A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Volume - James D. Richardson
The value of our exports of breadstuffs and provisions, which it was
supposed the incentive of a low tariff and large importations from
abroad would have greatly augmented, has fallen from $68,701,921 in
1847 to $26,051,373 in 1850 and to $21,948,653 in 1851, with a strong
probability, amounting almost to a certainty, of a still further
reduction in the current year.
The aggregate values of rice exported during the last fiscal year, as
compared with the previous year, also exhibit a decrease, amounting to
$460,917, which, with a decline in the values of the exports of tobacco
for the same period, make an aggregate decrease in these two articles of
$1,156,751.
The policy which dictated a low rate of duties on foreign merchandise,
it was thought by those who promoted and established it, would tend to
benefit the farming population of this country by increasing the demand
and raising the price of agricultural products in foreign markets.
The foregoing facts, however, seem to show incontestably that no such
result has followed the adoption of this policy. On the contrary,
notwithstanding the repeal of the restrictive corn laws in England, the
foreign demand for the products of the American farmer has steadily
declined, since the short crops and consequent famine in a portion
of Europe have been happily replaced by full crops and comparative
abundance of food.
It will be seen by recurring to the commercial statistics for the past
year that the value of our domestic exports has been increased in the
single item of raw cotton by $40,000,000 over the value of that export
for the year preceding. This is not due to any increased general demand
for that article, but to the short crop of the preceding year, which
created an increased demand and an augmented price for the crop of last
year. Should the cotton crop now going forward to market be only equal
in quantity to that of the year preceding and be sold at the present
prices, then there would be a falling off in the value of our exports
for the present fiscal year of at least $40,000,000 compared with the
amount exported for the year ending 30th June, 1851.
The production of gold in California for the past year seems to promise
a large supply of that metal from that quarter for some time to come.
This large annual increase of the currency of the world must be attended
with its usual results. These have been already partially disclosed
in the enhancement of prices and a rising spirit of speculation and
adventure, tending to overtrading, as well at home as abroad. Unless
some salutary check shall be given to these tendencies it is to be
feared that importations of foreign goods beyond a healthy demand in
this country will lead to a sudden drain of the precious metals from us,
bringing with it, as it has done in former times, the most disastrous
consequences to the business and capital of the American people.
The exports of specie to liquidate our foreign debt during the past
fiscal year have been $24,263,979 over the amount of specie imported.
The exports of specie during the first quarter of the present fiscal
year have been $14,651,827. Should specie continue to be exported at
this rate for the remaining three quarters of this year, it will drain
from our metallic currency during the year ending 30th June, 1852, the
enormous amount of $58,607,308.
In the present prosperous condition of the national finances it will
become the duty of Congress to consider the best mode of paying off the
public debt. If the present and anticipated surplus in the Treasury
should not be absorbed by appropriations of an extraordinary character,
this surplus should be employed in such way and under such restrictions
as Congress may enact in extinguishing the outstanding debt of the
nation.
By reference to the act of Congress approved 9th September, 1850, it
will be seen that, in consideration of certain concessions by the State
of Texas, it is provided that--
The United States shall pay to the State of Texas the sum of $10,000,000
in a stock bearing 5 per cent interest and redeemable at the end of
fourteen years, the interest payable half-yearly at the Treasury of
the United States.
In the same section of the law it is further provided--
That no more than five millions of said stock shall be issued until the
creditors of the State holding bonds and other certificates of stock of
Texas, _for which duties on imports were specially_ pledged, shall first
file at the Treasury of the United States releases of all claims against
the United States for or on account of said bonds or certificates, in
such form as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury and
approved by the President of the United States.
The form of release thus provided for has been prescribed by the
Secretary of the Treasury and approved. It has been published in all
the leading newspapers in the commercial cities of the United States,
and all persons holding claims of the kind specified in the foregoing
proviso were required to file their releases (in the form thus
prescribed) in the Treasury of the United States on or before the 1st
day of October, 1851. Although this publication has been continued
from the 25th day of March, 1851, yet up to the 1st of October last
comparatively few releases had been filed by the creditors of Texas.
The authorities of the State of Texas, at the request of the Secretary
of the Treasury, have furnished a schedule of the public debt of that
State created prior to her admission into the Union, with a copy of the
laws under which each class was contracted.
I have, from the documents furnished by the State of Texas, determined
the classes of claims which in my judgment fall within the provisions of
the act of Congress of the 9th of September, 1850.
On being officially informed of the acceptance by Texas of the
propositions contained in the act referred to I caused the stock to be
prepared, and the five millions which are to be issued unconditionally,
bearing an interest of 5 per cent from the 1st day of January, 1851,
have been for some time ready to be delivered to the State of Texas. The
authorities of Texas up to the present time have not authorized anyone
to receive this stock, and it remains in the Treasury Department subject
to the order of Texas.
