A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents - James D. Richardson
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It is understood that the Cumberland road, which was constructed at
a great expense, has already suffered from the want of that regular
superintendence and of those repairs which are indispensable to the
preservation of such a work. This road is of incalculable advantage
in facilitating the intercourse between the Western and the Atlantic
States. Through it the whole country from the northern extremity of Lake
Erie to the Mississippi, and from all the waters which empty into each,
finds an easy and direct communication to the seat of Government, and
thence to the Atlantic. The facility which it affords to all military
and commercial operations, and also to those of the Post-Office
Department, can not be estimated too highly. This great work is likewise
an ornament and an honor to the nation. Believing that a competent power
to adopt and execute a system of internal improvement has not been
granted to Congress, but that such a power, confined to great national
purposes and with proper limitations, would be productive of eminent
advantage to our Union, I have thought it advisable that an amendment
of the Constitution to that effect should be recommended to the several
States. A bill which assumed the right to adopt and execute such a
system having been presented for my signature at the last session,
I was compelled, from the view which I had taken of the powers of the
General Government, to negative it, on which occasion I thought it
proper to communicate the sentiments which I had formed, on mature
consideration, on the whole subject. To that communication, in all the
views in which the great interest to which it relates may be supposed
to merit your attention, I have now to refer. Should Congress, however,
deem it improper to recommend such an amendment, they have, according to
my judgment, the right to keep the road in repair by providing for the
superintendence of it and appropriating the money necessary for repairs.
Surely if they had the right to appropriate money to make the road they
have a right to appropriate it to preserve the road from ruin. From the
exercise of this power no danger is to be apprehended. Under our happy
system the people are the sole and exclusive fountain of power. Each
government originates from them, and to them alone, each to its proper
constituents, are they respectively and solely responsible for the
faithful discharge of their duties within their constitutional limits;
and that the people will confine their public agents of every station
to the strict line of their constitutional duties there is no cause to
doubt. Having, however, communicated my sentiments to Congress at the
last session fully in the document to which I have referred, respecting
the right of appropriation as distinct from the right of jurisdiction
and sovereignty over the territory in question, I deem it improper to
enlarge on the subject here.
From the best information that I have been able to obtain it appears
that our manufactures, though depressed immediately after the peace,
have considerably increased, and are still increasing, under the
encouragement given them by the tariff of 1816 and by subsequent
laws. Satisfied I am, whatever may be the abstract doctrine in favor of
unrestricted commerce, provided all nations would, concur in it and it
was not liable to be interrupted by war, which has never occurred and
can not be expected, that there are other strong reasons applicable to
our situation and relations with other countries which impose on us the
obligation to cherish and sustain our manufactures. Satisfied, however,
I likewise am that the interest of every part of our Union, even of
those most benefited by manufactures, requires that this subject should
be touched with the greatest caution, and a critical knowledge of
the effect to be produced by the slightest change. On full consideration
of the subject in all its relations I am persuaded that a further
augmentation may now be made of the duties on certain foreign articles
in favor of our own and without affecting injuriously any other
interest. For more precise details I refer you to the communications
which were made to Congress during the last session.
So great was the amount of accounts for moneys advanced during the late
war, in addition to others of a previous date which in the regular
operations of the Government necessarily remained unsettled, that it
required a considerable length of time for their adjustment. By a report
from the First Comptroller of the Treasury it appears that on the 4th of
March, 1817, the accounts then unsettled amounted to $103,068,876.41, of
which, on the 30th of September of the present year, $93,175,396.56 had
been settled, leaving on that day a balance unsettled of $9,893,479.85.
That there have been drawn from the Treasury, in paying the public debt
and sustaining the Government in all its operations and disbursements,
since the 4th of March, 1817, $157,199,380.96, the accounts for which
have been settled to the amount of $137,501,451.12, leaving a balance
unsettled of $19,697,929.84. For precise details respecting each of
these balances I refer to the report of the Comptroller and the
documents which accompany it.
From this view it appears that our commercial differences with France
and Great Britain have been placed in a train of amicable arrangement on
conditions fair and honorable in both instances to each party; that our
finances are in a very productive state, our revenue being at present
fully competent to all the demands upon it; that our military force is
well organized in all its branches and capable of rendering the most
important service in case of emergency that its number will admit of;
that due progress has been made, under existing appropriations, in the
construction of fortifications and in the operations of the Ordnance
Department; that due progress has in like manner been made in the
construction of ships of war; that our Navy is in the best condition,
felt and respected in every sea in which it is employed for the
protection of our commerce; that our manufactures have augmented in
amount and improved in quality; that great progress has been made in
the settlement of accounts and in the recovery of the balances due by
individuals, and that the utmost economy is secured and observed in
every Department of the Administration.
