 Section 1 of State of the Union Addresses, 1869-1876 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Colleen McMahon. Ulysses S. Grant, December 6, 1869 To the Senate and House of Representatives In coming before you for the first time as Chief Magistrate of this great nation, it is with gratitude to the giver of all good for the many benefits we enjoy. We are blessed with peace at home and are without entangling alliances abroad to forbode trouble. With a territory unsurpassed in fertility of an area equal to the abundant support of 500 million people and abounding in every variety of useful mineral in quantity sufficient to supply the world for generations with exuberant crops, with a variety of climate, adapted to the production of every species of Earth's riches and suited to the habits, tastes, and requirements of every living thing. With a population of 40 million free people all speaking one language with facilities for every mortal to acquire an education With institutions closing to none the avenues to fame or any blessing of fortune that may be coveted with freedom of the pulpit, the press, and the school with a revenue flowing into the national treasury beyond the requirements of the government happily harmony is being rapidly restored within our own borders manufacturers hitherto unknown in our country are springing up in all sections producing a degree of national independence unequaled by that of any other power these blessings and countless others are entrusted to your care and mine for safekeeping for the brief period of our tenure of office in a short time we must each of us return to the ranks of the people who have conferred upon us our honors and account to them for our stewardship I earnestly desire that neither you nor I may be condemned by a free and enlightened constituency nor by our own consciences emerging from a rebellion of gigantic magnitude aided as it was by the sympathies and assistance of nations with which we were at peace eleven states of the union were four years ago left without legal state governments a national debt had been contracted American commerce was almost driven from the seas the industry of one half of the country had been taken from the control of the capitalist and placed where all labor rightfully belongs in the keeping of the laborer the work of restoring state governments loyal to the union of protecting and fostering free labor and providing means for paying the interest on the public debt has received ample attention from congress although your efforts have not met with the success in all particulars that might have been desired yet on the whole they have been more successful than could have been reasonably anticipated seven states which passed ordinances of succession have been fully restored to their places in the union the eighth Georgia held an election at which she ratified her constitution Republican inform elected a governor members of congress a state legislature and all other officers required the governor was duly installed and the legislature met and performed all the acts then required of them by the reconstruction acts of congress subsequently however in violation of the constitution which they had just ratified as since decided by the supreme court of the state they unseated the colored members of the legislature and admitted to seats some members who are disqualified by the third clause of the fourteenth amendment to the constitution an article which they themselves had contributed to ratify under these circumstances I would submit to you whether it would not be wise without delay to enact a law authorizing the governor of Georgia to convene the members originally elected to the legislature requiring each member to take the oath prescribed by the reconstruction acts and none to be admitted who are ineligible under the third clause of the fourteenth amendment the freedmen under the protection which they have received are making rapid progress in learning and no complaints are heard of lack of industry on their part where they receive fair remuneration for their labor the means provided for paying the interest on the public debt with all other expenses of government are more than ample the loss of our commerce is the only result of the late rebellion which is not received sufficient attention from you to this subject I call your earnest attention I will not now suggest plans by which this object may be affected but will if necessary make it the subject of a special message during the session of congress at the March term congress by joint resolution authorized the executive to order elections in the states of Virginia Mississippi and Texas to submit to them constitutions which each had previously in convention framed and submit the constitutions either entire or in separate parts to be voted upon at the discretion of the executive under this authority elections were called in Virginia the election took place on the 6th of July 1869 the governor and lieutenant governor elected have been installed the legislature met and did all required by this resolution and by all the reconstruction acts of congress and abstained from all doubtful authority I recommend that her senators and representatives be promptly admitted to their seats and that the state be fully restored to its place in the family of states elections were called in Mississippi and Texas to commence on the 30th of November 1869 until last two days in Mississippi and four days in Texas the elections have taken place but the result is not known it is to be hoped that the acts of the legislatures of these states when they meet will be such as to receive your approval and thus close the work of reconstruction among the evils growing out of the rebellion and not yet referred to is that of an irredeemable currency it is an evil which I hope will receive your most earnest attention it is a duty and one of the highest duties of government to secure to the citizen a medium of exchange of fixed unvarying value this implies a return to a species basis and no substitute for it can be devised it should be commenced now and reached at the earliest practicable moment consistent with a fair regard to the interests of the debtor class immediate resumption if practicable would not be desirable it would compel the debtor class to pay beyond their contracts the premium on gold at the date of their purchase and would bring bankruptcy and ruin to thousands fluctuation however in the paper value of the measure of all values gold is detrimental to the interests of trade it makes the man of business an involuntary gambler for an all sales where future payment is to be made both parties speculate as to what will be the value of the currency to be paid and received I earnestly recommend to you then such legislation as will ensure gradual return to species payments and put an immediate stop to fluctuations in the value of currency the methods to secure the former of these results are as numerous as are the speculators on political economy to secure the latter I see but one way and that is to authorize the treasury to redeem its own paper at a fixed price whenever presented and to withhold from circulation all currencies so redeemed until sold again for gold the vast resources of the nation both developed and undeveloped ought to make our credit the best on earth with a less burden of taxation than the citizen has endured for six years past the entire public debt could be paid in ten years but it is not desirable that the people should be taxed to pay it in that time year by year the ability to pay increases in a rapid ratio but the burden of interest ought to be reduced as rapidly as can be done without the violation of contract the public debt is represented in great part by bonds having from five to twenty and from ten to forty years to run bearing interest at the rate of six percent and five percent respectively it is optional with the government to pay these bonds at any period after the expiration of the least time mentioned upon their face the time has already expired when a great part of them may be taken up and is rapidly approaching when all may be it is believed that all which are now due may be replaced by bonds bearing a rate of interest not exceeding four and a half percent and as rapidly as the remainder become due that they may be replaced in the same way to accomplish this it may be necessary to authorize the interest to be paid at either of three or four of the money centers of Europe or by any assistant treasurer of the United States at the option of the holder of the bond I suggest this subject for the consideration of Congress and also simultaneously with this the propriety of redeeming our currency as before suggested at its market value at the time the law goes into effect increasing the rate at which currency shall be bought and sold from day to day or week to week at the same rate of interest as government pays upon its bonds the subjects of tariff and internal taxation will necessarily receive your attention the revenues of the country are greater than the requirements and may with safety be reduced but as the funding of the debt in a four or a four and a half percent loan would reduce annual current expenses largely thus after funding justifying a greater reduction of taxation than would be now expedient I suggest postponement of this question until the next meeting of Congress it may be advisable to modify taxation and tariff in instances where unjust or burdensome discriminations are made by the present laws but a general revision of the laws regulating this subject I recommend the postponement of for the present I also suggest the renewal of the tax on incomes but at a reduced rate say of three percent and this tax to expire in three years with the funding of the national debt as here suggested I feel safe in saying that taxes and the revenue from imports may be reduced safely from 60 to 80 millions per annum at once and may be still further reduced from year to year as the resources of the country are developed the report of the Secretary of the Treasury shares the receipts of the government for the fiscal year ending June 30 1869 to be 370,943,747 dollars and the expenditures including interest bounties etc. to be 321,490,597 dollars the estimates for the ensuing year are more favorable to the government and will no doubt show a much larger decrease of the public debt the receipts in the Treasury beyond expenditures have exceeded the amount necessary to place to the credit of the sinking fund as provided by law to lock up the surplus of the Treasury and withhold it from circulation would lead to such a contraction of the currency as to cripple trade and seriously affect the prosperity of the country under these circumstances the Secretary of the Treasury and myself heartily concurred in the propriety of using all the surplus currency in the Treasury in the purchase of government bonds thus reducing the interest bearing indebtedness of the country and of submitting to Congress the question of the disposition to be made of the bonds so purchased the bonds now held by the Treasury amount to about 75 millions including those belonging to the sinking fund I recommend that the whole be placed to the credit of the sinking fund your attention is respectfully invited to the recommendations of the Secretary of the Treasury for the creation of the Office of Commissioner of Customs Revenue for the increase of salaries to certain classes of officials the substitution of increased National Bank circulation to replace the outstanding 3% certificates and most especially to his recommendation for the repeal of laws allowing shares of fines penalties forfeitures etc to officers of the government or to informers the Office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue is one of the most arduous and responsible under the government it falls but little if any short of a cabinet position in its importance and responsibilities I would ask for it therefore such legislation as in your judgment will place the office upon a footing