,

President United States.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, March 9, 1875.

The BOARD OF EXAMINERS,

Treasury Department:

By direction of the President, the rules and regulations known as the civil-service rules, etc., governing appointments and promotions under the Treasury Department are hereby abolished, and hereafter all appointments will be made as provided for by section 164, Revised Statutes, enacted June 22, 1874.

You are instructed and directed to transfer all books, papers, records, and public property in your possession to the chief clerk of the Department, and notify all sub-boards of the promulgation of this order.

The clerks and other employees now on duty under the direction of the board of examiners will report to the chief clerk for assignment to duty. I am, very respectfully,

B.H. BRISTOW, Secretary.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 25, 1875.

In pursuance of the fourth section of the act entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, and for other purposes," approved March 3, 1875, a board is hereby appointed, to consist of Lieutenant-Colonel T.T.S. Laidley, Ordnance Department, United States Army, president of the board; Commander L.A. Beardslee, United States Navy; Lieutenant-Colonel Q.A. Gillmore, Engineer Department, United States Army; David Smith, Chief Engineer, United States Navy; W. Sooy Smith, civil engineer; A.S. Holly, civil engineer; R.H. Thurston, civil engineer, who will convene at the Watertown Arsenal, Mass., on April 15, 1875, or as soon thereafter as practicable, for the purpose of determining by actual tests the strength and value of all kinds of iron, steel, and other metals which may be submitted to them or by them procured, and to prepare tables which will exhibit the strength and value of said materials for constructive and mechanical purposes, and to provide for the building of a suitable machine for establishing such tests, the machine to be set up and maintained at the Watertown Arsenal.

The funds appropriated for the purposes of these tests will be disbursed under the Ordnance Department of the Army, and the board will receive instructions from and make its report to the Chief of Ordnance.

Mr. R.H. Thurston, civil engineer, is designated as secretary of the board, at an annual compensation of $1,200.

Actual traveling expenses, as provided by law, will be allowed the members of the board.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, May 24, 1875.

SIR: The President directs me to say that the several Departments of the Government will be closed on Saturday, the 29th instant, in order to enable the employees to participate in the decoration of the graves of the soldiers who fell during the rebellion.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

O.E. BABCOCK, Secretary.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Washington, D.C., July 3, 1875.

To Collectors of Customs:

The importation of breech-loading rifles, and fixed ammunition suitable therefor, into the Territory of Alaska, and the shipment of such rifles or ammunition to any port or place in the Territory of Alaska, are hereby forbidden, and collectors of customs are instructed to refuse clearance of any vessel having on board any such arms or ammunition destined for any port or place in said Territory.

If, however, any vessel intends to touch or trade at a port in Alaska Territory or to pass within the waters thereof, but shall be ultimately destined for some port or place not within the limits of said Territory, and shall have on board any such firearms or ammunition, the master or chief officer thereof will be required to execute and deliver to the collector of customs at the port of clearance a good and sufficient bond, with two sureties, in double the value of such merchandise, conditioned that such arms or ammunition, or any part thereof, shall not be landed or disposed of within the Territory of Alaska. Such bond shall be taken for such time as the collector shall deem proper, and may be satisfied upon proofs similar to those required to satisfy ordinary export bonds, showing that such arms have been landed at some foreign port; or, if such merchandise is landed at any port of the United States not within the limits of the Territory of Alaska, the bond may be satisfied upon production of a certificate to that effect from the collector of the port where it is so landed.

CHAS. F. CONANT, Acting Secretary.

Approved:

U.S. GRANT, President.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, July 27, 1875.

In conformity to provisions contained in the river and harbor act approved March 3, 1875, granting to James B. Eads and his associates authority to use, for the construction of jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi River, any materials on the public lands of the United States that shall be suitable for and may be needed in said works, under such regulations as the Secretary of War shall prescribe, it is hereby ordered and directed--

1. That the general supervision of all matters properly appertaining to the grant therein made is placed in the officer of engineers, Major C.B. Comstock, detailed by the Secretary of War, under the provisions of the said act, to report to him "the depth of water and width of channel secured and maintained from time to time in said channel, together with such other information as the Secretary of War may direct."

2. Protection of the interests of the United States so far as the taking of material is concerned.--Said Eads and his associates shall, prior to taking material from any public lands, obtain authority to do so from the Secretary of War, their applications specifying the kinds and amounts of material they wish to take from each subdivision of the public lands; and they shall at once cease from such taking on being notified that the authority is withdrawn.

3. Protection of the interests of the United States so far as structures are concerned.--Said Eads and his associates and contractors are authorized to erect, at their own expense, such shops, dwellings, storehouses, and wharves on the military reservation at the mouth of the Mississippi as may be necessary for the prosecution of the work, and shall furnish a list and plan showing the location of the same to the Secretary of War; but these shall be erected in such a way and at such places as not unnecessarily to interfere with navigation or any other interest in which the United States is concerned, whereof the Secretary of War shall be the judge. At his direction any such structure shall be at once removed.

4. Protection of James B. Eads's interests.--No person save said Eads and his contractors shall erect any building, tent, or other habitation on the military reservation at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Any person so doing may be summarily ejected by the United States marshal or his deputy. But as authority has already been given to James B. Eads by the Secretary of War to collect the material aforesaid until he should be furnished with the regulations as now herein given, the said Eads is authorized to continue collecting materials under that authority until the 1st day of September, 1875, after which time these regulations will go into effect.

U.S. GRANT.

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 73.

WAR DEPARTMENT,

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

Washington, August 2, 1875.

I. The following order has been received from the President of the United States:

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, July 31, 1875.

It becomes the painful duty of the President to announce to the people of the United States the death of Andrew Johnson, the last survivor of his honored predecessors, which occurred in Carter County, East Tennessee, at an early hour this morning.

The solemnity of the occasion which called him to the Presidency, with the varied nature and length of his public services, will cause him to be long remembered and occasion mourning for the death of a distinguished public servant.

As a mark of respect for the memory of the deceased, it is ordered that the Executive Mansion and several Departments of the Government at Washington be draped in mourning until the close of the day designated for his funeral, and that all public business be suspended on that day.

It is further ordered that the War and Navy Departments cause suitable honors to be paid on the occasion to the memory of the illustrious dead.

U.S. GRANT.

By the President: JOHN L. CADWALADER, Acting Secretary of State.

II. In compliance with the President's instructions, the troops will be paraded at 10 o'clock a.m. on the day after the receipt of this order at each military post, when the order will be read to them, and the labors of that day will thereafter 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-seven guns.

The officers of the Army will wear crape on the left arm and on their swords and the colors of the several regiments will be put in mourning for the period of thirty days.

By order of the Secretary of War:

E.D. TOWNSEND, Adjutant-General.

SPECIAL ORDER.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, August 2, 1875.

The President of the United States announces the death of ex-President Andrew Johnson in the following order:

In pursuance of the foregoing order, it is hereby directed that the ensign at each naval station and of each vessel of the United States Navy in commission be hoisted at half-mast from sunrise to sunset, and that a gun be fired at intervals of every half hour from sunrise to sunset at each naval station and on board of flagships and of vessels acting singly, on Tuesday, the 3d instant, the day of the funeral, where this order may be received in time, otherwise on the day after its receipt.

The officers of the Navy and Marine Corps will wear the usual badge of mourning attached to the sword hilt and on the left arm for the period of thirty days.

DANIEL AMMEN, Acting Secretary of the Navy.

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 97.

WAR DEPARTMENT,

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

Washington, November 22, 1875.

I. The following order announces the decease of Henry Wilson, Vice-President of the United States:

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, November 22, 1875.

It is with profound sorrow that the President has to announce to the people of the United States the death of the Vice-President, Henry Wilson, who died in the Capitol of the nation this morning.

The eminent station of the deceased, his high character, his long career in the service of his State and of the Union, his devotion to the cause of freedom, and the ability which he brought to the discharge of every duty stand conspicuous and are indelibly impressed on the hearts and affections of the American people.

In testimony of respect for this distinguished citizen and faithful public servant the various Departments of the Government will be closed on the day of the funeral, and the Executive Mansion and all the Executive Departments in Washington will be draped with badges of mourning for thirty days.

The Secretaries of War and of the Navy will issue orders that appropriate military and naval honors be rendered to the memory of one whose virtues and services will long be borne in recollection by a grateful nation.

U.S. GRANT.

By the President: HAMILTON FISH, Secretary of State.

II. On the day next succeeding the receipt of this order at each military post the troops will be paraded at 10 o'clock a. m. and this order read to them.

The national flag will be displayed at half-staff.

At dawn of day thirteen guns will be fired. Commencing at 12 o'clock noon seventeen minute guns will be fired, and at the close of the day the national salute of thirty-seven guns.

The usual badge of mourning will be worn by officers of the Army and the colors of the several regiments will be put in mourning for the period of three months.

By order of the Secretary of War:

E.D. TOWNSEND, Adjutant-General.

SPECIAL ORDER.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, November 23, 1875.

The President of the United States announces the death of Vice-President Henry Wilson in the following order:

In pursuance of the foregoing order, it is hereby directed that upon the day following the receipt of this the ensign at each United States naval station and of each United States naval vessel in commission be hoisted at half-mast from sunrise to sunset, and that thirteen guns be fired at sunrise, nineteen minute guns at meridian, and a national salute at sunset at each United States naval station and on board flagships and vessels acting singly, at home or abroad.

The officers of the Navy and Marine Corps will wear the usual badge of mourning for three months.

GEO. M. ROBESON, Secretary of the Navy.

SEVENTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, December 7, 1875.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

In submitting my seventh annual message to Congress, in this centennial year of our national existence as a free and independent people, it affords me great pleasure to recur to the advancement that has been made from the time of the colonies, one hundred years ago. We were then a people numbering only 3,000,000. Now we number more than 40,000,000. Then industries were confined almost exclusively to the tillage of the soil. Now manufactories absorb much of the labor of the country.

