Terre-Haute Weekly Express, Terre Haute, Vigo County, 4 December 1867 — Page 2

WEEKLY EXPRESS

Wednesday Morning, Hov. 1SCI

THE maws.

by the

to materially

TBX Pop© bu tak6n n6i"tirw strengthen the Papal army. Comussioxxa EOLLISB,of th# Internal Kevenne ^.determined to resign.

KIFOHTS from the mining regions of California are favorable. TH*Banking and Currency Committee have not taken any important action in regard to currency.

II Uitated that ex-8enator Frster will be tenAered the Austrian Mission, if declined by Mr. Greeley. gjecaiTA&T SJEWAEB insists on Mr. X. h- Plumb being made Minister to Mexico, and the President

may appoint bim. A BILL repealing the cotton tax will be reported

Ways and Means Committee at an early

day. AT Syracuse, N. Y.,the canal is open, and boats are passing eastward. About 160 boats are at that place ready to pass.

A DISEASE closely resembling rinderpest has app ar'd among the cattle in several counties of

Virginia. THE Indian Commission will meet at Washington, December 9th, for th? purpose of preparing a

report to Congress. Tns cotton crop of California Is 25 per cent, less than anticipated, but in spite of this planters are taking four times as much land for it as before.

A SMALL body of French troops still occupy Borne, and probably will permanently. With this exception the French troops have evacuated Papal territory.

THB Legislature of California met at Sacramento yesterday. The Senatorial contest was expected to begin at once. The Democratic majority on joint ballot is eighteen.

HORACE GBEELEY publishes a card in which be gays, referring te his appointment to the Austrian Mission, he will not leave the country until after the next Presidential election

THE family of C. W. Cook, at MeMinnville, Tenn., was poisoned a few days since, by the mistaken use of arsenic for soda in making bread.— Four of the family, including Mr. Cook have Ued.

THB Postmaster-General's report shows an unexpended balance of $700,000 available for the current fiscal year, and estimates the deficiency for 1869 at $2,600,000.

THE refusal to continue the old postal treaty under which our Government was paying th-s British Government $200,000 a year in gold, caused considerable discussion in the British Parliament, and much comment In the English papers

Is California the traek of the Central Pacific .Railroad has been laid from Oiscoto the summit, and through the great tunnel, over 7,000 feet above the sea. The first passenger ear passed through the tunnel on Saturday. With a fortnight of open weather connection will be made with the lower track one hundred and thirty miles east .of Sacramento.

THE Hew York Herald is again favored with a special report that earthquakes have occurred at St. Thomas, Tortola, Peter's Island and Little Saba. The shocks were from 2 o'clock in the afternoon ef the 18th to the 10th ult. Many lives and vessels lost. There was also a volcanic eruption, the sea raised fifty foot over the land, causing an immense loss of life and merchandise.

THE report of the Postmaster-General will show some interesting facts in regard to recent reductions in OceaH mail services." The Department has been paying for the transportation of our mails from $150,000 to $200,000 a year in gold over its receipts, to the British Government. This amount we were compelled to pay by an old postal treaty, which expires in January next, and wbith the Postmaster-General refuses to continue.

A SPECIAL eays it is understood the President in his Message adheres In the main to his ovi plan of reconstruction as heretofore developed.. lie details the progress of restoration so far in the South under the military bills, announces that there have been uo negotiations for the settlement of the Alabama claims, devotes considerable space to national finanees, and favors substantially the policy of the Secretary of the Treasury regarding the volume of the currency.

Is the testimony of Mr. Ashley before the impeachmeut eommittee, he says he has not a living witness to prove A, Johnson's complicity in the assassinatiou of President Lincoln, but from a oertain theory, which be religiously believes, he has uo doubt of it himsslf. Thatthooiyis nothing mere or less than that it has b9en a customary tbing 19 assassinate Presidents, Harrison and Taylor, both, according to Mr. Ashley's idea, having been poisoned through the machinations of ambitious Viee President*.

MOKRILX. of "Vermont, entertains some very curious ideas oa financial mattersThree or four days sinee he introduced a bill by which the whole subject is to be closed out on the 4th of July,186»,in a resumption of specie payments by both the Government and the banks.

The first section simply eDjoins the Secretary of the Treasury to pay gold on all greenbacks that shall be presented for payment, from and after the 4th of July,

186?.

The second section provides that until the last of January, 188®, tfca Secretary shall within thirty days after the 1st of July and the 1st of January, sell all surplus gold that may be in the treasury above $75,000,000.

The third sectioa provides that the banks shall keep on hand se per «ent. of their capital in gold.

Seation fourth requires the banks to pay coin on the notes of the denomination of dollars and under from and after the said 4th of July, and on notes of a higher denomination tbey may pay either coin or greenbacks.

The fifth section provides that such banks as shall fail to comply with the requirements of thet bill shall be elosed up, and other banks may be authorized in their stead.

This Is ait The bill does mot provide for any contraction whatever, though the author of it probably presumed on the continuance of the four millions a month movement in that direction. This would secure, by the 4th of Jwly, 1889, a contraction of 8T6,000,000, leaving over $300,000,000 of greenbacks and fractionalcurrency still in circulation. With this amount outstanding, the (Government must pay specie—and that, too, .when the Secretary is required to sell all coin out of the treasury above $75,000,000, -down to the 1st of January, 1869

On the 4th of the following July, with good luok, there may be $100,000,000 of coiu in tbe treasury with which to begin specie payments on the greenbacks of ail denominations, while the banks are to pay coin only on the small notes! The treasury would be. drained of coin as speedily after the 4th as it could be count* ed out. Mr. Morrill seems to have anticipated the immediate suspension ot the Government, in providing for the safety of the banks in the fourth section, allowing them to redeem their notes above the denomination of five dollars in legal tenders 11!

Mr. Morrill deserves the thanks of tbe country for this bill, because its absurdity will aid in the development of a wise policy.

Si

PRESIDENTS iBUtt

SyFoIiej Igalu Asserted*

An Argument' Against Negro Suffrage.

The Reconstruction

Laws De­

nounced.

VIEWS ON FINANCE AND 1H16URBBNC?.

Opposition to the Tenure of Office Bill.

Other ^rational Concern#.

