President[ Ulysses S. Grant
Date[ December 5, 1870
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 completed 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 Germans
domiciled in 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 Saxe-Coburg, 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 to 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 in civil
contests elsewhere, we can not 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 belligerents, with all of whom the United States are on 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 the
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 heartily 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 belligerents, 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 their 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 Aspinwall for the illegal seizure and detention
of that vessel was referred to arbitration by mutual consent, and has
resulted in an award 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
Majesty's 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 Republics 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 this 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 or 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, 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 ally 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 a 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 this annexation. It is a
weak power, numbering probably less than 120,000 souls, and yet possessing
one of the richest territories under the sun, capable of supporting a
population of 10,000,000 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, most salubrious climate, and the most valuable products of the
forests, mine, and soil of any of the West India Islands. Its possession by
us will in a few years build up a coastwise commerce of immense magnitude,
which will go far toward restoring to us 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
Antilies. 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. Porto 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 manufactories. 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
to us a still wider market for our products. The production of our own
supply of these articles will cut off more than one hundred millions 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 manufactories; it is to make slavery insupportable in
Cuba and Porto 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 an 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 Texas. 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 nonacquisition, 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 in exempting from impost 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
adverted 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 Tien-Tsin, 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 a complicity between the local authorities and the
mob. The Government at Peking, 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, whence 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 forty-ninth
parallel, and that the line, when run on what is now supposed to be the
true position of that parallel, would leave the fort of the Hudsons 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
Hudsons 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 to be 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 to 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 can not be
necessary to add that whenever Her Majesty's Government shall entertain a
desire for a 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 toward 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. In the waters not
included in the limits named in the convention (within 3 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 or
control of these inshore 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 the colonial ports, their 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
3 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 3 marine miles of any of 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 this 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 purposes of shelter and
repairing damages, of 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
twenty-four 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 he convention of 1818, it can not 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's 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 such 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 I, 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 can not 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 toward
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
Dominion of Canada are permitted to enter the waters of the United States.
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 these waters is open to British competition, and the major part of
it is done in British bottoms.
If the American seamen 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 coequal 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 comity, 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 arrangement
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 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 Mayence 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 Douro throughout 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
Parana 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 this 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 an extreme
and hard law; secondly, that her conduct with respect to the navigation of
the St. Lawrence is in glaring and discreditable inconsistency with her
conduct with 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
disembogues itself into the sea, she denies to the United States the right
of navigation, though about one-half of the waters of Lakes Ontario. Erie,
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, an 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.
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 can not 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 insure
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 can not 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 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 case of the accident of a fire. Its destruction
would involve the loss of the rolls 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
appropriations 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
heretofore begun 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 1869 was about 134, and for eleven months of 1870 the
same relative value has been about 115. The approach to a specie basis is
very gratifying, but the fact can not 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 $80,000,000
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 revenue 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 can not be made in a day, but 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 pauper 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 1st 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 $19,000,000,
or about $1,000,000 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 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 saving
upon the present cost.
It can hardly be wise statesmanship in a Government which represents a
country with over 5,000 miles of coast line on both oceans, exclusive of
Alaska, and containing 40,000,000 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 speedily be 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 long standing 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 office 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 scrip, 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 lands
subject to sale at private entry. Any unappropriated surveyed public land
may, 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 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 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
acts and for internal-improvement purposes under the act of September,
1841, and the acts supplemental thereto, 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 forty
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 grant 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. Thirteen thousand six hundred and twenty-two
patents, including reissues and designs, were issued, 1,010 extended, and
1,089 allowed, but not issued by reason of the nonpayment of the final
fees. The receipts of the office during the year were $136,304.29 in excess
of its 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 in 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 the growing prosperity of the
country, although during the decade which has just closed it was so
severely tried by the great war waged 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 $27,780,811.11, 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 can not commend to your careful consideration too highly the
reports of the Commissioners of Education and of Agriculture, nor urge too
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 in 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 blighting 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 proscription
on account of his political faith, nativity, of color.
U. S. GRANT
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