Our liberties remain unimpaired; the bondmen have been freed from slavery; we have become possessed of the respect, if not the friendship, of all civilized nations. Our progress has been great in all the arts--in science, agriculture, commerce, navigation, mining, mechanics, law, medicine, etc,: and in general education the progress is likewise encouraging. Our thirteen States have become thirty-eight, including Colorado (which has taken the initiatory steps to become a State), and eight Territories, including the Indian Territory and Alaska, and excluding Colorado, making a territory extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. On the south we have extended to the Gulf of Mexico, and in the west from the Mississippi to the Pacific.

One hundred years ago the cotton gin, the steamship, the railroad, the telegraph, the reaping, sewing, and modern printing machines, and numerous other inventions of scarcely less value to our business and happiness were entirely unknown.

In 1776 manufactories scarcely existed even in name in all this vast territory. In 1870 more than 2,000,000 persons were employed in manufactories, producing more than $2,100,000,000 of products in amount annually, nearly equal to our national debt. From nearly the whole of the population of 1776 being engaged in the one occupation of agriculture, in 1870 so numerous and diversified had become the occupation of our people that less than 6,000,000 out of more than 40,000,000 were so engaged. The extraordinary effect produced in our country by a resort to diversified occupations has built a market for the products of fertile lands distant from the seaboard and the markets of the world.

The American system of locating various and extensive manufactories next to the plow and the pasture, and adding connecting railroads and steamboats, has produced in our distant interior country a result noticeable by the intelligent portions of all commercial nations. The ingenuity and skill of American mechanics have been demonstrated at home and abroad in a manner most flattering to their pride. But for the extraordinary genius and ability of our mechanics, the achievements of our agriculturists, manufacturers, and transporters throughout the country would have been impossible of attainment.

The progress of the miner has also been great. Of coal our production was small; now many millions of tons are mined annually. So with iron, which formed scarcely an appreciable part of our products half a century ago, we now produce more than the world consumed at the beginning of our national existence. Lead, zinc, and copper, from being articles of import, we may expect to be large exporters of in the near future. The development of gold and silver mines in the United States and Territories has not only been remarkable, but has had a large influence upon the business of all commercial nations. Our merchants in the last hundred years have had a success and have established a reputation for enterprise, sagacity, progress, and integrity unsurpassed by peoples of older nationalities. This "good name" is not confined to their homes, but goes out upon every sea and into every port where commerce enters. With equal pride we can point to our progress in all of the learned professions.

As we are now about to enter upon our second centennial--commencing our manhood as a nation--it is well to look back upon the past and study what will be best to preserve and advance our future greatness. From the fall of Adam for his transgression to the present day no nation has ever been free from threatened danger to its prosperity and happiness. We should look to the dangers threatening us, and remedy them so far as lies in our power. We are a republic whereof one man is as good as another before the law. Under such a form of government it is of the greatest importance that all should be possessed of education and intelligence enough to cast a vote with a right understanding of its meaning. A large association of ignorant men can not for any considerable period oppose a successful resistance to tyranny and oppression from the educated few, but will inevitably sink into acquiescence to the will of intelligence, whether directed by the demagogue or by priestcraft. Hence the education of the masses becomes of the first necessity for the preservation of our institutions. They are worth preserving, because they have secured the greatest good to the greatest proportion of the population of any form of government yet devised. All other forms of government approach it just in proportion to the general diffusion of education and independence of thought and action. As the primary step, therefore, to our advancement in all that has marked our progress in the past century, I suggest for your earnest consideration, and most earnestly recommend it, that a constitutional amendment be submitted to the legislatures of the several States for ratification, making it the duty of each of the several States to establish and forever maintain free public schools adequate to the education of all the children in the rudimentary branches within their respective limits, irrespective of sex, color, birthplace, or religions; forbidding the teaching in said schools of religious, atheistic, or pagan tenets; and prohibiting the granting of any school funds or school taxes, or any part thereof, either by legislative, municipal, or other authority, for the benefit or in aid, directly or indirectly, of any religious sect or denomination, or in aid or for the benefit of any other object of any nature or kind whatever.

In connection with this important question I would also call your attention to the importance of correcting an evil that, if permitted to continue, will probably lead to great trouble in our land before the close of the nineteenth century. It is the accumulation of vast amounts of untaxed church property.

In 1850, I believe, the church property of the United States which paid no tax, municipal or State, amounted to about $83,000,000. In 1860 the amount had doubled; in 1875 it is about $1,000,000,000. By 1900, without check, it is safe to say this property will reach a sum exceeding $3,000,000,000. So vast a sum, receiving all the protection and benefits of Government without bearing its proportion of the burdens and expenses of the same, will not be looked upon acquiescently by those who have to pay the taxes. In a growing country, where real estate enhances so rapidly with time, as in the United States, there is scarcely a limit to the wealth that may be acquired by corporations, religious or otherwise, if allowed to retain real estate without taxation. The contemplation of so vast a property as here alluded to, without taxation, may lead to sequestration without constitutional authority and through blood.

I would suggest the taxation of all property equally, whether church or corporation, exempting only the last resting place of the dead and possibly, with proper restrictions, church edifices.

Our relations with most of the foreign powers continue on a satisfactory and friendly footing.

Increased intercourse, the extension of commerce, and the cultivation of mutual interests have steadily improved our relations with the large majority of the powers of the world, rendering practicable the peaceful solution of questions which from time to time necessarily arise, leaving few which demand extended or particular notice.

The correspondence of the Department of State with our diplomatic representatives abroad is transmitted herewith.

I am happy to announce the passage of an act by the General Cortes of Portugal, proclaimed since the adjournment of Congress, for the abolition of servitude in the Portuguese colonies. It is to be hoped that such legislation may be another step toward the great consummation to be reached, when no man shall be permitted, directly or indirectly, under any guise, excuse, or form of law, to hold his fellow-man in bondage. I am of opinion also that it is the duty of the United States, as contributing toward that end, and required by the spirit of the age in which we live, to provide by suitable legislation that no citizen of the United States shall hold slaves as property in any other country or be interested therein.

Chile has made reparation in the case of the whale ship Good Return, seized without sufficient cause upward of forty years ago. Though she had hitherto denied her accountability, the denial was never acquiesced in by this Government, and the justice of the claim has been so earnestly contended for that it has been gratifying that she should have at last acknowledged it.

The arbitrator in the case of the United States steamer Montijo, for the seizure and detention of which the Government of the United States of Colombia was held accountable, has decided in favor of the claim. This decision has settled a question which had been pending for several years, and which, while it continued open, might more or less disturb the good understanding which it is desirable should be maintained between the two Republics.

A reciprocity treaty with the King of the Hawaiian Islands was concluded some months since. As it contains a stipulation that it shall not take effect until Congress shall enact the proper legislation for that purpose, copies of the instrument are herewith submitted, in order that, if such should be the pleasure of Congress, the necessary legislation upon the subject may be adopted.

In March last an arrangement was made, through Mr. Cushing, our minister in Madrid, with the Spanish Government for the payment by the latter to the United States of the sum of $80,000 in coin, for the purpose of the relief of the families or persons of the ship's company and certain passengers of the Virginius. This sum was to have been paid in three installments at two months each. It is due to the Spanish Government that I should state that the payments were fully and spontaneously anticipated by that Government, and that the whole amount was paid within but a few days more than two months from the date of the agreement, a copy of which is herewith transmitted. In pursuance of the terms of the adjustment, I have directed the distribution of the amount among the parties entitled thereto, including the ship's company and such of the passengers as were American citizens. Payments are made accordingly, on the application by the parties entitled thereto.

The past year has furnished no evidence of an approaching termination of the ruinous conflict which has been raging for seven years in the neighboring island of Cuba. The same disregard of the laws of civilized warfare and of the just demands of humanity which has heretofore called forth expressions of condemnation from the nations of Christendom has continued to blacken the sad scene. Desolation, ruin, and pillage are pervading the rich fields of one of the most fertile and productive regions of the earth, and the incendiary's torch, firing plantations and valuable factories and buildings, is the agent marking the alternate advance or retreat of contending parties.

The protracted continuance of this strife seriously affects the interests of all commercial nations, but those of the United States more than others, by reason of close proximity, its larger trade and intercourse with Cuba, and the frequent and intimate personal and social relations which have grown up between its citizens and those of the island. Moreover, the property of our citizens in Cuba is large, and is rendered insecure and depreciated in value and in capacity of production by the continuance of the strife and the unnatural mode of its conduct. The same is true, differing only in degree, with respect to the interests and people of other nations; and the absence of any reasonable assurance of a near termination of the conflict must of necessity soon compel the States thus suffering to consider what the interests of their own people and their duty toward themselves may demand.

I have hoped that Spain would be enabled to establish peace in her colony, to afford security to the property and the interests of our citizens, and allow legitimate scope to trade and commerce and the natural productions of the island. Because of this hope, and from an extreme reluctance to interfere in the most remote manner in the affairs of another and a friendly nation, especially of one whose sympathy and friendship in the struggling infancy of our own existence must ever be remembered with gratitude, I have patiently and anxiously waited the progress of events. Our own civil conflict is too recent for us not to consider the difficulties which surround a government distracted by a dynastic rebellion at home at the same time that it has to cope with a separate insurrection in a distant colony. But whatever causes may have produced the situation which so grievously affects our interests, it exists, with all its attendant evils operating directly upon this country and its people. Thus far all the efforts of Spain have proved abortive, and time has marked no improvement in the situation. The armed bands of either side now occupy nearly the same ground as in the past, with the difference, from time to time, of more lives sacrificed, more property destroyed, and wider extents of fertile and productive fields and more and more of valuable property constantly wantonly sacrificed to the incendiary's torch.

In contests of this nature, where a considerable body of people who have attempted to free themselves of the control of the superior government have reached such point in occupation of territory, in power, and in general organization as to constitute in fact a body politic; having a government in substance as well as in name; possessed of the elements of stability and equipped with the machinery for the administration of internal policy and the execution of its laws; prepared and able to administer justice at home, as well as in its dealings with other powers, it is within the province of those other powers to recognize its existence as a new and independent nation. In such cases other nations simply deal with an actually existing condition of things, and recognize as one of the powers of the earth that body politic which, possessing the necessary elements, has in fact become a new power. In a word, the creation of a new state is a fact.

