Chapter 34 of the Civil Laws of Hawaii Whereby the Government Was to

assist in encouraging and developing the agricultural resources of the Republic, especially irrigation. The Governor of Hawaii recommends legislation looking to the development of such water supply as may exist on the public lands, with a view of promoting land settlement. The earnest consideration of the Congress is invited to this important recommendation and others, as embodied in the report of the Secretary of the Interior.

The Director of the Census states that the work in connection with the Twelfth Census is progressing favorably. This national undertaking, ordered by the Congress each decade, has finally resulted in the collection of an aggregation of statistical facts to determine the industrial growth of the country, its manufacturing and mechanical resources, its richness in mines and forests, the number of its agriculturists, their farms and products, its educational and religious opportunities, as well as questions pertaining to sociological conditions.

The labors of the officials in charge of the Bureau indicate that the four important and most-desired subjects, namely, population, agricultural, manufacturing, and vital statistics, will be completed within the limit prescribed by the law of March 3, 1899.

The field work incident to the above inquiries is now practically finished, and as a result the population of the States and Territories, including the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska, has been announced. The growth of population during the last decade amounts to over 13,000,000, a greater numerical increase than in any previous census in the history of the country.

Bulletins will be issued as rapidly as possible giving the population by States and Territories, by minor civil divisions. Several announcements of this kind have already been made, and it is hoped that the list will be completed by January 1. Other bulletins giving the results of the manufacturing and agricultural inquiries will be given to the public as rapidly as circumstances will admit.

The Director, while confident of his ability to complete the different branches of the undertaking in the allotted time, finds himself embarrassed by the lack of a trained force properly equipped for statistical work, thus raising the question whether in the interest of economy and a thorough execution of the census work there should not be retained in the Government employ a certain number of experts not only to aid in the preliminary organization prior to the taking of the decennial census, but in addition to have the advantage in the field and office work of the Bureau of trained assistants to facilitate the early completion of this enormous undertaking.

I recommend that the Congress at its present session apportion representation among the several States as provided by the Constitution.

The Department of Agriculture has been extending its work during the past year, reaching farther for new varieties of seeds and plants; co-operating more fully with the States and Territories in research along useful lines; making progress in meteorological work relating to lines of wireless telegraphy and forecasts for ocean-going vessels; continuing inquiry as to animal disease; looking into the extent and character of food adulteration; outlining plans for the care, preservation, and intelligent harvesting of our woodlands; studying soils that producers may cultivate with better knowledge of conditions, and helping to clothe desert places with grasses suitable to our arid regions. Our island possessions are being considered that their peoples may be helped to produce the tropical products now so extensively brought into the United States. Inquiry into methods of improving our roads has been active during the year; help has been given to many localities, and scientific investigation of material in the States and Territories has been inaugurated. Irrigation problems in our semiarid regions are receiving careful and increased consideration.

An extensive exhibit at Paris of the products of agriculture has made the peoples of many countries more familiar with the varied products of our fields and their comparative excellence.

The collection of statistics regarding our crops is being improved and sources of information are being enlarged, to the end that producers may have the earliest advices regarding crop conditions. There has never been a time when those for whom it was established have shown more appreciation of the services of the Department.

In my annual message of December 5, 1898, I called attention to the necessity for some amendment of the alien contract law. There still remain important features of the rightful application of the eight-hour law for the benefit of labor and of the principle of arbitration, and I again commend these subjects to the careful attention of the Congress.

That there may be secured the best service possible in the Philippine Islands, I have issued, under date of November 30, 1900, the following order:

The United States Civil Service Commission is directed to render such assistance as may be practicable to the Civil Service Board, created under the act of the United States Philippine Commission, for the establishment and maintenance of an honest and efficient civil service in the Philippine Islands, and for that purpose to conduct examinations for the civil service of the Philippine Islands, upon the request of the Civil Service Board of said islands, under such regulations as may be agreed upon by the said Board and the said United States Civil Service Commission.

The Civil Service Commission is greatly embarrassed in its work for want of an adequate permanent force for clerical and other assistance. Its needs are fully set forth in its report. I invite attention to the report, and especially urge upon the Congress that this important bureau of the public service, which passes upon the qualifications and character of so large a number of the officers and employees of the Government, should be supported by all needed appropriations to secure promptness and efficiency.

I am very much impressed with the statement made by the heads of all the Departments of the urgent necessity of a hall of public records. In every departmental building in Washington, so far as I am informed, the space for official records is not only exhausted, but the walls of rooms are lined with shelves, the middle floor space of many rooms is filled with file cases, and garrets and basements, which were never intended and are unfitted for their accommodation, are crowded with them. Aside from the inconvenience there is great danger, not only from fire, but from the weight of these records upon timbers not intended for their support. There should be a separate building especially designed for the purpose of receiving and preserving the annually accumulating archives of the several Executive Departments. Such a hall need not be a costly structure, but should be so arranged as to admit of enlargement from time to time. I urgently recommend that the Congress take early action in this matter.

I transmit to the Congress a resolution adopted at a recent meeting of the American Bar Association concerning the proposed celebration of John Marshall Day, February 4, 1901. Fitting exercises have been arranged, and it is earnestly desired by the committee that the Congress may participate in this movement to honor the memory of the great jurist.

