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 in fulfilling all 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, principal 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 has been no hesitation in changing officials in order to secure an efficient execution of the laws, sometimes, too, when, in a mere party view, undesirable political results were likely to follow; nor any hesitation in sustaining efficient officials against remonstrances wholly 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 in office persons placed there by Federal appointment against the will of the President. The law is inconsistent with a faithful and efficient administration of the Government. What faith can an Executive put in officials forced upon him, and those, too, whom he has 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 a firm but 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 can not 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, can not be undone, and the question must be met as we now find it. I have attempted a new policy toward these wards of the nation (they can not be regarded in any other light than as wards), 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 sects in 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 De 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, one at the will of the President. The former is personally interested in living in harmony with the Indian and in 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 severalty 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 30, 1869, to be $80,644,042, of which $23,882,310 was disbursed 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 it 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 Ordnance 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 3d 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 a 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 sail 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 of 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 per cent 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 States as swamp land, and located with warrants and scrip. 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 disbursing agents, was $28,422,884, an increase of $4,411,902 on that of the previous year. The munificence 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 borne 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, an appropriation of $30,000,000.

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 fifteen 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.



SPECIAL MESSAGES.

WASHINGTON, December 6, 1869.

To the Senate of the United States:

I submit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to ratification, an additional article to the convention of the 24th of October, 1867, between the United States of America and His Majesty the King of Denmark.

U.S. GRANT.

WASHINGTON, December 6, 1869

To the Senate of the United States:

I submit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to ratification, a convention between the United States and His Hawaiian Majesty, signed in this city on the 8th day of May last, providing for the extension of the term for the exchange of the ratifications of the convention for commercial reciprocity between the same parties, signed on the 21st day of May, 1867.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, December 6, 1869.

To the Senate of the United States:

I submit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to ratification, a protocol, signed in this city on the 23d of October last, to the convention upon the subject of claims between the United States and the Mexican Republic, signed the 4th of July, 1868.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, December 7, 1869.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate, the accompanying copy of a correspondence between the Secretary of State and the minister of the United States at Berlin, in relation to the exchange of the ratifications of the naturalization convention dated July 27, 1868, between the United States and the Government of Wurtemberg, which was not effected within the time named in the convention.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, December 7, 1869.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate, the accompanying copy of a correspondence between the Secretary of State and the legation of the United States at Brussels, in relation to the exchange of the ratifications of the consular convention with Belgium signed on the 5th of December, 1868, which was not effected within the time named in the convention.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, December 7, 1869.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate a copy of a correspondence, a list of which is hereto annexed, between the Secretary of State and the minister resident of the United States at Constantinople, and invite its consideration of the question as to the correct meaning of the fourth article of the treaty of 1830 between the United States and Turkey.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, D.C., December 9, 1869.

To the Senate of the United States:

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 6th instant, requesting reports of the military commander of the district of which Georgia is a part in regard to the political and civil condition of that State, the accompanying papers are submitted.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, December 9, 1869.

To the House of Representatives:

I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday, asking to be informed what legislatures have ratified the proposed fifteenth amendment of the Constitution of the United States.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, December 15, 1869.

To the House of Representatives:

I transmit a further report from the Secretary of State in answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 9th instant, making known that official notice has been received at the Department of State of the ratification by the legislature of the State of Alabama of the amendment to the Constitution recently proposed by Congress as Article XV.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, December 15, 1869.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 13th instant, requesting a copy of official correspondence on the subject of Cuba, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., December 15, 1869.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution of December 9, 1869, requesting a copy of the charges, testimony, findings, and sentence in the trial by court-martial of Passed Assistant Surgeon Charles L. Green, United States Navy, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Navy, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., December 20, 1869.

To the Senate of the United States:

I hereby request the return of such part of my message of December 9, in response to Senate resolution of December 6, requesting the reports of the military commander of the district of which Georgia is a part, to wit, an anonymous letter purporting to be from "a Georgia woman." By accident the paper got with those called for by the resolution, instead of in the wastebasket, where it was intended it should go.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, December 20, 1869.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, in relation to their resolution of the 8th instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.[6]

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 6: Relating to the revolution in Cuba and the political and civil condition of that island.]



WASHINGTON, December 22, 1869.

To the Senate:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 20th instant, in relation to correspondence between the United States and Great Britain concerning questions pending between the two countries since the rejection of the claims convention by the Senate, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State upon the subject and the papers by which it was accompanied.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, December 22, 1869.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 8th instant, a report[7] from the Secretary of State.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 7: Stating that neither correspondence nor negotiation upon the subject of trade and commerce between the United States and Canada had been entered into.]



WASHINGTON, January 10, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to its ratification, a convention between the United States and the Dominican Republic for a lease to the former of the bay and peninsula of Samana.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, January 10, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to its ratification, a treaty for the annexation of the Dominican Republic to the United States, signed by the plenipotentiaries of the parties on the 29th of November last.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., January 10, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In response to the resolution of the Senate of December 9, 1869, requesting the information in possession of the President or any of the Departments relating to the action which has been had in the District of Virginia under the act "authorizing the submission of the constitutions of Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas to a vote of the people, and authorizing the election of State officers provided by the said constitutions, and Members of Congress," approved April 10, 1869, I have the honor to transmit herewith the reports of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, and the Attorney-General, to whom, severally, the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., January 21, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution passed by the House of Representatives on the 17th instant, requesting to be informed "under what act of Congress or by other authority appropriations for the Navy are diverted to the survey of the Isthmus of Darien," I transmit a report by the Secretary of the Navy, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., January 29, 1870.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I herewith transmit to Congress a report, dated 29th instant, with the accompanying papers,[8] received from the Secretary of State, in compliance with the requirements of the eighteenth section of the act entitled "An act to regulate the diplomatic and consular systems of the United States," approved August 18, 1856.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 8: Report of fees collected, etc., by consular officers of the United States for 1868, and tariff of consular fees.]



WASHINGTON, February 1, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, in compliance with its resolution of the 31st ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, communicating information in relation to the action of the legislature of the State of Mississippi on the proposed fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, February 2, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 8th ultimo, I transmit a report[9] from the Secretary of State and the papers which accompanied it.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 9: Relating to the insurrection in the Red River settlement, in British North America.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 4, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I herewith lay before the Senate, for the consideration and action of that body in connection with a treaty of December 4, 1868, with the Seneca Nation of Indians, now pending, amendments to said treaty proposed at a council of said Indians held at their council house on the Catteraugus Reservation, in New York, on the 26th ultimo.