Fellow Citizens of the Senate and Hoxue of Representatives: The continued disorganization of the Union, to which tho President has so often celled the attention of Congresp, is yet a subject of profound and patriotic concern. "We may, however, find some re' lief from that anxiety in the reflection that this painful political situation, although before untried by ourselves, is not newtn the experience of nations. Politico! science, perhaps as highly perfected in our own time and country as in any other, has not yet disclosed any means by which civil war can bo absolutely prevented. An enlightened nation, however, with wi3(? «rd beneficent constitution of free government, mny diminish their Frequency and mitigate their severity by directing all its proceedings in accordance with its fundament#! law. When civil war has been brought'to a close, it is ruunifrst the first interest and duty of the Stale to repair the injuries which war has inflicted, and to secure the benefit of the lessons it teaches ns fully and speedily as possible. This duty was upon the termU nation of the rebellion, promptly accepted not only by the Executive Department, but by tlm insurrectionary States themselves and reconstruction in the first jnoment hf peace was believed to be as easy and crtnin as it was indispensable. These expectations, however, ibon so reasonably and confidently ontortaincd, were disappointed by legislation, from which I felt constrained, by my obligations to the Constitution, to withhold my.assent. It fa, therefore, a source of profound regret that-in complying with the obligation imposed upon the President by the Constitution to give to Congress from time to time information of the state of the Union. I am unable to communicate any definite adjustment satisfactory to tbe American people of the questions which, since the close of the rebellion, have agitated their minds.

On the contrary, candor compels mo to declare that- at this time there is no Union as our fathers understood the term, and as they meant it to be understood by us. The Union which they established, can exist only where all the States are represented in both Houses of Congress where one State is as free 88 another to regulate its internal concerns according to its own will, and where tbe laws of the central Government, strictly confined to matters of national jurisdiction, apply with equal force to all the people, of every section. That such is not the present State cf i-he Union i3 a melancholy fact, and we all must acknowledge that the restoration of the States to their proper legal relation with the Federal Government and with one another, according to the terms of original compact, would be the greatest temporal blessing which God, in bis kindest. providen:e, could bestow upon this nation.

It becomes our imperative duty to consider whether or not it is impossible to effect tbis most desirable consummation. The Union and the Constitution are inseparable. As long as ono is obeyed by all parties, the other will be preserved and if one is destroyed, both must perish together. The destruction of the Constitution will be followed by other and still gieater calamities.lt was ordained not only to form a more perfect union between the States, but to establish justice, insure do-t mestio tranquility, provide for the commou defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blesstoge of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Nothing but implicit'obedirsnco to its requirements in all parts of the country will accomplish these great ends. Without that obedienco we can look forward only to continual outrages upon individual rights, incessant breaches of public poace, national weakness, financial dishonor, total loss of our property, genoral corruption of morals and the final extinction of popular freedom. To save our country from ends so appalling as these we should renew our efforts again and again. To me the process of restoration seems perfectly plain and simple. It consists merely in a faithful application of the Constitution and laws. The execution of the laws is not now obstructed or opposed by physical ferae there is no military or other necessity, roal or pietended, which can present obedience to the Constitution, either North or South all rights and all obligatione of States and individuals, can be protected and enforced by means perfectly consistent with the fundamental law courts may be everywhere opened, and if open, their process would bo unimpeded crime* against the United States can be prevented or punished by proper judicial aut horities, in a manner entirely practicable and legal. There is, therefore, no reason why the Constitution should not be obeyed Unless those who exercise its powers have determined that it shall be disregarded and violated, the mere naked will of this Government, or of some one or more of its branches is the only obstacle that can exist to a perfect Union of all the States. On this momentous question and soma of the measures growing out of it, I had the misfortune to differ from Congress, and have expressed my conviction without reserve, though with becoming deference to the opinion of the Legislative Department. Those convictions wore not only unchanged, but strengthened by subsequent events and further reflections. The transcendent importance of the subject will be a sufficient excuse for calling your attention to some of the reasons which h»v« strongly influenced my own judgment The hope that we may all finally concur in a mode of settlement consistent at once with our true interests and with our sworn duties to the Constitution, is too natural and too 5ust to be easily relinquished.

It is clear to" mv apprehensions that the States lately ia rebellion are still members ot the National Union. When did they ce&so to be so The ordinance* of secession adopted by a portion of their citigens were mere nullities. If we admit now that they were valid and effectual for the purpose intended by their authors, we sweep from under our feet the whole ground upon which we justified the war. Wore those States afterward expelled from the Union by war Directly the contrary was averred by this Government to be its purpose and it was so understood by *11 those who gave their blood and treasure to aid in its prosecution. It can not be that a suceaser ful war waged for the preservation of the Union had the legal effect of dissolving it. The victory of tbe nation's arms was not the disgrace of bar policy. The defeat of secession on the battle-field was not tbo triumph of its lawless principle. Nor could Congress, with or without the consent of tbe Kxecutive, do anything which would have the effect, directly or indirect

er. To dissolve tbe Union is to repeal tbe Constitution, wbich holds it together, and that is a power which does not belong to any Department of this Government, or to all of them united. This is so plain that it has been acknowledged by all branches of tbe Federal Government.— The Executive, my predecessor, as well as myself, and the heads of all the departments, have uniformly acted upon the principle that the Union is not only undissolved, but indissoluble. Congress submitted an amendment of the Constitution to the Southern States, and accepted their acts of ratification as a necessary and lavful exercise of their highest function. If thoy were not States, or were States out of the Union, this consent to a change in the fundamental law of the Union would have been nugatory, and Congress, in asking it, committed a political absurdity. The Judiciary has also given tbe solemn sanction of its authority to tbe same view of the ease. The Judges of the Supreme Court have included the Southern States in their circuits, and they are constantly tn bane and elsewhere, exercising juris* diction which does not belong to them, unless those States are component parts of the Union, the Constitution is the supreme law for them, as It is for all tbe other States. They are bound to obey it, and so are we. Tho right of the Federal Government, which is clear and unquestionable to enforce the Constitution upon them, implies the corelative obligation on our part to observe its limitations and execute its guarantees. Without the Constitution we are nothing. By, through and under the Constitution, we are what it makes us. We may doubt the wisdom of a law, we may not approve of its provisions but we cannot violate it merely because it seems to confine our power within limits narrower than we could wish. It is not a question of individual or class or sectional interests, much less of party predominance but of duty, of high and sacred duty, which we are sworn to perform. Il we cannot eupport the Constitution with the cheerful alacrity of those who love and believe in it, we must give to it at leAst the fidelity of public servants wbo act under solemn obligations and commands which they dare not disregard.