The transfer of the Government to this city is a fact of great historical interest. Among the people there is a feeling of genuine pride in the Capital of the Republic.

It is a matter of interest in this connection that in 1800 the population of the District of Columbia was 14,093; to-day it is 278,718. The population of the city of Washington was then 3,210; to-day it is 218,196.

The Congress having provided for "an appropriate national celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Establishment of the Seat of the Government in the District of Columbia," the committees authorized by it have prepared a programme for the 12th of December, 1900, which date has been selected as the anniversary day. Deep interest has been shown in the arrangements for the celebration by the members of the committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, the committee of Governors appointed by the President, and the committees appointed by the citizens and inhabitants of the District of Columbia generally. The programme, in addition to a reception and other exercises at the Executive Mansion, provides commemorative exercises to be held jointly by the Senate and House of Representatives in the Hall of the House of Representatives, and a reception in the evening at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in honor of the Governors of the States and Territories.

In our great prosperity we must guard against the danger it invites of extravagance in Government expenditures and appropriations; and the chosen representatives of the people will, I doubt not, furnish an example in their legislation of that wise economy which in a season of plenty husbands for the future. In this era of great business activity and opportunity caution is not untimely. It will not abate, but strengthen, confidence. It will not retard, but promote, legitimate industrial and commercial expansion. Our growing power brings with it temptations and perils requiring constant vigilance to avoid. It must not be used to invite conflicts, nor for oppression, but for the more effective maintenance of those principles of equality and justice upon which our institutions and happiness depend. Let us keep always in mind that the foundation of our Government is liberty; its superstructure peace.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, December 4, 1900.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith, for the information of Congress, copy of a letter from the Commissioner-General of the United States to the Paris Exposition of 1900, of November 17, 1900, giving a detailed statement of the expenditures of the commission for the year ended November 15, 1900.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, December 6, 1900.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith the report from the Secretary of State and accompanying papers relating to the claim against the United States of the Russian subject, Gustav Isak Dahlberg, master and principal owner of the Russian bark Hans, based on his wrongful and illegal arrest and imprisonment by officers of the United States District Court for the southern district of Mississippi, and, in view of the opinion expressed by the Department of Justice that the said arrest and detention of the complainant were wrongful and without the authority of law, I recommend the appropriation by Congress of the sum of $5,000 to reimburse the master and owners of the vessel for all losses and damages incurred by reason of his said wrongful and illegal arrest and detention.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, December 6, 1900.

To the Congress of the United States:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers, in relation to the lynching, in La Salle County, Tex., on October 5, 1895, of Florentine Suaste, a Mexican citizen.

Following the course pursued in the case of the lynching of three Italian subjects at Hahnville, La., on August 8, 1896, and in that of the lynching of the Mexican citizen, Luis Moreno, at Yreka, Cal., in August, 1895, I recommend the appropriation by Congress, out of humane consideration, and without reference to the question of liability of the Government of the United States, of the sum of $2,000, to be paid by the Secretary of State to the Government of Mexico, and by that Government distributed to the heirs of the above-mentioned Florentino Suaste.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, January 3, 1901.

To the Senate of the United States:

In reply to a resolution of the Senate of December 19, 1900, directing the Secretary of War "to transmit to the Senate the report of Abraham L. Lawshe, giving in detail the result of his investigations, made under the direction of the War Department, into the receipts and expenditures of Cuban funds," the Senate is informed that for the reasons stated in the accompanying communication from the Secretary of War, dated December 28, 1900, it is not deemed compatible with the public interest to transmit the report to the Senate at this time.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, January 16, 1901.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith for the information of the Congress a letter from the Secretary of Agriculture, in which he presents a preliminary report of investigations upon the forests of the southern Appalachian Mountain region. Upon the basis of the facts established by this investigation the Secretary of Agriculture recommends the purchase of land for a national forest reserve in western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and adjacent States. I commend to the favorable consideration of Congress the reasons upon which this recommendation rests.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, January 25, 1901.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

For the information of the Congress and with a view to such action on its part as it may deem wise and appropriate I transmit a report of the Secretary of War, made to me under date of January 24, 1901, containing the reports of the Taft commission, its several acts of legislation, and other important information relating to the conditions and immediate wants of the Philippine Islands.

I earnestly recommend legislation under which the government of the islands may have authority to assist in their peaceful industrial development in the directions indicated by the Secretary of War.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, January 29, 1901.

To the Congress:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State relating to the treaty between the United States and Spain, signed at Washington, November 7, 1900, providing for the cession of any and all islands of the Philippine Archipelago lying outside of the lines described in Article III of the treaty of peace of December 10, 1898.

I recommend the appropriation by Congress during the present session of the sum of one hundred thousand dollars for the purpose of carrying out the obligations of the United States under the treaty.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, January 29, 1901.

To the Congress:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State relating to the lynching of two Italian subjects at Tallulah, La., on July 20, 1899.