To establish the condition of things essential to the recognition of this fact there must be a people occupying a known territory, united under some known and defined form of government, acknowledged by those subject thereto, in which the functions of government are administered by usual methods, competent to mete out justice to citizens and strangers, to afford remedies for public and for private wrongs, and able to assume the correlative international obligations and capable of performing the corresponding international duties resulting from its acquisition of the rights of sovereignty. A power should exist complete in its organization, ready to take and able to maintain its place among the nations of the earth.

While conscious that the insurrection in Cuba has shown a strength and endurance which make it at least doubtful whether it be in the power of Spain to subdue it, it seems unquestionable that no such civil organization exists which may be recognized as an independent government capable of performing its international obligations and entitled to be treated as one of the powers of the earth. A recognition under such circumstances would be inconsistent with the facts, and would compel the power granting it soon to support by force the government to which it had really given its only claim of existence. In my judgment the United States should adhere to the policy and the principles which have heretofore been its sure and safe guides in like contests between revolted colonies and their mother country, and, acting only upon the clearest evidence, should avoid any possibility of suspicion or of imputation.

A recognition of the independence of Cuba being, in my opinion, impracticable and indefensible, the question which next presents itself is that of the recognition of belligerent rights in the parties to the contest. In a former message to Congress I had occasion to consider this question, and reached the conclusion that the conflict in Cuba, dreadful and devastating as were its incidents, did not rise to the fearful dignity of war. Regarding it now, after this lapse of time, I am unable to see that any notable success or any marked or real advance on the part of the insurgents has essentially changed the character of the contest. It has acquired greater age, but not greater or more formidable proportions. It is possible that the acts of foreign powers, and even acts of Spain herself, of this very nature, might be pointed to in defense of such recognition. But now, as in its past-history, the United States should carefully avoid the false lights which might lead it into the mazes of doubtful law and of questionable propriety, and adhere rigidly and sternly to the rule, which has been its guide, of doing only that which is right and honest and of good report. The question of according or of withholding rights of belligerency must be judged in every case in view of the particular attending facts. Unless justified by necessity, it is always, and justly, regarded as an unfriendly act and a gratuitous demonstration of moral support to the rebellion. It is necessary, and it is required, when the interests and rights of another government or of its people are so far affected by a pending civil conflict as to require a definition of its relations to the parties thereto. But this conflict must be one which will be recognized in the sense of international law as war. Belligerence, too, is a fact. The mere existence of contending armed bodies and their occasional conflicts do not constitute war in the sense referred to. Applying to the existing condition of affairs in Cuba the tests recognized by publicists and writers on international law, and which have been observed by nations of dignity, honesty, and power when free from sensitive or selfish and unworthy motives, I fail to find in the insurrection the existence of such a substantial political organization, real, palpable, and manifest to the world, having the forms and capable of the ordinary functions of government coward its own people and to other states, with courts for the administration of justice, with a local habitation, possessing such organization of force, such material, such occupation of territory, as to take the contest out of the category of a mere rebellious insurrection or occasional skirmishes and place it on the terrible footing of war, to which a recognition of belligerency would aim to elevate it. The contest, moreover, is solely on land; the insurrection has not possessed itself of a single seaport whence it may send forth its flag, nor has it any means of communication with foreign powers except through the military lines of its adversaries. No apprehension of any of those sudden and difficult complications which a war upon the ocean is apt to precipitate upon the vessels, both commercial and national, and upon the consular officers of other powers calls for the definition of their relations to the parties to the contest. Considered as a question of expediency, I regard the accordance of belligerent rights still to be as unwise and premature as I regard it to be, at present, indefensible as a measure of right. Such recognition entails upon the country according the rights which flow from it difficult and complicated duties, and requires the exaction from the contending parties of the strict observance of their rights and obligations; it confers the right of search upon the high seas by vessels of both parties; it would subject the carrying of arms and munitions of war, which now may be transported freely and without interruption in the vessels of the United States, to detention and to possible seizure; it would give rise to countless vexatious questions, would release the parent Government from responsibility for acts done by the insurgents, and would invest Spain with the right to exercise the supervision recognized by our treaty of 1795 over our commerce on the high seas, a very large part of which, in its traffic between the Atlantic and the Gulf States and between all of them and the States on the Pacific, passes through the waters which wash the shores of Cuba. The exercise of this supervision could scarce fail to lead, if not to abuses, certainly to collisions perilous to the peaceful relations of the two States. There can be little doubt to what result such supervision would before long draw this nation. It would be unworthy of the United States to inaugurate the possibilities of such result by measures of questionable right or expediency or by any indirection. Apart from any question of theoretical right, I am satisfied that while the accordance of belligerent rights to the insurgents in Cuba might give them a hope and an inducement to protract the struggle, it would be but a delusive hope, and would not remove the evils which this Government and its people are experiencing, but would draw the United States into complications which it has waited long and already suffered much to avoid. The recognition of independence or of belligerency being thus, in my judgment, equally inadmissible, it remains to consider what course shall be adopted should the conflict not soon be brought to an end by acts of the parties themselves, and should the evils which result therefrom, affecting all nations, and particularly the United States, continue. In such event I am of opinion that other nations will be compelled to assume the responsibility which devolves upon them, and to seriously consider the only remaining measures possible--mediation and intervention. Owing, perhaps, to the large expanse of water separating the island from the peninsula, the want of harmony and of personal sympathy between the inhabitants of the colony and those sent thither to rule them, and want of adaptation of the ancient colonial system of Europe to the present times and to the ideas which the events of the past century have developed, the contending parties appear to have within themselves no depository of common confidence to suggest wisdom when passion and excitement have their sway and to assume the part of peacemaker. In this view in the earlier days of the contest the good offices of the United States as a mediator were tendered in good faith, without any selfish purpose, in the interest of humanity and in sincere friendship for both parties, but were at the time declined by Spain, with the declaration, nevertheless, that at a future time they would be indispensable. No intimation has been received that in the opinion of Spain that time has been reached. And yet the strife continues, with all its dread horrors and all its injuries to the interests of the United States and of other nations. Each party seems quite capable of working great injury and damage to the other, as well as to all the relations and interests dependent on the existence of peace in the island; but they seem incapable of reaching any adjustment, and both have thus far failed of achieving any success whereby one party shall possess and control the island to the exclusion of the other. Under these circumstances the agency of others, either by mediation or by intervention, seems to be the only alternative which must, sooner or later, be invoked for the termination of the strife. At the same time, while thus impressed I do not at this time recommend the adoption of any measure of intervention. I shall be ready at all times, and as the equal friend of both parties, to respond to a suggestion that the good offices of the United States will be acceptable to aid in bringing about a peace honorable to both. It is due to Spain, so far as this Government is concerned, that the agency of a third power, to which I have adverted, shall be adopted only as a last expedient. Had it been the desire of the United States to interfere in the affairs of Cuba, repeated opportunities for so doing have been presented within the last few years; but we have remained passive, and have performed our whole duty and all international obligations to Spain with friendship, fairness, and fidelity, and with a spirit of patience and forbearance which negatives every possible suggestion of desire to interfere or to add to the difficulties with which she has been surrounded.

The Government of Spain has recently submitted to our minister at Madrid certain proposals which it is hoped may be found to be the basis, if not the actual submission, of terms to meet the requirements of the particular griefs of which this Government has felt itself entitled to complain. These proposals have not yet reached me in their full text. On their arrival they will be taken into careful examination, and may, I hope, lead to a satisfactory adjustment of the questions to which they refer and remove the possibility of future occurrences such as have given rise to our just complaints.

It is understood also that renewed efforts are being made to introduce reforms in the internal administration of the island. Persuaded, however, that a proper regard for the interests of the United States and of its citizens entitles it to relief from the strain to which it has been subjected by the difficulties of the questions and the wrongs and losses which arise from the contest in Cuba, and that the interests of humanity itself demand the cessation of the strife before the whole island shall be laid waste and larger sacrifices of life be made, I shall feel it my duty, should my hopes of a satisfactory adjustment and of the early restoration of peace and the removal of future causes of complaint be, unhappily, disappointed, to make a further communication to Congress at some period not far remote, and during the present session, recommending what may then seem to me to be necessary.

The free zone, so called, several years since established by the Mexican Government in certain of the States of that Republic adjacent to our frontier, remains in full operation. It has always been materially injurious to honest traffic, for it operates as an incentive to traders in Mexico to supply without customs charges the wants of inhabitants on this side of the line, and prevents the same wants from being supplied by merchants of the United States, thereby to a considerable extent defrauding our revenue and checking honest commercial enterprise.

Depredations by armed bands from Mexico on the people of Texas near the frontier continue. Though the main object of these incursions is robbery, they frequently result in the murder of unarmed and peaceably disposed persons, and in some instances even the United States post-offices and mail communications have been attacked. Renewed remonstrances upon this subject have been addressed to the Mexican Government, but without much apparent effect. The military force of this Government disposable for service in that quarter is quite inadequate to effectually guard the line, even at those points where the incursions are usually made. An experiment of an armed vessel on the Rio Grande for that purpose is on trial, and it is hoped that, if not thwarted by the shallowness of the river and other natural obstacles, it may materially contribute to the protection of the herdsmen of Texas.

The proceedings of the joint commission under the convention between the United States and Mexico of the 4th of July, 1868, on the subject of claims, will soon be brought to a close. The result of those proceedings will then be communicated to Congress.

I am happy to announce that the Government of Venezuela has, upon further consideration, practically abandoned its objection to pay to the United States that share of its revenue which some years since it allotted toward the extinguishment of the claims of foreigners generally. In thus reconsidering its determination that Government has shown a just sense of self-respect which can not fail to reflect credit upon it in the eyes of all disinterested persons elsewhere. It is to be regretted, however, that its payments on account of claims of citizens of the United States are still so meager in amount, and that the stipulations of the treaty in regard to the sums to be paid and the periods when those payments were to take place should have been so signally disregarded.

Since my last annual message the exchange has been made of the ratification of a treaty of commerce and navigation with Belgium, and of conventions with the Mexican Republic for the further extension of the joint commission respecting claims; with the Hawaiian Islands for commercial reciprocity, and with the Ottoman Empire for extradition; all of which have been duly proclaimed.