of dignity commensurate with its importance and with the character and qualifications of the class of men required to fill it properly as the United States is the freest of all nations so too its people sympathize with all people struggling for liberty and self-government but while so sympathizing it is due to our honor that we should abstain from enforcing our views upon unwilling nations and from taking an interested part without invitation in the quarrels between different nations or between governments and their subjects our course should always be in conformity with strict justice and law international and local such has been the policy of the administration in dealing with these questions for more than a year a valuable province of Spain and a near neighbor of ours in whom all our people cannot but feel a deep interest has been struggling for independence and freedom the people and government of the United States entertain the same warm feelings and sympathies for the people of Cuba in their pending struggle that they manifested throughout the previous struggles between Spain and her former colonies in behalf of the latter but the contest has at no time assumed the conditions which amount to a war in the sense of international law or which would show the existence of a de facto political organization of the insurgents sufficient to justify a recognition of belligerency the principles maintained however that this nation is its own judge when to accord the rights of belligerency either to a people struggling to free themselves from a government they believe to be oppressive or to independent nations at war with each other the United States have no disposition to interfere with the existing relations of Spain to her colonial possessions on this continent they believe that in due time Spain and other European powers will find their interest in terminating those relations and establishing their present dependencies as independent powers, members of the family of nations these dependencies are no longer regarded as subject to transfer from one European power to another when the present relation of colonies ceases they are to become independent powers exercising the right of choice and of self-control in the determination of their future condition and relations with other powers the United States in order to put a stop to bloodshed in Cuba and in the interest of a neighboring people proposed their good offices to bring the existing contest to a termination the offer not being accepted by Spain on a basis which we believed could be received by Cuba was withdrawn it is hoped that the good offices of the United States may yet prove advantageous for the settlement of this unhappy strife meanwhile a number of illegal expeditions against Cuba have been broken up it has been the endeavor of the administration to execute the neutrality laws in good faith no matter how unpleasant the task made so by the sufferings we have endured from lack of like good faith toward us by other nations on the 26th of March last the United States schooner Lizzie Major was arrested on the high seas by a Spanish frigate and two passengers taken from it and carried as prisoners to Cuba representations of these facts were made to the Spanish government as soon as official information of them reached Washington the two passengers were set at liberty and the Spanish government assured the United States that the captain of the frigate in making the capture had acted without law that he had been reprimanded for the irregularity of his conduct and that the Spanish authorities in Cuba would not sanction any act that could violate the rights or treat with disrespect the sovereignty of this nation the question of the seizure of the Brigh Mary Lowell at one of the Bahama Islands by Spanish authorities is now the subject of correspondence between this government and those of Spain and Great Britain the captain general of Cuba about May last issued a proclamation authorizing search to be made of vessels on the high seas immediate remonstrance was made against this where upon the captain general issued a new proclamation limiting the right of search to vessels of the United States so far as authorized under the treaty of 1795 this proclamation however was immediately withdrawn I've always felt that the most intimate relations should be cultivated between the Republic of the United States and all independent nations on this continent it may be well worth considering whether new treaties between us and them may not be profitably entered into to secure more intimate relations friendly commercial and otherwise the subject of an inter-oceanic canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the isthmus of Darien is one in which commerce is greatly interested instructions have been given to our minister to the Republic of the United States of Columbia to endeavor to obtain authority for a survey by this government in order to determine the practicability of such an undertaking and a charter for the right of way to build by private enterprise such a work if the survey proves it to be practicable in order to comply with the agreement of the United States as to a mixed commission at Lima for the adjustment of claims it became necessary to send a commissioner and secretary to Lima in August last no appropriation having been made by Congress for this purpose it is now asked that one be made covering the past and future expenses of the commission the good offices of the United States to bring about a peace between Spain and the South American Republics with which she is at war having been accepted by Spain Peru and Chile a Congress has been invited to be held in Washington during the present winter a grant has been given to Europeans of an exclusive right of transit over the territory of Nicaragua to which Costa Rica has given its assent which it is alleged conflicts with vested rights of citizens of the United States the Department of State now has the subject under consideration the minister of Peru having made representations that there was a state of war between Peru and Spain and that Spain was constructing in and near New York 30 gunboats which might be used by Spain in such a way as to relieve the naval force at Cuba so as to operate against Peru orders were given to prevent their departure no further steps having been taken by the representative of the Peruvian government to prevent the departure of these vessels and I not feeling authorized to detain the property of a nation with which we are at peace on a mere executive order the matter has been referred to the courts to decide the conduct of the war between the allies and the Republic of Paraguay has made the intercourse with that country so difficult that it has been deemed advisable to withdraw our representative from there toward the close of the last administration a convention was signed at London for the settlement of all outstanding claims between Great Britain and the United States which failed to receive the advice and consent of the Senate to its ratification the time and the circumstances attending the negotiation of that treaty were unfavorable to its acceptance by the people of the United States and its provisions were wholly inadequate for the settlement of the grave wrongs that had been sustained by this government as well as by its citizens the injuries resulting to the United States by reason of the course adopted by Great Britain during our late civil war in the increased rates of insurance in the diminution of exports and imports and other obstructions to domestic industry and production in its effect upon the foreign commerce of the country in the decrease and transfer to Great Britain of our commercial marine in the prolongation of the war and the increased cost both in treasure and in lives of its suppression could not be adjusted and satisfied as ordinary commercial claims which continually arise between commercial nations and yet the convention treated them simply as such ordinary claims from which they differ more widely in the gravity of their character than in the magnitude of their amount great even as is that difference not a word was found in the treaty and not an inference could be drawn from it to remove the sense of the unfriendliness of the course of Great Britain in our struggle for existence which had so deeply and universally impressed itself upon the people of this country believing that a convention thus misconceived in its scope and inadequate in its provisions would not have produced the hearty cordial settlement of pending questions which alone is consistent with the relations which I desire to have firmly established between the United States and Great Britain I regarded the action of the Senate in rejecting the treaty to have been wisely taken in the interest of peace and as a necessary step in the direction of a perfect and cordial friendship between the two countries a sensitive people conscious of their power are more at ease under a great wrong wholly unattuned than under the restraint of a settlement which satisfies neither their ideas of justice nor their grave sense of the grievance they have sustained the rejection of the treaty was followed by a state of public feeling on both sides which I thought not favorable to an immediate attempt at renewed negotiations I accordingly so instructed the minister of the United States to Great Britain and found that my views in this regard were shared by Her Majesty's ministers I hope that the time may soon arrive when the two governments can approach the solution of this momentous question with an appreciation of what is due to the rights, dignity and honor of each and with the determination not only to remove the causes of complaint in the past but to lay the foundation of a broad principle of public law which will prevent future differences and tend to firm and continued peace and friendship this is now the only grave question which the United States has with any foreign nation the question of renewing a treaty for reciprocal trade between the United States and the British provinces on this continent has not been favorably considered by the administration the advantages of such a treaty would be wholly in favor of the British producer except possibly a few engaged in the trade between the two sections no citizen of the United States would be benefited by reciprocity our internal taxation would prove a protection to the British producer almost equal to the protection which our manufacturers now receive from the tariff some arrangement however for the regulation of commercial intercourse between the United States and the Dominion of Canada may be desirable the commission for adjusting the claims of the Hudson's Bay and Puget Sound Agricultural Company upon the United States has terminated its labor the award of $650,000 has been made and all rights and titles of the company on the territory of the United States have been extinguished deeds for the property of the company have been delivered and appropriation by Congress to meet this sum is asked the commissioners for determining the Northwestern land boundary between the United States and the British possessions under the Treaty of 1856 have completed their labors and the commission has been dissolved in conformity with the recommendation of Congress a proposition was early made to the British government to abolish the mixed courts created under the Treaty of April 7, 1862 for the suppression of the slave trade the subject is still under negotiation it having come to my knowledge that a corporate company organized under British laws proposed to land upon the shores of the United States and to operate there a submarine cable under concession from His Majesty the Emperor of the French of an exclusive right for 20 years of telegraphic communication between the shores of France and the United States with the very objectionable feature of subjecting all messages conveyed thereby to the scrutiny and control of the French government I caused the French and British legations at Washington to be made