I renew the recommendation made in my annual message to the Congress on December 3, 1900, that in accordance with precedent Congress make gracious provision for indemnity to the families of the victims in the same form as heretofore.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, January 29, 1901.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of State accompanying the Commercial Relations of the United States for the year 1900, being the annual and other reports of consular and diplomatic officers upon the industries and commerce of foreign countries, with particular reference to the growing share of the United States in international trade. The advance in the general efficiency of our consular service in promoting trade, which was noted in my message of March 1, 1900, transmitting the reports for 1899, was even more marked than last year. The promptitude with which the reports of the consuls are printed and distributed, the generous recognition which is being increasingly accorded by our business interests to the practical value of their efforts for enlarging trade, and the continued testimony of competent foreign authorities to the general superiority of their commercial work, have naturally had a stimulating effect upon its consular corps as a whole, and experience in the discharge of their duties adds greatly to their efficiency. It is gratifying to be able to state that the improvement in the service, following closely upon the steady progress in expediting the publication of reports, has enabled the Department of State this year to submit the annual reports a month in advance of the usual time, and to make them as nearly as possible a contemporaneous picture of the trade of the world. In view of the great importance of these reports to our producers, manufacturers, exporters, and business interest generally, I cordially approve the recommendation of the Secretary of State that Congress shall authorize the printing as heretofore of an edition of 10,000 copies of the summary, entitled "Review of the World's Commerce," and of 5,000 copies of Commercial Relations (including this summary), to be distributed by the Department of State.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 14, 1901.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

During our recent war with Spain the United States naval force on the North Atlantic Station was charged with varied and important duties, chief among which were the maintenance of the blockade of Cuba, aiding the army, and landing troops and in subsequent operations, and particularly in the pursuit, blockade, and destruction of the Spanish Squadron under Admiral Cervera.

This naval campaign, embracing objects of wide scope and grave responsibilities, was conducted with great ability on the part of the commander-in-chief, and of the officers and enlisted men under his command. It culminated in the annihilation of the Spanish fleet in the battle of July 3, 1898, one of the most memorable naval engagements in history.

The result of this battle was the freeing of our Atlantic coast from the possibilities to which it had been exposed from Admiral Cervera's fleet, and the termination of the war upon the seas.

I recommend that, following our national precedents, especially that in the case of Admiral Dewey and the Asiatic Squadron, the thanks of Congress be given to Rear-Admiral William T. Sampson, United States Navy, and to the officers and men under his command for highly distinguished conduct in conflict with the enemy, and in carrying on the blockade and naval campaign on the Cuban coast, resulting in the destruction of the Spanish fleet at Santiago de Cuba July 3, 1898.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 21, 1901.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith, for the information of the Congress and with a view to its publication in suitable form, if such action is deemed desirable, a special report of the United States Board on Geographic Names, relating to geographic names in the Philippine Islands, and invite attention to the recommendation of the Board:

"That in addition to the usual number, there be printed 15,000 copies: 2,000 copies for the use of the Senate, 3,000 copies for the use of the House of Representatives, and 10,000 copies for distribution by the Board to the Executive Departments and the public."

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, February 26, 1901.

To the Congress:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, in connection with my message of January 29, 1901, relative to the lynching of certain Italian subjects at Tallulah, La., a report by the Secretary of State touching a claim for $5,000 presented by the Italian ambassador at Washington on behalf of Guiseppe Defina, on account of his being obliged to abandon his home and business.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, February 28, 1901.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith, in pursuance of the act of Congress approved July 1, 1898 (U.S. Stat. L., vol. 30, pp. 645, 646), the report of Mr. Ferdinand W. Peck, commissioner-general of the United States to the International Exposition held at Paris, France, during the year 1900.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, March 1, 1901.

To the House of Representatives:

I return herewith, without approval, House bill No. 3204, entitled "An act to refer certain claims for Indian depredations to the Court of Claims."

General relief has been extended to citizens who have lost property by reason of Indian depredations by the act of March 3, 1891, conferring jurisdiction upon the Court of Claims to hear and determine such cases. That act provides for payment for damages growing out of depredations committed by any Indian or Indians belonging to a band, tribe, or nation in amity with the United States, excluding from consideration all claims which originated during the existence of actual hostilities between the United States and the Indian tribe.

In making this discrimination the act of 1891 follows the general principle which has been asserted in all general legislation which has ever been enacted for the payment of claims for property destroyed by Indians. The first act which promised such indemnity, that of May 19, 1796, contained the same restriction, and it was reported in every subsequent general act of Congress dealing with the subject. This policy, which has been clearly manifested from the beginning, is in accord with the recognized principle that the nation is not liable for damage to the private property of its citizens caused by the act of the public enemy. This statute has been thoroughly considered by the Court of Claims and by the Supreme Court and its interpretation fixed, and it has been declared to be in accord not only with the policy of Congress as expressed through the legislation of the century, but with the general principles of international law.

I am informed that the records of the Court of Claims show that the claims of four of the five beneficiaries named in the present bill have been presented to that court under the general law and decided adversely, the court having held that a state of war existed between the United States and the Sioux Indians in the year 1862 when the claims arose. The remaining claim, which originated under the same circumstances and at the same time, would, of course, be subject to the same defense if presented.