The constitutional duty is not the only one which requires tbe States to be restored. There is another consideration whieb, though of minor importance, is yet of great weight. On the 22d of July, 1861, Congress declared by an almost unanimous vote of both Houses, that the war should be conducted solely for the purpose of preserving the Union and maintaining the supremacy of tho Federal Constitution and laws, without affecting the dignity, equality and rights of States or individuals and that when this was done the war should cease. I do not say that thi3 declaration is personally binding on those who joined in making it, anv more than individual members of Congress are personally bound to pay a public debt, created under a. law for which they voted, but it was a solemn' public official pledge of national honor, and I cannot imagine upon what grounds the repudiation of it is to be justified. If it be said that we are not bound to keep faith with rebels, let it be remembered that this promise was not made to reb* els only. Thousands ©f Union men in the Suuth were drawn to our standard by it, and hundreds of thousands in the North gave their lives in the btliof that it would be carried out. It was made on the day after the first great battle of the war baa been fought and loft. All patriotic and intelligent men then the necessity of giving such an a°§" ranee, believing that without it the war would end In disaster to our cause. Having given that assurance in the extremity qf our peril, the violation of it now, in the day of our power, would be a rude rending of that good faith which holds the moral world together. Our country would cease to tave any claim upon the confidence of men. It would make the war not only a failure, but a fraud. Being sineerely convinced that these views are correct, I would be unfaithful to my duty if I did not reeom« mend the repeal of the acts of Congress, which place ten of the Southern. States under the domination of Military masters. If calm reflection shall satisfy a majority of your honorable bodies that the acts referred to are not only a violation of national faith, but in direct conflict with the Constitution, I dare not permit myself to doubt ihat you will immediately strike them from the statute book to demonstrate the unconstitutional character of those acts. I need do no more than refer to this general provision. It must be seen at once that they are not authorized to dictate what alterations shall be mado in the Constitutions of the several States to control election# of State Legislators,. State officers. Members of Congress, and Electors of President and Vice president by arbitrarily declaring who shall vote, and who shall be excluded from that privilege to dissolve State ^Legislatures or prevent them frpm assembling to dismiss Judges and other functionaries of the State, and appoint others without regard to State law to organize and operate all the political machinery of the States to regulate the wfcdle adrainistra tion of their aomeitia and local affairs according to the mere will of strange and irresponsible agents sent among them for that purpose. These are powers not granted to the Federal Government or to any one of its branches. Not being granted we violate our trust by assuming them as palpably as we would by acting in the face of a positive interdict, for the Constitution forbids us to do whatever it does not affirmatively authorize, either by express words or by clear implication. If authority we desire to use does not come to us through the Constitution, we can exereise it only by usurpation, and usurpation is the most dangerous of political crimes. By that crime the enemies of free governments, in all ages, havo worked out their designs against public liberty and private rights, ft leads directly an(J immediately to the establishment of an absolute rule, for undelegated power is always unlimited and unrestrained.

The acts of Congress in question are not only objectionable for their assumption of ungranted power, but many of their provisions are in conflict with direct prohibitioni of the Constitution, which commands that a republican fornj of ^ov eminent shall be guaranteed tp all the States: that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law arrested without a judicial warrant, or punished without a fair trial before an impartial jury that the privllage of habeas corpus shall not be denied in time of peace and that no bill of attainder shall be passed, even against a single individual. Yet that system of measures, established by these acts of Con" gress, does totally subvert and destroy the form as well as the substance of Republican government in ten States to which they apply. It bind? them hand and foot in absolute slavery, and subjects them to a strange and hostile power more unlimited and more likely to be abused than any other now known among civilized men. It tramples down all these rights in which the essence of liberty consists, and which free government is alwnys mo3t careful to protect It denies habeas corpus and trial by jury. Personal freedom, property and life, if assailed by the passion, prejudice or capacity of the ruler, bare no aeeurity whatever. It has tbe effect of a bill of attainder, or bill of pains and penalties, not upon a few individuals, but upon whole masses, including tbe millions who are inhabitants of the subject States, and ever their unborn children.

These wrongs being expressly forbidden, cannot be constitutionally inflicted upon auy portion of our people, no matter how they may have come within our jurisdiction, and no matter whether they live in States, Territories or Districts. I hfive no desire to save from the proper and just consegnences Of their great crimes those who engaged in the rebellion against

ly, of separating the States from each gth- jfye (governments but at a mode of punish-

rtion of persons ablo to bear arms

werejforced into the rebellion against their will, and of those who are guilty with their own consent, the degrees of guilt are as various as the shades of, their .character and temper. But these acts of Congress confound them all together. One common indiscriminate vengeance upon classes, sects and parlies, or upon whole communities, for offenses committed by & portion of them against governments to which they owed obedience, was common jn barbarous a^es of the world, but Christianity and civilization have made such progress that recourse to a punishment so cruel and unjust would meet with the condemnation of all unprejudiced and right minded men. The punitive justice of this age, especially of tbis country, does not consist in stripping whole States of their liberties and reducing all their people without distinction to the condition of slavery. It deals separately with each individual, confines itself to forms of law, and vindicates its own purity by an impartial examination of every case before a competent judicial tribunal. If this does not satisfy all onr desire? with regard to the Southern rebels, lei. us consolo ourselves by reflecting that a free Constitution triumphant ia war and unbroken in peace is worth far more to us and our children than the gratification of any present feeling.

I am awace it is assumed that this system of government for tho Southern Slates is not to be perpetual. It is true that this military government ia to be only provisionally, but it is through tbi3 temporary evil that a greater evil is to Lx* mudo porpetual. If the guarantees of the Constitution can be broken provisionally, to serve a temporary purpose, and in a part of the country, .we can destroy them everywhere and for all time. Arbitrary measures often change, but thoy generally change for theworse. It is tbo cur.-Ht of despotism that it has no halting p!aco intermitted for exercise of its power, briogs no sense of security to its subjects, far they can never know what more they will be called to endure when its red right hand is armed to plague tbem again. Nor is it possible to conjecture how, or why power unrestrained by law, may seek its next victims. States, that are sjtill frqe, may be enslaved at any moment, for if the Constitution does not protect all, it protects none. It is manifestly and avowedly the object of these laws to confer upon the negro the privilege of voting, and to disfranchise such a number of white citizens as will give the former a clear majority at all elections in tho Southern States. This, to the minds of some persons is so important that a viola*tion of the Constitution is justified as a means of bringing it about. That morality is always false which excuses a wrong .because it proposes to accomplish a desirable end. We are not permitted to do evil that good may come. But in this ease the end itself is evil as woll a9 the means. The subjugation of States to negro' domination would be worse than the military despotism under which they are now suffering. It was believed beforehand that the people would endure any amount of military oppression, for any length of time, rather than degrale themselve3 by subjugation to the negro race. Therefore they havo been left without a choice. Negro suffrage was established by act of Congress, and the military officers were commanded to superintend the process of clothing the negro race with tho political privilege to govern white men. The blacks in the South are entitled to be well and humane ly governed, and to havo tfco protection of just laws for all their rights to person and property. If it were practicable at this time to give them a government exclusively their own, under which they might manage thoir own affairs in their own way, it would become a gravo question whether we ought to do so, or whether cojumon humanity would not require us to save them from them selves* But under the circumstances this if only a speculative point.—

It is,. not proposed merely that they shall govern themselves, but that they shall rule the white race, and make and administer State laws, elect Presidents and members- of Congress, and shape, to a greater or less extent, tho future destiny of the whole country.— Would such a trust and power bo safe in such hands? Peculiar qualities, which should characterize any people who are fit to decide upon the management of public affairs for a great State, have seldom been combined.

