Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 December 1874 — THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE. [ARTICLE]

THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

Congress Convened Monday, and President Grant’s Message together with the annual reports of the Heads of the several Departments "were communicated on the afternoon of that day. In the supplement which is furnished our readers this week, will be found the. Message in foil and a synopsis of the reports of the Secretary of the Treasury, Postmaster General, 'Commissioner .of. Indian.. Affairs.. Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of the Interior. The Message is muclilonger than either of President Grant's preceding ones, and is characterized by his usual perspicuity of expression. -There is no trouble to understand exactly what he means by his sentences. Lly far the largest portion of the Message is devoted to the discussion of the financial problem. He strongly advocates the early resumption of specie payments. He says: “As the first great requisite in a return to prosperity the j legal tender clause to the law authorizing the of currency by the National Government should he repealed, to take effect as to all contracts entered into after a day fixed in the repealing act, not to apply, however, to payments of salaries by the government, or for other expenses now provided by law to be paid in currency. In the interval pending between repeal and final resumption, provision should be made by which the Secretary of the Treasury can obtain gold as it may become necessary from tiuoe to time from the date when specie resumption commences. To this might and should be added a revenue sufficiently in excess of expenses to insure au accumulation of gold ip the Treasury to sustain redemption.” lie further says: “With resumption, tree banking maybe authorized with safety, giving full protection to bill-holders I which they have under existing j laws; indeed, .1 would regard free ' banking as essential. It would give proper elasticity to the currency. As more currency should be required for the transaction of legitimate business, Hew hanks would be started, and in turn banks would wind up their business when it was found there was a superabundance of currency. The experience and judgment of the people can best j deckle just how much currency is required*for the transaction of the business of the country. It is unsafe to leave the settlement of this question to Congress, the Secretarv of the Treasury, or the Executive. Congress should make the regulations under which banks may exist, but should not make banking a I monopoly by limiting the amount of redeemable paper currency that shall be authorized.*^ Next in significance in the Message is the President's allusion to (. üban affairs. If an attempt, is made at all to conceal his desire to interfere with the affairs of the people on that island, it is a very I feeble one indeed. Although the papers say the Message was considerably modified in this part and its strongest passages stricken out just before it was sent to Congress, j endugh remains to show that the President would be glad to inter- 1 sere in some manner with the Spanish conduct of a flairs in Cuba. There is more in the paragraph devoted to this subject than a mere hint that a recognition should be , made bv the United States of Cuban independence of Spanish dominion. t Inrelation to the political troubles in the Southern States, President Grant asks: “Is there not a dis- j position on one side to magnify j wrongs and outrages, and on the other side to belittle them or justify them?” lie says “the theory is raised that there is to be no further interference on the . part of the j General Government, to protect; citizens within a State when State authorities fail to give protection; 1 ’ and answers that this is a mistake. •“Wbihs I remain Executive,” says j Mr. Grant, “all the Jaws of Congress had the provisions of the. Constitution, including the amend ! meats added thereto, will be j enforced with rigor.” The civil] service farce will be abandoned j unless Cong!%ss makes rules to assist in carrying it into effect. Indian affairs, the government of the District of Columbia, navigation improvements at the mouth of the Mississippi river, postal affairs, treaties with foreign powers* marauding on the Iron tier, expatriation 2Jid naturalization, and the ’.tariff,

are also considered in the Message. Upon the tariff question he is not consistent; in bite sentence consenting to the hint of the Secretary of the Treasury that an impost duty be levied upon tea and coffee because they are not grown in this country, arid in his next recommending that the duty he removed from chemicals and fine wool tor precisely the same reason, to-wit: because they arc not produced here.

Attention is directed to the prospectus of the Chicago. Tribune in anotlicr coluiiin. The Tributie has long been known to the people as a paper of national influence. Recently it has again pass*ed into tlie control of its old time manager, Mr. J oseph Medill, who is at once one of the ablest writers and one in the most clear-headed thinkers of the country. Independent, liberal. fearless, thoroughly Western in its theory of political economy, the Tribune recomends itself to all who believe that principles are greater than caucuses, ami that the claims of honesty, truth and right are higher than those —of party. High-toned, fair and honorable in its discussions., ontcrpriaing. reliable—no paper in the land has superior qualities to recommend it to the patronage of the public. Having u special arrangement with the publishers to that effect, we are able to furnish the Tribune , either daily, tri-weekly, or weekly, with Tin: Union at reduced rates. Specimen copies of the daily may be seen on our tables.