Other objects will likewise claim your attention, because from the
station which the United States hold as a member of the great community
of nations they have rights to maintain, duties to perform, and dangers
to encounter.
A strong hope was entertained that peace would ere this have been
concluded between Spain and the independent governments south of the
United States in this hemisphere. Long experience having evinced the
competency of those governments to maintain the independence which they
had declared, it was presumed that the considerations which induced
their recognition by the United States would have had equal weight with
other powers, and that Spain herself, yielding to those magnanimous
feelings of which her history furnishes so many examples, would have
terminated on that basis a controversy so unavailing and at the same
time so destructive. We still cherish the hope that this result will
not long be postponed.
Sustaining our neutral position and allowing to each party while the war
continues equal rights, it is incumbent on the United States to claim of
each with equal rigor the faithful observance of our rights according to
the well-known law of nations. From each, therefore, a like cooperation
is expected in the suppression of the piratical practice which has grown
out of this war and of blockades of extensive coasts on both seas,
which, considering the small force employed to sustain them, have not
the slightest foundation to rest on.
Europe is still unsettled, and although the war long menaced between
Russia and Turkey has not broken out, there is no certainty that the
differences between those powers will be amicably adjusted. It is
impossible to look to the oppressions of the country respecting which
those differences arose without being deeply affected. The mention of
Greece fills the mind with the most exalted sentiments and arouses
in our bosoms the best feelings of which our nature is susceptible.
Superior skill and refinement in the arts, heroic gallantry in action,
disinterested patriotism, enthusiastic zeal and devotion in favor of
public and personal liberty are associated with our recollections of
ancient Greece. That such a country should have been overwhelmed and so
long hidden, as it were, from the world under a gloomy despotism has
been a cause of unceasing and deep regret to generous minds for ages
past. It was natural, therefore, that the reappearance of those people
in their original character, contending in favor of their liberties,
should produce that great excitement and sympathy in their favor which
have been so signally displayed throughout the United States. A strong
hope is entertained that these people will recover their independence
and resume their equal station among the nations of the earth.
A great effort has been made in Spain and Portugal to improve the
condition of the people, and it must be very consoling to all benevolent
minds to see the extraordinary moderation with which it has been
conducted. That it may promote the happiness of both nations is the
ardent wish of this whole people, to the expression of which we confine
ourselves; for whatever may be the feelings or sentiments which every
individual under our Government has a right to indulge and express,
it is nevertheless a sacred maxim, equally with the Government and
people, that the destiny of every independent nation in what relates
to such improvements of right belongs and ought to be left exclusively
to themselves.
Whether we reason from the late wars or from those menacing symptoms
which now appear in Europe, it is manifest that if a convulsion should
take place in any of those countries it will proceed from causes which
have no existence and are utterly unknown in these States, in which
there is but one order, that of the people, to whom the sovereignty
exclusively belongs. Should war break out in any of those countries, who
can foretell the extent to which it may be carried or the desolation
which it may spread? Exempt as we are from these causes, our internal
tranquillity is secure; and distant as we are from the troubled scene,
and faithful to first principles in regard to other powers, we might
reasonably presume that we should not be molested by them. This,
however, ought not to be calculated on as certain. Unprovoked injuries
are often inflicted, and even the peculiar felicity of our situation
might with some be a cause for excitement and aggression. The history
of the late wars in Europe furnishes a complete demonstration that no
system of conduct, however correct in principle, can protect neutral
powers from injury from any party; that a defenseless position and
distinguished love of peace are the surest invitations to war, and that
there is no way to avoid it other than by being always prepared and
willing for just cause to meet it. If there be a people on earth whose
more especial duty it is to be at all times prepared to defend the
rights with which they are blessed, and to surpass all others in
sustaining the necessary burdens, and in submitting to sacrifices to
make such preparations, it is undoubtedly the people of these States.
When we see that a civil war of the most frightful character rages
from the Adriatic to the Black Sea; that strong symptoms of war appear
in other parts, proceeding from causes which, should it break out, may
become general and be of long duration; that the war still continues
between Spain and the independent governments, her late Provinces,
in this hemisphere; that it is likewise menaced between Portugal and
Brazil, in consequence of the attempt of the latter to dismember
itself from the former, and that a system of piracy of great extent is
maintained in the neighboring seas, which will require equal vigilance
and decision to suppress it, the reasons for sustaining the attitude
which we now hold and for pushing forward all our measures of defense
with the utmost vigor appear to me to acquire new force.