It is the glory of white men to know that they have had these qualities in sufficient measures to build upon this continent a great political fabric, and to preserve its stability for more than ninoty years, while in every other part of the world all similar experiments have failed. But if any thing can be provided by known facts, if all reasoning upon evidence is not abandoned, it must ho acknowledged that in the progress of nations the negroes have shown less espnei ty for Government than any other race of people. No independent Government of any form has ever been successful in their hands. On the contrary, wherever they have beon left to their own devices they have shown a constant tendency to relapse into barbarism. In the Southern States, however, Congress has undertaken to confer upon them the privilege of the ballot. Just released from slavery, it may be doubted whetbsr, as a class, they know more than their ancestors how to organize and regulate civil society. Indeed, it is admitted that the bl-tcks of the South are not only regardless of rights of property, but their voting can consist in nothing more than carrying a ballot to the place where they are directed to deposit it. .1 need not remind you that the exercise of the elective franchise is tho highest attribute of an American citizen, and that when guided by virtus, intelligense, patriotism and proper appreciation of our free institutions, it constitutes the true basis of a democratic form of government, in which the sovereign poweriis lodged in the body of tbe people. A trust artificially created*- not for its own sake, but solely ay a means of promoting the general welfare, its influence for good must necessarily depend upon the elevated character and true allegiance of the elector. Itought. therefore to be reposed in nono except those who are fitted morally and mentally to administer it well. For if conferred upon persons who do not justly estimate its value, and who are indifferent to its results, it will only serve as a means of placing power in the hands of the unprincipled and ambitious and must eventuate in the complete destruction of that liberty of which it should be the most powerful conservator.

I have therefore heretofore urged upon your attention the great danger to be apprehended from an untimely extension of the elective franchise to any new clas3 in our oountry, especially when a majority of that class, in wielding the powers thus placed in their hands, cannot bo expected correctly to comprehend the duties and responsibilities which pertain to suffrage. Yesterday, as it were, four millions of persons were held in a condition of slavery that bad existed for generations. To-day they are freemen, and are assumed by law to be citizens. It cannot be presumed from the previous condition of servitude, that as a class they are as well informed as to our Government as intelligent foreigners, who make our land the houie of their choice. In case of the latter, neither a residence of five years, and the knowledge of our institutions which it gives, nor attachment to the principles of tbe Constitution, are the only conditions upon whicb he can be admitted to citizenship. He must prove id addition a good moral character, and thus give reasonable ground for a belief that he will be faithful to the obligations which he assumes as a citizsn

ment, the measures under consideration of a republic, wbere.the people. th»aoarc8 are the moBt unreasonable that could bo of all political power, speak by their sufinvented. Many of those people are per- frages through instrumentality of thebalfectly innocent many kept their fidelity lot-box. It must be carefully guarded to tbe Union untainted to tbe last, many against tho control of those who are corare incapable of any legal offoncoa. A rupt in principle a^d enomies of free insti

tutions, tor it can only become to our po-* liticai and social system a aafe conductor of healthy popular sentiment, when kept free from demoralizing influences controlled through fraud.

Usurpation, by designing anarchy and despotism, must inevitably follow. In the hands of patriotic and worthy citizens our Government will be preserved upon the principles of the Constitution inherited from our fathers. It follows, therefore,.that in admitting to the ballot anew class of voters not qualified for tho elective franchise, wc weaken our system of governun»rt't instead nf* adding to its strength »i:id durability. I yield to no

one

in ntUohniyriVtj) the rule of general suffrage, vvbU distiuguirhes our policy as a nation, but there is limit, wisely observed hitherto, which makes, the ballot a privilege and tru»t, and which requires of soma classes a lime suitable for probation and preparation. To give it indiscriminately to a new class wholly unprepared nv previous habits and opportunities to perform the trust which it demands, is to degrade it, and finally to destroy its power r" For it tnay be safely assumed, that no political truth is better established than that such indiscriminate and all embracing extension of popular suffrage must end at 'ast in its overthrow and destruction. I repeat the expression of my willingness to join in any plan within the scope of our constitutional authority, which promises to better the condition of t.bo negroes in the South, by encouraging them in industry, and enlightenment, the improvement cf their morals and giving protection to all their just rights as fieedmon but to transfer our political inheritance to them would, in my opinion, be an abandonment of a duty, which we owo alike to tbo memory of our fathers and tho rights of our children. The plat: of putting the Southern States wholly, and the Federal Government partially, into tbo hands of negroes, is proposed at a time peculiarly unpropitious. The foundations of society have been broken up by civil war. Industry must be reorganized, justice re-established, public credit maintained, and order brought out of confusion. To accomplish these ends would require all the wisdom and virtue of tho great men who framed our institutions originally. I confidently believe that their descendants will be equal to the arduous task before them but it is wor.- than madness to expect that negroes will perform it for us. Certainly wo ought not to ask thoir assistance until wo ds'.-pair of our own competency.

The great difference between these two races in physical, mental and moral characteristics, will prevent an amalgamation or fusion of them togother in one homogeneous mass. If the infr-Jor obtains ascendency ovGr the other, it will govern with reference only to its own interests, for it will recognize no common interests, and create such a tyranny as this continent has never yet witnessed. Already negroes are influenced by promises of confiscation and plunder. They are taught to regard as an enemy every white man who has any rospect for the.righto of his own race. If this continues, it must become worso and worss, until all order will be subverted, all industry cease, and tho fertile fields of the South grow up into a wilderness. Of all the dangers which our nation has yet encountered, none are equal to those which must result from the success cfthe effort now making to Africanize half our country. I would not put considerations of money in competition with justice and right, but the expenses incident to Reconstruction, ander the system adopted by Congress aggravate what I regard as the intrinsic wrong of the measure itaelf. It has cost uncounted millions already, and if persisted in, will add largely to the weight of taxation, already too oppressive to be borne without just complaint, and may finally reduce tho trnasary of tho nation to a condition of bankruptcy. We must not delude ourselves. It will require a strong standing aimy, and probably more than two hundrod millions of dollars per annum, to maintain the supremacy of negro governments after they are established. This*1 sum, thus thrown away, would, if properly used, form a sinking fund large enongh to pay the whole N alional Debt in less than fifieea years. It is vain to hope that negroes will maintain their ascendency themselves, without military power.— They are wholly incapable of holding in subjection the white people of the South. I submit to the judgment of Congress, whether the public credit may not be injuriously affected by a system of measures liko tbis. With our debt and the vast private interests which are complicated with it, we can not be too cautious of a policy which might by possibility impair the confidence of the world in our Government. That confidence can only be retained by carefully inculcating the principles of justice aQd honor on tbe popular mind, and by the most scrupulous fidelity to all bur engagements of every sort. Any serious breach of the organic law, persisted in for a considerable time, can not but create fears for the stability of our ir:stilution3. Habitual violation of tho prescribed rules which we bind ourselves to observe, must demoralize the people. Oar only standard of civil duty beini set at naught, the sheet anehor of our "political morality is lost, the publie conscience swings from its moorings and yields to every impulse, passion and interest. If we repudiate the Constitution wn will not bo expected to care much for more pecuniary obligations.