The bill provides that these claims shall be sent back to the Court of Claims for trial according to the principles and rules which governed the commission appointed under the act of February 16, 1863. That act, which was a special act relating to losses occurring during the hostilities of the previous year, did not, of course, impose the requirement of amity, the claims allowed by the commission being paid out of the funds belonging to the hostile Indians sequestered by the statute. The effect of this bill, if it became a law, would be to provide for the payment out of the Treasury of the United States of these claims which were not presented for payment out of the Indian funds and which have been rejected by the courts under the general law. There are many hundreds of cases, aggregating a large amount claimed, which have been filed in the Court of Claims, but which are excluded from its jurisdiction for the same reason which necessitated the dismissal of the petitions filed by these claimants. There is no legal obligation on the part of the United States, and no promise, express or implied, for the payment of such claims.

The measure of governmental liability is fulfilled by the passage of the act of March 3, 1891, and the prompt payment of the judgments rendered thereunder. To single out for payment a few claims of this large class to the exclusion of all others would, in my judgment, be unjust; and such action would also with reason be cited as a precedent for extending governmental aid in all similar cases.

For the reasons given I am constrained to withhold my approval from the bill.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 7, 1901.

To the House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State in response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of February 19, 1901, requesting him to furnish that body "all the information in the possession of the State Department relating to the shipment of horses and mules from New Orleans in large numbers for the use of the British army in the war in South Africa."

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, March 2, 1901.

To the House of Representatives:

I return herewith, without approval, House bill No. 321, entitled "An act for the relief of the legal representative of Samuel Tewksbury, deceased."

This bill provides for the payment to the legal representative of Samuel Tewksbury, late of Scranton, Allegheny County, Pa., the sum of $5,697 in full compensation for the use and occupation by the United States Government of the brick building and premises owned by him in the city of Scranton, Pa., as a depot or barracks for United States troops by the Provost Marshal of the United States from June, 1862, to June, 1865, inclusive.

The records of the War Department show that about April 26, 1865, Col. J.G. Johnson, Chief Quartermaster, forwarded to the office of the Quartermaster-General a claim of Samuel Tewksbury for use of a building at Scranton, Pa., from February 24, 1864, to February 3, 1865, Stated at $1,133.33, and damage to said building at $1,400, total $2,533.33.

In forwarding these papers Colonel Johnson states as follows:

In the spring of 1864 Mr. Samuel Tewksbury presented to me through his agents a claim against the United States Government for use of the premises mentioned in the enclosed account accompanying the papers.

I learn from Mr. S.N. Bradford, Provost Marshal of the Twelfth District of Pennsylvania at Scranton, that lodgings were furnished to persons in military service at that place by Gardiner and Atkinson under a contract with the Provost Marshal, also that the contractors rented the building used for the above purpose from Mr. Tewksbury.

Considering it a matter entirely between that gentleman and his tenants, Messrs. Gardiner and Atkinson, I at that time refused to take any action in the matter whatever.

The claim was again submitted to the office of the Quartermaster-General on September 30, 1865, by Major W.B. Lane, and was returned on May 1, 1866, with the information that the United States had already paid for lodging of the troops under the control of the Provost Marshal at Scranton, Pa., during the time for which charge for rent is made.

The claimant was referred to the officer or person by whom the building was taken for compensation for its use. No other record of this case is found in the War Department, although it will be observed that the bill covers a period from June, 1862, to June, 1865, inclusive, while the claim as originally presented to the War Department was for occupancy of the building at Scranton, Pa., from February 24, 1864, to February 3, 1865.

It thus appears that when this claim was originally presented it was examined by the proper representative of the Government, and was rejected; that no such use and occupation as the United States Government had of claimant's building was under a contract between the Government and the tenants of claimant, and that payment therefor was duly made by the Government. Now after a lapse of some thirty-seven years the period of use and occupation covered by the claim has increased threefold, and the compensation asked therefor has more than doubled. Under the circumstances of this case I do not feel at liberty to approve the bill.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

My Fellow-Citizens:

When we assembled here on the 4th of March, 1897, there was great anxiety with regard to our currency and credit. None exists now. Then our Treasury receipts were inadequate to meet the current obligations of the Government. Now they are sufficient for all public needs, and we have a surplus instead of a deficit. Then I felt constrained to convene the Congress in extraordinary session to devise revenues to pay the ordinary expenses of the Government. Now I have the satisfaction to announce that the Congress just closed has reduced taxation in the sum of $41,000,000. Then there was deep solicitude because of the long depression in our manufacturing, mining, agricultural, and mercantile industries and the consequent distress of our laboring population. Now every avenue of production is crowded with activity, labor is well employed, and American products find good markets at home and abroad.

Our diversified productions, however, are increasing in such unprecedented volume as to admonish us of the necessity of still further enlarging our foreign markets by broader commercial relations. For this purpose reciprocal trade arrangements with other nations should in liberal spirit be carefully cultivated and promoted.

The national verdict of 1896 has for the most part been executed. Whatever remains unfulfilled is a continuing obligation resting with undiminished force upon the Executive and the Congress. But fortunate as our condition is, its permanence can only be assured by sound business methods and strict economy in national administration and legislation. We should not permit our great prosperity to lead us to reckless ventures in business or profligacy in public expenditures. While the Congress determines the objects and the sum of appropriations, the officials of the executive departments are responsible for honest and faithful disbursement, and it should be their constant care to avoid waste and extravagance.