The United States owe to the world a great example, and, by means
thereof, to the cause of liberty and humanity a generous support.
They have so far succeeded to the satisfaction of the virtuous and
enlightened of every country. There is no reason to doubt that their
whole movement will be regulated by a sacred regard to principle, all
our institutions being founded on that basis. The ability to support our
own cause under any trial to which it may be exposed is the great point
on which the public solicitude rests. It has been often charged against
free governments that they have neither the foresight nor the virtue to
provide at the proper season for great emergencies; that their course is
improvident and expensive; that war will always find them unprepared,
and, whatever may be its calamities, that its terrible warnings will
be disregarded and forgotten as soon as peace returns. I have full
confidence that this charge so far as relates to the United States
will be shewn to be utterly destitute of truth.
JAMES MONROE.
SPECIAL MESSAGES.
DECEMBER 4, 1822.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
The convention between the United States and France, concluded at
Washington on the 24th day of June last, is now transmitted to the
Senate for their advice and consent with regard to its ratification,
together with the documents relating to the negotiation, which may serve
to elucidate the deliberations of the Senate concerning its objects and
the purposes to which it was adapted.
JAMES MONROE.
DECEMBER 4, 1822.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit herewith to the Senate, for their constitutional
consideration and decision thereon, a convention between the United
States and Great Britain, concluded at St. Petersburg on the 12th day
of July last, under the mediation of His Imperial Majesty of all the
Russias, together with the documents appertaining thereto, and which
may elucidate the motives for its negotiation and the objects for the
accomplishment of which it is intended.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _December 6, 1822_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
7th of May last, requiring that a plan for the peace establishment of
the Navy of the United States and also of the Marine Corps should be
communicated to that House at the present session, I transmit a report
of the Secretary of the Navy, containing a plan which has been prepared
for the proposed establishment.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _December 7, 1822_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 8th of May last,
requesting "information relative to the copper mines on the southern
shore of Lake Superior, their number, value, and position, the names of
the Indian tribes who claim them, the practicability of extinguishing
their titles, and the probable advantages which may result to the
Republic from the acquisition and working these mines," I herewith
transmit a report from the Secretary of War, which comprises the
information desired in the resolution referred to.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _December 9, 1822_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
Recent information of the multiplied outrages and depredations which
have been committed on our seamen and commerce by the pirates in the
West Indies and Gulf of Mexico, exemplified by the death of a very
meritorious officer, seems to call for some prompt and decisive measures
on the part of the Government. All the public vessels adapted to that
service which can be spared from other indispensable duties are already
employed in it; but from the knowledge which has been acquired of the
places from whence these outlaws issue and to which they escape from
danger it appears that it will require a particular kind of force,
capable of pursuing them into the shallow waters to which they retire,
effectually to suppress them. I submit to the consideration of the
Senate the propriety of organizing such force for that important object.
JAMES MONROE.
[The same message, dated December 6, 1822, was sent to the House of
Representatives.]