Tlie violation of such a pledge as ye made on the 22d of July, 1861, will assuredly diminish the market value of our other promises. Besides, if we now ac» knowledge that the National debt was created, not to hold the States in the Union, as tbe tax payers were led to supposebut to expel thorn from it, and hand them over to bo governed by negroes, the moral duty to pay it may seem much less clear. 1 say, it may seem so, for I do not admit that this oi any other argument in favor of repudiation can be entertained as sound, but its influence or. some classes of minds may be well apprehended. The financial honor of a great commercial nation, largely indebted, and with a Republican form of Government, administered by agents of tho popular choice, is a thing of such deiicatc texture, and tho destruction of it would be followed by sueh unspeakable calamity, that every true patriot must desire to .avoid whatever might expose it to the slightest danger. The great interests ot tbe country require immediate relief from these enactments.— Business in the South is paralyzed by the senso of geceral insecurity, by the terror of confiscation, and the dread of negro supremacy. Southern trade, from which the North would have derived so great a profit under a Government of law, still languishes, and can never be revived un til it ceases to be fettered by arbitrary power, which makes all its operations unsafe. That ricfi country, the richest in natural resources the world ever saw, is worse than lost if it be not soon placed under tho protection of a free Constitu tion. Instead of being, as it onght to be, a source of wealth and power, it will become an intolerant burden upon tbo rest of the nation

Another reason for retracing our steps, will doubtless bo sern by Congress, in tbe late manifestations of public opinion upon this subjcct. We live in a country where popular will always enforces obedience to itself sooner or later. It is vain io think of opposing it with anything short of legal authority, backed by overwhelming force.

It can not have escaped your attention, that from the day on which Congress fairly and formally presented ifae proposition to govern the Southern States by military f»rce, with a view to the ultimate iiah

establishment of negro supremacy, every expression of the general sentiment h*»

beta mere, or less advene to It. The affection of this generation can not be detached from the institutions of their aacastors. Their determination to preserve tbe inheritance of a free government in their own hands, and transmit it undivided and unimpaired to their own posterity, ia too strong to be successfully opposed.— Every weaker passion will disappear, be% fore the love of liberty and law, for which the. American people are distinguished above all others in the world.

How far the duty of the President to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution requires bim to go, in opposing an unconstitutional act of Congress, is a very serious and important question, on which I have deliberated much, and felt extremely anxious to reach a proper conclusion. When an act has been passed, according to tbe form of tbe Constitution, by the supreme legislative authority of the country, Executive resistance to it, especially in times of high party excitement, would be likely to produce violent collision between the respective adherents of the two branches of Government. This would be civil war, and civil war must be resorted to only as a last remedy for the worst of evils. Whatever might tend to provoke it should be most carefully avoided. A faithful and conscientious magistrate will concede very much to honest error, and something even to perverse malice, before he will endanger the public peace, and he will not adopt forcible measures, or such as might lead to force, as long as chances which are feasible remain open to him or to bis constituents. It is true that cases may occur in wbich the Executive would bo compeliod to stand on his rights, and maintain them regardless of consequences. If Congress should pass an act, which is not only in palpable conflict with tbe Constitution, but"will certainly, if carried out, produce immediate and irreparable injury to the organic structure of the Government, and if there be neither justice nor remedy for tho wrongs it inflicts, nor power in the people to protect themselves without tbe official aid of their elected defenders. If, for instance, the Legislative Department should pass an act, even through all the forms of law, to abolish a co-ordinate department of the Government, in sueh a case the President must take tho high responsibilities of his office, and tave the life of the nation at all hazards.

The so-called Reconstruction acts, though as plainly unconstitutional as any that can be imagined, were not believed to be within the class last mentioned.— The people were not wholly disarmed of the power of seif-detense. In all the Northern States they still hold in their hands the sacred right of the ballot, and it was safe to believe that in duo time tbey could come to the rescue of their own institutions.

It gives me pleasure to add that tbe appeal to our common constituents was not taken in vain, and that my confidence in their wisdom and virtue seems not to have been misplaced.

It is well and publicly known that enormous frauds have been perpetratod on the Treasury, and that colossal fortunes have been made at the public expense. This species of corruption has increased, and is increasing, and if not diminished will soon bring us into total ruin and disgrace. The public creditors and tax-payers are alike interested in an honest administration of the finances, and neither class will long endure the largehanded robberies of the recent past. For this discreditable state of things there are several causes. Some, of the taxes aro so laid as to present an irresistible temptation to evade the payment. The great sums which officers may receive by connivance and fraud create'a pressure which is more than the virtue of many can withstand and there can be no doubt that the open disregard of the constitutional obliga* tions avowed by some of the highest and most influential men in the country, has greatly weakened the moral sense of those who serve in subordinate places.

The expenses of the United States, including the interest on the public debt, are more than six times as much as they were seven years ago. To collect and disburse tbis vast amount requires careful supervision as well as systematic vigilance. The system, never perfected, wa3 much disorganized by tbe Tenure of Office bill, which has almost destroyed official accountability. The President may bo thoroughly convinced that an officer is incapable, dishonest, or unfaithful to tho Constitution, but under the law, which I have named, his utmost ability is to complain to the Senate and ask the privilege of supplying his place with a better man. If the Senate be regarded as personally or particularly hostile to the Prosident, it is natural, or not altogether unreasonable for the officer to expect that it will take his part as far as possible, restoro him to his place and give bim a triumph over his executive superior. The officcr has other "chances of impunity, arising from tbe accidental dofects of the evidence, the mode of investigating it and the secrecy of hearing. It is not wonderful that official malfeasance should become bold in proportion as the delinquents learn to think themselves safe.