The Court of Commissioners of Alabama Claims has prosecuted its important duties very assiduously and very satisfactorily. It convened and was organized on the 22d day of July, 1874, and by the terms of the act under which it was created was to exist for one year from that date. The act provided, however, that should it be found impracticable to complete the work of the court before the expiration of the year the President might by proclamation extend the time of its duration to a period not more than six months beyond the expiration of the one year.

Having received satisfactory evidence that it would be impracticable to complete the work within the time originally fixed, I issued a proclamation (a copy of which is presented herewith) extending the time of duration of the court for a period of six months from and after the 22d day of July last.

A report made through the clerk of the court (communicated herewith) shows the condition of the calendar on the 1st of November last and the large amount of work which has been accomplished. One thousand three hundred and eighty-two claims have been presented, of which 682 had been disposed of at the date of the report. I am informed that 170 cases were decided during the month of November. Arguments are being made and decisions given in the remaining cases with all the dispatch consistent with the proper consideration of the questions submitted. Many of these claims are in behalf of mariners, or depend on the evidence of mariners, whose absence has delayed the taking or the return of the necessary evidence.

It is represented to me that it will be impracticable for the court to finally dispose of all the cases before it within the present limit of its duration. Justice to the parties claimant, who have been at large expense in preparing their claims and obtaining the evidence in their support, suggests a short extension, to enable the court to dispose of all of the claims which have been presented.

I recommend the legislation which may be deemed proper to enable the court to complete the work before it.

I recommend that some suitable provision be made, by the creation of a special court or by conferring the necessary jurisdiction upon some appropriate tribunal, for the consideration and determination of the claims of aliens against the Government of the United States which have arisen within some reasonable limitation of time, or which may hereafter arise, excluding all claims barred by treaty provisions or otherwise. It has been found impossible to give proper consideration to these claims by the Executive Departments of the Government. Such a tribunal would afford an opportunity to aliens other than British subjects to present their claims on account of acts committed against their persons or property during the rebellion, as also to those subjects of Great Britain whose claims, having arisen subsequent to the 9th day of April, 1865, could not be presented to the late commission organized pursuant to the provisions of the treaty of Washington.

The electric telegraph has become an essential and indispensable agent in the transmission of business and social messages. Its operation on land, and within the limit of particular states, is necessarily under the control of the jurisdiction within which it operates. The lines on the high seas, however, are not subject to the particular control of any one government.

In 1869 a concession was granted by the French Government to a company which proposed to lay a cable from the shores of France to the United States. At that time there was a telegraphic connection between the United States and the continent of Europe (through the possessions of Great Britain at either end of the line), under the control of an association which had, at large outlay of capital and at great risk, demonstrated the practicability of maintaining such means of communication. The cost of correspondence by this agency was great, possibly not too large at the time for a proper remuneration for so hazardous and so costly an enterprise. It was, however, a heavy charge upon a means of communication which the progress in the social and commercial intercourse of the world found to be a necessity, and the obtaining of this French concession showed that other capital than that already invested was ready to enter into competition, with assurance of adequate return for their outlay. Impressed with the conviction that the interests, not only of the people of the United States, but of the world at large, demanded, or would demand, the multiplication of such means of communication between separated continents, I was desirous that the proposed connection should be made; but certain provisions of this concession were deemed by me to be objectionable, particularly one which gave for a long term of years the exclusive right of telegraphic communication by submarine cable between the shores of France and the United States. I could not concede that any power should claim the right to land a cable on the shores of the United States and at the same time deny to the United States, or to its citizens or grantees, an equal right to land a cable on its shores. The right to control the conditions for the laying of a cable within the jurisdictional waters of the United States, to connect our shores with those of any foreign state, pertains exclusively to the Government of the United States, under such limitations and conditions as Congress may impose. In the absence of legislation by Congress I was unwilling, on the one hand, to yield to a foreign state the right to say that its grantees might land on our shores while it denied a similar right to our people to land on its shores, and, on the other hand, I was reluctant to deny to the great interests of the world and of civilization the facilities of such communication as were proposed. I therefore withheld any resistance to the landing of the cable on condition that the offensive monopoly feature of the concession be abandoned, and that the right of any cable which may be established by authority of this Government to land upon French territory and to connect with French land lines and enjoy all the necessary facilities or privileges incident to the use thereof upon as favorable terms as any other company be conceded. As the result thereof the company in question renounced the exclusive privilege, and the representative of France was informed that, understanding this relinquishment to be construed as granting the entire reciprocity and equal facilities which had been demanded, the opposition to the landing of the cable was withdrawn. The cable, under this French concession, was landed in the month of July, 1869, and has been an efficient and valuable agent of communication between this country and the other continent. It soon passed under the control, however, of those who had the management of the cable connecting Great Britain with this continent, and thus whatever benefit to the public might have ensued from competition between the two lines was lost, leaving only the greater facilities of an additional line and the additional security in case of accident to one of them. But these increased facilities and this additional security, together with the control of the combined capital of the two companies, gave also greater power to prevent the future construction of other lines and to limit the control of telegraphic communication between the two continents to those possessing the lines already laid. Within a few months past a cable has been laid, known as the United States Direct Cable Company, connecting the United States directly with Great Britain. As soon as this cable was reported to be laid and in working order the rates of the then existing consolidated companies were greatly reduced. Soon, however, a break was announced in this new cable, and immediately the rates of the other line, which had been reduced, were again raised. This cable being now repaired, the rates appear not to be reduced by either line from those formerly charged by the consolidated companies.

There is reason to believe that large amounts of capital, both at home and abroad, are ready to seek profitable investment in the advancement of this useful and most civilizing means of intercourse and correspondence. They await, however, the assurance of the means and conditions on which they may safely be made tributary to the general good.

As these cable telegraph lines connect separate states, there are questions as to their organization and control which probably can be best, if not solely, settled by conventions between the respective states. In the absence, however, of international conventions on the subject, municipal legislation may secure many points which appear to me important, if not indispensable for the protection of the public against the extortions which may result from a monopoly of the right of operating cable telegrams or from a combination between several lines:

I. No line should be allowed to land on the shores of the United States under the concession from another power which does not admit the right of any other line or lines, formed in the United States, to land and freely connect with and operate through its land lines.

II. No line should be allowed to land on the shores of the United States which is not, by treaty stipulation with the government from whose shores it proceeds, or by prohibition in its charter, or otherwise to the satisfaction of this Government, prohibited from consolidating or amalgamating with any other cable telegraph line, or combining therewith for the purpose of regulating and maintaining the cost of telegraphing.

III. All lines should be bound to give precedence in the transmission of the official messages of the governments of the two countries between which it may be laid.

IV. A power should be reserved to the two governments, either conjointly or to each, as regards the messages dispatched from its shores, to fix a limit to the charges to be demanded for the transmission of messages.

I present this subject to the earnest consideration of Congress.

In the meantime, and unless Congress otherwise direct, I shall not oppose the landing of any telegraphic cable which complies with and assents to the points above enumerated, but will feel it my duty to prevent the landing of any which does not conform to the first and second points as stated, and which will not stipulate to concede to this Government the precedence in the transmission of its official messages and will not enter into a satisfactory arrangement with regard to its charges.

Among the pressing and important subjects to which, in my opinion, the attention of Congress should be directed are those relating to fraudulent naturalization and expatriation.

The United States, with great liberality, offers its citizenship to all who in good faith comply with the requirements of law. These requirements are as simple and upon as favorable terms to the emigrant as the high privilege to which he is admitted can or should permit. I do not propose any additional requirements to those which the law now demands; but the very simplicity and the want of unnecessary formality in our law have made fraudulent naturalization not infrequent, to the discredit and injury of all honest citizens, whether native or naturalized. Cases of this character are continually being brought to the notice of the Government by our representatives abroad, and also those of persons resident in other countries, most frequently those who, if they have remained in this country long enough to entitle them to become naturalized, have generally not much overpassed that period, and have returned to the country of their origin, where they reside, avoiding all duties to the United States by their absence, and claiming to be exempt from all duties to the country of their nativity and of their residence by reason of their alleged naturalization. It is due to this Government itself and to the great mass of the naturalized citizens who entirely, both in name and in fact, become citizens of the United States that the high privilege of citizenship of the United States should not be held by fraud or in derogation of the laws and of the good name of every honest citizen. On many occasions it has been brought to the knowledge of the Government that certificates of naturalization are held and protection or interference claimed by parties who admit that not only they were not within the United States at the time of the pretended naturalization, but that they have never resided in the United States; in others the certificate and record of the court show on their face that the person claiming to be naturalized had not resided the required time in the United States; in others it is admitted upon examination that the requirements of law have not been complied with; in some cases, even, such certificates have been matter of purchase. These are not isolated cases, arising at rare intervals, but of common occurrence, and which are reported from all quarters of the globe. Such occurrences can not, and do not, fail to reflect upon the Government and injure all honest citizens. Such a fraud being discovered, however, there is no practicable means within the control of the Government by which the record of naturalization can be vacated; and should the certificate be taken up, as it usually is, by the diplomatic and consular representatives of the Government to whom it may have been presented, there is nothing to prevent the person claiming to have been naturalized from obtaining a new certificate from the court in place of that which has been taken from him.

The evil has become so great and of such frequent occurrence that I can not too earnestly recommend that some effective measures be adopted to provide a proper remedy and means for the vacating of any record thus fraudulently made, and of punishing the guilty parties to the transaction.

In this connection I refer also to the question of expatriation and the election of nationality.

The United States was foremost in upholding the right of expatriation, and was principally instrumental in overthrowing the doctrine of perpetual allegiance. Congress has declared the right of expatriation to be a natural and inherent right of all people; but while many other nations have enacted laws providing what formalities shall be necessary to work a change of allegiance, the United States has enacted no provisions of law and has in no respect marked out how and when expatriation may be accomplished by its citizens. Instances are brought to the attention of the Government where citizens of the United States, either naturalized or native born, have formally become citizens or subjects of foreign powers, but who, nevertheless, in the absence of any provisions of legislation on this question, when involved in difficulties or when it seems to be their interest, claim to be citizens of the United States and demand the intervention of a Government which they have long since abandoned and to which for years they have rendered no service nor held themselves in any way amenable.