acquainted with the probable policy of Congress on this subject as foreshadowed by the bill which passed the Senate in March last this drew from the representatives of the company an agreement to accept as the basis of their operations the provisions of that bill or of such other enactment on the subject as might be passed during the approaching session of Congress also to use their influence to secure from the French government a modification of their concession so as to permit the landing upon French soil of any cable belonging to any company incorporated by the authority of the United States or of any state in the Union and on their part not to oppose the establishment of any such cable in consideration of this agreement I directed the withdrawal of all opposition by the United States authorities to the landing of the cable and to the working of it until the meeting of Congress I regret to say that there has been no modification made in the company's concession nor so far as I can learn have they attempted to secure one their concession excludes the capital and the citizens of the United States from competition upon the shores of France I recommend legislation to protect the rights of citizens of the United States as well as the dignity and sovereignty of the nation against such an assumption I shall also endeavor to secure by negotiation an abandonment of the principle of monopolies in ocean telegraphic cables copies of this correspondence are herewith furnished the unsettled political condition of other countries less fortunate than our own sometimes induces their citizens to come to the United States for the sole purpose of becoming naturalized having secured this they return to their native country and reside there without disclosing their change of allegiance they accept official positions of trust or honor which can only be held by citizens of their native land they journey under passports describing them as such citizens and it is only when civil discord after perhaps years of quiet threatens their persons or their property or when their native state drafts them into its military service that the fact of their change of allegiance is made known they reside permanently away from the United States they contribute nothing to its revenues they avoid the duties of its citizenship and they only make themselves known by a claim of protection I have directed the diplomatic and consular officers of the United States to scrutinize carefully all such claims for protection the citizen of the United States whether native or adopted who discharges his duty to his country is entitled to its complete protection while I have a voice in the direction of affairs I shall not consent to imperil this sacred right by conferring it upon fictitious or fraudulent claimants on the accession of the present administration it was found that the minister for north Germany had made propositions for the negotiation of a convention for the protection of immigrant passengers to which no response had been given it was concluded that to be effectual all the maritime powers engaged in the trade should join in such a measure invitations have been extended to the cabinets of London Paris Florence Berlin Brussels The Hague Copenhagen and Stockholm to empower the representatives at Washington to simultaneously enter into negotiations and to conclude with the United States conventions identical in form making uniform regulations as to the construction of the parts of vessels to be devoted to the use of immigrant passengers as to the quality and quantity of food as to the medical treatment of the sick and as to the rules to be observed during the voyage in order to secure ventilation to promote health to prevent intrusion and to protect the females and providing for the establishment of tribunals in the several countries for enforcing such regulations by summary practice your attention is respectfully called to the law regulating the tariff on Russian hemp and to the question whether to fix the charges on Russian hemp higher than they are fixed upon Manila is not a violation of our treaty with Russia placing her products upon the same footing with those of the most favored nations our manufacturers are increasing with wonderful rapidity under the encouragement which they now receive with the improvements in machinery already affected and still increasing causing machinery to take the place of skilled labor to a large extent our imports of many articles must fall off largely within a very few years fortunately to manufacturers are not confined to a few localities as formerly and it is to be hoped will become more and more diffused making the interest in them equal in all sections they give employment and support to hundreds of thousands of people at home and retain with us the means which otherwise would be shipped abroad the extension of railroads in Europe and the east is bringing into competition with our agricultural products like products of other countries self-interest if not self-preservation therefore dictates caution against disturbing any industrial interest of the country it teaches us also the necessity of looking to other markets for the sale of our surplus our neighbors south of us and China and Japan should receive our special attention it will be the endeavor of the administration to cultivate such relations with all these nations as to entitle us to their confidence and make it their interest as well as ours to establish better commercial relations through the agency of a more enlightened policy than that here to fore pursued toward China largely due to the sagacity and efforts of one of our own distinguished citizens the world is about to commence largely increased relations with that populace and hitherto exclusive nation as the United States have been the initiators in this new policy so they should be the most earnest in showing their good faith in making it a success in this connection I advise such legislation as will forever preclude the enslavement of the Chinese upon our soil under the name of coolies and also prevent American vessels from engaging in the transportation of coolies to any country tolerating the system I also recommend that the mission to China be raised to one of the first class on my assuming the responsible duties of chief magistrate of the United States it was with the conviction that three things were essential to its peace prosperity and fullest development first among these is strict integrity and fulfilling our obligations second to secure protection to the person and property of the citizen of the United States in each and every portion of our common country wherever he may choose to move without reference to original nationality religion color or politics demanding of him only obedience to the laws and proper respect for the rights of others third union of all the states with equal rights indestructible by any constitutional means to secure the first of these Congress has taken two essential steps first in declaring by joint resolution that the public debt shall be paid principle and interest in coin and second by providing the means for paying providing the means however could not secure the object desired without a proper administration of the laws for the collection of the revenues and an economical disbursement of them to this subject the administration has most earnestly addressed itself with results I hope satisfactory to the country there's been no hesitation in changing officials in order to secure an efficient execution of the laws sometimes to when in a mere party view undesirable political results were likely to follow nor any hesitation in sustaining efficient officials against remonstrances holy political it may be well to mention here the embarrassment possible to arise from leaving on the statute books the so-called tenure of office acts and to earnestly recommend their total repeal it could not have been the intention of the framers of the Constitution when providing that appointments made by the president should receive the consent of the Senate that the latter should have the power to retain an office persons placed there by federal appointment against the will of the president the law is inconsistent with the faithful and efficient administration of the government what faith can an executive put in officials forced upon him and those to whom he is suspended for reason how will such officials be likely to serve an administration which they know does not trust them for the second requisite to our growth and prosperity time and affirm the humane administration of existing laws amended from time to time as they may prove ineffective or prove harsh and unnecessary are probably all that are required the third cannot be attained by special legislation but must be regarded as fixed by the Constitution itself and gradually acquiesced in by force of public opinion from the foundation of the government to the present the management of the original inhabitants of this continent the Indians has been a subject of embarrassment and expense and has been attended with continuous robberies murders and wars from my own experience upon the frontiers and in Indian countries I do not hold either legislation or the conduct of the whites who come most in contact with the Indian blameless for these hostilities the past however cannot be undone and the question must be met as we now find it I have attempted a new policy towards these wards of the nation they cannot be regarded in any other light than his words with fair results so far as tried and which I hope will be attended ultimately with great success the Society of Friends is well known as having succeeded in living in peace with the Indians in the early settlement of Pennsylvania while their white neighbors of other sex and other sections were constantly embroiled they are also known for their opposition to all strife violence and war and are generally noted for their strict integrity and fair dealings these considerations induced me to give the management of a few reservations of Indians to them and to throw the burden of the selection of agents upon the society itself the result has proven most satisfactory it will be found more fully set forth in the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for superintendents and Indian agents not on the reservations officers of the army were selected the reasons for this are numerous where Indian agents are sent there or near there troops must be sent also the agent and the commander of troops are independent of each other and are subject to orders from different departments of the government the army officer holds a position for life the agent wanted the will of the president the former is personally interested in living in harmony with the Indian and establishing a permanent peace to the end that some portion of his life may be spent within the limits of civilized society the latter has no such personal interest another reason is an economic one and still another the hold which the government has upon a life officer to secure a faithful discharge of duties in carrying out a given policy the building of railroads and the access thereby given to all the agricultural and mineral regions of the country is rapidly bringing civilized settlements into contact with all the tribes of Indians no matter what ought to be the relations between such settlements and the Aborigines the fact is they do not harmonize well and one or the other has to give way in the end a system which looks to the extinction of a race is too horrible for a nation to adopt without entailing upon itself the wrath of all Christendom and engendering in the citizen a disregard for human life and the rights of others dangerous to society I see no substitute for such a system except in placing all the Indians on large reservations as rapidly as it can be done and giving them absolute protection there as soon as they are fitted for it they should be induced to take their lands in civarality and to set up territorial governments for their own protection for full details on