I am entirely persuaded that, under such a rule, the President cannot per form the great duty assigned to him of seeing the laws faithfully executed, and that it disables him most especially Jrom enforcing that rigid accountability wbich is necessary to the due execution of the revenue laws. The Constitution invests the President with authority to decide whether a removal shall be made in any given case. The act of Congress declares, in substance, that he shall only accuse 9uch as he supposes to be unworthy of their trust. The Constitution makes bim the sole judge in the premises, but the statute takes away his jurisdiction, transfers it to the Senate, and loaves him nothing but the odious and sometimes impracticable duty of becoming a prosecutor. The prosecution is to be conducted for a. tribunal whose members aro not, like him, responsible to the whole people, but to separate constituent bodies, and who may hear his accusation with great disfavor. The senate is absolutely without any known standard of decision applicable to such a case. Its judgment cannot be anticipated, for it is not governed by any rule. The law does not define what shall be deemed good cause for removal. It is impossible evon to conjecture what may or may not bo so considered by tho Senate. The natnre of the subject forbids clear proof. If the charge be incapacity, what evidence will support It? Fidelity to the Constitution may be understood or misunderstood in a thousand different way9, and by violent party men in violent party times, unfaithfulness to the Constitution may even come to be considered meritorious. If an officer be accused of dishonesty, how shall it be made out? Will it be inferred from acts unconnected with public duty, from private history, or from general reputation, or must the President await the commission of an actual misdemeanor in office? Shall he in the meantime risk the character and interest of tho nation in the hands of men to whom he cannot givo his confidence? Must he forbear his complaint until the mischief is done, and can not be prevented If his zeal in tho public sorvice should compel him to anticipate an overt act, must he move at the peril of being tried himself for the offense of slandering his subordinate In the present circumstances of the country, some one must be held responsible for official delinquency of every kind. It is extromely difficult to say where that responsibility should be thrown if it be not left where

it

has been placed by the Con­

stitution. But all just men will admit that the President ought to be entirely relieved from such responsibility if he can not q)eet it by reason of restrictions placed by law upon his actions. Unrestricted power of removal from office is a Very great one to be trusted even to a magistrate chosen by general suffrage of the whole people, and accountable direct­

ly to thqm for hia *cU. It is undoubted- tor purposes of circuiotion.

ly liable to abuse, and at some periods of our history, perhaps, has been abused. If it be thought desirablo and constitutional that it should be so limited as to make the President merely a common informer against other public agents, he should, at least, be permitted to act in that capacity before some open tribunal, independent ot party politics, ready to in» vestigate the merit3 of every case furnished, with the means of taking tho evidonce, and bound to decide according to an es tablished rule. This would guarantee the safety of the accuser, when he acts in good faith, and at the same time secure the rights of the other party. 1 speak, of course, with all propor respect for the present Senate but it does not seem to me that any legislative body can be so constructed as to insure its fitness for these functions.

It iS}the theory of this Government that publie offices are the property of those who hold them. They aro given merely as a trust for the public benefit, sometimes for a flxed period, sometimes during good behavior, but generally they aro liable to be terminated at the pleasure of the appointing power, which represents collective will and speaks for the people. Forced retention in office of a single dishonest person may work great injury to public interests. Danger to public scrvice comes not from power to remove, but from power to appoint. Therefore it was that tho framers of the Constitution left the power of removal unrestricted, while they £.ivo tbo Senate the right to reject all appointments, which, in its opinion, were not fit to be mado.

A little reflection on tbe subject will probably satisfy all, who have tho good of lbe country at heart, that our best course i« to take tko Constitution for our guide, walk in tho pathmarked out by tho founders of tho Republic, and obey the rules made sacred by tho observance of our great predecessors.

FINANCES.

The present condition of our finances and circulating medium is one to which your early consideration is invited. The proportion which tbe currency of any country should bear to tbe whole value of annual produce circulated by its means, is a question upon which political economists have not agroed nor can il be con-

trolled by legislation, but it must be left °f

to tho laws which everywhere regulate commerce and trade. The circulating medium will ever flow to those points where it is in greatest demand. The law of demand and supply is as unerring as that wbich regulates the tido3 of the ocean and, indeed, currency, like tbe tides, has its ebbs and flo^s, throughoutthe commercial world. At the beginning of tho lebellion, tho bank note circulation of tbe country amounted to not much more ihan two hundred million dollars. Now tho circulation of National Bank notes, and those known as legal tenders, is nearly seven hundred millions. Whilo it i3 urged by some that this amount should bo increased, others contend that decided reduction is absolutely essential to the best interests of the country.

In view of these diverse opinions, it may be well to ascertain tho real value of our paper issues, when compared with metallic or converted currency for this purpose, let U3 inquire how much gold and siver could be purchased by tbo seven hundred millions of paper money now in circulation. Probably not more than half tho amount of the latter, showing that when our paper currency is compared with gold and silver, its jjommereial value is compressed into three hundred and fifty millions. This striking fact makes it'the obvious duty of tho Government, as early as may bo consistent with tho principles of sound political economy, to take such measures as will enable the holder of its notes and those of National Banks to convert them without loss into specie, or its equivalent. A reduction of our paper and circulating medium need not necessarily follow. This, however, would depend upon the law of domand and supply, though it should be borne in mind that by making legal tender and bank notes convertible into coin or its equivalent, their present specie value in tho hands of their holders would be enhanced one hundred percent.

Legislation for accomplishing a result so desirable is demanded by tho highest public considerations. The Constitution contemplates that the circulating medium of the country shall bo uniform in quality and value at the time of tho formation of that instrument. Tho country had just emergod from a war of revolution, and was suffering from the effects of a redundant and worthless paper currency. The sages of that period were anxious to protect their posterity from tho evils which they themsleves had experienced hence, in providing a circulating medium, thoy conferred upon Congress tho power to coin money and regulate tho value thereof, at the same time prohibiting theytatea from making anything but gold and silver a legal tender in payment of debts. The anomalous condition of our country is.in striking contrast with that which was originally designed. Our circulation now embraces, first, notes of National Banks, which aro made receivable for all dues to the Government, excluding imports, and by all its creditors, excopting in payment of interest upon its bonds and the securities themselves second, legal tender notes, isaued by tho United States, and which the law requires shall bo received as woll in payment of all debts between citizens as of Government dues, excepting imports and third, gold and silver coin.

By tho opeifttion of the present system of Qnaaco, however, inetAlliC currency, wbeu collected, is reaervod only for one Has* of Uovera-mc-nt creditors, who, nolding Its b)n*s, semi-an-nually reoe've' thei- interest in coin from the National Treasury. Tliey are thtu nude to occu* py an inTidioua position, whioh may be usod to sueuglbcn tbo arguments of those wbo wonid bring into disrepute the obligations of t:e iti 'ti.