In other cases naturalized citizens, immediately after naturalization, have returned to their native country; have become engaged in business; have accepted offices or pursuits inconsistent with American citizenship, and evidence no intent to return to the United States until called upon to discharge some duty to the country where they are residing, when at once they assert their citizenship and call upon the representatives of the Government to aid them in their unjust pretensions. It is but justice to all bona fide citizens that no doubt should exist on such questions, and that Congress should determine by enactment of law how expatriation may be accomplished and change of citizenship be established.

I also invite your attention to the necessity of regulating by law the status of American women who may marry foreigners, and of defining more fully that of children born in a foreign country of American parents who may reside abroad; and also of some further provision regulating or giving legal effect to marriages of American citizens contracted in foreign countries. The correspondence submitted herewith shows a few of the constantly occurring questions on these points presented to the consideration of the Government. There are few subjects to engage the attention of Congress on which more delicate relations or more important interests are dependent.

In the month of July last the building erected for the Department of State was taken possession of and occupied by that Department. I am happy to announce that the archives and valuable papers of the Government in the custody of that Department are now safely deposited and properly cared for.

The report of the Secretary of the Treasury shows the receipts from customs for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874, to have been $163,103,833.69, and for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875, to have been $157,167,722.35, a decrease for the last fiscal year of $5,936,111.34. Receipts from internal revenue for the year ending the 30th of June, 1874, were $102,409,784.90, and for the year ending June 30, 1875, $110,007,493.58; increase, $7,597,708.68.

The report also shows a complete history of the workings of the Department for the last year, and contains recommendations for reforms and for legislation which I concur in, but can not comment on so fully as I should like to do if space would permit, but will confine myself to a few suggestions which I look upon as vital to the best interests of the whole people--coining within the purview of "Treasury;" I mean specie resumption. Too much stress can not be laid upon this question, and I hope Congress may be induced, at the earliest day practicable, to insure the consummation of the act of the last Congress, at its last session, to bring about specie resumption "on and after the 1st of January, 1879," at furthest. It would be a great blessing if this could be consummated even at an earlier day.

Nothing seems to me more certain than that a full, healthy, and permanent reaction can not take place in favor of the industries and financial welfare of the country until we return to a measure of values recognized throughout the civilized world. While we use a currency not equivalent to this standard the world's recognized standard, specie, becomes a commodity like the products of the soil, the surplus seeking a market wherever there is a demand for it.

Under our present system we should want none, nor would we have any, were it not that customs dues must be paid in coin and because of the pledge to pay interest on the public debt in coin. The yield of precious metals would flow out for the purchase of foreign productions and leave the United States "hewers of wood and drawers of water," because of wiser legislation on the subject of finance by the nations with whom we have dealings. I am not prepared to say that I can suggest the best legislation to secure the end most heartily recommended. It will be a source of great gratification to me to be able to approve any measure of Congress looking effectively toward securing "resumption."

Unlimited inflation would probably bring about specie payments more speedily than any legislation looking to redemption of the legal-tenders in coin; but it would be at the expense of honor. The legal-tenders would have no value beyond settling present liabilities, or, properly speaking, repudiating them. They would buy nothing after debts were all settled.

There are a few measures which seem to me important in this connection and which I commend to your earnest consideration:

A repeal of so much of the legal-tender act as makes these notes receivable for debts contracted after a date to be fixed in the act itself, say not later than the 1st of January, 1877. We should then have quotations at real values, not fictitious ones. Gold would no longer be at a premium, but currency at a discount. A healthy reaction would set in at once, and with it a desire to make the currency equal to what it purports to be. The merchants, manufacturers, and tradesmen of every calling could do business on a fair margin of profit, the money to be received having an unvarying value. Laborers and all classes who work for stipulated pay or salary would receive more for their income, because extra profits would no longer be charged by the capitalists to compensate for the risk of a downward fluctuation in the value of the currency.

Second. That the Secretary of the Treasury be authorized to redeem, say, not to exceed $2,000,000 monthly of legal-tender notes, by issuing in their stead a long bond, bearing interest at the rate of 3.65 per cent per annum, of denominations ranging from $50 up to $1,000 each. This would in time reduce the legal-tender notes to a volume that could be kept afloat without demanding redemption in large sums suddenly.

Third. That additional power be given to the Secretary of the Treasury to accumulate gold for final redemption, either by increasing revenue, curtailing expenses, or both (it is preferable to do both); and I recommend that reduction of expenditures be made wherever it can be done without impairing Government obligations or crippling the due execution thereof. One measure for increasing the revenue--and the only one I think of--is the restoration of the duty on tea and coffee. These duties would add probably $18,000,000 to the present amount received from imports, and would in no way increase the prices paid for those articles by the consumers.

These articles are the products of countries collecting revenue from exports, and as we, the largest consumers, reduce the duties they proportionately increase them. With this addition to the revenue, many duties now collected, and which give but an insignificant return for the cost of collection, might be remitted, and to the direct advantage of consumers at home.

I would mention those articles which enter into manufactures of all sorts. All duty paid upon such articles goes directly to the cost of the article when manufactured here, and must be paid for by the consumers. These duties not only come from the consumers at home, but act as a protection to foreign manufacturers of the same completed articles in our own and distant markets.

I will suggest or mention another subject bearing upon the problem of "how to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to accumulate balances." It is to devise some better method of verifying claims against the Government than at present exists through the Court of Claims, especially those claims growing out of the late war. Nothing is more certain than that a very large percentage of the amounts passed and paid are either wholly fraudulent or are far in excess of the real losses sustained. The large amount of losses proven--on good testimony according to existing laws, by affidavits of fictitious or unscrupulous persons--to have been sustained on small farms and plantations are not only far beyond the possible yield of those places for any one year, but, as everyone knows who has had experience in tilling the soil and who has visited the scenes of these spoliations, are in many instances more than the individual claimants were ever worth, including their personal and real estate.

The report of the Attorney-General, which will be submitted to Congress at an early day, will contain a detailed history of awards made and of claims pending of the class here referred to.

The report of the Secretary of War, accompanying this message, gives a detailed account of Army operations for the year just passed, expenses for maintenance, etc., with recommendations for legislation to which I respectfully invite your attention. To some of these I invite special attention:

First. The necessity of making $300,000 of the appropriation for the Subsistence Department available before the beginning of the next fiscal year. Without this provision troops at points distant from supply production must either go without food or existing laws must be violated. It is not attended with cost to the Treasury.

Second. His recommendation for the enactment of a system of annuities for the families of deceased officers by voluntary deductions from the monthly pay of officers. This again is not attended with burden upon the Treasury, and would for the future relieve much distress which every old army officer has witnessed in the past--of officers dying suddenly or being killed, leaving families without even the means of reaching their friends, if fortunate enough to have friends to aid them.

Third. The repeal of the law abolishing mileage, and a return to the old system.

Fourth. The trial with torpedoes under the Corps of Engineers, and appropriation for the same. Should war ever occur between the United States and any maritime power, torpedoes will be among if not the most effective and cheapest auxiliary for the defense of harbors, and also in aggressive operations, that we can have. Hence it is advisable to learn by experiment their best construction and application, as well as effect.

Fifth. A permanent organization for the Signal-Service Corps. This service has now become a necessity of peace as well as war, under the advancement made by the present able management.

Sixth. A renewal of the appropriation for compiling the official records of the war, etc.

The condition of our Navy at this time is a subject of satisfaction. It does not contain, it is true, any of the powerful cruising ironclads which make so much of the maritime strength of some other nations, but neither our continental situation nor our foreign policy requires that we should have a large number of ships of this character, while this situation and the nature of our ports combine to make those of other nations little dangerous to us under any circumstances.

Our Navy does contain, however, a considerable number of ironclads of the monitor class, which, though not properly cruisers, are powerful and effective for harbor defense and for operations near our own shores. Of these all the single-turreted ones, fifteen in number, have been substantially rebuilt, their rotten wooden beams replaced with iron, their hulls strengthened, and their engines and machinery thoroughly repaired, so that they are now in the most efficient condition and ready for sea as soon as they can be manned and put in commission.

The five double-turreted ironclads belonging to our Navy, by far the most powerful of our ships for fighting purposes, are also in hand undergoing complete repairs, and could be ready for sea in periods varying from four to six months. With these completed according to the present design and our two iron torpedo boats now ready, our ironclad fleet will be, for the purposes of defense at home, equal to any force that can readily be brought against it.

Of our wooden navy also cruisers of various sizes, to the number of about forty, including those now in commission, are in the Atlantic, and could be ready for duty as fast as men could be enlisted for those not already in commission. Of these, one-third are in effect new ships, and though some of the remainder need considerable repairs to their boilers and machinery, they all are, or can readily be made, effective.

This constitutes a fleet of more than fifty war ships, of which fifteen are ironclad, now in hand on the Atlantic coast. The Navy has been brought to this condition by a judicious and practical application of what could be spared from the current appropriations of the last few years and from that made to meet the possible emergency of two years ago. It has been done quietly, without proclamation or display, and though it has necessarily straitened the Department in its ordinary expenditure, and, as far as the ironclads are concerned, has added nothing to the cruising force of the Navy, yet the result is not the less satisfactory because it is to be found in a great increase of real rather than apparent force. The expenses incurred in the maintenance of an effective naval force in all its branches are necessarily large, but such force is essential to our position, relations, and character, and affects seriously the weight of our principles and policy throughout the whole sphere of national responsibilities.

The estimates for the regular support of this branch of the service for the next year amount to a little less in the aggregate than those made for the current year; but some additional appropriations are asked for objects not included in the ordinary maintenance of the Navy, but believed to be of pressing importance at this time. It would, in my opinion, be wise at once to afford sufficient means for the immediate completion of the five double-turreted monitors now undergoing repairs, which must otherwise advance slowly, and only as money can be spared from current expenses. Supplemented by these, our Navy, armed with the destructive weapons of modern warfare, manned by our seamen, and in charge of our instructed officers, will present a force powerful for the home purposes of a responsible though peaceful nation.