this subject I call your special attention to the reports of the Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs The report of the Secretary of War shows the expenditures of the War Department for the year ending June 30th, 1869 to be $80,644,042 of which $23,882,310 was dispersed in the payment of debts contracted during the war and is not chargeable to current Army expenses His estimate of $34,531,031 for the expenses of the Army for the next fiscal year is as low as is believed can be relied on The estimates of Bureau officers have been carefully scrutinized and reduced wherever it has been deemed practicable If, however, the condition of the country should be such by the beginning of the next fiscal year As to admit of a greater concentration of troops, the appropriation asked for will not be expended The appropriations estimated for river and harbor improvements and for fortifications are submitted separately Whatever amount Congress may deem proper to appropriate for these purposes will be expended The recommendation of the General of the Army that appropriations be made for the forts at Boston, Portland, New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans and San Francisco if for no other is concurred in I also ask your special attention to the recommendation of the General commanding the Military Division of the Pacific for the sale of the Seal Islands of St. Paul and St. George, Alaska Territory and suggest that it either be complied with or that legislation be had for the protection of the Seal Fisheries from which a revenue should be derived The report of the Secretary of War contains a synopsis of the reports of the heads of bureaus of the commanders of military divisions and of the districts of Virginia, Mississippi and Texas and the report of the General of the Army in full The recommendations therein contained have been well considered and are submitted for your action I, however, call special attention to the recommendation of the Chief of Ordinance for the sale of arsenals and lands no longer of use to the government Also to the recommendation of the Secretary of War that the act of 3rd March, 1869 prohibiting promotions and appointments in the staff corps of the Army be repealed The extent of country to be garrisoned and the number of military posts to be occupied is the same with the reduced Army as with a large one The number of staff officers required is more dependent upon the latter than the former condition The report of the Secretary of the Navy accompanying this shows the condition of the Navy when this administration came into office and the changes made since Strenuous efforts have been made to place as many vessels in commission or render them fit for service if required as possible And to substitute the sale for steam while cruising thus materially reducing the expenses of the Navy and adding greatly to its efficiency Looking to our future I recommend a liberal though not extravagant policy toward this branch of the public service The report of the Postmaster General furnishes a clear and comprehensive exhibit of the operations of the Postal Service and of the financial condition of the Post Office Department The ordinary postal revenues for the year ending the 30th of June 1869 amounted to $18,344,510 and the expenditures to $23,698,131 showing an excess of expenditures over receipts of $5,353,620 The excess of expenditures over receipts for the previous year amounted to $6,437,992 The increase of revenues for 1869 over those of 1868 was $2,051,909 and the increase of expenditures was $967,538 The increased revenue in 1869 exceeded the increased revenue in 1868 by $996,336 and the increased expenditure in 1869 was $2,527,570 less than the increased expenditure in 1868 Showing by comparison this gratifying feature of improvement that while the increase of expenditures over the increase of receipts in 1868 was $2,439,535 the increase of receipts over the increase in expenditures in 1869 was $1,084,371 Your attention is respectfully called to the recommendations made by the Postmaster General for authority to change the rate of compensation to the main trunk railroad lines for their services in carrying the mails, for having post-route maps executed, for reorganizing and increasing the efficiency of the Special Agency service, for increase of the mail service on the Pacific and for establishing mail service under the flag of the Union on the Atlantic and most especially do I call your attention to his recommendation for the total abolition of the franking privilege This is an abuse from which no one receives a commensurate advantage. It reduces the receipts for postal service from 25 to 30% and largely increases the service to be performed The method by which postage should be paid upon public matter is set forth fully in the report of the Postmaster General The report of the Secretary of the Interior shows that the quantity of public lands disposed of during the year ending the 30th of June 1869 was 7,666,152 acres exceeding that of the preceding year by 1,010,409 acres Of this amount 2,899,544 acres were sold for cash and 2,737,365 acres entered under the homestead laws The remainder was granted to aid in the construction of works of internal improvement, approved to the state's swampland and located with warrants and script The cash receipts from all sources were $4,472,886 exceeding those of the preceding year $2,840,140 During the last fiscal year 23,196 names were added to the pension rolls and 4,876 dropped therefrom leaving at its close $187,963 The amount paid to pensioners including the compensation of dispersing agents was $28,422,884, an increase of $4,411,902 on that of the previous year The magnificence of Congress has been conspicuously manifested in its legislation for the soldiers and sailors who suffered in the recent struggle to maintain that unity of government which makes us one people The additions to the pension rolls of each successive year since the conclusion of hostilities result in a great degree from the repeated amendments of the Act of the 14th of July,1862 which extended its provisions to cases not falling within its original scope The large outlay which is thus occasioned is further increased by the more liberal allowance bestowed since that date upon those who in the line of duty were wholly or permanently disabled Public opinion has given an emphatic sanction to these measures of Congress and it will be conceded that no part of our public burden is more cheerfully born than that which is imposed by this branch of the service It necessitates for the next fiscal year in addition to the amount justly chargeable to the Naval Pension Fund and appropriation of $30 million During the year ending the 30th of September,1869 the Patent Office issued 13,762 patents and its receipts were $686,389 being $213,926 more than the expenditures I would respectfully call your attention to the recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior for uniting the duties of supervising the education of freedmen with the other duties devolving upon the Commissioner of Education If it is the desire of Congress to make the census which must be taken during the year 1870 more complete and perfect than heretofore, I would suggest early action upon any plan that may be agreed upon As Congress at the last session appointed a committee to take into consideration such measures as might be deemed proper in reference to the census and report a plan, I desist from saying more I recommend to your favorable consideration the claims of the Agricultural Bureau for liberal appropriations. In a country so diversified in climate and soil as ours and with a population so largely dependent upon agriculture, the benefits that can be conferred by properly fostering this Bureau are incalculable I desire respectfully to call the attention of Congress to the inadequate salaries of a number of the most important offices of the government. In this message I will not enumerate them, but will specify only the justices of the Supreme Court No change has been made in their salaries for 15 years. Within that time the labors of the court have largely increased and the expenses of living have at least doubled. During the same time Congress has twice found it necessary to increase largely the compensation of its own members and the duty which it owes to another department of the government deserves and will undoubtedly receive its due consideration There are many subjects not alluded to in this message which might with propriety be introduced, but I abstain believing that your patriotism and statesmanship will suggest the topics and the legislation most conducive to the interests of the whole people. On my part I promise a rigid adherence to the laws and their strict enforcement. U.S. Grant End of Section 1. Recording by Colleen McMahon To the Senate and House of Representatives A year of peace and general prosperity to this nation has passed since the last assembling of Congress. We have, through a kind providence, been blessed with abundant crops and have been spared from complications and war with foreign nations. In our midst comparative harmony has been restored. It is to be regretted, however, that a free exercise of the elective franchise has by violence and intimidation been denied to citizens in exceptional cases in several of the states lately in rebellion and the verdict of the people has thereby been reversed. The states of Virginia, Mississippi and Texas have been restored to representation in our national councils. Georgia, the only state now without representation, may confidently be expected to take her place there also at the beginning of the new year and then, let us hope, will be complete the work of reconstruction. With an acquiescence on the part of the whole people in the national obligation to pay the public debt created as the price of our union, the pensions to our disabled soldiers and sailors and their widows and orphans, and in the changes to the Constitution which have been made necessary by a great rebellion, there is no reason why we should not advance in material prosperity and happiness as no other nation ever did after so protracted and devastating a war. Soon after the existing war broke out in Europe, the protection of the United States Minister in Paris was invoked in favor of North Germany's domiciled and French territory. Instructions were issued to grant the protection. This has been followed by an extension of American protection to citizens of Saxony, Hesse and Saxocoburg, Gotha, Colombia, Portugal, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay and Venezuela in Paris. The charge was an onerous one requiring constant and severe labor as well as the exercise of patience, prudence and good judgment. It has been performed through the entire satisfaction of this government and, as I am officially informed, equally so to the satisfaction of the government of North Germany. As soon as I learned that a republic had been proclaimed at Paris and that the people of France had acquiesced in the change, the minister of the United States was directed by Telegraph to recognize it and to tender my congratulations and those of the people of the United States. The reestablishment in France of a system of government disconnected with the dynastic traditions of Europe appeared to be a proper subject for the felicitations of Americans. Should the present struggle result in attaching the hearts of the French to our simpler forms of representative government, it will be a subject of still further satisfaction to our people. While we make no effort to impose our institutions upon the inhabitants of other countries and while we adhere to our traditional neutrality and civil contests elsewhere, we cannot be indifferent to the spread of American political ideas in a great and highly civilized country like France. We were asked by the new government to use our good offices jointly with those of European powers in the interests of peace. Answer was made that the established policy and the true interests