In tho payment ail its ifc'jts tlu plighted f,».t'i of the Government shvatd be inviul^hlv initutaiuo i, but while it acts with lidoiity toward the bo'idlwidjr, who loauoi his money that the integrity of the L'n:ou mixht be preserve), should at the same time objetvo good faith with the great misje.-i of the people, who, having rrscnej the Uuion from tho ponls of rebellion, now b?*r th** burden of taxation that the Government iy be uble lo fulfill its ougas eui'n:» Th re uo reason which will be accepted as satisfactory by tho people *hy those whodelsnd us cn the laud and protect us en tho B«a, pensioners upn t.'.e gratitude of the nation, bearing sea's and wounls received while in its service, tliepub lie servant* in varlons department* of the Gov omment, tho farmer who supplies th soldiers of tho army nnl (10 tailors or tue navy, the artiz tn who toils in the nation's workshops, mechanics and laboror* wlro build edifices, and coustrnct its forts and vi sscla of war, rhoutd, in payment of thoir just uad hard earned dues, receivedeprtcir ntedpapjr, while another class, tueir country mi n, no rn^re d'-sotvit'g, are paid in coin, gol.l and silver. £qual and txict justice requires that all the creditors of the Quveruiueut »h tUd bo paul iu a cunency possessing a uniform value.

This can on.y be accompl1shed by tho restoration of currency to tho standard e*t iblislied by tho Csn&lltutioo, an 1 by this infant we could remove a discrimination which uity, if it hat not already done so, create a prejudice that may be com

1

iieep-rooted, wide-npread, and imperil tbe National cre-iU. The feasibility ol making oar curiency csrrespoud with the constitutional standard, may bo seou by reference to a few facta dei ived from oar commercial statistics. The production of the protlous HR-IAIS in the United Siates from 1819 to 1857, inchmre, amounted to |j.'3,00J,0.'0 !rotn 1338 to ISfcO, inclusive, to 8147,OOJ.i'OO: trom ItSUl to 18(i7, inclusive, to S157.6CU,i'OO, iraking a grand aggregate of products since tSl'J, $1,174,000,000. The amount of spicie c,)im from t-M'J to 1857, iuclusive, was 8t3f,OOy'QO from 1 &8 to 1 -tO, inclusive, $U.r,0tX),U0o

from 18C1 to lSt7, inclosive, SslO.O O 0C0, ni.tkinz tliJ total coinage since 1813, $874,000,000. Frutu 1S49 to 1857, inclusive, the net export* of specio Amounted to ^71,000.000 frotu 1838 to 1360, In elusive, $148,0.0,000 and from 1801 to 1807, inclusive, $3'&,00'J.0U0 making ao aggregate of net export* sloe* 1819, $741,000,030. Thene figures show an rxcesa of product over net xports of fi&l.OUO.OCO. Th.re are iu th" Treasury Still,000,000, iu coin something more tliau $40,000,00.1 in circulation ou the Pacilic co:Mt. and a fnw millions in the National and other banks, in all about S16C.C00.003. This, however, taking :uto account the specie in tho coon ry pr.or to 1819, leaves more than three huulrvi million dollars which have not lie?a arcuunttd for by exportation, and therefor*, may yet rnnsln in ihe country, 'i'hesare important facts, and show how completely an inferior currency will supurce'e a better, forcing it from circulation among tho masses, aud causing it to bo exported aa a icero article of trade, toad (1 to tho monjy capital of tnaign ianUs. They show the necessity of retiring our paper money, lh»t the return of gold aud silver to the arenaes of ti'&ds may be luvUeJ, and demand created whioh will canse tberetonUau at home of at ie*U so mnah of tho production) of our ri hand inexhaustible gOld-beariug fields aa way be sufficient

it li aorMtonabTfe to etp«ct a return to a Kiund currency so long Woverumcul, by contianiog to isaae Irredeemable note*. 81!« tho cbannelg of circulation with deprrci*t-«l pafor. Notwithstanding tho coinage by our mint*, since If40, of eight hand red an MTcaty.foor million dollars, the peoplaareatrantfen to the curieucy wh.ch was dotigaed for thtir uie and b*neSt, an 1 ipncimens of ttie preclou? metals aaaring the national device are teldtm «eec, except nrben produjeJ to gratify the intertss excited bj their novelty. It depreciated carreacy to be continued a* the pennaneut currency of tbe couotr.r, a'.il all our coin is to bcc .mea msrt article of traffic and speculation to the vuhancearnt io priee of all that is iodicpanslbls to tte comfort of the people, it would be wise ccooomy 10 ub lijh onr mints, tlias laving the nation the care and expense incident to such establishments, and let ail our prccious meUli ho exported in bullion.

The tlnio has come, ho-«crs.r, *ten the Government sntl the National Bank* th-mid bj required to tako moot efficient steps and m&ke all nouswry arrangements for a roaumpiion of specie payments »t tho earlust ]ractictblo pcrlud. Specie payments having .-en once reoumed, ly Ooverninopt aud banks

a"

notrs or bills ot paper

issued by eitherofa lt-sj d-nominat on than t*r?u. ty dollars should be by I»w excluded from emulation, to that tbo leople may have tho bn.Ot and c)UT8'ii«nce of a gold an-i silver currency, wbfah in tutlr ieineat transaction* will be uniform in T*ine at homo and abroad. Evert m\n of property or iudnury, »:very man woo dfsiros topr-a-iTo what |be honestly possesse-, or to obtain wh-t be can honestly earn, his a direct interest iam»intainiiiga*a'otircolaIincmed am such atnediutt as shall re real and substantial, not liabl* to vibrtte with opinions not snbject to be biown up or blown oowti by a breath of •peculation, btrt to bs stable and secure. 9 a pjictrto anleoao.

Si-tee th «o nmeocemcul of the second session of tbo Thirty.uii.th Congress, five bun liod a tea nii!e- of ioid hav« been constructed on tlio niniu linn »nl branches of tho Pacific Railway. Tbe I ne fr (tnnUi is rapMly approaching the e*st rn ba».- of tlio tiocky Mountain-, while tbo termiriuj cf th 'a*t ctiou of ccmtri.-ied road ia Calif jrnln, accepted by Uovertimenton the'^Uli of October last. *ai but el«»cn miles distant from the summit of the 3i#ra Sev.«la. Thn remarkable tljH'rgf cviiKeil by the companies (fi rs the straoReji a-aur.ncn tint tbe com el ion of the road from Sacrain-ato to 1 il be not lou£ deterred.

PUBLIC LAMB*

During the 'ait fiscal year 7,011,114 as ea of publicl.nd weredispostd vf, and tho cash receipts troai sales and fees exc-eled by one-hiif million dollars tin- wnm reaiiz-d from tboo sources daring tlio-p^ceding year.

I'KNPI.NS.

The amount paid to pensioner*, including the expenses of disbnrfemen s, was $ I&,619,11511 and 30.13"J names Wore «d lod t» the roll, llui entire uumbcr ft"pcQSione so^The ^Otb of Joiu l&st was 155,4f4.

FATS NTS.

Kleve.-i thvtuand six hundiel and fifty fl»e paton ts'ttnil -JesigiiH were issuet during the year ending September 30, ISS7, ftii at that date the bal-

th°

Patent

THE NAVY.