A letter of the Secretary of the Interior, of the 3d instant, accompanies the papers.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 4, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

For the reasons stated in the accompanying communication from the Secretary of the Interior, I respectfully request to withdraw the treaties hereinafter mentioned, which are now pending before the Senate:

First. Treaty concluded with the Great and Little Osages May 27, 1868.

Second. Treaty concluded with the Sacs and Foxes of the Missouri and Iowa tribes of Indians February 11, 1869.

Third. Treaty concluded with the Otoc and Missouria Indians February 13, 1869.

Fourth. Treaty concluded with the Kansas or Kaw Indians March 13, 1869.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, February 8, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 3d instant, calling for the number of copies of the tributes of the nations to Abraham Lincoln now in possession of the Department of State, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the paper which accompanied it.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, February 11, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives requesting me to furnish any information which may have been received by the Government in relation to the recent assault upon and reported murder of one or more American citizens in Cuba, I communicate a report from the Secretary of State, with the papers accompanying it.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON CITY, February 11, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

The papers in the case of Commander Jonathan Young, of the United States Navy, show—

That when the naval promotions were made in 1866 the name of Commander Jonathan Young was not included among them, and he was passed over, while Commander George W. Young was not passed over; that among other testimonials is one from Vice-Admiral D.D. Porter stating that "Commander Jonathan Young was passed over by mistake; that he was recommended for promotion, while Commander George W. Young was not recommended for promotion, and by some singular mistake the latter was promoted, while the former was passed over."

That eminent officers, formerly junior to Commander Young, but promoted over his head, desire his restoration to his former position, because they consider such restoration due to his character, ability, and services.

In view, therefore, of these facts, and of the general good standing of Commander Jonathan Young, and of his gallant and efficient services during the war, and to remedy so far as is now possible what is believed to have been a clerical error of the Department, which has worked to his injury, the Department now recommends that he be restored to his original standing upon the navy list.

For these reasons I nominate Commander Jonathan Young to be restored to his original position, to take rank from the 25th July, 1866, and next after Commander William T. Truxtun.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, D.C., February 11, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In reply to the resolution of the Senate of the 4th instant, requesting information in regard to the proceedings had in the State of Georgia in pursuance of the recent act of Congress entitled "An act to promote the reconstruction of the State of Georgia," and in relation to the organization of the legislature of that State since the passage of that act, I herewith transmit the report of the Secretary of War, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, February 15, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In reply to a resolution of the Senate of the 9th instant, in relation to the Central Branch, Union Pacific Railroad Company, I transmit a copy of a letter addressed to me on the 27th ultimo by the Secretary of the Interior. It contains all the information in my possession touching the action of any of the Departments on the claim of that company to continue and extend its road and to receive in aid of the construction thereof lands and bonds from the United States.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, February 16, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In response to the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant, asking "how much of the appropriations heretofore made, amounting to $100,000, to provide for the defense of certain suits now pending in the Court of Claims, known as the cotton cases, has been expended, and to whom the same has been paid; for what services rendered, and the amount paid to each of said persons; and also the number of clerks in the Treasury Department, and other persons, with their names, engaged or occupied in the defense of said suits," I herewith transmit the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, February 16, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th instant, I transmit a report[10] from the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 10: Relating to the payment in currency, instead of coin, of the semiannual installments of interest due to the United States under the convention with Spain concluded February 17, 1834, and opinion of the Attorney-General relative thereto.]



WASHINGTON, February 17, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 24th ultimo, the report from the Secretary of State, with accompaniments.[11]

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 11: Lists of officers commissioned by the Department of State, their compensation, etc.]



WASHINGTON, February 18, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

I transmit to the House of Representatives, in further answer to their resolution requesting information in relation to the recent assault upon and reported murder of one or more American citizens in Cuba, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, February 19, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In reply to the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant, requesting "any information which may have been received by the Government of the recently reported engagement of Colonel Baker with the Indians,[86] with copies of all orders which led to the same," I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 12: Piegan in Montana.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., February 21, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their resolution of the 7th instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.[13]

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 13: Correspondence relative to affairs connected with Cuba and to the struggle for independence in that island.]



WASHINGTON, February 23, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 14th instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.[14]

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 14: Correspondence of the United States minister to Japan relative to American interests in that country.]



WASHINGTON, February 24, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 21st instant, directing the Secretary of State to furnish the Senate with copies of all correspondence relating to the imprisonment of Mr. Davis Hatch by the Dominican Government, I transmit a report of the Secretary of State upon the subject.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, February 28, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 19th instant, requesting to be informed "if any officer of the Government has, contrary to the treaty of July 19, 1866, with the Cherokee Nation, enforced or sought to enforce the payment of taxes by Cherokees on products manufactured in the Cherokee Nation and sold within the Indian Territory," I transmit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, February 28, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 15th instant, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State upon the subject,[15] and the papers by which it was accompanied.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 15: Imprisonment of American citizens in Great Britain for political offenses.]



WASHINGTON, March 1, 1870.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit to Congress a communication from the Secretary of State, with the accompanying documents, relative to the claims of citizens of the United States on the Government of Venezuela which were adjusted by the commission provided for by the convention with that Republic of April 25, 1866.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., March 3, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith, in response to the resolution of the House asking for information in relation to the repairs of Spanish war vessels at the docks of the United States, the report of the Secretary of the Navy, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., March 8, 1870.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

Herewith I have the honor to transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Interior, relative to the obligation of Congress to make the necessary appropriations to carry out the Indian treaties made by what is known as the Peace Commission of 1867.

