A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents - James D. Richardson
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Against foreign danger the policy of the Government seems to be already
settled. The events of the late war admonished us to make our maritime
frontier impregnable by a well-digested chain of fortifications, and
to give efficient protection to our commerce by augmenting our Navy
to a certain extent, which has been steadily pursued, and which it is
incumbent upon us to complete as soon as circumstances will permit.
In the event of war it is on the maritime frontier that we shall be
assailed. It is in that quarter, therefore, that we should be prepared
to meet the attack. It is there that our whole force will be called
into action to prevent the destruction of our towns and the desolation
and pillage of the interior. To give full effect to this policy great
improvements will be indispensable. Access to those works by every
practicable communication should be made easy and in every direction.
The intercourse between every part of our Union should also be promoted
and facilitated by the exercise of those powers which may comport with
a faithful regard to the great principles of our Constitution. With
respect to internal causes, those great principles point out with
equal certainty the policy to be pursued. Resting on the people as
our Governments do, State and National, with well-defined powers,
it is of the highest importance that they severally keep within the
limits prescribed to them. Fulfilling that sacred duty, it is of equal
importance that the movement between them be harmonious, and in case
of any disagreement, should any such occur, a calm appeal be made to
the people, and that their voice be heard and promptly obeyed. Both
Governments being instituted for the common good, we can not fail to
prosper while those who made them are attentive to the conduct of their
representatives and control their measures. In the pursuit of these
great objects let a generous spirit and national views and feelings be
indulged, and let every part recollect that by cherishing that spirit
and improving the condition of the others in what relates to their
welfare the general interest will not only be promoted, but the local
advantage be reciprocated by all.
I can not conclude this communication, the last of the kind which I
shall have to make, without recollecting with great sensibility and
heartfelt gratitude the many instances of the public confidence and the
generous support which I have received from my fellow-citizens in the
various trusts with which I have been honored. Having commenced my
service in early youth, and continued it since with few and short
intervals, I have witnessed the great difficulties to which our Union
has been exposed, and admired the virtue and intelligence with which
they have been surmounted. From the present prosperous and happy state
I derive a gratification which I can not express. That these blessings
may be preserved and perpetuated will be the object of my fervent and
unceasing prayers to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe.
JAMES MONROE.
SPECIAL MESSAGES.
DECEMBER 6, 1824.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
Agreeably to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 13th of
May last, requesting the President to cause to be made and submitted to
the House on the first day of the next [present] session of Congress a
full and complete statement of the exact number of lots belonging to
the United States in the city of Washington which have been sold by the
public agents for that purpose; when sold, by whom, to whom, and for
what price each lot was purchased; what part of the purchase money has
been paid, the amount due, and by whom due, and when payable; whether
the debts are well secured, and whether the money received has been
applied, to what purposes, and by whom, I herewith transmit a report and
statements from the Commissioner of Public Buildings, which will afford
the information required.
JAMES MONROE.
DECEMBER 13, 1824.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
In compliance with an act of Congress which originated in the House
of Representatives, passed the 26th of May, 1824, "to authorize the
President of the United States to enter into certain negotiations
relative to lands located under Virginia military land warrants, lying
between Ludlow's and Roberts's lines, in the State of Ohio," I herewith
transmit a report, with accompanying documents, from the Commissioner
of the General Land Office, shewing the measures which have been taken
under the provisions of the aforesaid act.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _December 13, 1824_.
The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE PRO TEMPORE:
I transmit to the Senate a convention, negotiated and signed by Samuel
D. Heap, acting consul of the United States, on the part of the United
States, and Mahmoud Bashaw, Bey of Tunis, on the 24th day of February
last, together with copies of Mr. Heap's correspondence appertaining
to the negotiation of the same, for the constitutional consideration
of the Senate with regard to its ratification.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _December 13, 1824_.