WASHINGTON, _December 9, 1822_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 22d of February
last, "requesting the President of the United States to cause to be
collected and communicated to the Senate at the commencement of the next
session of Congress the best information which he may be able to obtain
relative to certain Christian Indians and the lands intended for their
benefit on the Muskingum, in the State of Ohio, granted under an act
of Congress of June 1, 1796, to the Society of the United Brethren
for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen, showing as correctly as
possible the advance or decline of said Indians in numbers, morals, and
intellectual endowments; whether the lands have inured to their sole
benefit, and, if not, to whom, in whole or in part, have such benefits
accrued," I transmit a report from the Secretary of War with the
accompanying documents.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _January 3, 1823_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with the three resolutions of the Senate of the 5th April,
1822, requesting the President of the United States to communicate in
detail the expenses of building each vessel of war authorized by the act
of the 2d of January, 1813, and its supplements, and also the names,
number, grade, etc., of the officers and men employed at each navy-yard
and naval station during the two years immediately preceding the 1st of
January, 1822, I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of the
Navy, with the accompanying documents, which contains the desired
information.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _January 3, 1823_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with the resolutions of the House of Representatives of
the 8th of January, 7th May, and 17th December, 1822, requesting the
President of the United States to cause to be laid before that House a
detailed statement of the current expenses of the Ordnance Department
for the years 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, and 1821, and as much as can be
shewn for the year 1822, and also the number and local position of each
of the armories, arsenals, and magazines of the United States, the total
expense of constructing and repairing the same up to the year 1821; the
number of cannon and other arms annually made at each, and the expenses
of each armory and arsenal for each year from 1816 to 1821, inclusive,
I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of War, accompanied by
such documents as will be found to contain the desired information.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _January 3, 1823_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
United States of the 19th of December, 1822, requesting the President of
the United States to cause to be laid before that House the several laws
which have been made by the governor and legislative council of Florida,
together with such information as may be in the possession of the
Executive, I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of State,
with the accompanying documents, which contains the information desired.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _January 6, 1823_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
19th of December last, requesting the President of the United States
to communicate to the House the progress which has been made in the
execution of the act of the last session entitled "An act to abolish
the Indian trading establishments," with a report from the factories,
respectively, as the same were made to him, I transmit a report from
the Secretary of the Treasury, with the documents referred to by that
resolution. In further execution of the act of the last session treaties
have since been made with the Osage and Sac Indians by which those
tribes have severally relinquished to the United States their right
under preceding treaties to the maintenance of a factory within each,
respectively.
JAMES MONROE.
JANUARY 6, 1823.
_To the Senate_:
I transmit to the Senate, for their advice and consent as to the
ratification, treaties which have been made with the Osage and Sac
tribes of Indians in execution of the provision contained in the act
of the last session entitled "An act to abolish the Indian trading
establishments."
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _January 10, 1823_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of the Senate requesting the President
of the United States "to cause to be laid before the Senate the number
of arms required annually to supply the militia of the West according to
acts of Congress; the probable number necessary to be placed in military
deposits located or to be located on the Western waters; the cost of
transportation of arms to the Western States and deposits; the probable
cost of manufacturing arms in the West; the probable cost of erecting at
this time on the Western waters such an armory as that at Harpers Ferry
or at Springfield, and such other information as he may deem important
to establish the expediency of erecting on the Western waters a national
armory," I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of War
containing the desired information.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _January 16, 1823_.
The VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE:
The convention concluded and signed at St. Petersburg on the 21st of
July last under the mediation of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of all
the Russias having been ratified by the three powers parties thereto,
and the ratifications of the same having been duly exchanged, copies of
it are now communicated to Congress, to the end that the measures for
carrying it on the part of the United States into execution may obtain
the cooperation of the Legislature necessary to the accomplishment of
some of its provisions. A translation is subjoined of three explanatory
documents, in the French language, referred to in the fourth article of
the convention and annexed to it. The agreement executed at the exchange
of the ratifications is likewise communicated.
JAMES MONROE.
[The same message was addressed to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.]
JANUARY 22, 1823.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with a resolution of December 12, 1822, requesting
that the President would cause to be laid before the Senate a
statement exhibiting the amount in aggregate of the goods, wares,
and merchandise exported from the United States to France, and imported
from thence, in each year from and after the year 1814 to the year
1820, discriminating in the reports between the articles of the growth,
produce, or manufacture of the United States and those of foreign
countries, and also stating the national character of the vessels in
which such exports and imports have been made, I transmit a report from
the Secretary of the Treasury, which contains the information desired.
JAMES MONROE.
JANUARY 22, 1823.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
In carrying fully into effect the intention of Congress in making an
appropriation of $5,000 by the act of the 14th April, 1820, for the
survey of the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers from the Rapids of the
Ohio at Louisville to the Balize, for the purpose of facilitating and
ascertaining the most practicable route of improving the navigation of
these rivers, orders were given through the proper department to the
Board of Engineers to examine and survey the said rivers with reference
to those objects, and to report their opinion thereon, which they have
done, and which report I now communicate for the information of
Congress.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _January 25, 1823_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
I transmit herewith to the House of Representatives a report from the
Secretary of State, together with the documents which contain the
information requested by the resolution of the House of the 10th of
December last, relating to the establishment at the mouth of Columbia
River.
JAMES MONROE.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:
I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, containing
one from Captain John Rodgers, president of the Naval Board, accompanied
by a description of the inclined plane, dock, and fixtures for hauling
up ships, and an estimate of the cost and materials and workmanship
necessary for the completion of a dock and wharves, proposed to be
connected with the inclined plane constructed at the navy-yard,
Washington, and recommend the same to the attentive consideration of
Congress.