Honesty, capacity, and industry are nowhere more indispensable than in public employment. These should be fundamental requisites to original appointment and the surest guaranties against removal.

Four years ago we stood on the brink of war without the people knowing it and without any preparation or effort at preparation for the impending peril. I did all that in honor could be done to avert the war, but without avail. It became inevitable; and the Congress at its first regular session, without party division, provided money in anticipation of the crisis and in preparation to meet it. It came. The result was signally favorable to American arms and in the highest degree honorable to the Government. It imposed upon us obligations from which we cannot escape and from which it would be dishonorable to seek escape. We are now at peace with the world, and it is my fervent prayer that if differences arise between us and other powers they may be settled by peaceful arbitration and that hereafter we may be spared the horrors of war.

Intrusted by the people for a second time with the office of President, I enter upon its administration appreciating the great responsibilities which attach to this renewed honor and commission, promising unreserved devotion on my part to their faithful discharge and reverently invoking for my guidance the direction and favor of Almighty God. I should shrink from the duties this day assumed if I did not feel that in their performance I should have the co-operation of the wise and patriotic men of all parties. It encourages me for the great task which I now undertake to believe that those who voluntarily committed to me the trust imposed upon the Chief Executive of the Republic will give to me generous support in my duties to "preserve, protect, and defend, the Constitution of the United States" and to "care that the laws be faithfully executed." The national purpose is indicated through a national election. It is the constitutional method of ascertaining the public will. When once it is registered it is a law to us all, and faithful observance should follow its decrees.

Strong hearts and helpful hands are needed, and, fortunately, we have them in every part of our beloved country. We are reunited. Sectionalism has disappeared. Division on public questions can no longer be traced by the war maps of 1861. These old differences less and less disturb the judgment. Existing problems demand the thought and quicken the conscience of the country, and the responsibility for their presence, as well as for their righteous settlement, rests upon us all--no more upon me than upon you. There are some national questions in the solution of which patriotism should exclude partisanship. Magnifying their difficulties will not take them off our hands nor facilitate their adjustment. Distrust of the capacity, integrity, and high purposes of the American people will not be an inspiring theme for future political contests. Dark pictures and gloomy forebodings are worse than useless. These only becloud, they do not help to point the way of safety and honor. "Hope maketh not ashamed." The prophets of evil were not the builders of the Republic, nor in its crises since have they saved or served it. The faith of the fathers was a mighty force in its creation, and the faith of their descendants has wrought its progress and furnished its defenders. They are obstructionists who despair, and who would destroy confidence in the ability of our people to solve wisely and for civilization the mighty problems resting upon them. The American people, intrenched in freedom at home, take their love for it with them wherever they go, and they reject as mistaken and unworthy the doctrine that we lose our own liberties by securing the enduring foundations of liberty to others. Our institutions will not deteriorate by extension, and our sense of justice will not abate under tropic suns in distant seas. As heretofore, so hereafter will the nation demonstrate its fitness to administer any new estate which events devolve upon it, and in the fear of God will "take occasion by the hand and make the bounds of freedom wider yet." If there are those among us who would make our way more difficult, we must not be disheartened, but the more earnestly dedicate ourselves to the task upon which we have rightly entered. The path of progress is seldom smooth. New things are often found hard to do. Our fathers found them so. We find them so. They are inconvenient. They cost us something. But are we not made better for the effort and sacrifice, and are not those we serve lifted up and blessed?

We will be consoled, too, with the fact that opposition has confronted every onward movement of the Republic from its opening hour until now, but without success. The Republic has marched on and on, and its step has exalted freedom and humanity. We are undergoing the same ordeal as did our predecessors nearly a century ago. We are following the course they blazed. They triumphed. Will their successors falter and plead organic impotency in the nation? Surely after 125 years of achievement for mankind we will not now surrender our equality with other powers on matters fundamental and essential to nationality. With no such purpose was the nation created. In no such spirit has it developed its full and independent sovereignty. We adhere to the principle of equality among ourselves, and by no act of ours will we assign to ourselves a subordinate rank in the family of nations.

My fellow-citizens, the public events of the past four years have gone into history. They are too near to justify recital. Some of them were unforeseen; many of them momentous and far-reaching in their consequences to ourselves and our relations with the rest of the world. The part which the United States bore so honorably in the thrilling scenes in China, while new to American life, has been in harmony with its true spirit and best traditions, and in dealing with the results its policy will be that of moderation and fairness.

We face at this moment a most important question--that of the future relations of the United States and Cuba. With our near neighbors we must remain close friends. The declaration of the purposes of this Government in the resolution of April 20, 1898, must be made good. Ever since the evacuation of the island by the army of Spain the Executive, with all practicable speed, has been assisting its people in the successive steps necessary to the establishment of a free and independent government prepared to assume and perform the obligations of international law which now rest upon the United States under the treaty of Paris. The convention elected by the people to frame a constitution is approaching the completion of its labors. The transfer of American control to the new government is of such great importance, involving an obligation resulting from our intervention and the treaty of peace, that I am glad to be advised by the recent act of Congress of the policy which the legislative branch of the Government deems essential to the best interests of Cuba and the United States. The principles which led to our intervention require that the fundamental law upon which the new government rests should be adapted to secure a government capable of performing the duties and discharging the functions of a separate nation, of observing its international obligations of protecting life and property, insuring order, safety, and liberty, and conforming to the established and historical policy of the United States in its relation to Cuba.