The history of those treaties and the consequences of noncompliance with them by the Government are so clearly set forth in this statement that I deem it better to communicate it in full than to ask the necessary appropriation in a shorter statement of the reasons for it. I earnestly desire that if an Indian war becomes inevitable the Government of the United States at least should not be responsible for it. Pains will be taken, and force used if necessary, to prevent the departure of the expeditions referred to by the Secretary of the Interior.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, March 10, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 4th instant, in relation to the "Transcontinental, Memphis, El Paso and Pacific Railroad Company," I transmit reports from the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Interior, with accompanying papers.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, March 10, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 28th ultimo, a report[90] from the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 16: Relating to legislation necessary to insure the administration of justice and the protection of American interests in China and Japan.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., March 14, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In reply to your resolution of the 14th of February, requesting to be informed whether I desire that any of the Indian treaties now pending before you be considered confidentially, I have to inform you that there are none of them which I object to having discussed in open session.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., March 14, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I would respectfully call your attention to a treaty now before you for the acquisition of the Republic of St. Domingo, entered into between the agents of the two Governments on the 29th of November, 1869, and by its terms to be finally acted upon by the people of St. Domingo and the Senate of the United States within four months from the date of signing the treaty. The time for action expires on the 29th instant, a fact to which I desire expressly to call your attention. I would also direct your notice to the fact that the Government of St. Domingo has no agent in the United States who is authorized to extend the time for further deliberation upon its merits.

The people of St. Domingo have already, so far as their action can go, ratified the treaty, and I express the earnest wish that you will not permit it to expire by limitation. I also entertain the sincere hope that your action may be favorable to the ratification of the treaty.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, March 15, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 3d instant, asking to be informed what States have ratified the amendment known as the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, so far as official notice thereof has been transmitted to the Department of State, and that information from time to time may be communicated to that body, as soon as practicable, of such ratification hereafter by any State.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., March 23, 1870.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

In the Executive message of December 6, 1869, to Congress the importance of taking steps to revive our drooping merchant marine was urged, and a special message promised at a future day during the present session, recommending more specifically plans to accomplish this result. Now that the committee of the House of Representatives intrusted with the labor of ascertaining "the cause of the decline of American commerce" has completed its work and submitted its report to the legislative branch of the Government, I deem this a fitting time to execute that promise.

The very able, calm, and exhaustive report of the committee points out the grave wrongs which have produced the decline in our commerce. It is a national humiliation that we are now compelled to pay from twenty to thirty million dollars annually (exclusive of passage money, which we should share with vessels of other nations) to foreigners for doing the work which should be done by American vessels, American built, American owned, and American manned. This is a direct drain upon the resources of the country of just so much money, equal to casting it into the sea, so far as this nation is concerned.

A nation of the vast and ever-increasing interior resources of the United States, extending, as it does, from one to the other of the great oceans of the world, with an industrious, intelligent, energetic population, must one day possess its full share of the commerce of these oceans, no matter what the cost. Delay will only increase this cost and enhance the difficulty of attaining the result.

I therefore put in an earnest plea for early action in this matter, in a way to secure the desired increase of American commerce. The advanced period of the year and the fact that no contracts for shipbuilding will probably be entered into until this question is settled by Congress, and the further fact that if there should be much delay all large vessels contracted for this year will fail of completion before winter sets in, and will therefore be carried over for another year, induces me to request your early consideration of this subject.

I regard it of such grave importance, affecting every interest of the country to so great an extent, that any method which will gain the end will secure a rich national blessing. Building ships and navigating them utilizes vast capital at home; it employs thousands of workmen in their construction and manning; it creates a home market for the products of the farm and the shop; it diminishes the balance of trade against us precisely to the extent of freights and passage money paid to American vessels, and gives us a supremacy upon the seas of inestimable value in case of foreign war.

Our Navy at the commencement of the late war consisted of less than 100 vessels, of about 150,000 tons and a force of about 8,000 men. We drew from the merchant marine, which had cost the Government nothing, but which had been a source of national wealth, 600 vessels, exceeding 1,000,000 tons, and about 70,000 men, to aid in the suppression of the rebellion.

This statement demonstrates the value of the merchant marine as a means of national defense in time of need.

The Committee on the Causes of the Reduction of American Tonnage, after tracing the causes of its decline, submit two bills, which, if adopted, they believe will restore to the nation its maritime power. Their report shows with great minuteness the actual and comparative American tonnage at the time of its greatest prosperity; the actual and comparative decline since, together with the causes; and exhibits all other statistics of material interest in reference to the subject. As the report is before Congress, I will not recapitulate any of its statistics, but refer only to the methods recommended by the committee to give back to us our lost commerce.

As a general rule, when it can be adopted, I believe a direct money subsidy is less liable to abuse than an indirect aid given to the same enterprise. In this case, however, my opinion is that subsidies, while they may be given to specified lines of steamers or other vessels, should not be exclusively adopted, but, in addition to subsidizing very desirable lines of ocean traffic, a general assistance should be given in an effective way. I therefore commend to your favorable consideration the two bills proposed by the committee and referred to in this message.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 25, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In reply to a Senate resolution of the 24th instant, requesting to be furnished with a report, written by Captain Selfridge, upon the resources and condition of things in the Dominican Republic, I have to state that no such report has been received.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, March 25, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 15th ultimo, I transmit a report, with accompanying paper,[17] from the Secretary of the Navy, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 17: Statement of the number and character of the ironclad vessels of the Navy, their cost, by whom designed, who recommended their construction, and their condition.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 29, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

In reply to your resolution of December 20, 1869, asking "whether any citizens of the United States are imprisoned or detained in military custody by officers of the Army of the United States, and, if any, to furnish their names, date of arrest, the offenses charged, together with a statement of what measures have been taken for the trial and punishment of the offenders," I transmit herewith the report of the Secretary of War, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 30, 1870.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

It is unusual to notify the two Houses of Congress by message of the promulgation, by proclamation of the Secretary of State, of the ratification of a constitutional amendment. In view, however, of the vast importance of the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution, this day declared a part of that revered instrument, I deem a departure from the usual custom justifiable. A measure which makes at once 4,000,000 people voters who were heretofore declared by the highest tribunal in the land not citizens of the United States, nor eligible to become so (with the assertion that "at the time of the Declaration of Independence the opinion was fixed and universal in the civilized portion of the white race, regarded as an axiom in morals as well as in politics, that black men had no rights which the white man was bound to respect"), is indeed a measure of grander importance than any other one act of the kind from the foundation of our free Government to the present day.

Institutions like ours, in which all power is derived directly from the people, must depend mainly upon their intelligence, patriotism, and industry. I call the attention, therefore, of the newly enfranchised race to the importance of their striving in every honorable manner to make themselves worthy of their new privilege. To the race more favored heretofore by our laws I would say, Withhold no legal privilege of advancement to the new citizen. The framers of our Constitution firmly believed that a republican government could not endure without intelligence and education generally diffused among the people. The Father of his Country, in his Farewell Address, uses this language:

Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.

In his first annual message to Congress the same views are forcibly presented, and are again urged in his eighth message.