The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES PRO TEMPORE:
I transmit to the Senate the convention, signed by the plenipotentiaries
of the United States and of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia
at St. Petersburg on the 5th (17th) of April last, referred to in
my message to both Houses of Congress, together with the documents
appertaining to the negotiation of the same, for the constitutional
consideration of the Senate with regard to its ratification.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _December 23, 1824_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
Agreeably to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
15th instant, requesting the President to lay before the House a copy
of the instructions under which the articles of a treaty with the
Cherokee Indians were formed by Daniel Smith and R.J. Meigs, acting as
commissioners of the United States, at Telico on the 24th October, 1804,
with copies of all the correspondence or other documents relating to
that instrument in either of the Executive Departments, with a statement
of the causes which prevented an earlier decision upon it, I herewith
transmit a report from the Secretary of War, with the documents referred
to in it.
JAMES MONROE.
WASHINGTON, _December 23, 1824_.
_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:
I herewith transmit to the House a report from the Secretary of State,
with copies of the correspondence with the Government of France
requested by the resolution of the House of the 26th May last.
JAMES MONROE.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
_Washington, December 23, 1824_.
The Secretary of State, to whom has been referred a resolution of the
House of Representatives of the 26th of May last, requesting that the
President of the United States would lay before that House at the
then next session, as early as the public interest would permit, the
correspondence which might be held with the Government of France prior
to that time on the subject of injuries sustained by citizens of the
United States since the year 1806, has the honor of reporting to the
President copies of the documents requested by that resolution.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
[Extract of a letter from Mr. Adams (No. 1) to Mr. Sheldon, dated
Department of State, Washington, August 13, 1823.]
I have had the honor of receiving your dispatches Nos. 1 and 2, the
latter dated the 10th of June. Mr. Gallatin arrived with his family
at New York on the 24th of that month.
I inclose herewith copies of the recent correspondence between the
Count de Menou, the charge d'affaires of France, and this Department
on various subjects highly interesting to the relations between the
two countries.
With regard to the Count's note of the 11th of July, the President
received with great satisfaction the testimonial of the Viscount de
Chateaubriand to the candor and ability with which Mr. Gallatin has
performed the duties of his official station in France. The proposal
to renew the negotiation in behalf of the well-founded claims of our
citizens upon the French Government in _connection_ with a claim on
the part of France to special privileges in the ports of Louisiana,
which, after a very full discussion, had in the views of this Government
been proved utterly groundless, could neither be accepted nor considered
as evidence of the same conciliatory spirit. The claims of our citizens
are for mere justice; they are for reparation of unquestionable
wrongs--for indemnity or restitution of property taken from them or
destroyed without shadow or color of right. The claim under the eighth
article of the Louisiana convention has nothing to rest upon but a
forced construction of the terms of the stipulation, which the American
Government considered, and have invariably considered, as totally
without foundation. These are elements not to be coupled together in the
same negotiation, and while we yet trust to the final sense of justice
of France for the adjustment of the righteous claims of our citizens, we
still hope that their unquestionable character will ultimately secure
to them a consideration unencumbered with other discussions. You will
respectfully make this representation to the Viscount de Chateaubriand,
with the assurance of the readiness of this Government to discuss the
question upon the Louisiana convention further if desired by France,
but of our final conviction that it is not to be blended with the claims
of our citizens for mere justice.
_Count de Menou to Mr. Adams_.
[Translation.]
LEGATION OF FRANCE TO THE UNITED STATES,
_Washington, July 11, 1823_.
The Honorable SECRETARY OF STATE:
His Excellency the Viscount de Chateaubriand, in announcing to me that
Mr. Gallatin was about to leave France, expresses his regret at his
departure in such terms that I should do him injustice were I not to use
his own expressions. "My correspondence with this minister," he remarks
to me, "has caused me to appreciate his talents, his ability, and his
attachment to the system of friendship that unites the two powers. It
is with regret that I suspend my communications with him."