The peace which we are pledged to leave to the Cuban people must carry with it the guaranties of permanence. We became sponsors for the pacification of the island, and we remain accountable to the Cubans, no less than to our own country and people, for the reconstruction of Cuba as a free commonwealth on abiding foundations of right, justice, liberty, and assured order. Our enfranchisement of the people will not be completed until free Cuba shall "be a reality, not a name; a perfect entity, not a hasty experiment bearing within itself the elements of failure."

While the treaty of peace with Spain was ratified on the 6th of February, 1899, and ratifications were exchanged nearly two years ago, the Congress has indicated no form of government for the Philippine Islands. It has, however, provided an army to enable the Executive to suppress insurrection, restore peace, give security to the inhabitants, and establish the authority of the United States throughout the archipelago. It has authorized the organization of native troops as auxiliary to the regular force. It has been advised from time to time of the acts of the military and naval officers in the islands, of my action in appointing civil commissions, of the instructions with which they were charged, of their duties and powers, of their recommendations, and of their several acts under executive commission, together with the very complete general information they have submitted. These reports fully set forth the conditions, past and present, in the islands, and the instructions clearly show the principles which will guide the Executive until the Congress shall, as it is required to do by the treaty, determine "the civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants." The Congress having added the sanction of its authority to the powers already possessed and exercised by the Executive under the Constitution, thereby leaving with the Executive the responsibility for the government of the Philippines, I shall continue the efforts already begun until order shall be restored throughout the islands, and as fast as conditions permit will establish local governments, in the formation of which the full co-operation of the people has been already invited, and when established will encourage the people to administer them. The settled purpose, long ago proclaimed, to afford the inhabitants of the islands self-government as fast as they were ready for it will be pursued with earnestness and fidelity. Already something has been accomplished in this direction. The Government's representatives, civil and military, are doing faithful and noble work in their mission of emancipation and merit the approval and support of their countrymen. The most liberal terms of amnesty have already been communicated to the insurgents, and the way is still open for those who have raised their arms against the Government for honorable submission to its authority. Our countrymen should not be deceived. We are not waging war against the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands. A portion of them are making war against the United States. By far the greater part of the inhabitants recognize American sovereignty and welcome it as a guaranty of order and of security for life, property, liberty, freedom of conscience, and the pursuit of happiness. To them full protection will be given. They shall not be abandoned. We will not leave the destiny of the loyal millions in the islands to the disloyal thousands who are in rebellion against the United States. Order under civil institutions will come as soon as those who now break the peace shall keep it. Force will not be needed or used when those who make war against us shall make it no more. May it end without further bloodshed, and there be ushered in the reign of peace to be made permanent by a government of liberty under law!

MARCH 4, 1901.

PROCLAMATIONS.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas public interests require that the Congress of the United States should be convened in extra session at twelve o'clock on the 15th day of March, 1897, to receive such communication as may be made by the Executive:

Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim and declare that an extraordinary occasion requires the Congress of the United States to convene in extra session at the Capitol in the city of Washington on the 15th day of March, 1897, at twelve o'clock, noon, of which all persons who shall at that time be entitled to act as members thereof, are hereby required to take notice.

Given under my hand and the seal of the United States at Washington the 6th day of March in the year of our lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-first.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

By the President: JOHN SHERMAN, Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION.

In remembrance of God's goodness to us during the past year, which has been so abundant, "let us offer unto Him our thanksgiving and pay our vows unto the Most High." Under His watchful providence industry has prospered, the conditions of labor have been improved, the rewards of the husbandman have been increased, and the comforts of our homes multiplied. His mighty hand has preserved peace and protected the nation. Respect for law and order has been strengthened, love of free institutions cherished, and all sections of our beloved country brought into closer bonds of fraternal regard and generous cooperation.

For these great benefits it is our duty to praise the Lord in a spirit of humility and gratitude and to offer up to Him our most earnest supplications. That we may acknowledge our obligation as a people to Him who has so graciously granted us the blessings of free government and material prosperity, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, do hereby designate and set apart Thursday, the twenty-fifth day of November, for national thanksgiving and prayer, which all of the people are invited to observe with appropriate religious services in their respective places of worship. On this day of rejoicing and domestic reunion let our prayers ascend to the Giver of every good and perfect gift for the continuance of His love and favor to us, that our hearts may be filled with charity and good will, and we may be ever worthy of His beneficent concern.