I repeat that the adoption of the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution completes the greatest civil change and constitutes the most important event that has occurred since the nation came into life. The change will be beneficial in proportion to the heed that is given to the urgent recommendations of Washington. If these recommendations were important then, with a population of but a few millions, how much more important now, with a population of 40,000,000, and increasing in a rapid ratio. I would therefore call upon Congress to take all the means within their constitutional powers to promote and encourage popular education throughout the country, and upon the people everywhere to see to it that all who possess and exercise political rights shall have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge which will make their share in the Government a blessing and not a danger. By such means only can the benefits contemplated by this amendment to the Constitution be secured.

U.S. GRANT.



HAMILTON FISH, SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES.

To all to whom these presents may come, greeting:

Know ye that the Congress of the United States, on or about the 27th day of February, in the year 1869, passed a resolution in the words and figures following, to wit:

A RESOLUTION proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of both Houses concurring), That the following article be proposed to the legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of said legislatures, shall be valid as a part of the Constitution, viz;

ARTICLE XV.

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

SEC. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

And further, that it appears from official documents on file in this Department that the amendment to the Constitution of the United States, proposed as aforesaid, has been ratified by the legislatures of the States of North Carolina, West Virginia, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Maine, Louisiana, Michigan, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New York, New Hampshire, Nevada, Vermont, Virginia, Alabama, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Nebraska, and Texas; in all, twenty-nine States;

And further, that the States whose legislatures have so ratified the said proposed amendment constitute three-fourths of the whole number of States in the United States;

And further, that it appears from an official document on file in this Department that the legislature of the State of New York has since passed resolutions claiming to withdraw the said ratification of the said amendment, which had been made by the legislature of that State, and of which official notice had been filed in this Department;

And further, that it appears from an official document on file in this Department that the legislature of Georgia has by resolution ratified the said proposed amendment:

Now, therefore, be it known that I, Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State of the United States, by virtue and in pursuance of the second section of the act of Congress approved the 20th day of April, in the year 1818, entitled "An act to provide for the publication of the laws of the United States, and for other purposes," do hereby certify that the amendment aforesaid has become valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution of the United States.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Department of State to be affixed.

[SEAL.]

Done at the city of Washington this 30th day of March, A.D. 1870, and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-fourth.

HAMILTON FISH.



WASHINGTON, March 31, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit, for consideration with a view to its ratification, a treaty between the United States and the United States of Colombia for the construction of an interoceanic canal across the Isthmus of Panama or Darien, signed at Bogota on the 26th of January last.

A copy of a dispatch of the 1st ultimo to the Secretary of State from General Hurlbut, the United States minister at Bogota, relative to the treaty, is also transmitted for the information of the Senate.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, March 31, 1870.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit to Congress a further communication from the Secretary of State, with the accompanying documents, relative to the claims of citizens of the United States on the Government of Venezuela which were adjusted by the commission provided for by the convention with that Republic of April 25, 1866.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, March 31, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th instant, relating to fisheries in British waters, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers which accompanied it, and I have to state that the commanding officer of the naval steamer ordered to the fishing grounds will be instructed to give his attention, should circumstances require it, to cases which may arise under any change which may be made in the British laws affecting fisheries within British jurisdiction, with a view to preventing, so far as it may be in his power, infractions by citizens of the United States of the first article of the treaty between the United States and Great Britain of 1818, the laws in force relating to fisheries within British jurisdiction, or any illegal interference with the pursuits of the fishermen of the United States.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, April 5, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 28th ultimo, I transmit a report[18] from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 18: Declining to communicate a copy of the list of privileges accompanying or relating to the San Domingo treaty while the subject is pending before the Senate in executive session.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, April 6, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to your resolution of the 7th ultimo, requesting to be furnished with a copy of orders, correspondence, reports of councils with Indians by military and civil officers of the Government, in possession of the Interior and War Departments, relating to difficulties with the Cheyenne, Comanche, Arapahoe, Apache, and Kiowa tribes of Indians during the year 1867, etc., I herewith transmit the reports received from those Departments.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, April 14, 1870.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, relative to results of the proceedings of the joint commission at Lima under the convention between the United States and Peru of 4th of December, 1868, and recommend that an appropriation be made to discharge the obligation of the United States in the case of the claim of Esteban G. Montano, to which the report refers.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, April 20, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to your resolution of the 21st ultimo, requesting to be informed "whether any portion of the military forces of the United States has been sent into the counties of Bourbon, Crawford, and Cherokee, in the State of Kansas, and, if so, when, what number, for what purpose, and on whose procurement; and also whether they have been required to erect there any winter quarters, forts, fortifications, or earth-works, and, if so, what, for what purpose, and at whose expense, and at what probable expense to the Government have all said acts been done," I transmit herewith a report, dated 18th instant, from the Secretary of War, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, April 26, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 9th instant, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the paper[19] which accompanied it.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 19: Supplemental report to the Department of State by Samuel B. Ruggles, United States delegate to the International Monetary Conference at Paris, 1867.]



WASHINGTON, May 6, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 26th ultimo, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers[20] by which it was accompanied.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 20: Dispatches of J. Somers Smith, commercial agent of the United States at San Domingo, relative to the imprisonment of Davis Hatch by the Dominican Government.]



WASHINGTON, May 21, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 18th instant, calling for information relative to the passage of any English or Canadian steamer through the canal of Sault Ste. Marie, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, May 23, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In response to your resolution of the 12th instant, requesting information "in relation to an organized band of persons at Cheyenne, in the Territory of Wyoming, or vicinity, the number and designs of such persons," I transmit herewith the reports of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Interior, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, May 23, 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to their resolution of the 5th instant, a report from the Secretary of State and its accompanying papers.[21]

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 21: Relating to the claims of United States citizens against Venezuela.]



WASHINGTON, May 26, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I have the satisfaction of transmitting to the Senate, for consideration with a view to its ratification, a convention between the United States and Her Britannic Majesty, relative to naturalization, signed in London on the 13th instant.

The convention is substantially the same as the protocol on the subject signed by Mr. Reverdy Johnson and Lord Stanley on the 9th of October, 1868, and approved by the Senate on the 13th April, 1869.

If the instrument should go into effect, it will relieve the parties from a grievance which has hitherto been a cause of frequent annoyance and sometimes of dangerous irritation.