The releases required by law to be deposited in the Treasury not having
been filed there, the remaining five millions have not been issued.
This last amount of the stock will be withheld from Texas until the
conditions upon which it is to be delivered shall be complied with by
the creditors of that State, unless Congress shall otherwise direct by
a modification of the law.
In my last annual message, to which I respectfully refer, I stated
briefly the reasons which induced me to recommend a modification of
the present tariff by converting the _ad valorem_ into a specific duty
wherever the article imported was of such a character as to permit it,
and that such a discrimination should be made in favor of the industrial
pursuits of our own country as to encourage home production without
excluding foreign competition.
The numerous frauds which continue to be practiced upon the revenue by
false invoices and undervaluations constitute an unanswerable reason for
adopting specific instead of _ad valorem_ duties in all cases where the
nature of the commodity does not forbid it. A striking illustration of
these frauds will be exhibited in the report of the Secretary of the
Treasury, showing the custom-house valuation of articles imported under
a former law, subject to specific duties, when there was no inducement
to undervaluation, and the custom-house valuations of the same articles
under the present system of _ad valorem_ duties, so greatly reduced
as to leave no doubt of the existence of the most flagrant abuses under
the existing laws. This practical evasion of the present law, combined
with the languishing condition of some of the great interests of the
country, caused by overimportations and consequent depressed prices,
and with the failure in obtaining a foreign market for our increasing
surplus of breadstuffs and provisions, has induced me again to recommend
a modification of the existing tariff.
The report of the Secretary of the Interior, which accompanies this
communication, will present a condensed statement of the operations
of that important Department of the Government.
It will be seen that the cash sales of the public lands exceed those
of the preceding year, and that there is reason to anticipate a still
further increase, notwithstanding the large donations which have been
made to many of the States and the liberal grants to individuals as
a reward for military services. This fact furnishes very gratifying
evidence of the growing wealth and prosperity of our country.
Suitable measures have been adopted for commencing the survey of the
public lands in California and Oregon. Surveying parties have been
organized and some progress has been made in establishing the principal
base and meridian lines. But further legislation and additional
appropriations will be necessary before the proper subdivisions can
be made and the general land system extended over those remote parts
of our territory.
On the 3d of March last an act was passed providing for the appointment
of three commissioners to settle private land claims in California.
Three persons were immediately appointed, all of whom, however,
declined accepting the office in consequence of the inadequacy of the
compensation. Others were promptly selected, who for the same reason
also declined, and it was not until late in the season that the services
of suitable persons could be secured. A majority of the commissioners
convened in this city on the 10th of September last, when detailed
instructions were given to them in regard to their duties. Their first
meeting for the transaction of business will be held in San Francisco
on the 8th day of the present month.
I have thought it proper to refer to these facts, not only to explain
the causes of the delay in filling the commission, but to call your
attention to the propriety of increasing the compensation of the
commissioners. The office is one of great labor and responsibility,
and the compensation should be such as to command men of a high order
of talents and the most unquestionable integrity.
The proper disposal of the mineral lands of California is a subject
surrounded by great difficulties. In my last annual message I
recommended the survey and sale of them in small parcels under
such restrictions as would effectually guard against monopoly and
speculation; but upon further information, and in deference to the
opinions of persons familiar with the subject, I am inclined to change
that recommendation and to advise that they be permitted to remain as at
present, a common field, open to the enterprise and industry of all our
citizens, until further experience shall have developed the best policy
to be ultimately adopted in regard to them. It is safer to suffer the
inconveniences that now exist for a short period than by premature
legislation to fasten on the country a system founded in error, which
may place the whole subject beyond the future control of Congress.
The agricultural lands should, however, be surveyed and brought into
market with as little delay as possible, that the titles may become
settled and the inhabitants stimulated to make permanent improvements
and enter on the ordinary pursuits of life. To effect these objects
it is desirable that the necessary provision be made by law for the
establishment of land offices in California and Oregon and for the
efficient prosecution of the surveys at an early day.
Some difficulties have occurred in organizing the Territorial
governments of New Mexico and Utah, and when more accurate information
shall be obtained of the causes a further communication will be made on
that subject.
In my last annual communication to Congress I recommended the
establishment of an agricultural bureau, and I take this occasion
again to invoke your favorable consideration of the subject.
Agriculture may justly be regarded as the great interest of our people.
Four-fifths of our active population are employed in the cultivation of
the soil, and the rapid expansion of our settlements over new territory
is daily adding to the number of those engaged in that vocation. Justice
and sound policy, therefore, alike require that the Government should
use all the means authorized by the Constitution to promote the
interests and welfare of that important class of our fellow-citizens.