I esteem myself happy, sir, in conveying to you such sentiments toward
the representative of the United States in France, and I should have
thought that I had but imperfectly apprehended the design of the
Viscount de Chateaubriand had I neglected to communicate them to the
Federal Government.
The minister for foreign affairs reminds me also on this occasion that
Mr. Gallatin having frequently laid before him claims of Americans
against the French Government, he had shown himself disposed to enter
upon a general negotiation, in which they should be comprehended with
claims of French citizens against the Federal Government at the same
time with the arrangement relative to the execution of the eighth
article of the treaty of Louisiana, The object of his excellency was to
arrive at a speedy and friendly disposition of all difficulties that
might subsist between the two powers, well assured that France and the
United States would be found to have the same views of justice and
conciliation.
His excellency regrets that Mr. Gallatin, who, he says, "has convinced
him how pleasing and advantageous it is to negotiate with a statesman
who exhibits candor and ability in his discussions," did not receive
from his Government during his stay in France the necessary powers for
this double negotiation. But he informs me that the Government of His
Majesty remains always disposed to open it, either with Mr. Gallatin
should he return with these powers, or with Mr. Sheldon if the Federal
Government should think proper to confer them on him.
I greatly desire, sir, to see these propositions acceded to by the
Federal Government and to be able to reply to his excellency, as he
expresses his wish that an arrangement putting an end to every subject
of discussion might soon be expected.
I pray the Secretary of State to receive the renewed assurance of my
high consideration.
The charge d'affaires of France near the United States,
MENOU.
_Mr. Adams to Count de Menou_.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
_Washington, August 12, 1823_.
The COUNT DE MENOU,
_Charge d'Affaires from France_.
SIR: Your letter of the 11th of last month has been submitted to the
consideration of the President of the United States, by whom I am
directed to express the high satisfaction that he has felt at the manner
in which His Excellency the Viscount de Chateaubriand has noticed in
his correspondence with you the temporary absence of Mr. Gallatin from
France and the terms of regard and esteem with which he notices the
character and conduct of that minister. The anxious desire of the
President for the promotion of the good understanding between the United
States and France could not be more gratified than by the testimonial of
His Most Christian Majesty's Government to the good faith and ability
with which the minister of the United States at his Court has performed
his official duties.
With regard to the assurance of His Excellency the Viscount de
Chateaubriand's disposition to enter upon a negotiation with Mr.
Gallatin in the event of his return to France, or with Mr. Sheldon
during his absence, concerning the claims of citizens of the United
States on the Government of France in connection with an arrangement
concerning the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty, I am directed to
observe that those subjects rest upon grounds so totally different that
the Government of the United States can not consent to connect them
together in negotiation.
The claims of the citizens of the United States upon the French
Government have been of many years' standing, often represented by
successive ministers of the United States, and particularly by Mr.
Gallatin during a residence of seven years, with a perspicuity of
statement and a force of evidence which could leave to the Government
of the United States no desire but that they should have been received
with friendly attention and no regret but that they should have proved
ineffectual. The justice of these claims has never been denied by
France, and while the United States are still compelled to wait for
their adjustment, similar and less forceful claims of the subjects of
other nations have been freely admitted and liquidated.
A long and protracted discussion has already taken place between the
two Governments in relation to the claim of France under the eighth
article of the Louisiana convention, the result of which has been a
thorough conviction on the part of the American Government that the
claim has no foundation in the treaty whatever. The reasons for this
conviction have been so fully set forth in the discussion that it was
not anticipated a further examination of it would be thought desirable.
As a subject of discussion, however, the American Government is willing
to resume it whenever it may suit the views of France to present further
considerations relating to it; but while convinced that the claim is
entirely without foundation, they can not place it on a footing of
concurrent negotiation with claims of their citizens, the justice of
which is so unequivocal that they have not even been made the subject
of denial.