A copy of Mr. Motley's dispatch on the subject and of the act of Parliament of May 12, 1870, are also transmitted.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, May 28, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 24th instant, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the document[22] by which it was accompanied.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 22: Dispatch from Henry T. Blow, United States minister to Brazil, relative to the commercial interests of the United States with South America.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, May 31, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to its ratification, an additional article to the treaty of the 29th of November last, for the annexation of the Dominican Republic to the United States, stipulating for an extension of the time for exchanging the ratifications thereof, signed in this city on the 14th instant by the plenipotentiaries of the parties.

It was my intention to have also negotiated with the plenipotentiary of San Domingo amendments to the treaty of annexation to obviate objections which may be urged against the treaty as it is now worded; but on reflection I deem it better to submit to the Senate the propriety of their amending the treaty as follows: First, to specify that the obligations of this Government shall not exceed the $1,500,000 stipulated in the treaty; secondly, to determine the manner of appointing the agents to receive and disburse the same; thirdly, to determine the class of creditors who shall take precedence in the settlement of their claims; and, finally, to insert such amendments as may suggest themselves to the minds of Senators to carry out in good faith the conditions of the treaty submitted to the Senate of the United States in January last, according to the spirit and intent of that treaty. From the most reliable information I can obtain, the sum specified in the treaty will pay every just claim against the Republic of San Domingo and leave a balance sufficient to carry on a Territorial government until such time as new laws for providing a Territorial revenue can be enacted and put in force.

I feel an unusual anxiety for the ratification of this treaty, because I believe it will redound greatly to the glory of the two countries interested, to civilization, and to the extirpation of the institution of slavery.

The doctrine promulgated by President Monroe has been adhered to by all political parties, and I now deem it proper to assert the equally important principle that hereafter no territory on this continent shall be regarded as subject of transfer to a European power.

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?

I have information which I believe reliable that a European power stands ready now to offer $2,000,000 for the possession of Samana Bay alone. If refused by us, with what grace can we prevent a foreign power from attempting to secure the prize?

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 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 on 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 the 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 east to west by the 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.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C. June 2, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In reply to your resolution of the 1st instant, requesting, "in confidence," any information in possession of the President "touching any proposition, offer, or design of any foreign power to purchase or obtain any part of the territory of San Domingo or any right to the Bay of Samana," I transmit herewith a copy of a letter, dated 27th of April, 1870. addressed to "Colonel J.W. Fabens, Dominican minister, Washington," by "E. Herzberg Hartmount, Dominican consul-general in London."

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, June 3, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 18th ultimo, a report from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying paper.[23]

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 23: Communication from George Bancroft, United States minister at Berlin, relative to political questions in Germany.]



WASHINGTON, June 3, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to its ratification, an additional convention to the treaty of the 7th of April, 1862, for the suppression of the African slave trade, which additional convention was signed on this day in the city of Washington by the plenipotentiaries of the high contracting parties.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, June 6, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 3d instant, the accompanying report[24] from the Secretary of State.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 24: Stating that he has received no official information relative to a reported persecution and massacre of Israelites in Roumania.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, June 13, 1870.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

In my annual message to Congress at the beginning of its present session I referred to the contest which had then for more than a year existed in the island of Cuba between a portion of its inhabitants and the Government of Spain, and the feelings and sympathies of the people and Government of the United States for the people of Cuba, as for all peoples struggling for liberty and self-government, and said that "the contest has at no time assumed the conditions which amount to 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."

During the six months which have passed since the date of that message the condition of the insurgents has not improved, and the insurrection itself, although not subdued, exhibits no signs of advance, but seems to be confined to an irregular system of hostilities, carried on by small and illy armed bands of men, roaming without concentration through the woods and the sparsely populated regions of the island, attacking from ambush convoys and small bands of troops, burning plantations and the estates of those not sympathizing with their cause.

But if the insurrection has not gained ground, it is equally true that Spain has not suppressed it. Climate, disease, and the occasional bullet have worked destruction among the soldiers of Spain; and although the Spanish authorities have possession of every seaport and every town on the island, they have not been able to subdue the hostile feeling which has driven a considerable number of the native inhabitants of the island to armed resistance against Spain, and still leads them to endure the dangers and the privations of a roaming life of guerrilla warfare.

On either side the contest has been conducted, and is still carried on, with a lamentable disregard of human life and of the rules and practices which modern civilization has prescribed in mitigation of the necessary horrors of war. The torch of Spaniard and of Cuban is alike busy in carrying devastation over fertile regions; murderous and revengeful decrees are issued and executed by both parties. Count Valmaseda and Colonel Boet, on the part of Spain, have each startled humanity and aroused the indignation of the civilized world by the execution, each, of a score of prisoners at a time, while General Quesada, the Cuban chief, coolly and with apparent unconsciousness of aught else than a proper act, has admitted the slaughter, by his own deliberate order, in one day, of upward of 650 prisoners of war.

A summary trial, with few, if any, escapes from conviction, followed by immediate execution, is the fate of those arrested on either side on suspicion of infidelity to the cause of the party making the arrest.

Whatever may be the sympathies of the people or of the Government of the United States for the cause or objects for which a part of the people of Cuba are understood to have put themselves in armed resistance to the Government of Spain, there can be no just sympathy in a conflict carried on by both parties alike in such barbarous violation of the rules of civilized nations and with such continued outrage upon the plainest principles of humanity.

We can not discriminate in our censure of their mode of conducting their contest between the Spaniards and the Cubans. Each commit the same atrocities and outrage alike the established rules of war.

The properties of many of our citizens have been destroyed or embargoed, the lives of several have been sacrificed, and the liberty of others has been restrained. In every case that has come to the knowledge of the Government an early and earnest demand for reparation and indemnity has been made, and most emphatic remonstrance has been presented against the manner in which the strife is conducted and against the reckless disregard of human life, the wanton destruction of material wealth, and the cruel disregard of the established rules of civilized warfare.

I have, since the beginning of the present session of Congress, communicated to the House of Representatives, upon their request, an account of the steps which I had taken in the hope of bringing this sad conflict to an end and of securing to the people of Cuba the blessings and the right of independent self-government. The efforts thus made failed, but not without an assurance from Spain that the good offices of this Government might still avail for the objects to which they had been addressed.