of the United States forbade them to interfere in European questions jointly with European powers. I ascertained informally and unofficially that the government of North Germany was not then disposed to listen to such representations from any power and though earnestly wishing to see the blessings of peace restored to the belligerence with all of whom the United States are in terms of friendship, I declined on the part of this government to take a step which could only result in injury to our true interests without advancing that object for which our intervention was invoked. Should the time come when the action of the United States can hasten the return of peace by a single hour, that action will be hardly taken. I deemed it prudent in view of the number of persons of German and French birth living in the United States to issue soon after official notice of a state of war had been received from both belligerence, a proclamation defining the duties of the United States as a neutral and the obligations of persons residing within their territory to observe their laws and the laws of nations. This proclamation was followed by others as circumstances seemed to call for them. The people thus acquainted in advance of their duties and obligations have assisted in preventing violations of the neutrality of the United States. It is not understood that the condition of the insurrection in Cuba has materially changed since the close of the last session of Congress. In an early stage of the contest the authorities of Spain inaugurated a system of arbitrary arrests, of close confinement and of military trial and execution of persons suspected of complicity with the insurgents and of summary embargo of their properties and sequestration of the revenues by executive warrant. Such proceedings so far as they affected the persons or property of citizens of the United States were in violation of the provisions of the Treaty of 1795 between the United States and Spain. Representations of injuries resulting to several persons claiming to be citizens of the United States by reason of such violations were made to the Spanish government. From April 1869 to June last the Spanish minister at Washington had been clothed with a limited power to aid in redressing such wrongs. That power was found to be withdrawn in view, as it was said, of the favorable situation in which the island of Cuba then was, which however did not lead to a revocation or suspension of the extraordinary and arbitrary functions exercised by the executive power in Cuba. And we were obliged to make our complaints at Madrid. In the negotiations thus opened and still pending there, the United States only claimed that for the future the rights secured to their citizens by treaty should be respected in Cuba and that as to the past a joint tribunal should be established in the United States with full jurisdiction over all such claims. Before such an impartial tribunal each claimant would be required to prove his case. On the other hand, Spain would be at liberty to traverse every material fact and thus complete equity would be done. A case which at one time threatened seriously to affect the relations between the United States and Spain has already been disposed of in this way. The claim of the owners of the Colonel Lloyd Aspenwall for the illegal seizure and detention of that vessel was referred to arbitration by mutual consent and has resulted in a word to the United States for the owners of the sum of $19,702.50 in gold. Another and long pending claim of like nature that of the Whaleship Canada has been disposed of by friendly arbitrament during the present year. It was referred by the joint consent of Brazil and the United States to the decision of Sir Edward Thornton, her Britannic Majesties Minister at Washington who kindly undertook the laborious task of examining the voluminous mass of correspondence and testimony submitted by the two governments and awarded to the United States the sum of $100,740.09 in gold which has since been paid by the imperial government. These recent examples show that the mode which the United States have proposed to Spain for adjusting the pending claims is just and feasible and that it may be agreed to by either nation without dishonor. It is to be hoped that this moderate demand may be acceded to by Spain without further delay. Should the pending negotiations unfortunately and unexpectedly be without result, it will then become my duty to communicate that fact to Congress and invite its action on the subject. The long deferred peace conference between Spain and the Allied South American Republic has been inaugurated in Washington under the auspices of the United States. Pursuant to the recommendation contained in the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 17th of December 1866, the executive department of the government offered its friendly offices for the promotion of peace and harmony between Spain and the Allied Republics. Hesitations and obstacles occurred to the acceptance of the offer. Ultimately however a conference was arranged and was opened in the city on the 29th of October last at which I authorized the Secretary of State to preside. It was attended by the ministers of Spain, Peru, Chile and Ecuador. In consequence of the absence of a representative from Bolivia, the conference was adjourned until the attendance of a plenipotentiary from that Republic could be secured where other measures could be adopted toward compassing its objects. The Allied and other republics of Spanish origin on this continent may see in this fact a new proof of our sincere interest in their welfare and of our desire to see them blessed with good governments capable of maintaining order and of preserving their respective territorial integrity and of our sincere wish to extend our own commercial and social relations with them. The time is not probably far distant when, in the natural course of events, the European political connection with this continent will cease. Our policy should be shaped in view of this probability so as to rely the commercial interests of the Spanish American states more closely to our own and thus give the United States all the preeminence and all the advantage which Mr. Monroe, Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay contemplated when they proposed to join in the Congress of Panama. During the last session of Congress, a treaty for the annexation of the Republic of San Domingo to the United States failed to receive the requisite two-thirds vote of the Senate. I was thoroughly convinced then that the best interests of this country, commercially and materially, demanded its ratification. Time has only confirmed me in this view. I now firmly believe that the moment it is known that the United States have entirely abandoned the project of accepting, as part of its territory, the island of San Domingo, a free port will be negotiated for by European nations in the Bay of Samana. A large commercial city will spring up to which we will be tributary without receiving corresponding benefits and then will be seen the folly of our rejecting so great a prize. The government of San Domingo has voluntarily sought the annexation. It is a weak power numbering probably less than 120,000 souls, yet possessing one of the richest territories under the sun, capable of supporting a population of 10 million people in luxury. The people of San Domingo are not capable of maintaining themselves in their present condition and must look for outside support. They yearn for the protection of our free institutions and laws, our progress and civilization. Shall we refuse them? The acquisition of San Domingo is desirable because of its geographical position. It commands the entrance to the Caribbean Sea and the Isthmus transit of commerce. It possesses the richest soil, best and most capacious harbors and most salubrious climate, and the most valuable products of the forest, mine and soil of any of the West India islands. Its possession by us will in a few years build up a coast-wise commerce of immense magnitude, which will go far towards restoring us to our lost merchant marine. It will give to us those articles which we consume so largely and do not produce, thus equalizing our exports and imports. In case of foreign war, it will give us command of all the islands referred to and thus prevent an enemy from ever again possessing himself of rendezvous upon our very coast. At present, our coast trade between the states bordering on the Atlantic and those bordering on the Gulf of Mexico is cut into by the Bahamas and the Antilles. Twice we must, as it were, pass through foreign countries to get by sea from Georgia to the West Coast of Florida. San Domingo, with a stable government under which her immense resources can be developed, will give remunerative wages to tens of thousands of laborers not now upon the island. This labor will take advantage of every available means of transportation to abandon the adjacent islands and seek the blessings of freedom and its sequence, each inhabitant receiving the reward of his own labor. Puerto Rico and Cuba will have to abolish slavery as a measure of self-preservation to retain their laborers. San Domingo will become a large consumer of the products of northern farms and manufacturers. The cheap rate at which her citizens can be furnished with food, tools, and machinery will make it necessary that contiguous islands should have the same advantages in order to compete in the production of sugar, coffee, tobacco, tropical fruits, etc. This will open us to a still wider market for our products. The production of our own supply of these articles will cut off more than 100 million of our annual imports, besides largely increasing our exports. With such a picture it is easy to see how our large debt abroad is ultimately to be extinguished. With a balance of trade against us, including interest on bonds held by foreigners and money spent by our citizens traveling in foreign lands, equal to the entire yield of the precious metals in this country, it is not so easy to see how this result is to be otherwise accomplished. The acquisition of San Domingo is an adherence to the Monroe Doctrine. It is a measure of national protection. It is asserting our just claim to a controlling influence over the great commercial traffic soon to flow from west to east by way of the Isthmus of Darien. It is to build up our merchant marine. It is to furnish new markets for the products of our farms, shops, and manufacturers. It is to make slavery insupportable in Cuba and Puerto Rico at once, and ultimately so in Brazil. It is to settle the unhappy condition of Cuba and end an exterminating conflict. It is to provide honest means of paying our honest debts without overtaxing the people. It is to furnish our citizens with the necessaries of everyday life at cheaper rates than ever before. And it is, in fine, a rapid stride toward that greatness which the intelligence, industry, and enterprise of the citizens of the United States entitle this country to assume among nations. In view of the importance of this question, I earnestly urge upon Congress early action expressive of its views as to the best means of acquiring San Domingo. My suggestion is that by joint resolution of the Two Houses of Congress the executive be authorized to appoint a commission to negotiate a treaty with the authorities of San Domingo for the acquisition of that island and that the appropriation be made to defray the expenses of such a commission. The question may then be determined either by the action of the Senate upon the treaty or the joint action of the Two Houses of Congress upon a resolution of annexation as in the case of the acquisition of taxes. So convinced am I of the advantages to flow from the acquisition of San Domingo and of the great disadvantages, I might almost say calamities, to flow from non-acquisition that I believe the subject has only to be investigated to be approved. It is to be regretted that our representations in regard to the injurious effects, especially