And yet it is a singular fact that whilst the manufacturing and
commercial interests have engaged the attention of Congress during a
large portion of every session and our statutes abound in provisions for
their protection and encouragement, little has yet been done directly
for the advancement of agriculture. It is time that this reproach to our
legislation should be removed, and I sincerely hope that the present
Congress will not close their labors without adopting efficient means
to supply the omissions of those who have preceded them.
An agricultural bureau, charged with the duty of collecting and
disseminating correct information as to the best modes of cultivation
and of the most effectual means of preserving and restoring the
fertility of the soil and of procuring and distributing seeds and plants
and other vegetable productions, with instructions in regard to the
soil, climate, and treatment best adapted to their growth, could not
fail to be, in the language of Washington in his last annual message
to Congress, a "very cheap instrument of immense national benefit."
Regarding the act of Congress approved 28th September, 1850, granting
bounty lands to persons who had been engaged in the military service of
the country, as a great measure of national justice and munificence,
an anxious desire has been felt by the officers intrusted with its
immediate execution to give prompt effect to its provisions. All the
means within their control were therefore brought into requisition
to expedite the adjudication of claims, and I am gratified to be
able to state that near 100,000 applications have been considered
and about 70,000 warrants issued within the short space of nine
months. If adequate provision be made by law to carry into effect
the recommendations of the Department, it is confidently expected
that before the close of the next fiscal year all who are entitled
to the benefits of the act will have received their warrants.
The Secretary of the Interior has suggested in his report various
amendments of the laws relating to pensions and bounty lands for the
purpose of more effectually guarding against abuses and frauds on the
Government, to all of which I invite your particular attention.
The large accessions to our Indian population consequent upon the
acquisition of New Mexico and California and the extension of our
settlements into Utah and Oregon have given increased interest and
importance to our relations with the aboriginal race.
No material change has taken place within the last year in the condition
and prospects of the Indian tribes who reside in the Northwestern
Territory and west of the Mississippi River. We are at peace with all of
them, and it will be a source of pleasure to you to learn that they are
gradually advancing in civilization and the pursuits of social life.
Along the Mexican frontier and in California and Oregon there have been
occasional manifestations of unfriendly feeling and some depredations
committed. I am satisfied, however, that they resulted more from the
destitute and starving condition of the Indians than from any settled
hostility toward the whites. As the settlements of our citizens progress
toward them, the game, upon which they mainly rely for subsistence,
is driven off or destroyed, and the only alternative left to them
is starvation or plunder. It becomes us to consider, in view of this
condition of things, whether justice and humanity, as well as an
enlightened economy, do not require that instead of seeking to punish
them for offenses which are the result of our own policy toward them
we should not provide for their immediate wants and encourage them to
engage in agriculture and to rely on their labor instead of the chase
for the means of support.
Various important treaties have been negotiated with different tribes
during the year, by which their title to large and valuable tracts of
country has been extinguished, all of which will at the proper time be
submitted to the Senate for ratification.
The joint commission under the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo has been
actively engaged in running and marking the boundary line between the
United States and Mexico. It was stated in the last annual report of
the Secretary of the Interior that the initial point on the Pacific
and the point of junction of the Gila with the Colorado River had been
determined and the intervening line, about 150 miles in length, run and
marked by temporary monuments. Since that time a monument of marble has
been erected at the initial point, and permanent landmarks of iron have
been placed at suitable distances along the line.
The initial point on the Rio Grande has also been fixed by the
commissioners, at latitude 32 deg. 22', and at the date of the last
communication the purvey of the line had been made thence westward
about 150 miles to the neighborhood of the copper mines.
The commission on our part was at first organized on a scale which
experience proved to be unwieldy and attended with unnecessary expense.
Orders have therefore been issued for the reduction of the number of
persons employed within the smallest limits consistent with the safety
of those engaged in the service and the prompt and efficient execution
of their important duties.
Returns have been received from all the officers engaged in taking
the census in the States and Territories except California. The
superintendent employed to make the enumeration in that State has
not yet made his full report, from causes, as he alleges, beyond his
control. This failure is much to be regretted, as it has prevented the
Secretary of the Interior from making the decennial apportionment of
Representatives among the States, as required by the act approved May
23, 1850. It is hoped, however, that the returns will soon be received,
and no time will then be lost in making the necessary apportionment and
in transmitting the certificates required by law.
The Superintendent of the Seventh Census is diligently employed, under
the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, in classifying and
arranging in tabular form all the statistical information derived from
the returns of the marshals, and it is believed that when the work shall
be completed it will exhibit a more perfect view of the population,
wealth, occupations, and social condition of a great country than has
ever been presented to the world. The value of such a work as the basis
of enlightened legislation can hardly be overestimated, and I earnestly
hope that Congress will lose no time in making the appropriations
necessary to complete the classifications and to publish the results
in a style worthy of the subject and of our national character.