The report of the Postmaster-General herewith transmitted gives a full history of the workings of the Department for the year just past. It will be observed that the deficiency to be supplied from the General Treasury is increased over the amount required for the preceding year. In a country so vast in area as the United States, with large portions sparsely settled, it must be expected that this important service will be more or less a burden upon the Treasury for many years to come. But there is no branch of the public service which interests the whole people more than that of cheap and rapid transmission of the mails to every inhabited part of our territory. Next to the free school, the post-office is the great educator of the people, and it may well receive the support of the General Government.

The subsidy of $150,000 per annum given to vessels of the United States for carrying the mails between New York and Rio de Janeiro having ceased on the 30th day of September last, we are without direct mail facilities with the South American States. This is greatly to be regretted, and I do not hesitate to recommend the authorization of a renewal of that contract, and also that the service may be increased from monthly to semi-monthly trips. The commercial advantages to be gained by a direct line of American steamers to the South American States will far outweigh the expense of the service.

By act of Congress approved March 3, 1875, almost all matter, whether properly mail matter or not, may be sent any distance through the mails, in packages not exceeding 4 pounds in weight, for the sum of 16 cents per pound. So far as the transmission of real mail matter goes, this would seem entirely proper; but I suggest that the law be so amended as to exclude from the mails merchandise of all descriptions, and limit this transportation to articles enumerated, and which may be classed as mail matter proper.

The discovery of gold in the Black Hills, a portion of the Sioux Reservation, has had the effect to induce a large emigration of miners to that point. Thus far the effort to protect the treaty rights of the Indians to that section has been successful, but the next year will certainly witness a large increase of such emigration. The negotiations for the relinquishment of the gold fields having failed, it will be necessary for Congress to adopt some measures to relieve the embarrassment growing out of the causes named. The Secretary of the Interior suggests that the supplies now appropriated for the sustenance of that people, being no longer obligatory under the treaty of 1868, but simply a gratuity, may be issued or withheld at his discretion.

The condition of the Indian Territory, to which I have referred in several of my former annual messages, remains practically unchanged. The Secretary of the Interior has taken measures to obtain a full report of the condition of that Territory, and will make it the subject of a special report at an early day. It may then be necessary to make some further recommendation in regard to legislation for the government of that Territory.

The steady growth and increase of the business of the Patent Office indicates in some measure the progress of the industrial activity of the country. The receipts of the office are in excess of its expenditures, and the office generally is in a prosperous and satisfactory condition.

The report of the General Land Office shows that there were 2,459,601 acres less disposed of during this than during the last year. More than one-half of this decrease was in lands disposed of under the homestead and timber-culture laws. The cause of this decrease is supposed to be found in the grasshopper scourge and the droughts which prevailed so extensively in some of the frontier States and Territories during that time as to discourage and deter entries by actual settlers. The cash receipts were less by $690,322.23 than during the preceding year.

The entire surveyed area of the public domain is 680,253,094 acres, of which 26,077,531 acres were surveyed during the past year, leaving 1,154,471,762 acres still unsurveyed.

The report of the Commissioner presents many interesting suggestions in regard to the management and disposition of the public domain and the modification of existing laws, the apparent importance of which should insure for them the careful consideration of Congress.

The number of pensioners still continues to decrease, the highest number having been reached during the year ending June 30, 1873. During the last year 11,557 names were added to the rolls, and 12,977 were dropped therefrom, showing a net decrease of 1,420. But while the number of pensioners has decreased, the annual amount due on the pension rolls has increased $44,733.13. This is caused by the greatly increased average rate of pensions, which, by the liberal legislation of Congress, has increased from $90.26 in 1872 to $103.91 in 1875 to each invalid pensioner, an increase in the average rate of 15 per cent in the three years. During the year ending June 30, 1875, there was paid on account of pensions, including the expenses of disbursement, $29,683,116, being $910,632 less than was paid the preceding year. This reduction in amount of expenditures was produced by the decrease in the amount of arrearages due on allowed claims and on pensions the rate of which was increased by the legislation of the preceding session of Congress. At the close of the last fiscal year there were on the pension rolls 234,821 persons, of whom 210,363 were army pensioners, 105,478 being invalids and 104,885 widows and dependent relatives; 3,420 were navy pensioners, of whom 1,636 were invalids and 1,784 widows and dependent relatives; 21,038 were pensioners of the War of 1812, 15,875 of whom were survivors and 5,163 were widows.

It is estimated that $29,535,000 will be required for the payment of pensions for the next fiscal year, an amount $965,000 less than the estimate for the present year.

The geological explorations have been prosecuted with energy during the year, covering an area of about 40,000 square miles in the Territories of Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico, developing the agricultural and mineral resources and furnishing interesting scientific and topographical details of that region.

The method for the treatment of the Indians adopted at the beginning of my first term has been steadily pursued, and with satisfactory and encouraging results. It has been productive of evident improvement in the condition of that race, and will be continued, with only such modifications as further experience may indicate to be necessary.

The board heretofore appointed to take charge of the articles and materials pertaining to the War, the Navy, the Treasury, the Interior, and the Post-Office Departments, and the Department of Agriculture, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Commission of Food Fishes, to be contributed, under the legislation of last session, to the international exhibition to be held at Philadelphia during the centennial year 1876, has been diligent in the discharge of the duties which have devolved upon it; and the preparations so far made with the means at command give assurance that the governmental contribution will be made one of the marked characteristics of the exhibition. The board has observed commendable economy in the matter of the erection of a building for the governmental exhibit, the expense of which it is estimated will not exceed, say, $80,000. This amount has been withdrawn, under the law, from the appropriations of five of the principal Departments, which leaves some of those Departments without sufficient means to render their respective practical exhibits complete and satisfactory. The exhibition being an international one, and the Government being a voluntary contributor, it is my opinion that its contribution should be of a character, in quality and extent, to sustain the dignity and credit of so distinguished a contributor. The advantages to the country of a creditable display are, in an international point of view, of the first importance, while an indifferent or uncreditable participation by the Government would be humiliating to the patriotic feelings of our people themselves. I commend the estimates of the board for the necessary additional appropriations to the favorable consideration of Congress.

The powers of Europe almost without exception, many of the South American States, and even the more distant Eastern powers have manifested their friendly sentiments toward the United States and the interest of the world in our progress by taking steps to join with us in celebrating the centennial of the nation, and I strongly recommend that a more national importance be given to this exhibition by such legislation and by such appropriation as will insure its success. Its value in bringing to our shores innumerable useful works of art and skill, the commingling of the citizens of foreign countries and our own, and the interchange of ideas and manufactures will far exceed any pecuniary outlay we may make.

I transmit herewith the report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, together with the reports of the Commissioners, the board of audit, and the board of health of the District of Columbia, to all of which I invite your attention.

The Bureau of Agriculture has accomplished much in disseminating useful knowledge to the agriculturist, and also in introducing new and useful productions adapted to our soil and climate, and is worthy of the continued encouragement of the Government.

The report of the Commissioner of Education, which accompanies the report of the Secretary of the Interior, shows a gratifying progress in educational matters.

In nearly every annual message that I have had the honor of transmitting to Congress I have called attention to the anomalous, not to say scandalous, condition of affairs existing in the Territory of Utah, and have asked for definite legislation to correct it. That polygamy should exist in a free, enlightened, and Christian country, without the power to punish so flagrant a crime against decency and morality, seems preposterous. True, there is no law to sustain this unnatural vice; but what is needed is a law to punish it as a crime, and at the same time to fix the status of the innocent children, the offspring of this system, and of the possibly innocent plural wives. But as an institution polygamy should be banished from the land.

While this is being done I invite the attention of Congress to another, though perhaps no less an evil--the importation of Chinese women, but few of whom are brought to our shores to pursue honorable or useful occupations.

Observations while visiting the Territories of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado during the past autumn convinced me that existing laws regulating the disposition of public lands, timber, etc., and probably the mining laws themselves, are very defective and should be carefully amended, and at an early day. Territory where cultivation of the soil can only be followed by irrigation, and where irrigation is not practicable the lands can only be used as pasturage, and this only where stock can reach water (to quench its thirst), can not be governed by the same laws as to entries as lands every acre of which is an independent estate by itself.

Land must be held in larger quantities to justify the expense of conducting water upon it to make it fruitful, or to justify utilizing it as pasturage. The timber in most of the Territories is principally confined to the mountain regions, which are held for entry in small quantities only, and as mineral lands. The timber is the property of the United States, for the disposal of which there is now no adequate law. The settler must become a consumer of this timber, whether he lives upon the plain or engages in working the mines. Hence every man becomes either a trespasser himself or knowingly a patron of trespassers.

My opportunities for observation were not sufficient to justify me in recommending specific legislation on these subjects, but I do recommend that a joint committee of the two Houses of Congress, sufficiently large to be divided into subcommittees, be organized to visit all the mining States and Territories during the coming summer, and that the committee shall report to Congress at the next session such laws or amendments to laws as it may deem necessary to secure the best interests of the Government and the people of these Territories, who are doing so much for their development.

I am sure the citizens occupying the territory described do not wish to be trespassers, nor will they be if legal ways are provided for them to become owners of these actual necessities of their position.

As this will be the last annual message which I shall have the honor of transmitting to Congress before my successor is chosen, I will repeat or recapitulate the questions which I deem of vital importance which may be legislated upon and settled at this session:

First. That the States shall be required to afford the opportunity of a good common-school education to every child within their limits.

Second. No sectarian tenets shall ever be taught in any school supported in whole or in part by the State, nation, or by the proceeds of any tax levied upon any community. Make education compulsory so far as to deprive all persons who can not read and write from becoming voters after the year 1890, disfranchising none, however, on grounds of illiteracy who may be voters at the time this amendment takes effect.

Third. Declare church and state forever separate and distinct, but each free within their proper spheres; and that all church property shall bear its own proportion of taxation.

Fourth. Drive out licensed immorality, such as polygamy and the importation of women for illegitimate purposes. To recur again to the centennial year, it would seem as though now, as we are about to begin the second century of our national existence, would be a most fitting time for these reforms.