During the whole contest the remarkable exhibition has been made of large numbers of Cubans escaping from the island and avoiding the risks of war; congregating in this country, at a safe distance from the scene of danger, and endeavoring to make war from our shores, to urge our people into the fight which they avoid, and to embroil this Government in complications and possible hostilities with Spain. It can scarce be doubted that this last result is the real object of these parties, although carefully covered under the deceptive and apparently plausible demand for a mere recognition of belligerency.

It is stated on what I have reason to regard as good authority that Cuban bonds have been prepared to a large amount, whose payment is made dependent upon the recognition by the United States of either Cuban belligerency or independence. The object of making their value thus contingent upon the action of this Government is a subject for serious reflection.

In determining the course to be adopted on the demand thus made for a recognition of belligerency the liberal and peaceful principles adopted by the Father of his Country and the eminent statesmen of his day, and followed by succeeding Chief Magistrates and the men of their day, may furnish a safe guide to those of us now charged with the direction and control of the public safety.

From 1789 to 1815 the dominant thought of our statesmen was to keep the United States out of the wars which were devastating Europe. The discussion of measures of neutrality begins with the State papers of Mr. Jefferson when Secretary of State. He shows that they are measures of national right as well as of national duty; that misguided individual citizens can not be tolerated in making war according to their own caprice, passions, interests, or foreign sympathies; that the agents of foreign governments, recognized or unrecognized, can not be permitted to abuse our hospitality by usurping the functions of enlisting or equipping military or naval forces within our territory. Washington inaugurated the policy of neutrality and of absolute abstinence from all foreign entangling alliances, which resulted, in 1794, in the first municipal enactment for the observance of neutrality.

The duty of opposition to filibustering has been admitted by every President. Washington encountered the efforts of Genet and of the French revolutionists; John Adams, the projects of Miranda; Jefferson, the schemes of Aaron Burr. Madison and subsequent Presidents had to deal with the question of foreign enlistment or equipment in the United States, and since the days of John Quincy Adams it has been one of the constant cares of Government in the United States to prevent piratical expeditions against the feeble Spanish American Republics from leaving our shores. In no country are men wanting for any enterprise that holds out promise of adventure or of gain.

In the early days of our national existence the whole continent of America (outside of the limits of the United States) and all its islands were in colonial dependence upon European powers.

The revolutions which from 1810 spread almost simultaneously through all the Spanish American continental colonies resulted in the establishment of new States, like ourselves, of European origin, and interested in excluding European politics and the questions of dynasty and of balances of power from further influence in the New World.

The American policy of neutrality, important before, became doubly so from the fact that it became applicable to the new Republics as well as to the mother country.

It then devolved upon us to determine the great international question at what time and under what circumstances to recognize a new power as entitled to a place among the family of nations, as well as the preliminary question of the attitude to be observed by this Government toward the insurrectionary party pending the contest.

Mr. Monroe concisely expressed the rule which has controlled the action of this Government with reference to revolting colonies pending their struggle by saying:

As soon as the movement assumed such a steady and consistent form as to make the success of the Provinces probable, the rights to which they were entitled by the laws of nations as equal parties to a civil war were extended to them.

The strict adherence to this rule of public policy has been one of the highest honors of American statesmanship, and has secured to this Government the confidence of the feeble powers on this continent, which induces them to rely upon its friendship and absence of designs of conquest and to look to the United States for example and moral protection. It has given to this Government a position of prominence and of influence which it should not abdicate, but which imposes upon it the most delicate duties of right and of honor regarding American questions, whether those questions affect emancipated colonies or colonies still subject to European dominion.

The question of belligerency is one of fact, not to be decided by sympathies for or prejudices against either party. The relations between the parent state and the insurgents must amount in fact to war in the sense of international law. Fighting, though fierce and protracted, does not alone constitute war. There must be military forces acting in accordance with the rules and customs of war, flags of truce, cartels, exchange of prisoners, etc.; and to justify a recognition of belligerency there must be, above all, a de facto political organization of the insurgents sufficient in character and resources to constitute it, if left to itself, a state among nations capable of discharging the duties of a state and of meeting the just responsibilities it may incur as such toward other powers in the discharge of its national duties.

Applying the best information which I have been enabled to gather, whether from official or unofficial sources, including the very exaggerated statements which each party gives to all that may prejudice the opposite or give credit to its own side of the question, I am unable to see in the present condition of the contest in Cuba those elements which are requisite to constitute war in the sense of international law.

The insurgents hold no town or city; have no established seat of government; they have no prize courts; no organization for the receiving and collecting of revenue; no seaport to which a prize may be carried or through which access can be had by a foreign power to the limited interior territory and mountain fastnesses which they occupy. The existence of a legislature representing any popular constituency is more than doubtful.

In the uncertainty that hangs around the entire insurrection there is no palpable evidence of an election, of any delegated authority, or of any government outside the limits of the camps occupied from day to day by the roving companies of insurgent troops; there is no commerce, no trade, either internal or foreign, no manufactures.

The late commander in chief of the insurgents, having recently come to the United States, publicly declared that "all commercial intercourse or trade with the exterior world has been utterly cut off;" and he further added: "To-day we have not 10,000 arms in Cuba."

It is a well-established principle of public law that a recognition by a foreign state of belligerent rights to insurgents under circumstances such as now exist in Cuba, if not justified by necessity, is a gratuitous demonstration of moral support to the rebellion. Such necessity may yet hereafter arrive, but it has not yet arrived, nor is its probability clearly to be seen.

If it be war between Spain and Cuba, and be so recognized, it is our duty to provide for the consequences which may ensue in the embarrassment to our commerce and the interference with our revenue.

If belligerency be recognized, the commercial marine of the United States becomes liable to search and to seizure by the commissioned cruisers of both parties; they become subject to the adjudication of prize courts.

Our large coastwise trade between the Atlantic and the Gulf States and between both and the Isthmus of Panama and the States of South America (engaging the larger part of our commercial marine) passes of necessity almost in sight of the island of Cuba. Under the treaty with Spain of 1795, as well as by the law of nations, our vessels will be liable to visit on the high seas. In case of belligerency the carrying of contraband, which now is lawful, becomes liable to the risks of seizure and condemnation. The parent Government becomes relieved from responsibility for acts done in the insurgent territory, and acquires the right to exercise against neutral commerce all the powers of a party to a maritime war. To what consequences the exercise of those powers may lead is a question which I desire to commend to the serious consideration of Congress.

In view of the gravity of this question, I have deemed it my duty to invite the attention of the war-making power of the country to all the relations and bearings of the question in connection with the declaration of neutrality and granting of belligerent rights.