From the attention which His Excellency the Viscount de Chateaubriand
has intimated his willingness to give to the consideration of these
claims the President indulges the hope that they will be taken into view
upon their own merits, and in that hope the representative of the United
States at Paris will at an early day be instructed to present them again
to the undivided and unconditional sense of the justice of France.
I pray you, sir, to accept the renewed assurance of my distinguished
consideration.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
[Extract of a letter from Mr, Sheldon (No. 2) to Mr, Adams, dated
Paris, October 16, 1823.]
I took an early occasion after the receipt of your dispatch No. 1, of
the 10th August, to communicate the subjects of it in a conversation
I had with Viscount de Chateaubriand. His observations in relation to
that of the claims, as connected with the pretensions of France under
the Louisiana treaty, were of a very general nature and amounted to
little more than a repetition of his readiness to enter upon the
consideration of whatever subjects of discussion might exist between the
two countries and the expression of his satisfaction at the prospect of
being soon relieved from the labor which the affairs of Spain had thrown
upon him, and having thus more time to devote to those of the United
States and others not of the same pressing nature. He avoided any
intimation of a disposition to take up the claims by themselves, and
it can hardly be expected that the French Government will at this time
relax from the ground they have so lately taken upon that point. I
informed him that I should communicate in writing an answer to the
overture made by Count de Menou at Washington for uniting in a new
negotiation this subject with that of the Louisiana treaty, in substance
the same as that gentleman had already received there, and should again
press upon the French Government the consideration of the claims by
themselves; to which he replied that any communication I might make
would be received and treated with all the attention to which it was
entitled on his part.
_Mr. Sheldon to the Viscount de Chateaubriand_.
PARIS, _October 11, 1823_.
SIR: Mr. Gallatin, during his residence as minister of the United
States in France, had upon various occasions called the attention
of His Majesty's Government to the claims of our citizens for the
reparation of wrongs sustained by them from the unjust seizure,
detention, and confiscation of their property by officers and agents
acting under authority of the Government of France. During the past
year His Majesty's ministers had consented to enter upon the
consideration of these claims, but they proposed to couple with it
another subject having no connection with those claims, either in its
nature, its origin, or the principles on which it depended--a question
of the disputed construction of one of the articles of the treaty of
cession of Louisiana, by virtue of which France claimed certain
commercial privileges in the ports of that Province. Mr. Gallatin had
not received from his Government any authority to connect these two
dissimilar subjects in the same negotiation, or, indeed, to treat upon
the latter, which had already been very amply discussed at Washington
between the Secretary of State of the United States and His Majesty's
minister at that place, without producing any result except a conviction
on the part of the Government of the United States that the privileges
for French vessels, as claimed by the minister of France, never could
have been, and were not in fact, conceded by the treaty in question.
A stop was then put to the negotiations already commenced in relation
to the claims, and with which had been united, on the proposition of
the French Government, and as being naturally connected with it, the
consideration of certain claims of French citizens on the Government
of the United States.
The charge d'affaires of France at Washington has lately, on behalf
of his Government, expressed to that of the United States a wish that
this double negotiation might be resumed and that a definitive
arrangement might be made as well in relation to the disputed article of
the Louisiana treaty as of the subject of the claims upon the one side
and upon the other. The Government of the United States has nothing
more at heart than to remove by friendly arrangements every subject of
difference which may exist between the two countries, and to examine
with the greatest impartiality and good faith as well the nature and
extent of the stipulations into which they have entered as the appeals
to their justice made by individuals claiming reparation for wrongs
supposed to have been sustained at their hands.
But these two subjects are essentially dissimilar; there are no points
of connection between them; the principles upon which they depend are
totally different; they have no bearing upon each other; and the justice
which is due to individuals ought not to be delayed or made dependent
upon the right or the wrong interpretation by one or the other party of
a treaty having for its object the regulation of entirely distinct and
different interests.