Fifth. Enact such laws as will insure a speedy return to a sound currency, such as will command the respect of the world.

Believing that these views will commend themselves to the great majority of the right-thinking and patriotic citizens of the United States, I submit the rest to Congress.

U.S. GRANT.

SPECIAL MESSAGES.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, January 6, 1876.

To the Senate of the United States:

In reply to the resolution of the Senate of the 27th of February last, requesting the President to institute inquiries as to the proper place for the establishment of a branch mint at some point in the Western States or in the Mississippi Valley, I transmit herewith the report, and accompanying papers, of the Director of the Mint, who was charged with the duty of making the inquiries called for by said resolution.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, January 21, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their resolution of the 17th instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, January 25, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 22d of January instant, I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of State.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 3, 1876.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 19th of January instant, requesting the examination, with a view to ascertaining their suitableness for the purposes of a mint, of the building and grounds situated in Columbus, Ohio, known as the "Capital University," and proposed to be donated to the United States by F. Michel, of said city, I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of the Director of the Mint, accompanied by a diagram of the building and lot.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, February, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution of the 6th of January of the House of Representatives, requesting to be informed "of the number of Indian agents, regular and special, clerks, and other employees in the Indian service, except those on duty in the office of the Secretary of the Interior, and the amounts paid to each as salaries and expenses," I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of a report, dated the 31st ultimo, from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, together with the statements therein referred to.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, February 8, 1876.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, in answer to the resolution of that body of the 18th ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 28, 1876.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I lay before you herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior, of date 26th instant, upon the subject of the deficiency of supplies at the Red Cloud Agency, Nebr.

This matter has already been presented to you by the Secretary, and the House of Representatives has requested an investigation by a military officer of the cause of this deficiency. I have taken proper steps to comply with this request of the House, but the present need of supplies is not disputed. A prolonged delay in furnishing provisions to these Indians will cause great distress and be likely to provoke raids on white settlements, and possibly lead to general outbreak and hostilities.

I therefore deem it proper to invite your attention to the importance of early and favorable action upon the estimates heretofore and herewith submitted.

These estimates and the views of the Secretary in regard to this emergency meet with my full concurrence, and I recommend that the appropriations asked for be made at the earliest day practicable.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, March 3, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st ultimo, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, and accompanying papers, together with a report from the Secretary of the Treasury.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 6, 1876.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 7th of January last, requesting a "statement of the number of military arrests made in the Territory of Alaska during the past five years, together with the date of each, the charge on which made in each case, the names of the persons arrested, and the period and character of the imprisonment of each in that Territory before trial or surrender to the civil authorities for trial," I have the honor to submit herewith the report of the Acting Secretary of War.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, March 10, 1876.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification, a metric convention between the United States and certain foreign governments, signed at Paris on the 20th of May, 1875, by Mr. E.B. Washburne, the minister of the United States at that capital, acting on behalf of this Government, and by the representatives acting on behalf of the foreign powers therein mentioned.

A copy of certain papers on the subject, mentioned in the subjoined list, is also transmitted for the information of the Senate.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, March 22, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 23d of February ultimo, I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State and the papers which accompany it.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 23, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 3d of February last, requesting the President "to require a competent, experienced military officer of the United States to execute the duties of an Indian agent so far as to repair to the Red Cloud Agency, and, in his discretion, other Sioux agencies, with instructions to inquire into the causes of" the exhaustion of the appropriation for the subsistence and support of the Sioux Indians for the present fiscal year; "as also his opinion as to whether any further and what amount should be appropriated for the subsistence and support of said Indians for the remainder of the current fiscal year," I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of Lieutenant-Colonel Merritt, of the Ninth Cavalry, who was charged by the Secretary of War with the duty of making the inquiries called for by said resolution.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 24, 1876.

To the Senate of the United States:

In further answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 7th of January last, requesting to be furnished "with a statement of the number of military arrests made in the Territory of Alaska during the past five years, together with the date of each, the charge on which made in each case, the names of the persons arrested, and the period and character of the imprisonment of each in that Territory before trial or surrender to the civil authorities for trial," I have the honor to transmit herewith the report of the Secretary of War.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 27, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

In further answer to the resolution of the House of the 6th of January last, with regard to certain expenditures and employees in the Indian service, except those on duty in the office of the Secretary of the Interior, etc., I have the honor to transmit to you a supplementary report received from the Secretary of the Interior, respecting and explaining a clerical error to be found in that portion of the statement of the Interior Department which relates to the expenditures of the Board of Indian Commissioners, and to ask its consideration in connection with the papers which accompanied my message of the 3d of February last.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 27, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

I have the honor to transmit herewith a communication received from the chairman of the board on behalf of the United States Executive Departments, containing in detail the operations of the board and setting forth the present embarrassments under which it is now laboring in the endeavor to conduct the participation of the Government in the Centennial Exhibition, and showing very clearly the necessity of additional funds to carry out the undertaking in a creditable manner.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, April 3, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

I have the honor to transmit herewith, for your information, a communication from the Secretary of the Interior of this date, upon the urgent necessities of the Pawnee Indians.

This tribe has recently been removed to the Indian Territory, and is without means of subsistence except as supplied by the Government. Its members have evinced a disposition to become self-supporting, and it is believed that only temporary aid will be required by them. The sums advanced by the United States for this purpose it is expected will be refunded from the proceeds of the sale of the Pawnee Reservation in Nebraska.

The present destitute condition of these Indians would seem to call for immediate relief, and I recommend the subject to your early and favorable consideration.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, April 6, 1876.

To the Senate of the United States:

In further answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 7th of January last (partial answers having been transmitted on the 6th and 24th ultimo), calling for a statement of "the number of military arrests in the Territory of Alaska during the past five years," etc., I have the honor to submit herewith a report, with accompanying papers, received from the Secretary of War.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, April 19, 1876.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I have the honor to transmit herewith to Congress the final report of the board of audit constituted by section 6 of the "act for the government of the District of Columbia, and for other purposes," approved June 20, 1874, and abolished by the joint resolution approved March 14, 1876, and to call your attention to the statements therein presented.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, May 1, 1876.

To the Senate:

I transmit herewith, for the information of Congress, a report of the president of the Centennial Commission upon the ceremonies to be observed at the opening of the exhibition on the 10th instant. It will be observed that an invitation is therein extended to Senators and Representatives to be present on that occasion.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, May 1, 1876.

To the Senate:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to its ratification by that body, a treaty between the United States and Mexico, concluded on the 29th ultimo.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, May 1, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith, in answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of 15th March last, a report from the Secretary of State and accompanying papers.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, May 4, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

I have given very attentive consideration to a resolution of the House of Representatives passed on the 3d of April, requesting the President of the United States to inform the House whether any executive offices acts, or duties, and, if any, what, have within a specified period been performed at a distance from the seat of Government established by law, etc.

I have never hesitated and shall not hesitate to communicate to Congress, and to either branch thereof, all the information which the Constitution makes it the duty of the President to give, or which my judgment may suggest to me or a request from either House may indicate to me will be useful in the discharge of the appropriate duties confided to them. I fail, however, to find in the Constitution of the United States the authority given to the House of Representatives (one branch of the Congress, in which is vested the legislative power of the Government) to require of the Executive, an independent branch of the Government, coordinate with the Senate and House of Representatives, an account of his discharge of his appropriate and purely executive offices, acts, and duties, either as to when, where, or how performed.

What the House of Representatives may require as a right in its demand upon the Executive for information is limited to what is necessary for the proper discharge of its powers of legislation or of impeachment.

The inquiry in the resolution of the House as to where executive acts have within the last seven years been performed and at what distance from any particular spot or for how long a period at any one time, etc., does not necessarily belong to the province of legislation. It does not profess to be asked for that object.

If this information be sought through an inquiry of the President as to his executive acts in view or in aid of the power of impeachment vested in the House, it is asked in derogation of an inherent natural right, recognized in this country by a constitutional guaranty which protects every citizen, the President as well as the humblest in the land, from being made a witness against himself.

During the time that I have had the honor to occupy the position of President of this Government it has been, and while I continue to occupy that position it will continue to be, my earnest endeavor to recognize and to respect the several trusts and duties and powers of the coordinate branches of the Government, not encroaching upon them nor allowing encroachments upon the proper powers of the office which the people of the United States have confided to me, but aiming to preserve in their proper relations the several powers and functions of each of the coordinate branches of the Government, agreeably to the Constitution and in accordance with the solemn oath which I have taken to "preserve, protect, and defend" that instrument.

In maintenance of the rights secured by the Constitution to the executive branch of the Government I am compelled to decline any specific or detailed answer to the request of the House for information as to "any executive offices, acts, or duties, and, if any, what, have been performed at a distance from the seat of Government established by law, and for how long a period at any one time and in what part of the United States."

If, however, the House of Representatives desires to know whether during the period of upward of seven years during which I have held the office of President of the United States I have been absent from the seat of Government, and whether during that period I have performed or have neglected to perform the duties of my office, I freely inform the House that from the time of my entrance upon my office I have been in the habit, as were all of my predecessors (with the exception of one, who lived only one month after assuming the duties of his office, and one whose continued presence in Washington was necessary from the existence at the time of a powerful rebellion), of absenting myself at times from the seat of Government, and that during such absences I did not neglect or forego the obligations or the duties of my office, but continued to discharge all of the executive offices, acts, and duties which were required of me as the President of the United States. I am not aware that a failure occurred in any one instance of my exercising the functions and powers of my office in every case requiring their discharge, or of my exercising all necessary executive acts, in whatever part of the United States I may at the time have been. Fortunately, the rapidity of travel and of mail communication and the facility of almost instantaneous correspondence with the offices at the seat of Government, which the telegraph affords to the President in whatever section of the Union he may be, enable him in these days to maintain as constant and almost as quick intercourse with the Departments at Washington as may be maintained while he remains at the capital.

The necessity of the performance of executive acts by the President of the United States exists and is devolved upon him, wherever he may be within the United States, during his term of office by the Constitution of the United States.

