Public Leger, Volume 2, Number 89, Richmond, Wayne County, 24 December 1825 — Page 2

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fcerewUli communicated. The organiza-i, n canal from the Chesapeake Bav (o tlieli of our Union, giving (w real hisicr- the

fion and discipline of the Army are effee

"tire and satisfactory. To counteract the prevalence of desertion among the troop?, it hasj been suggested to withhold from the men a small portion of their monthly pa), until -the period of their discharge; and some expedient appears to be necessary to maintain among the officers so much of the art of horsemanship as could scarce-

If fail to be found wanting,-on the possiniej! waters ot lake Memphremagog with Con-

Ohio River, and are preparing a lull report;; intense interest of romance, and signally on that Bubject; which, when complc-ij marking the unpurchnsable tribute of a ted. will be laid before you The same'; great nation's social affections tothedisin-

observalion is to be made with regard to!' forested champion ol the liberties of hu

Hie two oincr onjecis ot national importance upon which the Board have been occupied: namely, the accomplishment of a

; National Road from this city to New-Or

leans, and the practicality of uniting the

aiiIrlon erilnfirtn rf a irr. which should

overtake us unprovided with a single corps of cavalry. The Military Academy at West Point, under the restrictions of a severe but paternal superintendence, recommends itself more and more to the pat- ' ronageof the Nation; and the number of ' (he meritorious officers which it forms and introduces to the public service, furnishes the means of multiplying the undertakings of pMic improvements, to which their acquirements at that institution are particularly adapted. The school of Artillerypractice, established at Fortress Monroe, is well suited to the same purpose, and may need the aid of future legislative provision to the same end. The Reports from the various officers at the head of the administrative brancet of the military service, connected with the quartering, clothing, subsistence, health, and pay of the army, exhibit the assiduous vigilance of hose officers in the performance of their respective duties, and the faithful accountability which, has pervaded every part of the system. Our relations with the numerous tribes of aboriginal natives of this Country, scattered over its extensive surface, and o dependent, even for their existence, upon our power, have been during the present year highly interesting. An act of Congress of 2Mb M-y, 1L24. made an appropriation to defray the e xpenses of making Treaties of trade and friendship with the Indian Tribes beyond the Mississippi. An art of 3d March. 1825, authorized Treaties to be made with the Indians for their consent to the making of a road from the frontier of Missouri to that ot NewMt xico and another act of the same date, provided f.r dt fraying th expanses ot holding Treaties v ith the Sioux, Chippeas, Menonienees, Sauks, Fxet.fce. tor the purpose of cstabliing boundaries and promoting peace between said tribel. The tirt and

th l:f nhierU of these acts have been!

accomplished, and the second is yet in a process of rxcution. The treaties which, sin- e tin- btt session of coneres, have been concluded with the several tribes, ill be laid before the Senate for their consideration, conformably to the constitution. They comprise large and valuable acquisitions of territory ; ai d they secure an adjustment of boundaries and give pledges i f permanent peace between several tribes which bad hern long waging bloody war agair.it each other. Oh the 12th of February last, a treat) was signed at the Indian Spring, between Commissioners appointed on the part of the United States, and certain Chiefs and individuals of the Creek nation of Indians,

which was received at the seat of Govern-) Oient oi.lv a few davs before the close ofj

th" last -essiion of Congress and of the late Administration. The advice and consent of tin- Senate was given to it on the 3d of M rcb,too late for it to receive the ratification of the then President of the United States: it was ratified on the 7th of March, U'-der the unsuspecting impression that it had been negociated in good faith, and in the confidence inspired by the recommendation of the Senate. The subsequent transactions in relation to this treatv, will form the subject of a seperatc message.