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 29th day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-second.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

By the President: JOHN SHERMAN, Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas satisfactory proof has been given me that vessels of the United States in ballast which proceed to Mexico with the object of devoting themselves to pearl fishery and fishing on the Mexican coasts or for the purpose of receiving and carrying passengers and mail or of loading cattle, wood, or any other Mexican product and which shall go directly to ports open to general commerce so that thence they may be dispatched to their destination, and steam vessels of the United States are exempted from tonnage duties in Mexican ports;

Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the act of Congress approved July 24, 1897, entitled "An act to authorize the President to suspend discriminating duties imposed on foreign vessels and commerce," do hereby declare and proclaim that from and after the date of this, my proclamation, Mexican vessels in ballast which proceed to the United States with the object of fishing on the coast thereof or for the purpose of receiving and carrying passengers and mail or of loading cattle, wood, or any other product of the United States and which shall go directly to ports open to general commerce so that thence they may be despatched to their destination, and Mexican steam vessels shall be exempted from the payment of the tonnage duties imposed by section 4219 of the Revised Statutes of the United States.

And this proclamation shall remain in force and effect until otherwise ordered by the President of the United States.

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

Done at the city of Washington this 12th day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-second.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

By the President: JOHN SHERMAN, Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas, it is provided by section twenty-four of the act of Congress, approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, entitled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes," "That the President of the United States may, from time to time, set apart and reserve, in any State or Territory having public land bearing forests, in any part of the public lands wholly or in part covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not, as public reservations, and the President shall, by public proclamation, declare the establishment of such reservations and the limits thereof;"

And whereas, the public lands in the Territory of Arizona, within the limits hereinafter described, are in part covered with timber, and it appears that the public good would be promoted by setting apart and reserving said lands as a public reservation;

Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested by section twenty-four of the aforesaid act of Congress, do hereby make known and proclaim that there is hereby reserved from entry or settlement and set apart as a Public Reservation all those certain tracts, pieces or parcels of land lying and being situate in the Territory of Arizona, and within the boundaries particularly described as follows, to wit:

Beginning at the northeast corner of Section twelve (12), Township thirteen (13) North, Range three (3) West, Gila and Salt River Meridian, Arizona; thence southerly along the range line to the point for the southeast corner of Section twenty-five (25), said Township; thence westerly along the unsurveyed section line to the point for the southwest corner of Section twenty-eight (28), said Township; thence northerly along the unsurveyed section line to the point for the northwest corner of Section nine (9), said Township; thence easterly along the unsurveyed and surveyed section line to the northeast corner of Section twelve (12), said Township, the place of beginning.

Excepting from the force and effect of this proclamation all lands which may have been, prior to the date hereof, embraced in any legal entry or covered by any lawful filing duly of record in the proper United States Land Office, or upon which any valid settlement has been made pursuant to law, and the statutory period within which to make entry or filing of record has not expired; and all mining claims duly located and held according to the laws of the United States and rules and regulations not in conflict therewith;

Provided, that this exception shall not continue to apply to any particular tract of land unless the entryman, settler, or claimant continues to comply with the law under which the entry, filing, settlement, or location was made.

Warning is hereby expressly given to all persons not to enter or make settlement upon the tract of land reserved by this proclamation.

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 10th day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-second.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

By the President: WILLIAM R. DAY, Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas it is provided by section twenty-four of the act of Congress approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, entitled, "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes," "That the President of the United States may, from time to time, set apart and reserve, in any State or Territory having public land bearing forests, in any part of the public lands wholly or in part covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not, as public reservations, and the President shall, by public proclamation, declare the establishment of such reservations and the limits thereof;"

And whereas it is further provided by the act of Congress, approved June fourth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, entitled, "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, and for other purposes," that "The President is hereby authorized at any time to modify any executive order that has been or may hereafter be made establishing any forest reserve, and by such modification may reduce the area or change the boundary lines of such reserve, or may vacate altogether any order creating such reserve;"

And whereas the public lands in the Territory of New Mexico, within the limits hereinafter described, are in part covered with timber, and it appears that the public good would be promoted by setting apart and reserving said lands as a public reservation;

Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested by the aforesaid acts of Congress, do hereby make known and proclaim that the boundary lines of the Forest Reservation in the Territory of New Mexico, known as "The Pecos River Forest Reserve," created by proclamation of January eleventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, are hereby so changed and enlarged as to include all those certain tracts, pieces, or parcels of land lying and being situate in the Territory of New Mexico, and within the boundaries particularly described as follows, to wit:

Beginning at the southwest corner of Township seventeen (17) North, Range thirteen (13) East, New Mexico Principal Meridian, New Mexico; thence easterly along the Fourth (4th) Standard Parallel North, to its intersection with the west boundary line of the Las Vegas Grant; thence northerly along the west boundary lines of the Las Vegas and Mora Grants to the point of intersection with the southeast boundary line of the Rancho del Rio Grande Grant; thence along the boundary line of said grant in a southwesterly direction to the most southerly point thereof; thence southerly to the line of the Santa Barbary Grant; thence southeasterly and southerly to the southeast corner thereof; thence westerly along the south boundary line of said grant to the southwest corner thereof, and continuing westerly to the east boundary line of the Las Trampas Grant; thence in a general southwesterly direction following the boundary lines of the Las Trampas, Las Truchas, and San Fernando Santiago Grants to the point of intersection with the unsurveyed range line between Ranges ten (10) and eleven (11) East; thence southerly along the range line to the point for the southwest corner of Section eighteen (18), Fractional Township sixteen (16) North, Range eleven (11) East; thence easterly along the unsurveyed section line to the point for the southeast corner of Section thirteen (13), said township; thence northerly along the range line to the northeast corner of Township seventeen (17) North, Range eleven (11) East; thence easterly along the township line to the southeast corner of Township eighteen (18) North, Range twelve (12) East; thence southerly along the range line to the southwest corner of Township seventeen (17) North, Range thirteen (13) East, the place of beginning.