His civil powers are no more limited or capable of limitation as to the place where they shall be exercised than are those which he might be required to discharge in his capacity of Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, which latter powers it is evident he might be called upon to exercise, possibly, even without the limits of the United States. Had the efforts of those recently in rebellion against the Government been successful in driving a late President of the United States from Washington, it is manifest that he must have discharged his functions, both civil and military, elsewhere than in the place named by law as the seat of Government.

No act of Congress can limit, suspend, or confine this constitutional duty. I am not aware of the existence of any act of Congress which assumes thus to limit or restrict the exercise of the functions of the Executive. Were there such acts, I should nevertheless recognize the superior authority of the Constitution, and should exercise the powers required thereby of the President.

The act to which reference is made in the resolution of the House relates to the establishing of the seat of Government and the providing of suitable buildings and removal thereto of the offices attached to the Government, etc. It was not understood at its date and by General Washington to confine the President in the discharge of his duties and powers to actual presence at the seat of Government. On the 30th of March, 1791, shortly after the passage of the act referred to, General Washington issued an Executive proclamation having reference to the subject of this very act from Georgetown, a place remote from Philadelphia, which then was the seat of Government, where the act referred to directed that "all offices attached to the seat of Government" should for the time remain.

That none of his successors have entertained the idea that their executive offices could be performed only at the seat of Government is evidenced by the hundreds upon hundreds of such acts performed by my predecessors in unbroken line from Washington to Lincoln, a memorandum of the general nature and character of some of which acts is submitted herewith; and no question has ever been raised as to the validity of those acts or as to the right and propriety of the Executive to exercise the powers of his office in any part of the United States.

U.S. GRANT.

Memorandum of absences of the Presidents of the United States from the national capital during each of the several Administrations, and of public and executive acts performed during the time of such absences.

President Washington was frequently absent from the capital; he appears to have been thus absent at least one hundred and eighty-one days during his term.

During his several absences he discharged official and executive duties; among them--

In March, 1791, he issued a proclamation, dated at Georgetown, in reference to running the boundary for the territory of the permanent seat of the Government.

From Mount Vernon he signed an official letter to the Emperor of Morocco, and from the same place the commission of Oliver Wolcott as Comptroller of the Treasury and the proclamation respecting the whisky insurrection in Pennsylvania; also various sea letters, the proclamation of the treaty of 1795 between the United States and Spain, the Executive order of August 4, 1792, relative to the duties on distilled spirits, etc.

When at Germantown he signed the commission of John Breckenridge as attorney of the United States for Kentucky, and that of engineer of the United States Mint.

He proposed to have Mr. Yrujo officially presented, as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary from Spain, to him at Mount Vernon; but although Mr. Yrujo went there for the purpose, the ceremony of presentation was prevented by Mr. Yrujo's having accidentally left his credentials.

President John Adams was absent from the capital during his term of four years, on various occasions, three hundred and eighty-five days. He discharged official duties and performed the most solemn public acts at Quincy in the same manner as when at the seat of Government. In 1797 (August 25) he forwarded to the Secretary of State a number of passports which he had signed at Quincy. He issued at Quincy commissions to numerous officers of various grades, civil and military. On the 28th of September, 1797, he forwarded to the Secretary of State a commission for a justice of the Supreme Court, signed in blank at Quincy, instructing the Secretary to fill it with the name of John Marshall if he would accept, and, if not, Bushrod Washington. He issued a proclamation opening trade with certain ports of St. Domingo, and signed warrants for the execution of two soldiers and for a pardon.

President Jefferson was absent from the seat of Government during his two terms of office seven hundred and ninety-six days, more than one-fourth of the whole official period. During his absence he signed and issued from Monticello seventy-five commissions, one letter to the Emperor of Russia, and nine letters of credence to diplomatic agents of the United States accredited to other governments.

President Madison was absent from the seat of Government during his two Presidential terms six hundred and thirty-seven days. He signed and issued from Montpelier during his absence from the capital seventy-one commissions, one proclamation, and nine letters of credence to ministers, accrediting them to foreign governments, and, as it appears, transacted generally all the necessary routine business incident to the Executive office.

President Monroe was absent from the capital during his Presidential service of eight years seven hundred and eight days, independent of the year 1824 and the two months of 1825, for which period no data are found. He transacted public business wherever he happened to be, sometimes at his farm in Virginia, again at his summer resort on the Chesapeake, and sometimes while traveling. He signed and issued from these several places, away from the capital, numerous commissions to civil officers of the Government, exequaturs to foreign consuls, letters of credence, two letters to sovereigns, and thirty-seven pardons.

President John Q. Adams was absent from the capital during his Presidential term of four years two hundred and twenty-two days. During such absence he performed official and public acts, signing and issuing commissions, exequaturs, pardons, proclamations, etc. Referring to his absence in August and September, 1827, Mr. Adams, in his memoirs, volume 8, page 75, says: "I left with him [the chief clerk] some blank signatures, to be used when necessary for proclamations, remission of penalties, and commissions of consuls, taking of him a receipt for the number and kind of blanks left with him, with directions to return to me when I came back all the signed blanks remaining unused and to keep and give me an account of all those that shall have been disposed of. This has been my constant practice with respect to signed blanks of this description. I do the same with regard to patents and land grants."

President Jackson was absent from the capital during his Presidential service of eight years five hundred and two days. He also performed executive duties and public acts while absent. He appears to have signed and issued while absent from the capital very many public papers, embracing commissions, letters of credence, exequaturs, pardons, and among them four Executive proclamations. On the 26th of June, 1833, he addressed a letter from Boston to Mr. Duane, Secretary of the Treasury, giving his views at large on the removal of the "deposits" from the United States Bank and placing them in the State banks, directing that the change, with all its arrangements, should be, if possible, completed by the 15th September following, and recommending that Amos Kendall should be appointed an agent of the Treasury Department to make the necessary arrangements with the State banks. Soon after, September 23, a paper signed by the President and purporting to have been read to the Cabinet was published in the newspapers of the day. Early in the next session of Congress a resolution passed the Senate inquiring of the President whether the paper was genuine or not and if it was published by his authority, and requesting that a copy be laid before that body. The President replied, avowing the genuineness of the paper and that it was published by his authority, but declined to furnish a copy to the Senate on the ground that it was purely executive business, and that the request of the Senate was an undue interference with the independence of the Executive, a coordinate branch of the Government. In January, 1837 (26th), he refused the privilege to a committee under a resolution of the House of Representatives to make a general investigation of the Executive Departments without specific charges, on the ground, among others, that the use of the books, papers, etc., of the Departments for such purpose would interfere with the discharge of the public duties devolving upon the heads of the different Departments, and necessarily disarrange and retard the public business.

President Van Buren was absent from the capital during his Presidential term one hundred and thirty-one days. He discharged executive duties and performed official and public acts during these absences. Among the papers signed by President Van Buren during his absence from the seat of Government are commissions (one of these being for a United States judge of a district court), pardons, etc.

President Tyler was absent from the capital during his Presidential term one hundred and sixty-three days, and performed public acts and duties during such absences, signing public papers and documents to the number of twenty-eight, in which were included commissions, exequaturs, letters of credence, pardons, and one proclamation making public the treaty of 1842 between the United States and Ecuador.

President Polk was absent from the capital during his Presidential term thirty-seven days, and appears to have signed but two official public papers during such absence.

President Taylor was absent from the capital during the time he served as President thirty-one days, and while absent signed two commissions, three "full powers," two exequaturs, and the proclamation of August 11, 1849, relative to a threatened invasion of Cuba or some of the Provinces of Mexico.

President Fillmore was absent from the capital during the time he served as President sixty days. During such absence he signed pardons, commissions, exequaturs, etc.

President Pierce was absent from the capital in all during his Presidential term fifty-seven days. The several periods of absence which make up this aggregate were each brief, and it does not appear that during these absences the President signed any public official documents, except one pardon.

President Buchanan was absent from the capital during his Presidential term fifty-seven days, and the official papers which he is shown to have signed during such absence are three exequaturs and one letter of credence.

In addition to the public documents and papers executed by the several Presidents during their absences from the seat of Government, constant official correspondence was maintained by each with the heads of the different Executive Departments.

WASHINGTON, May 15, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th ultimo, I transmit herewith a report and accompanying papers upon the subject from the Secretary of State.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, May 16, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 5th instant, requesting information as to payments by the Government of Venezuela on account of claims of citizens of the United States under the convention of the 25th of April, 1866, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, May 19, 1876.

To the Senate:

I transmit herewith, in answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 27th March last, a report from the Secretary of State and an accompanying paper.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, May 31, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

I transmit, in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 22d instant, a report of the Secretary of State, with its accompanying papers.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, June 7, 1876.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I herewith transmit the report of the board appointed to test iron, steel, and other metals, in accordance with the provisions of section 4 of "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, and for other purposes," approved March 3, 1875.

This board is to determine by actual tests the strength and value of all metals, and to prepare tables which will exhibit their strength and value for all constructions.

The accompanying memorials and resolutions of scientific associations, colleges, and schools strongly advocate the continuation of this board, which is national in its character and general in its investigations.

The board asks for an appropriation of $50,000 for the ensuing year, and that any unexpended balances remaining on hand on the 30th of June, 1876, may be reappropriated.

This recommendation is submitted for favorable action, in the belief that the labors of the board will, in the benefits accruing to important industrial interests, more than repay to the country at large any money that may be so expended.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, June 10, 1876.

To the House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith, in answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 30th day of March last, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers, which presents the correspondence and condition of the question up to the day of its date.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, June 14, 1876.

To the Senate:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 26th April ultimo, I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.

U.S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, June 17, 1876.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

The near approach of a new fiscal year and the failure of Congress up to this time to provide the necessary means to continue all the functions of Government make it my duty to call your attention to the embarrassments that must ensue if the fiscal year is allowed to close without remedial action on your part.

Article I, section 9, of the Constitution declares:

No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law.

To insure economy of expenditure and security of the public treasure Congress has from time to time enacted laws to restrain the use of public moneys, except for the specific purpose for which appropriated and within the time for which appropriated; and to prevent contracting debts in anticipation of appropriate appropriations, Revised Statutes,