upon the revenue of the United States, of the policy of the Mexican government and exempting from imposed duties a large tract of its territory on our borders have not only been fruitless, but that it is even proposed in that country to extend the limits within which the privilege averted to has hitherto been enjoyed. The expediency of taking into your serious consideration proper measures for countervailing the policy referred to will it is presumed engage your earnest attention. It is the obvious interest, especially of neighboring nations, to provide against impunity to those who may have committed high crimes within their borders and who may have sought refuge abroad. For this purpose, extradition treaties have been concluded with several of the Central American republics and others are in progress. The sense of Congress is desired as early as may be convenient upon the proceedings of the commission on claims against Venezuela as communicated in my messages of March 16 1869, March 1 1870 and March 31 1870. It has not been deemed advisable to distribute any of the money which has been received from that government until Congress shall have acted on the subject. The massacres of French and Russian residents at Tianxin under circumstances of great barbarity was supposed by some to have been premeditated and to indicate a purpose among the populace to exterminate foreigners in the Chinese empire. The evidence fails to establish such a supposition but shows complicity between the local authorities and the mob. The government at Beijing, however, seems to have been disposed to fulfill its treaty obligations so far as it was able to do so. Unfortunately, the news of the war between the German states and France reached China soon after the massacre. It would appear that the popular mind became possessed with the idea that this contest extending to Chinese waters would neutralize the Christian influence and power and that the time was coming when the superstitious masses might expel all foreigners and restore Mandarin influence. Anticipating trouble from this cause, I invited France and North Germany to make an authorized suspension of hostilities in the east where they were temporarily suspended by act of the commanders and to act together for the future protection in China of the lives and properties of Americans and Europeans. Since the adjournment of Congress, the ratifications of the treaty with Great Britain for abolishing the mixed courts for the suppression of the slave trade have been exchanged. It is believed that the slave trade is now confined to the eastern coast of Africa once the slaves are taken to Arabian markets. The ratifications of the naturalization convention between Great Britain and the United States have also been exchanged during the recess and thus a long standing dispute between the two governments has been settled in accordance with the principles always contended for by the United States. In April last, while engaged in locating a military reservation near Pembina, a corps of engineers discovered that the commonly received boundary line between the United States and the British possessions at that place is about 4,700 feet south of the true position of the 49th parallel and at the line when run on what is now supposed to be the true position of that parallel would leave the Fort of the Hudson Bay Company at Pembina within the territory of the United States. This information being communicated to the British government, I was requested to consent and did consent that the British occupation of the Fort of the Hudson's Bay Company should continue for the present. I deem it important however that this part of the boundary line should be definitely fixed by a joint commission of the two governments and I submit herewith estimates of the expense of such a commission on the part of the United States and recommend that an appropriation be made for that purpose. The land boundary has already been fixed and marked from the summit of the Rocky Mountains to the Georgian Bay. It should now be in like manner marked from the lake of the woods to the summit of the Rocky Mountains. I regret to say that no conclusion has been reached for the adjustment of the claims against Great Britain growing out of the course adopted by that government during the rebellion. The cabinet of London so far as its views have been expressed does not appear willing to concede that Her Majesty's government was guilty of any negligence or did or permitted any act during the war by which the United States has just cause of complaint. Our firm and unalterable convictions are directly the reverse. I therefore recommend Congress to authorize the appointment of a commission to take proof of the amount and the ownership of these several claims on notice to the representative of Her Majesty at Washington and that authority be given for the settlement of these claims by the United States so that the government shall have the ownership of the private claims as well as the responsible control of all the demands against Great Britain. It cannot be necessary to add that whenever Her Majesty's government shall entertain a desire for full and friendly adjustment of these claims, the United States will enter upon their consideration with an earnest desire for a conclusion consistent with the honor and dignity of both nations. The course pursued by the Canadian authorities towards the fishermen of the United States during the past season has not been marked by a friendly feeling. By the first article of the Convention of 1818 between Great Britain and the United States, it was agreed that the inhabitants of the United States should have forever in common with British subjects the right of taking fish in certain waters therein defined. The waters not included in the limits named in the Convention within three miles of parts of the British coast, it has been the custom for many years to give to intruding fishermen of the United States a reasonable warning of their violation of the technical rights of Great Britain. The imperial government is understood to have delegated the whole or a share of its jurisdiction where control of these insurer fishing grounds to the colonial authority known as the Dominion of Canada and this semi-independent but irresponsible agent has exercised its delegated powers in an unfriendly way. Vessels have been seized without notice or warning in violation of the custom previously prevailing and have been taken into colonial ports through voyages broken up and the vessels condemned. There is reason to believe that this unfriendly and vexatious treatment was designed to bear harshly upon the hardy fishermen of the United States with a view to political effect upon this government. The statutes of the Dominion of Canada assume a still broader and more untenable jurisdiction over the vessels of the United States. They authorize officers or persons to bring vessels hovering within three marine miles of any of the coasts, bays, creeks or harbors of Canada into port to search the cargo to examine the master on oath touching the cargo and voyage and to inflict upon him a heavy pecuniary penalty if true answers are not given and if such a vessel is found preparing to fish within three marine miles of any such coasts, bays, creeks or harbors without a license or after the expiration of the period named in the last license granted to it, they provide that the vessel with her tackle etc. shall be forfeited. It is not known that any condemnations have been made under the statute. Should the authorities of Canada attempt to enforce it, it will become my duty to take such steps as may be necessary to protect the rights of the citizens of the United States. It has been claimed by Her Majesty's officers that the fishing vessels of the United States have no right to enter the open ports of the British possessions in North America except for the purpose of shelter and repairing damages or purchasing wood and obtaining water. That they have no right to enter at the British custom houses or to trade there except in the purchase of wood and water and that they must depart within 24 hours after notice to leave. It is not known that any seizure of a fishing vessel carrying the flag of the United States has been made under this claim. So far as the claim is founded on an alleged construction of the convention of 1818, it cannot be acquiesced in by the United States. It is hoped that it will not be insisted on by Her Majesty's government. During the conferences which preceded the negotiation of the convention of 1818, the British commissioners proposed to expressly exclude the fishermen of the United States from the privilege of carrying on trade with any of his Britannic Majesty subjects residing within the limits assigned for their use. And also that it should not be lawful for the vessels of the United States engaged in said fishery to have on board any goods, wares or merchandise, whatever, except as may be necessary for the prosecution of their voyages to and from the said fishing grounds and any vessel of the United States which shall contravene this regulation may be seized, condemned and confiscated with her cargo. This proposition, which is identical with the construction now put upon the language of the convention, was emphatically rejected by the American commissioners and thereupon was abandoned by the British plenipotentiaries and Article 1 as it stands in the convention was substituted. If, however, it be said that this claim is founded on provincial or colonial statutes and not upon the convention, this government cannot but regard them as unfriendly and in contravention of the spirit, if not of the letter of the treaty for the faithful execution of which the imperial government is alone responsible. Anticipating that an attempt may possibly be made by the Canadian authorities in the coming season to repeat their unneighborly acts towards our fishermen, I recommend you to confer upon the executive the power to suspend by proclamation the operation of the laws authorizing the transit of goods, wares and merchandise in bond across the territory of the United States to Canada, and further, should such an extreme measure become necessary to suspend the operation of any laws whereby the vessels of the nation. A like unfriendly disposition has been manifested on the part of Canada in the maintenance of a claim of right to exclude the citizens of the United States from the navigation of the St. Lawrence. This river constitutes a natural outlet to the ocean for eight states with an aggregate population of about 17,600,000 inhabitants and with an aggregate tonnage of 661,367 tons upon the waters which discharge into it. The foreign commerce of our ports on those waters is open to British competition and the major part of it is done in British bottoms. If the American semen be excluded from this natural avenue to the ocean, the monopoly of the direct commerce of the lake ports with the Atlantic would be in foreign hands. Their vessels on transatlantic voyages having an access to our lake ports which would be denied to American vessels on similar voyages. To state such a proposition is to refute its justice. During the administration of Mr. John Quincy Adams, Mr. Clay unanswerably demonstrated the natural right of the citizens of the United States to the navigation of this river. Claiming that the act of the Congress of Vienna in opening the Rhine and other rivers to all nations showed the judgment of European jurists and statesmen that the inhabitants of a country through which a navigable river passes have a natural right to enjoy the navigation of that river to and into the sea, even though passing through the territories of another power. This right does not exclude the co-equal right of the sovereign possessing the territory through which the river debouches into the sea to make such regulations relative to the police of the navigation as may be reasonably necessary. But those regulations should be framed in a liberal spirit of comedy and should not impose needless