The want of a uniform fee bill, prescribing the compensation to be
allowed district attorneys, clerks, marshals, and commissioners in civil
and criminal cases, is the cause of much vexation, injustice, and
complaint. I would recommend a thorough revision of the laws on the
whole subject and the adoption of a tariff of fees which, as far as
practicable, should be uniform, and prescribe a specific compensation
for every service which the officer may be required to perform. This
subject will be fully presented in the report of the Secretary of the
Interior.
In my last annual message I gave briefly my reasons for believing that
you possessed the constitutional power to improve the harbors of our
Great Lakes and seacoast and the navigation of our principal rivers, and
recommended that appropriations should be made for completing such works
as had already been commenced and for commencing such others as might
seem to the wisdom of Congress to be of public and general importance.
Without repeating the reasons then urged, I deem it my duty again to
call your attention to this important subject. The works on many of the
harbors were left in an unfinished state, and consequently exposed to
the action of the elements, which is fast destroying them. Great numbers
of lives and vast amounts of property are annually lost for want of
safe and convenient harbors on the Lakes. None but those who have been
exposed to that dangerous navigation can fully appreciate the importance
of this subject. The whole Northwest appeals to you for relief, and
I trust their appeal will receive due consideration at your hands.
The same is in a measure true in regard to some of the harbors and
inlets on the seacoast.
The unobstructed navigation of our large rivers is of equal importance.
Our settlements are now extending to the sources of the great rivers
which empty into and form a part of the Mississippi, and the value of
the public lands in those regions would be greatly enhanced by freeing
the navigation of those waters from obstructions. In view, therefore,
of this great interest, I deem it my duty again to urge upon Congress
to make such appropriations for these improvements as they may deem
necessary.
The surveys of the Delta of the Mississippi, with a view to the
prevention of the overflows that have proved so disastrous to that
region of country, have been nearly completed, and the reports thereof
are now in course of preparation and will shortly be laid before you.
The protection of our southwestern frontier and of the adjacent Mexican
States against the Indian tribes within our border has claimed my
earnest and constant attention. Congress having failed at the last
session to adopt my recommendation that an additional regiment of
mounted men specially adapted to that service should be raised, all
that remained to be done was to make the best use of the means at my
disposal. Accordingly, all the troops adapted to that service that could
properly be spared from other quarters have been concentrated on that
frontier and officers of high reputation selected to command them. A new
arrangement of the military posts has also been made, whereby the troops
are brought nearer to the Mexican frontier and to the tribes they are
intended to overawe.
Sufficient time has not yet elapsed to realize all the benefits that are
expected to result from these arrangements, but I have every reason to
hope that they will effectually check their marauding expeditions. The
nature of the country, which furnishes little for the support of an army
and abounds in places of refuge and concealment, is remarkably well
adapted to this predatory warfare, and we can scarcely hope that any
military force, combined with the greatest vigilance, can entirely
suppress it.
By the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo we are bound to protect the territory
of Mexico against the incursions of the savage tribes within our border
"with equal diligence and energy" as if the same were made within our
territory or against our citizens. I have endeavored to comply as far
as possible with this provision of the treaty. Orders have been given
to the officers commanding on that frontier to consider the Mexican
territory and its inhabitants as equally with our own entitled to their
protection, and to make all their plans and arrangements with a view
to the attainment of this object. Instructions have also been given to
the Indian commissioners and agents among these tribes in all treaties
to make the clauses designed for the protection of our own citizens
apply also to those of Mexico. I have no reason to doubt that these
instructions have been fully carried into effect; nevertheless, it is
probable that in spite of all our efforts some of the neighboring States
of Mexico may have suffered, as our own have, from depredations by the
Indians.
To the difficulties of defending our own territory, as above mentioned,
are superadded, in defending that of Mexico, those that arise from its
remoteness, from the fact that we have no right to station our troops
within her limits and that there is no efficient military force on the
Mexican side to cooperate with our own. So long as this shall continue
to be the case the number and activity of our troops will rather
increase than diminish the evil, as the Indians will naturally turn
toward that country where they encounter the least resistance. Yet these
troops are necessary to subdue them and to compel them to make and
observe treaties. Until this shall have been done neither country will
enjoy any security from their attacks.
The Indians in California, who had previously appeared of a peaceable
character and disposed to cultivate the friendship of the whites, have
recently committed several acts of hostility. As a large portion of the
reenforcements sent to the Mexican frontier were drawn from the Pacific,
the military force now stationed there is considered entirely inadequate
to its defense. It can not be increased, however, without an increase of
the Army, and I again recommend that measure as indispensable to the
protection of the frontier.