1 he appropriations mude b) Congress, for publie works, as well in the construction of fortification, as for purposes of Internal Improvement, o far as they hove been expended, have been faithfully applied. Their progress lias been delayed by the want of suitable ffi ers to superintend

them. An increase of both the Corps of'

r,ngineers, 31ilitar) and topographical,

wa recommended by my predecessor at the last session of congress. The reasons upon which that recommendation was founded subsist in all their force, and have acquired additional urgency sirce that time. It may also be expedient to organize the Topographical Engineers into a corps similar to the present establishment of the Corps of Engineers. The military Academy at West Point will furnish frm the Cadets annuallv graduated there.

officers well qualified for carrying this measure into etTert. The Board of Engineers for Internal Jntprof, ment, appointed for carrying into

exec ution the Act of Congress o! 30th of

Aj'iil, 1824, to procure the r.iccssaiy surveys, plans and estimates, on the subjt t of reads and canal?," have been activ lv engaged in that service fr m the close o. the lat session I Col gi . The have Mimpb'ft d the surveys i.ett?arj or ascertaining the practicability of

necticut River, and the improvement of the

i

man-kind. The constant maintenance of a small

I squadron in the Mediterranean is a necesJ sary substitute for the humiliating alterI native of paying tribute for the security of our commerce in that sea, and for a preI carious peace, at the mercy of every ca-

navigation of that River. The sOrveys ;j price of four Barbarv States, bv whom it

have been made, and are nearly complc- jj was liable to be violated. An additional ted. The Report may be exnected at an : motive for keeninir aresnectable force sta-

j I I r - i

early period during the present session of

Congress. The Acts of Congress of the last session

j relative to the surveying, marking or lavj ing out, roads in the territories of Florida, j Arkansas and Michegan, from Missouri to Mexico, and for the. continuation of the ! Cumberland Road, are, some of them, fully 1 executed, and others in the process of ex

ecution. 1 hose for completing or commencing fortifications, have been delayed only so far as the Corps of Engineers hat been inadequate to furnish officers for the necessary superir tendcr.ee of the works.

Under the act confirming the statutes of Virginia and Maryland, inenrnnratirm the

jChesepeake and Ohio Canal Company, j three corr,mi9sioners on the part of the U-

nited States hare been appointed for opening books and receiving subscriptions, in concert with a like number of Commissioners appointed on the part of each of those

! states. A meeting of the Commissioners j has been postponed to await the definitive ; report of the Board of Engineers. The j light houses and monuments for the safety of oar commerce and mariners; the works for the security of Ply mouth Beach, ai d for the preservation of the Islands in Bosj ton Harbor; have received the attention required by the laws relating to those objects respectively. The continuation of ; the Cumherlead Road, the most important of them all, after surmounting no inconsiderable difficulty in fixing upon the direction of the road, has commenced under the most promising auspices, with the improvements of recent invention in the mode of j construction, ai d with the advantage of a great reduction in the comparative cost of the work. I The-operation of the laws relntir g to

j the Revolutionary Pensioners nia de j serve the renewed consideration of Congress. The act of 1 8th Marrh, 1 81 8. whih- , it made provision for many meritorious & indigent citizens who had served in the ; war of Independence, opened a door to r umerous abuses and impositions. To rem- ! edy this, the act of 1st May, 1820, exacted i proofs of absolute indigence, which many j really in want were unable, and all, snceptible of that delicacy which is allied to ! many virtues, must be deeply reluctant to give. The result has been, that some a- ' mong the least deserving have been re-

tioned there at this time, is found in the

maratime war rar.ing between the Greeks

and the Turks; and in which the neutral j navigation of this Union is always in danger of outrage and depredation. A few instances have occurred of such depredatiens upon our merchant vessels by privateers or pirates wearing the Grecian flag, j but without real authority from the Greek lor any other government. The heroic struggles of the Greeks themselves, in

which our warmest sympathies as freemen

and Christians have been engaged, have ;

continued to be maintained with vicissitude of success adverse and favorable. Similar motives have rendered expedient the keepingof a like force on the coasts of Peru and Chili, on the Pacific. The irregular and convulsive chaiacter of the war upon the shores, has been extended to the conflicts upon the ocean. An active warfare has been kept up for years, with alternate success, though generally to the advantage of the Ameiican Patriots. But their naval forces have not always been under the control of their own governments. Blockades, unjustifiable upon any acknowledged principles of international law, have been proclaimed by officers incommand; and though disavowed by the supreme authorities, the protection of our own commerce against them has been made cause of complaint and cf erroneous imputations upon some of the most gallant officers of our navy. Complaints equally

groundless have been mad bv the commanders of the Spanish Roval forces in i

j - i those seas; but the most fiective profoc- I ! tion to our commerce has been the flag, j and the firmness of our own commanding