Excepting from the force and effect of this proclamation all lands which may have been, prior to the date hereof, embraced in any legal entry or covered by any lawful filing duly of record in the proper United States Land Office, or upon which any valid settlement has been made pursuant to law, and the statutory period within which to make entry or filing of record has not expired; and all mining claims duly located and held according to the laws of the United States and rules and regulations not in conflict therewith;

Provided, that this exception shall not continue to apply to any particular tract of land unless the entry man, settler, or claimant continues to comply with the law under which the entry, filing, settlement, or location was made.

Warning is hereby expressly given to all persons not to enter or make settlement upon the tract of land reserved by this proclamation.

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 May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-second.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

By the President: J.B. MOORE, Acting Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas pursuant to section 3 of the act of Congress approved July 24, 1897, entitled "An Act to provide revenue for the Government and to encourage the industries of the United States," the Governments of the United States and of the French Republic have in the spirit of amity, and with a desire to improve their commercial relations, entered into a Commercial Agreement in which reciprocal and equivalent concessions have been in the judgment of the President secured according to the provisions of said section, whereby the following articles of commerce, being the products and manufactures of the United States, are to be admitted into France on and after the 1st day of June, 1898, at the minimum rate of duty, not exceeding the rates respectively appearing in the following table, namely:

Francs per 100 kilogs. Canned meats 15

Table fruits, fresh: Lemons, oranges, cedrats and their varieties not mentioned 5 Mandarin oranges 10 Common table grapes 8 Apples and pears: For the table 2 For cider and perry 1.50 Other fruits except hothouse grapes and fruits 3

Fruits dried or pressed (excluding raisins): Apples and pears: For the table 10 For cider and perry 4 Prunes 10 Other fruits 5

Common woods, logs 0.65 Sawed or squared timber 80 mm. or more in thickness 1 Squared or sawed lumber exceeding 35 mm. and less than 80 mm. in thickness 1.25 Wood sawed 35 mm. or less in thickness 1.75

Paving blocks 1.75 Staves 1.75 Hops 30 Apples and pears crushed, or cut and dried 1.50 Manufactured and prepared Pork meats 50 Lard and its compounds 25

Therefore, in further execution of the provisions of said section it is hereby declared that on and after the 1st day of June, 1898, and during the continuance in force of the Agreement aforesaid, and until otherwise declared, the imposition and collection of the duties heretofore imposed and collected upon the following named articles, the products of France, by virtue of said act are hereby suspended, and in place thereof the duties shall be imposed and collected thereon according to the provisions of said section 3 as follows:

On argols, or crude tartar, or wine lees, crude, five per centum ad valorem.

On brandies, or other spirits manufactured or distilled from grain or other materials, one dollar and seventy-five cents per proof gallon.

On paintings in oil or water colors, pastels, pen and ink drawings, and statuary, fifteen per centum ad valorem.

It is further declared that the rates of duty heretofore imposed and collected on still wines and vermuth, the product of France, under the provisions of the United States Tariff Act of 1897 are conditionally suspended, and in place thereof shall be imposed and collected on and after the 1st day of June next as follows, namely:

On still wines and vermuth, in casks, thirty-five cents per gallon; in bottles or jugs, per case of one dozen bottles or jugs containing each not more than one quart and more than one pint, or twenty-four bottles or jugs containing each not more than one pint, one dollar and twenty-five cents per case, and any excess beyond these quantities found in such bottles or jugs shall be subject to a duty of four cents per pint or fractional part thereof, but no separate or additional duty shall be assessed upon the bottles or jugs.

Now, therefore, be it known that I, William McKinley, President of the United States of America, have caused the above stated modifications of the customs duties of the respective countries to be made public for the information of the citizens of the United States of America.

In testimony 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 30th day of May, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and twenty-second.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

By the President: WILLIAM R. DAY, Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas the public lands in the State of California, within the limits hereinafter described, are in part covered with timber, and it appears that the public good would be promoted by setting apart and reserving said lands as a public reservation;

Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested by the aforesaid acts of Congress, do hereby make known and proclaim that the boundary lines of the Forest Reservation in the State of California, known as "the Pine Mountain and Zaca Lake Forest Reserve," created by proclamation of March second, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, are hereby so changed and enlarged as to include all those certain tracts, pieces, or parcels of land lying and being situate in the State of California, and within the boundaries particularly described as follows, to wit:

Beginning at the northwest corner of fractional Township twelve (12) North, Range thirty (30) West, San Bernardino Base and Meridian, California; thence southerly along the range line to the southwest corner of said fractional township; thence westerly along the township line to the northwest corner of Section three (3), Township eleven (11) North, Range thirty-one (31) West; thence southerly along the section line to the southwest corner of Section twenty-two (22), said township; thence westerly along the section line to the northwest corner of