There is not a de facto government in the island of Cuba sufficient to execute law and maintain just relations with other nations. Spain has not been able to suppress the opposition to Spanish rule on the island, nor to award speedy justice to other nations, or citizens of other nations, when their rights have been invaded.

There are serious complications growing out of the seizure of American vessels upon the high seas, executing American citizens without proper trial, and confiscating or embargoing the property of American citizens. Solemn protests have been made against every infraction of the rights either of individual citizens of the United States or the rights of our flag upon the high seas, and all proper steps have been taken and are being pressed for the proper reparation of every indignity complained of.

The question of belligerency, however, which is to be decided upon definite principles and according to ascertained facts, is entirely different from and unconnected with the other questions of the manner in which the strife is carried on on both sides and the treatment of our citizens entitled to our protection.

The questions concern our own dignity and responsibility, and they have been made, as I have said, the subjects of repeated communications with Spain and of protests and demands for redress on our part. It is hoped that these will not be disregarded, but should they be these questions will be made the subject of a further communication to Congress.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, June 17, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant, requesting the President "to communicate, in confidence, the instructions of the Navy Department to the navy officers in command on the coast of Dominica and Hayti, and the reports of such officers to the Navy Department, from the commencement of the negotiation of the treaty with Dominica," I herewith transmit the papers received from the Secretary of the Navy, to whom the resolution was referred.

U.S. GRANT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, June 25, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to the resolution of the 22d instant, requesting to be furnished with "proposals received from any company or citizens of the United States for constructing and placing iron steamships in transatlantic service," I transmit herewith the only proposal of that nature received by me.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, July 9, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to the resolutions of the Senate of the 26th of May and of the 14th of June last, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State thereupon, and the papers[25] by which it was accompanied.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 25: Lists of American vessels seized by Spanish authorities in Cuba; of American citizens executed and imprisoned in Cuba; of American citizens whose property was confiscated or embargoed in Cuba, and of decrees under which the Spanish authorities acted, and correspondence showing steps taken by the United States Government in reference thereto.]



WASHINGTON, July 12, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification, a convention between the United States and Austria, concerning the rights, privileges, and immunities of consuls in the two countries, signed at Washington on the 11th instant.

U.S. GRANT.



WASHINGTON, July 13, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 8th instant, a report from the Secretary of State and the papers[26] which accompanied it.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 26: Instructions to the minister to Spain stating the basis on which the United States offered its good offices for the purpose of terminating the war in Cuba, correspondence relative thereto, etc.]



WASHINGTON, July 13, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

In answer to their resolution of the 8th instant, I transmit to the Senate a report from the Secretary of State and the papers[27] which accompanied it.

U.S. GRANT.

[Footnote 27: Correspondence between the United States and Great Britain concerning questions pending between the two countries.]



WASHINGTON, July 14, 1870.

To the Senate of the United States:

I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 7th instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying documents.

U.S. GRANT.



DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, July 14, 1870.

The Secretary of State, to whom was referred the resolution of the Senate requesting the President "to institute an inquiry, by such means as in his judgment shall be deemed proper, into the present condition of the commercial relations between the United States and the Spanish American States on this continent, and between those countries and other nations, and to communicate to the Senate full and complete statements regarding the same, together with such recommendations as he may think necessary to promote the development and increase of our commerce with those regions and to secure to the United States that proportionate share of the trade of this continent to which their close relations of geographical contiguity and political friendship with all the States of America justly entitle them," has the honor to report:

The resolution justly regards the commercial and the political relations of the United States with the American States of Spanish origin as necessarily dependent upon each other. If the commerce of those countries has been diverted from its natural connection with the United States, the fact may probably be partly traced to political causes, which have been swept away by the great civil convulsion in this country.

For the just comprehension of the position of this Government in the American political system, and for the causes which have failed to give it hitherto the influence to which it is properly entitled by reason of its democratic system and of the moderation and sense of justice which have distinguished its foreign policy through successive Administrations from the birth of the nation until now, it is necessary to make a brief notice of such measures as affect our present relations to the other parts of this continent.

The United States were the first of the European colonies in America to arrive at maturity as a people and assume the position of an independent republic. Since then important changes have taken place in various nations and in every part of the world. Our own growth in power has been not the least remarkable of all the great events of modern history.

When, at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, having conquered by arms our right to exist as a sovereign state, that right was at length recognized by treaties, we occupied only a narrow belt of land along the Atlantic coast, hemmed in at the north, the west, and the south by the possessions of European Governments, or by uncultivated wastes beyond the Alleghanies, inhabited only by the aborigines. But in the very infancy of the United States far-sighted statesmen saw and predicted that, weak in population and apparently restricted in available territory as the new Republic then was, it had within it the germs of colossal grandeur, and would at no remote day occupy the continent of America with its institutions, its authority, and its peaceful influence.

That expectation has been thus far signally verified. The United States entered at once into the occupation of their rightful possessions westward to the banks of the Mississippi. Next, by the spontaneous proffer of France, they acquired Louisiana and its territorial extension, or right of extension, north to the line of the treaty demarcation between France and Great Britain, and west to the Pacific Ocean. Next, by amicable arrangement with Spain, they acquired the Floridas, and complete southern maritime frontiers upon the Gulf of Mexico. Then came the union with the independent State of Texas, followed by the acquisitions of California and New Mexico, and then of Arizona. Finally, Russia has ceded to us Alaska, and the continent of North America has become independent of Europe, except so much of it as continues to maintain political relations with Great Britain.

Meanwhile, partly by natural increase and partly by voluntary immigration from Europe, our population has risen from 3,000,000 to nearly 40,000,000; the number of States and Territories united under the Constitution has been augmented from thirteen to forty-seven; the development of internal wealth and power has kept pace with political expansion; we have occupied in part and peopled the vast interior of the continent; we have bound the Pacific to the Atlantic by a chain of intervening States and organized Territories; we have delivered the Republic from the anomaly and the ignominy of domestic servitude; we have constitutionally fixed the equality of all races and of all men before the law; and we have established, at the cost of a great civil war—a cost, however, not beyond the value of such a result—the indissoluble national unity of the United States.

In all these marked stages of national progress, from the Declaration of Independence to the recent amendments of the Constitution, it is impossible not to perceive a providential series and succession of events, intimately attached one to the other, and possessed of definite character as a whole, whatever incidental departures from such uniformity may have marked, or seemed to mark, our foreign policy under the influence of temporary causes or of the conflicting opinions of statesmen.