(officers. The cessation of the war, bv Uncomplete triumph of the Patriot cause, ha removed, it is hoped, all cause of dissention with one party, and all vestige of force of the other. But an unsettled coast of j many degrees of latitude, forming a part

of our own territory,-and a flourishing commerce and fishery , extending to the islands of the Pacific and to China, still require that the protecting power of the Union should be dbnltyod under its flag, as well upon the ocean as upon the land. The objects of the West India squadron have been to carry into execution the laws for the suppression of the African Slave

Trade; for the protection of our commerce

foic, adapted toour present condition, -adaptable to that gigantic growth Vj' which the nation is advancing in its car among the subjects which have nJJ' occupied the foresight of the nt n 3 gress, and which will deserve your seH deliberations. Our Navy, commence0?:

arly period of our present politiol

an ca

Ionization, upon a scale commenraT with the incipient energies, the spar,.

sources, and the comparative indigence f our infancy, was, even then, fonnd -,d quate to cope with all the powers 0fB baiy, save the first, and with one 0f ih principal maratime powers of Europe, a! a period of further advancement, but witJ little accession of strength, it not onlv .J ..:a .:.k i i ... . ug-

kiiiicu wnii uuuur uie most unenual nf.

tained, and seme in whom the requisites!! against v essels of piratical character, tho

hnth of ornrtii anH want nom mmKli..

have been stricken from the list. As the numbers of these venerable relics of an age gone by diminish; as the decays of body, mind and estate, of those that survive, must, in the common course of nature, increase: should not a more liberal portion of indulgence be dealt out to them? May not the want, in most instances, be inferred from the demand, when the service can be duly proved; and may not the last days of human infirmity be spared the mor

tification of purchasing a pittance of relief

only by the exposure of its own necessities? I submit to Congress the expediency either

ol providing lor individual cases of this de

hearing commissions from either of the belligerent parties; for its protection against open and unequivocal pirates.

j These objects, during the present year, j have been accomplished more effectually

than at any former period. The African Slave Trade has long been excluded from the use of our flag; and if some few citi

zens of our country have continued to set j

the laws of the Union, as well as those of nature and humanity, at defiance, by persevering in that abominable traflic, it has been only by sheltering themselves under the banners of other nations, less earnest for the total extinction of the trade than ours. The irregular Drivateers have. with.

r i

scriptionby special enactments, or of n- ! in the last year, been in a frreat measure

vising the act of 1st May, 1820, with ajj banished from those seas; and the pirates, view to mitigate the rigor of its exclusions, i for months past, appear to have been al-

in favor of persons to whom charity now

bestowed can scarcely discharge the debt of justice. The portion of the Naval force of the Union in uctual service, has been chiefly employed on three stations: The Mediterranean, the coasts ofSouth America bor

dering on the Pacific Ocean, and the West Indies. An occasional cruiser has been sent to range along the African shores most

polluted by the traffic of si aves; one arm-i

ed vessel has been stationed on the coast of our eastern boundary, to cruise along the fishing grounds in Hudson's Bay, and on the coast of Labrador; and the first service of a new frigate has been performed in restoring to his native soil, and do

mestic enjoyments, the veteran hero whose youthful blood and treasure bad freely lowed in the cause of our country? Independence, and whose whole life bad been a series of services and sacrifices to the improvement oi his fellow-men. The visit of General Lafayette, alike honorable to himself and to our country, closed, as it had commenced, with the most atfecting tef lirnonials ofdevoted attachment n his part, and of unbounded gratitude of this

po. pn to him in return. It will form,

most entirely swept away from the borders

and the shores of the two Spanish islands in those regions. The active, persevering and unremitted energy of Capt. Warrington, and of the officers and men under his command, en that trying and perilous service, have been crowned with signal success, and are entitled to the approbation of their country. But experience has shown, that not even a temporary suspension or relaxation from assiduity can be in

dulged on that station, without re-produc-1 ing piracy and murder in all their horrors :1

noi is it probable that, for years to come. !