The reclamations of American citizens upon the Government of France
are for mere justice--for the reparation of unquestionable wrongs,
indemnity or restitution of property taken from them or destroyed
forcibly and without right. They are of ancient date, and justice has
been long and anxiously waited for. They have been often represented to
the Government of France, and their validity is not disputed. Similar
reclamations without greater merit or stronger titles to admission
presented by citizens of other nations have been favorably received,
examined, and liquidated, and it seems to have been hitherto reserved
to those of the United States alone to meet with impediments at every
juncture and to seek in vain the moment in which the Government of
France could consent to enter upon their consideration. Although the
question arising under the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty has
already been fully examined, the Government of the United States is
ready, if it is desired by France, and if it is thought that any new
light can be thrown upon it, to discuss the subject further whenever it
shall be presented anew by France to their consideration. But they are
convinced that by blending it with the claims not only will no progress
be made toward its solution, but that these last, standing upon their
own unquestionable character, ought not to be trammeled with a subject
to which they are wholly foreign.
I am instructed to bring them anew before your excellency, and to
express the hope of the President that His Majesty's Government will not
continue to insist upon connecting together two subjects of so different
a nature, but that the claims may be taken up on their own merits and
receive the consideration which they deserve, unencumbered with other
discussions.
I request your excellency to accept the assurance, etc,
D. SHELDON.
[Extracts of a letter from the Secretary of State to Mr. Brown, dated
Washington, December 23, 1823.]
You will immediately after your reception earnestly call the attention
of the French Government to the claims of our citizens for indemnity.
You will at the same time explicitly make known that this Government
can not consent to connect this discussion with that of the pretension
raised by France on the construction given by her to the eighth article
of the Louisiana cession treaty. The difference in the nature and
character of the two interests is such that they can not with propriety
be blended together. The claims are of reparation to individuals for
their property taken from them by manifest and undisputed wrong. The
question upon the Louisiana treaty is a question of _right_ upon the
meaning of a contract. It has been fully, deliberately, and thoroughly
investigated, and the Government of the United States is under the
entire and solemn conviction that the pretension of France is utterly
unfounded. We are, nevertheless, willing to resume the discussion if
desired by France; but to refuse justice to individuals unless the
United States will accede to the construction of an article in a treaty
contrary to what they believe to be its real meaning would be not only
incompatible with the principles of equity, but submitting to a species
of compulsion derogatory to the honor of the nation.
[Extract of a letter (No. 2) from James Brown, envoy extraordinary and
minister plenipotentiary of the United States, dated April 28, 1824.]
I have in a letter to M. de Chateaubriand, copy of which I have now the
honor to send, made an effort to separate the claims of our citizens
from the Louisiana question.
_Mr. Brown to M. de Chateaubriand_.
PARIS, _April 28, 1824_.
His Excellency VISCOUNT DE CHATEAUBRIAND,
_Minister of Foreign Affairs, etc_.
SIR: In the conference with which your excellency honored me a few
days ago I mentioned a subject deeply interesting to many citizens
of the United States, on which I have been instructed to address your
excellency, and to which I earnestly wish to call your immediate
attention.
It is well known to your excellency that my predecessor, Mr. Gallatin,
during several years made repeated and urgent applications to His
Majesty's Government for the adjustment of claims to a very large
amount, affecting the interests of American citizens and originating in
gross violations of the law of nations and of the rights of the United
States, and that he never could obtain from France either a settlement
of those claims or even an examination and discussion of their validity.
To numerous letters addressed by him to His Majesty's ministers on that
subject either no answers were given or answers which had for their only
object to postpone the investigation of the subject. Whilst, however,
he indulged the hope that these delays would be abandoned, and that the
rights of our citizens, which had been urged for so many years, would at
length be taken up for examination, he learned with surprise and regret
that His Majesty's Government had determined to insist that they should
be discussed in connection with the question of the construction of
the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty of cession. Against this
determination he strongly but ineffectually remonstrated in a letter
to Mr. De Villele, dated the 12th November, 1822.