burdens upon the commerce which has the right of transit. It has been found in practice more advantageous to arrange these regulations by mutual agreement. The United States are ready to make any reasonable arrangements as to the police of the St. Lawrence which may be suggested by Great Britain. If the claim made by Mr. Clay was just when the population of the states bordering on the shores of the lakes was only 3,400,000, it now derives greater force and equity from the increased population, wealth, production, and tonnage of the states on the Canadian frontier. Since Mr. Clay advanced his argument in behalf of our right, the principle for which he contended has been frequently and by various nations recognized by law or by treaty and has been extended to several other great rivers. By the treaty concluded at Mainz in 1831, the Rhine was declared free from the point where it is first navigable into the sea. By the convention between Spain and Portugal concluded in 1835, the navigation of the duro through its whole extent was made free for the subjects of both crowns. In 1853, the Argentine Confederation by Treaty threw open the free navigation of the Piranha and the Uruguay to the merchant vessels of all nations. In 1856, the Crimean War was closed by a treaty which provided for the free navigation of the Danube. In 1858, Bolivia by Treaty declared that it regarded the rivers Amazon and La Plata in accordance with fixed principles of national law as highways or channels opened by nature for the commerce of all nations. In 1859, the Paraguay was made free by treaty and in December 1866, the Emperor of Brazil by Imperial Decree declared the Amazon to be open to the frontier of Brazil to the merchant ships of all nations. The greatest living British authority on the subject, while asserting the abstract right of the British claim says, It seems difficult to deny that Great Britain may ground her refusal upon strict law, but it is equally difficult to deny, first, that in so doing she exercises harshly and extreme and hard law. Secondly, that her conduct with respect to the navigation of the St. Lawrence is englaring and discreditable inconsistency with her conduct in respect to the navigation of the Mississippi. On the ground that she possessed a small domain in which the Mississippi took its rise, she insisted on the right to navigate the entire volume of its waters. On the ground that she possesses both banks of the St. Lawrence, where it disembokes itself into the sea, she denies to the United States the right of navigation through about one half of the waters of Lake Ontario. Buri Huron and Superior and the whole of Lake Michigan through which the river flows are the property of the United States. The whole nation is interested in securing cheap transportation from the agricultural states of the west to the Atlantic seaboard. To the citizens of those states, it secures a greater return for their labor to the inhabitants of the seaboard. It affords cheaper food to the nation and increase in the annual surplus of wealth. It is hoped that the government of Great Britain will see the justice of abandoning the narrow and inconsistent claim to which her Canadian provinces have urged her adherence. End of Section 2, Recording by E. Winters. Section 3 of State of the Union addresses 1869 through 1876. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Ulysses S. Grant, December 5, 1870, Part 2. Our depressed commerce is a subject to which I called your special attention at the last session and suggested that we will in the future have to look more to the countries south of us and to China and Japan for its revival. Our representatives to all these governments have exerted their influence to encourage trade between the United States and the countries to which they are accredited. But the fact exists that the carrying is done almost entirely in foreign bottoms, and while this state of affairs exists, we cannot control our due share of the commerce of the world. That between the Pacific States and China and Japan is about all the carrying trade now conducted in American vessels. I would recommend a liberal policy toward that line of American steamers, one that will ensure its success and even increased usefulness. The cost of building iron vessels, the only ones that can compete with foreign ships in the carrying trade, is so much greater in the United States than in foreign countries that without some assistance from the government, they cannot be successfully built here. There will be several propositions laid before Congress in the course of the present session looking to a remedy for this evil. Even if it should be at some cost to the national treasury, I hope such encouragement will be given as will secure American shipping on the high seas and American shipbuilding at home. The condition of the archives at the Department of State calls for the early action of Congress. The building now rented by that department is a frail structure at an inconvenient distance from the executive mansion and from all the other departments is ill adapted to the purpose for which it is used, has not capacity to accommodate the archives and is not fireproof. Its remote situation, its slender construction and the absence of a supply of water in the neighborhood leave but little hope of safety for either the building or its contents in the case of the accident of a fire. Its destruction would involve the loss of the roles containing the original acts and resolutions of Congress, of the historic records of the Revolution and of the Confederation, of the whole series of diplomatic and consular archives since the adoption of the Constitution and of the many other valuable records and papers left with that department when it was the principal depository of the governmental archives. I recommend an appropriation for the construction of a building for the Department of State. I recommend to your consideration the propriety of transferring to the Department of the Interior to which they seem more appropriately to belong, all powers and duties in relation to the territories with which the Department of State is now charged by law or usage, and from the Interior Department to the War Department the Pension Bureau so far as it regulates the payment of soldiers' pensions. I would further recommend that the payment of naval pensions be transferred to one of the bureaus of the Navy Department. The estimates for the expenses of the government for the next fiscal year are $18,244,346.01 less than for the current one, but exceed the appropriation for the present year for the same items $8,972,127.56. In this estimate, however, is included $22,338,278.37 for public works here to forebegun under congressional provision and of which only so much is asked as Congress may choose to give. The appropriation for the same works for the present fiscal year was $11,984,518.08. The average value of gold, as compared with national currency, for the whole of the year of 1869 was about 134, and for 11 months of 1870 the same relative value has been about 115. The approach to a specie basis is very gratifying, but the fact cannot be denied that the instability of the value of our currency is prejudicial to our prosperity and tends to keep up prices to the detriment of trade. The evils of a depreciated and fluctuating currency are so great that now, when the premium on gold has fallen so much, it would seem that the time has arrived when by wise and prudent legislation Congress should look to a policy which would place our currency at par with gold at no distant day. The tax collected from the people has been reduced more than $80 million per annum. By steadiness in our present course, there is no reason why in a few short years the national tax gatherer may not disappear from the door of the citizen almost entirely. With the revenue stamp dispensed by postmasters in every community, a tax upon liquors of all sorts and tobacco in all its forms, and by a wise adjustment of the tariff, which will put a duty only upon those articles which we could dispense with known as luxuries, and on those which we use more of than we produce, revenue enough may be raised after a few years of peace and consequent reduction of indebtedness to fulfill all our obligations. A further reduction of expenses in addition to a reduction of interest account may be relied on to make this practicable. Revenue reform, if it means this, has my hearty support. If it implies a collection of all the revenues for the support of the government for the payment of principal and interest of the public debt, pensions, etc., by directly taxing the people, then I am against revenue reform and confidently believe the people are with me. If it means failure to provide the necessary means to defray all the expenses of government and thereby repudiation of the public debt and pensions, then I am still more opposed to such kind of revenue reform. Revenue reform has not been defined by any of its advocates to my knowledge, but seems to be accepted as something which is to supply every man's wants without any cost or effort on his part. A true revenue reform cannot be made in a day, but it must be the work of national legislation and of time. As soon as the revenue can be dispensed with, all duty should be removed from coffee, tea, and other articles of universal use not produced by ourselves. The necessities of the country compel us to collect revenue from our imports. An army of assessors and collectors is not a pleasant sight to the citizen, but that of a tariff for revenue is necessary. Such a tariff so far as it acts as an encouragement to home production affords employment to labor at living wages in contrast to the proper labor of the old world and also in the development of home resources. Under the act of Congress of the 15th day of July, 1870, the army has gradually been reduced so that on the first day of January, 1871, the number of commissioned officers and men will not exceed the number contemplated by that law. The War Department building is an old structure, not fireproof and entirely inadequate in dimensions to our present wants. Many thousands of dollars are now paid annually for rent of private buildings to accommodate the various bureaus of the department. I recommend an appropriation for a new War Department building suited to the present and growing wants of the nation. The report of the Secretary of War shows a very satisfactory reduction in the expenses of the army for the last fiscal year. For details, you are referred to his accompanying report. The expenses of the Navy for the whole of the last year, i.e. from December 1, 1869, the date of the last report, are less than $19 million or about $1 million less than they were the previous year. The expenses since the commencement of this fiscal year, i.e. since July 1, show for the five months a decrease of over $2,400,000 from those of the corresponding months last year. The estimates for the current year were $28,205,671.37. Those for the next year are $20,683,317 with $955,100 additional for necessary permanent improvements. These estimates are made closely for the mere maintenance of the naval establishment as now is without much in the nature of permanent improvement. The appropriations made for the last and current years were evidently intended by Congress and are sufficient only to keep the Navy on its present footing by the repairing and refitting of our old ships. This policy must, of course, gradually but surely destroy the Navy, and it is in itself far from economical, as each year that it is pursued the necessity for mere repairs in ships and Navy yards becomes more imperative and more costly, and our current expenses are annually increased for the mere repair of ships, many of which must soon become unsafe and useless. I hope during the present session of Congress to be able to submit to it a plan by which naval vessels can be built and repairs made with great savings upon the present cost. It can hardly be wise statement ship in a government which represents a