our immensely valuable commerce in those seas cm navigate in securitywithout the steady continuance of an arrned force devoted to its protection. It were indeed a vain and dangerous illusion to believe, that, in the present or probable condition of human society, a commerce so extensive and so rich us ours, could exist and he pursued in safetv, without the continued support of a military marinethe only arm by which the power of this confederacy can he estimated or felt by foreign nations, and the only standing military force which can never be danger-

mis in our own iioeriM s ai nome. j ier

hereafter, a pleasing inciduutia thcanualsjj maneut Nuval Peace Establishment, there-

nicis, uui covcrca usoii and our country with unfading glory. But it is onlv jnr3' the clase of the late war, that, by the number and force of the ships of which it was composed, it could deserve the name of a Navy. Vet it retains nearly the same oc ganiz ition as when it consisted only of five frigates. The rules and regulations by which it is governed, urgently call for re. vision, and the want of a Naval School of

Instruction, corresponding with the Military Academy at West Point, for the formation of scientific and accomplished ofe. cers, is foil with daily increasing aggravation. The act of Congress of 2Glh May, 1824, authoriging an examination and survey of the harbor of Charleston, in South Carolina, of St. Mar "s in Georgia, and of the coast of Florida, and for other purposes, ha been executed to far as the appropriation would admit. Those of the 3d 0f March last, authorising the establishment of a Navy Yard and Depot on the Coat of Florida, in tlv Gulf of Mexico, and auth orizing the building often sloops of war, and for other purposes, are in the course of execution: for the particulars of wbirb, and for other objects connected with this Department, I refer to the Report of the Secretary of the Navy, herewith communicated. A Iteport from the Post-Master General is also submitted, exhibiting the present flourishing condition of that Department. For the first time for many years, the receipts for the year ending on the 1st of July last, exceeded the expenditures during the same period, to the amount of more than 45.000 dollars. Other facts equally creditable to the administration of the department, are, tbt, in two year frm the first of Julv, I C23. an improvement of more than 1 85,000 dollars in its pecuniary affairs has been realized: that in the same interval the increase of the transportation of the mail has exceeded one million five hundred thousand miles, annually; and that 1,040 new post offices have been established. It hence appears, flint, ui del judicious management, the income from this establishment may be relied on as fully adequate to defray its expenses; &i that by the discontinuance of post roads. I together unproductive, others of more u rful character may be opened, till the circulation of the mail shall keep pace with the spread of our population; and the cculforts of friendly correspondence, the xchanges of internal traffic, and the lights of the periodical press, shall be distributed to the remotest corners of the Union at a charge scarcely perceptible to any individual, and without the cost ofa dollar to the public treasury. Upon this first occasion of addressing the Legislature of the Union, with which 1 have been honored, in presenting to their view the execution, so far as it has been effected, of the measures sanctioned by them, for promoting the internal improvement of our country, 1 cannot close the communication without recommending to their calm and persevering consideration the general principle in a more enlarged extent. The great object of the inslitu-. tion of civil government, is the improvement of the condition of those who arc parties to the social compact. And no government, in whatever form constituted, can accomplish the lawful ends of its institution, hut in proportion as it improves the condition of those over whom it is established. Boads and Canals, by multiplying and facilitating the communications Sc intercourse between distant regions, rind multitudes of men, are among the most im

portant means of improvement. But moral, political, and intellectual improvement, are duties assigned, by the Author of our exigence, to social, no less than to indiv idual man. For the fulfilment of these duties, governments are invested with power; and, to the attainment of the end, the progressive improvement of the condition of the governed, the exercise of delegated power, is a duty a sacred and indispensible, as the usurpation of power not granted is criminal and ouiou. Among the first, perhaps the very first instrument for the improvement of the condition of men, is knowledge; and to the acquisition of oioch of the knowledge adapted to the

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