In the time of Washington, of the first Adams, of Jefferson, and of Madison the condition of Europe, engaged in the gigantic wars of the French Revolution and of the Empire, produced its series of public questions and gave tone and color to our foreign policy. In the time of Monroe, of the second Adams, and of Jackson, and subsequently thereto, the independence of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies of America produced its series of questions and its apparent modification of our public policy. Domestic questions of territorial organization, of social emancipation, and of national unity have also largely occupied the minds and the attention of the later Administrations.

The treaties of alliance and guaranty with France, which contributed so much to our independence, were one source of solicitude to the early Administrations, which were endeavoring to protect our commerce from the depredations and wrongs to which the maritime policy of England and the reaction of that policy on France subjected it. For twenty years we struggled in vain to accomplish this, and at last drifted into war.

The avoidance of entangling alliances, the characteristic feature of the foreign policy of Washington, sprang from this condition of things. But the entangling alliances which then existed were engagements made with France as a part of the general contract under which aid was furnished to us for the achievement of our independence. France was willing to waive the letter of the obligation as to her West India possessions, but demanded in its stead privileges in our ports which the Administration was unwilling to concede. To make its refusal acceptable to a public which sympathized with France, the Cabinet of General Washington exaggerated the principle into a theory tending to national isolation.

The public measures designed to maintain unimpaired the domestic sovereignty and the international neutrality of the United States were independent of this policy, though apparently incidental to it. The municipal laws enacted by Congress then and since have been but declarations of the law of nations. They are essential to the preservation of our national dignity and honor; they have for their object to repress and punish all enterprises of private war, one of the last relics of mediaeval barbarism; and they have descended to us from the fathers of the Republic, supported and enforced by every succeeding President of the United States.

The foreign policy of these early days was not a narrow one. During this period we secured the evacuation by Great Britain of the country wrongfully occupied by her on the Lakes; we acquired Louisiana; we measured forces on the sea with France, and on the land and sea with England; we set the example of resisting and chastising the piracies of the Barbary States; we initiated in negotiations with Prussia the long line of treaties for the liberalization of war and the promotion of international intercourse; and we steadily demanded, and at length obtained, indemnification from various governments for the losses we had suffered by foreign spoliations in the wars of Europe.

To this point in our foreign policy we had arrived when the revolutionary movements in Spanish and Portuguese America compelled a modification of our relations with Europe, in consequence of the rise of new and independent states in America.

The revolution which commenced in 1810, and extended through all the Spanish American continental colonies, after vain efforts of repression on the part of Spain, protracted through twenty years, terminated in the establishment of the independent States of Mexico, Guatemala, San Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, the Argentine Republic, Uruguay, and Paraguay, to which the Empire of Brazil came in time to be added. These events necessarily enlarged the sphere of action of the United States, and essentially modified our relations with Europe and our attitude to the rest of this continent.

The new States were, like ourselves, revolted colonies. They continued the precedent we had set, of separating from Europe. Their assumption of independence was stimulated by our example. They professedly imitated us, and copied our National Constitution, sometimes even to their inconvenience.

The Spanish American colonies had not the same preparation for independence that we had. Each of the British colonies possessed complete local autonomy. Its formal transition from dependence to independence consisted chiefly in expelling the British governor of the colony and electing a governor of the State, from which to the organized Union was but a step. All these conditions of success were wanting in Spanish America, and hence many of the difficulties in their career as independent states; and, further, while the revolution in British America was the exclusive result of the march of opinion in the British colonies, the simultaneous action of the separate Spanish colonies, though showing a desire for independence, was principally produced by the accident of the invasion of Spain by France.

The formation of these new sovereignties in America was important to us, not only because of the cessation of colonial monopolies to that extent, but because of the geographical relations to us held by so many new nations, all, like ourselves, created from European stock and interested in excluding European politics, dynastic questions, and balances of power from further influence in the New World.

Thus the United States were forced into new lines of action, which, though apparently in some respects conflicting, were really in harmony with the line marked out by Washington. The avoidance of entangling political alliances and the maintenance of our own independent neutrality became doubly important from the fact that they became applicable to the new Republics as well as to the mother country. The duty of noninterference had been admitted by every President. The question came up in the time of the first Adams, on the occasion of the enlistment projects of Miranda. It appeared again under Jefferson (anterior to the revolt of the Spanish colonies) in the schemes of Aaron Burr. It was an ever-present question in the Administrations of Madison, Monroe, and the younger Adams, in reference to the questions of foreign enlistment or equipment in the United States, and when these new Republics entered the family of nations, many of them very feeble, and all too much subject to internal revolution and civil war, a strict adherence to our previous policy and a strict enforcement of our laws became essential to the preservation of friendly relations with them; for since that time it has been one of the principal cares of those intrusted with the administration of the Government to prevent piratical expeditions against these sister Republics from leaving our ports. And thus the changed condition of the New World made no change in the traditional and peaceful policy of the United States in this respect.

In one respect, however, the advent of these new States in America did compel an apparent change of foreign policy on our part. It devolved upon us the determination of the great international question at what time and under what circumstances to recognize a new power as entitled to a place among the family of nations. There was but little of precedent to guide us, except our own case. Something, indeed, could be inferred from the historical origin of the Netherlands and Switzerland. But our own case, carefully and conscientiously considered, was sufficient to guide us to right conclusions. We maintained our position of international friendship and of treaty obligations toward Spain, but we did not consider that we were bound to wait for its recognition of the new Republics before admitting them into treaty relations with us as sovereign states. We held that it was for us to judge whether or not they had attained to the condition of actual independence, and the consequent right of recognition by us. We considered this question of fact deliberately and coolly. We sent commissioners to Spanish America to ascertain and report for our information concerning their actual circumstances, and in the fullness of time we acknowledged their independence; we exchanged diplomatic ministers, and made treaties of amity with them, the earliest of which, negotiated by Mr. John Quincy Adams, served as the model for the subsequent treaties with the Spanish American Republics. We also, simultaneously therewith, exerted our good offices with Spain to induce her to submit to the inevitable result and herself to accept and acknowledge the independence of her late colonies. We endeavored to induce Russia to join us in these representations. In all this our action was positive, in the direction of promoting the complete political separation of America from Europe.