country with over 5,000 miles of coastline on both oceans exclusive of Alaska and containing 40 million progressive people with relations of every nature with almost every foreign country to rest with such inadequate means of enforcing any foreign policy either of protection or redress. Separated by the ocean from the nations of the eastern continent, our Navy is our only means of direct protection to our citizens abroad or for the enforcement of any foreign policy. The accompanying report of the Postmaster General shows a most satisfactory working of that department. With the adoption of the recommendations contained therein, particularly those relating to a reform in the franking privilege and the adoption of the correspondence cards, a self-sustaining postal system may be speedily looked for, and at no distant day a further reduction of the rate of postage be attained. I recommend authorization by Congress to the Postmaster General and Attorney General to issue all commissions to officials appointed through their respective departments. At present these commissions, where appointments are presidential, are issued by the State Department. The law in all the departments of government, except those of the Post Office and of Justice, authorizes each to issue its own commissions. Always favoring practical reforms, I respectfully call your attention to one abuse of longstanding which I would like to see remedied by this Congress. It is a reform in the civil service of the country. I would have it go beyond the mere fixing of the tenure of officials of clerks and employees who do not require the advice and consent of the Senate to make their appointments complete. I would have it govern, not the tenure, but the manner of making all appointments. There is no duty which so much embarrasses the executive and heads of departments as that of appointments, nor is there any such arduous and thankless labor imposed on senators and representatives as that of finding places for constituents. The present system does not secure the best men and often not even fit men for public place. The elevation and purification of the civil service of the government will be hailed with approval by the whole people of the United States. Reform in the management of Indian affairs has received the special attention of the administration from its inauguration to the present day. The experiment of making it a missionary work was tried with a few agencies given to the denomination of friends and has been found to work most advantageously. All agencies and superintendencies not so disposed of were given to officers of the Army. The act of Congress reducing the Army renders Army officers ineligible for civil positions. Indian agencies being civil offices, I determined to give all the agencies to such religious denominations as had heretofore established missionaries among the Indians and perhaps to some other denominations who would undertake the work on the same terms, i.e. as a missionary work. The societies selected are allowed to name their own agents subject to the approval of the executive and are expected to watch over them and aid them as missionaries to Christianize and civilize the Indian and to train him in the arts of peace. The government watches over the official acts of these agents and requires of them as strict an accountability as if they were appointed in any other manner. I entertain the confident hope that the policy now pursued will in a few years bring all the Indians upon reservations where they will live in houses and have schoolhouses and churches and will be pursuing peaceful and self-sustaining avocations and where they may be visited by the law abiding white man with the same impunity that he now visits the civilized white settlements. I call your special attention to the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs for full information on this subject. During the last fiscal year, 8,095,413 acres of public land were disposed of. Of this quantity, 3,698,910.05 acres were taken under the Homestead Law and 2,159,515.81 acres sold for cash. The remainder was located with military warrants, college or Indian script, or applied in satisfaction of grants to railroads or for other public uses. The entries under the Homestead Law during the last year covered 961,545 acres more than those during the preceding year. Surveys have been vigorously prosecuted to the full extent of the means applicable to the purpose. The quantity of land in market will amply supply the present demand. The claim of the settler under the Homestead or the preemption laws is not, however, limited to land subject to sale at private entry. Any unappropriated surveyed public land made to a limited amount be acquired under the former laws if the party entitled to enter under them will comply with the requirements they prescribe in regard to the residence and cultivation. The actual settler's preference right of purchase is even broader and extends to lands which were unsurveyed at the time of his settlement. His right was formerly confined within much narrower limits and at one period of our history was conferred only by special statutes. They were enacted from time to time to legalize what was then regarded as an unauthorized intrusion upon the national domain. The opinion that the public lands should be regarded chiefly as a source of revenue is no longer maintained. The rapid settlement and successful cultivation of them are now justly considered of more importance to our well-being than is the fund which the sale of them would produce. The remarkable growth and prosperity of our new states and territories attest to the wisdom of the legislation which invites the tiller of the soil to secure a permanent home on terms within the reach of all. The pioneer who incurs the dangers and privations of a frontier life and thus aids in laying the foundation of new commonwealths renders a signal service to his country and is entitled to its special favor and protection. These laws secure that object and largely promote the general welfare. They should therefore be cherished as a permanent feature of our land system. Good faith requires us to give full effect to existing grants. The time honored and beneficent policy of setting apart certain sections of public land for educational purposes in the new states should be continued. When ample provision shall have been made for these objects, I submit as a question worthy of serious consideration whether the residue of our national domain should not be wholly disposed of under the provisions of the homestead and preemption laws. In addition to the swamp and overflowed lands granted to the states in which they are situated, the lands taken under the Agricultural College Act and for the internal improvement purposes under the act of September 1841 and the act supplemental there too, there had been conveyed up to the close of the last fiscal year by patent or other equivalent title to states and corporations 27,836,257.63 acres for railways canals and wagon roads. It is estimated that an additional quantity of 174,735,523 acres is still due under grants for like uses. The policy of thus aiding the states in building works of internal improvement was inaugurated more than 40 years since in the grants to Indiana and Illinois to aid those states in opening canals to connect the waters of the Wabash with those of Lake Erie and the waters of the Illinois with those of Lake Michigan. It was followed with some modifications in the grants to Illinois of alternate sections of public land within certain limits of the Illinois Central Railway. Fourteen states and sundry corporations have received similar subsidies in connection with railways completed or in process of construction. As the reserved sections are rated at the double minimum, the sale of them at the enhanced price has thus in many instances indemnified the treasury for the granted lands. The construction of some of these thoroughfares has undoubtedly given a vigorous impulse to the development of our resources and the settlement of the more distant portions of the country. It may however be well insisted that much of our legislation in this regard has been characterized by indiscriminate and profuse liberality. The United States should not loan their credit in aid of any enterprise undertaken by states or corporations nor grant lands in any instance unless the projected work is of acknowledged national importance. I am strongly inclined to the opinion that it is inexpedient and unnecessary to bestow subsidies of either description. But should Congress determine otherwise, I earnestly recommend that the right of settlers and of the public be more effectually secured and protected by appropriate legislation. During the year ending September 30, 1870, there were filed in the Patent Office 19,411 applications for patents, 3,374 caveats, and 160 applications for the extension of patents. 13,622 patents including reissues and designs were issued, 1010 extended, and 1089 allowed but not issued by reason of the nonpayment of the final fees. Three seats of the office during the year were 136,304 dollars and 29 cents in excess of his expenditures. The work of the Census Bureau has been energetically prosecuted. The preliminary report containing much information of special value and interest will be ready for delivery during the present session. The remaining volumes will be completed with all the dispatch consistent with perfect accuracy and arranging and classifying the returns. We shall thus at no distant day be furnished with an authentic record of our condition and resources. It will, I doubt not, attest to the growing prosperity of the country, although during the decade which has just closed, it was so severely tried by the great war wage to maintain its integrity and to secure and perpetuate our free institutions. During the last fiscal year, the sum paid to pensioners including the cost of disbursement was 27,780,811 dollars and 11 cents, and 1,758 bounty land warrants were issued. At its close, 198,686 names were on the pension rolls. The labors of the pension office have been directed to the severe scrutiny of the evidence submitted in favor of new claims and to the discovery of fictitious claims which have been heretofore allowed. The appropriation for the employment of special agents for the investigation of frauds has been judiciously used and the results obtained have been of unquestionable benefit to the service. The subjects of education and agriculture are of great interest to the success of our Republican institutions, happiness, and grandeur as a nation. In the interest of one, a bureau has been established in the Interior Department, the Bureau of Education, and in the interest of the other, a separate department, that of agriculture. I believe great general good is to flow from the operations of both these bureaus if properly fostered. I cannot commend to your careful consideration to highly the reports of the commissioners of education and of agriculture, nor urge to strongly such liberal legislation as to secure their efficiency. In conclusion, I would sum up the policy of the administration to be a thorough enforcement of every law, a faithful collection of every tax provided for, economy and the disbursement of the same, a prompt payment of every debt of the nation, a reduction of taxes as rapidly as the requirements of the country will admit, reductions of taxation and tariff to be so arranged as to afford the greatest relief to the greatest number, honest and fair dealings with all other peoples to the end that war with all its ablating consequences may be avoided but without surrendering any right or obligation due to us. A reform in the treatment of Indians and in the whole civil service of the country and finally in securing a pure untrammeled ballot where every man entitled to cast a vote may do so just once at each election without fear of molestation or prescription on account of his political faith, nativity of color. Ulysses S. Grant. End of section 3, recording by E. Winters.