This report of the Secretary of the Navy states that we have seven squadron* actively and judiciously employed under efficient and able cornmutniers in protecting tbe persona and prsperty of American citiii-us, maintaining the dignity and powor of the Government, and promoting the commercial and business interests of our coun! rymun iu every part of tho world. Of two hondrod and thirty-eight vessels composing the present Navy of the United States, carrying 567 guns ^re in squadron service. During tho year the number of vessels in commission has been reduced twelve, and there are thirteen less on squadron duty than there were at the date of tho lost report. A largo number of vessels were commenced and in course of construction when the war terminated, and nlthongh Congress has made the necessary appropriations for their completion^" tho Pepartment has either suspended work upon them or limited tho slow completion of steam vessels as to meet the contracts for inaehinery made with private establishments. The total expenditures of tho Navy Department for the fiscal year euding June 30, 18t7, were 531,031,011. No appropriations have been made or required since the close of the War, for the construction and repair of vessels, and ifor steam machinery, ordnance, provisions and clothing, fuel, hemp, Jtc.. balance under these sevoral heads, having been more than sufficient for current expenditures. It should also be stated to the credit of the Department, that besides asking no appropriations tor tho above Objects for the past two years, the Secretary of th- Navy, on tho 3ttli of September last, in accordance with the act of May 1st, IS20, requestel tho Secretary. tho Treasury to carry to the surplus fund the sum of Sii5,0?0,u00, being the amount recuived from sales of vessels and other war property, aud tho remnants of former appropriations.

POSTOKFICE DEPARTMENT.

The report of the Postmaster General shows the business of the Postoflice Department and tln£oiidition of the postal service in a very fftvorublu light, and tbe attention of Congress is called to its practical recommendations.

The receipts of the Department for the year ending June 30, 1807, including all special appropriating for sea aud land service, and for free niail matter, were 319,978,693. Tho expenditures for all purposes were 819,235,483, leaving an unexpended balance in favor of the Department of 3743,210, which can b-j applied toward tire expenses of the Department for the current year. The increase of the postal revenu-, independent of specific appropriations, for the year 18t!7, oyer' that of 18GG, was $850,010. The iucreasoof revenue from the sale of stamps and stamped envelopes was $783,404. The increase of expenditures in 18B7 over those ot the previous year was owing chiefly to the extension of land and ocean mail service. During tlis past year now postal conventions have been ratified and exchanged with ti United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, Belgium,«tho Netherlands, Switzerland, North German Union, Italy and tho Colonial Government at Hong Kong, reducing very largely tho ratio ofo eanand land postages to and from and within those countries.

AOHLCCI.7UR.AL DEPARTMENT.

The report of the Acting Commissioner of Agriculture concisely presents the condition, works and progress of an interest eminontly worthy the fostering care of Congress, and exhibits a large measure of useful roeuIts achieved during the year to which it refer*.

FOBEIO.N ArrAias.

Tho re-establishitterit of peace at home and the resumption of extended trade, travel and commerce abroad, havo served to increaso the number and variety of questions in the Depnrtmeftt for i'oreign Affairs. None of those questions,"however, havo disturbed our relations with other States. The republic of Mexico having been relieved from foreign intervention, is earnestly engaged in ef-.forts-to reestablish her constitutional system of government. A good understanding continues to exist between our Government and tho republics of Hayti and San Domingo, and onr cordial relation with the Central and South American States remains unchanged. The tender made in conformity with the resolution of Congress of the good offices of our Government, with a view to an amicable adjustment of peace between Brazil and her allies on one side, and Paraguay on the other, unri between Chili and her allies on one side, and Spain on the othor,'though kindly received, has in neither case been fully accepted by the belligerents The war in the Valley of tho i'arana in still vigorously maintained- Ua the other hand, actual hostilities between the Pacific States and .Spain have been more than a year suspended. 1 shall on any proper occasion tbat may occnr renew the conciliatory recommendations which havo already been made.

Brazil, with enlightened sagacity and comprehensive statesmanship, has opened thegreat-chan-neUof tho Amazon and its tributaries, to universal commerce. One thing more seems needful to assure a rapid and cheering progress in South America. 1 refer to those peaceful habits, without which States and Nations cannot in this age well expect national prosperity or social advancement.

The Exposition of universal industry at Pari* has passed and seems to have fully realized the high expectations of the French Goverumeut. If duo allowance be made for 'lie recent poetical derangtjneutt of industry here, the part which th«r United States has borne iu this exhibition of invention and art, may be regarded with very hi^h satisfaction. During tbe Exposition a onfervnee ts held of delegates from several nations, the Uuitod States being one, in which the inconvenience fo commerce and social intercourse, resulting from divers standards of money value, were very fully discussed, and plsns were developed for establishing, by universal consent, a cowmoa principle for coinage oid, these conferences are expected to be renewed, with tho attendance of many foreign states hitherto represented. A report of these interesting proceedings will be submitted tn Congress, which will, no dogbt, justly appreciate the great object, and be ready to adopt any measure which may tend to facilitate its ultimate accomplishment.

A tUB$Ttay WITH

a

id

»f iStiB

CLAIMANTS.

On tho 25th of February, 1882, Congress declared, by law, that the Treasury notes, without interest authorized by that act should bo a legal tender in payment of all debts, public aud private, in the United States. An annual remittance of $30,000, less stipulated expenses, accrues to tha claimants tinder tho Convention made with Spaiu. These remittances, since the passage of this act, havo been paid in such notes. Tho claimants insist that tlw Government ought to require p»y-m-nt in coia. Tl subject may be deemed worthy of your attention.

ALASASCA CLAIMS.

No arrangements have been rea-hed for the settlement of oar claims for British depredations ori the commerce of the United States. I have ftlt it my duty to decline a proposition of arbitration made by ller Majesty's Government, because ithas hitherto been accompanied by reservations! and limitations incompatible with the riahta, honor and interest of our country, it is uot to be apprehended that Great Britain wi'l persist in he? refusal to satisfy these 011 and reasonable'claims* which involves the saored principle of non-lnter-ventjou, a principle henceforth not foreign to tho United Slates and all other commercial nations.

Tar ATS WITH DEXXABK,

A treaty has been concluded with tbo Klas of Denmark'for the cession of the Ialaada of St. Thomas and St. John to the United States.

CONCLU&IOX.

The abuse of onr laws by tbe clandestine prose cution of the Africau alavo trade from American ports, or by American citiaeus, has altogether ceased, and under existing ciicnmstanc?* no apprehensions of It* renewal in this part of the world are entertained. Uader these circnmstan* cos it Scpomes a question whether we shall nesit propose to Uer Majesty's Government a sasf^a^ sion or discontinuance of appropriations for ataintaining a navel force for the suppression of tlia\ tradq. ANDBKW 4«JMI(OK.

THK leading journal* ia Nebraska have, declared for General (^rant for the Presidency. ..