Addresses and Messages of the Presidents of the United States from Washington to Tyler

incalculable importance, is the union of these states, and the sacred duty of all to contribute to its preservation by a liberal support of the general government in the exercise of its just powers. You have been wisely admonished to "accustom yourselves to think and speak of the Union as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity, watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety, discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned, and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of any attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts." Without union our independence and liberty would never have been achieved, without union they never can be maintained. Divided into twenty-four, or even a smaller number of sepa rate communities, we shall see our internal trade burdened with numberless restraints and exactions; communication between distant points and sections obstructed, or cut off; our sons made soldiers to deluge with blood the fields they now till in peace; the mass of our people borne down and impoverished by taxes to support armies and navies; and military leaders at the head of their victorious legions becoming our lawgivers and judges. The loss of liberty, of all good government, of peace, plenty, and happiness, must inevitably follow a dissolution of the Union. In supporting it, therefore, we support all that is dear to the freeman and the philanthropist.

The time at which I stand before you is full of interest. The eyes of all nations are fixed on our republic. The event of the existing crisis will be decisive in the opinion of mankind of the practicability of our federal system of government. Great is the stake placed in our hands; great is the responsibility which must rest upon the people of the United States. Let us realize the importance of the attitude in which we stand before the world. Let us exercise forbearance and firmness. Let us extricate our country from the dangers which surround it, and learn wisdom from the lessons they inculcate.

Deeply impressed with the truth of these observations, and under the obligation of that solemn oath which I am about to take, I shall continue to exert all my faculties to maintain the just powers of the constitution, and to transmit unimpaired to posterity the blessings of our federal union. At the same time, it will be my aim to inculcate, by my official acts, the necessity of exercising, by the general government, those powers only that are clearly delegated; to encourage simplicity and economy in the expenditures of the government; to raise no more money from the people than may be requisite for these objects, and in a manner that will best promote the interests of all classes of the community, and of all portions of the Union. Constantly bearing in mind that, in entering into society, "individuals must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest," it will be my desire so to discharge duties as to foster, with our brethren in all parts of the country, a spirit of liberal concession and compromise; and, by reconciling our fellow citizens to those partial sacrifices which they must unavoidably make, for the preservation of a greater good, to recommend our invaluable government and union to the confidence and affections of the American people.

Finally, it is my most fervent prayer, to that Almighty Being before whom I now stand, and who has kept us in his hands from the infancy of our republic to the present day, that he will so overrule all my intentions and actions, and inspire the hearts of my fellow citizens, that we may be

preserved from dangers of all kinds, and continue for ever a UNITED AND HAPPY PEOPLE.

FIFTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.

DECEMBER 3, 1833.

Fellow Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:

On your assembling to perform the high trusts which the people of the United States have confided to you, of legislating for their common welfare, it gives me pleasure to congratulate you upon the happy condition of our beloved country. By the favor of Divine Providence, health is again restored to us; peace reigns within our borders; abundance crowns the labors of our fields; commerce and domestic industry flourish and increase; and individual happiness rewards the private virtue and enterprize of our citi

zens.

Our condition abroad is no less honorable than it is prosperous at home. Seeking nothing that is not right, and determined to submit to nothing that is wrong, but desiring honest friendships and liberal intercourse with all nations, the United States have gained throughout the world the confidence and respect which are due to the character of the American people, and to a policy so just, and so congenial to the spirit of their institutions.

In bringing to your notice the particular state of our foreign affairs, it affords me high gratification to inform you, that they are in a condition which promises the continuance of friendship with all nations.

With Great Britain, the interesting question of our northeastern boundary remains still undecided. A negotiation, however, upon that subject, has been renewed since the close of the last Congress, and a proposition has been submitted to the British government, with the view of establishing, in conformity with the resolution of the Senate, the line designated by the treaty of 1783. Though no definitive answer has been received, it may daily looked for, and I entertain a hope that the overture may ultimately lead to a satisfactory adjustment of this important matter.

I have the satisfaction to inform you that a negotiation which, by desire of the House of Representatives, was opened some years ago with the British government, for the erection of light-houses on the Bahamas, has been successful. Those works, when completed, together with those which the United States have constructed on the western side of the gulf of Florida, will contribute essentially to the safety of navigation in that sea. This joint participation in establishments, interesting to humanity and beneficial to commerce, is worthy of two enlightened nations, and indicates feelings which cannot fail to have a happy influence upon their political relations. It is gratifying to the friends of both to perceive that the intercourse between the two people is becoming daily more extensive, and that sentiments of mutual good-will have grown up, befitting their common origin, justifying the hope that, by wise counsels on each side, not only unsettled questions may be satisfactorily terminated, but new causes of misunderstanding prevented.

Notwithstanding that I continue to receive the most amicable assurances from the government of France, and that in all other respects the most friendly relations exist between the United States and that government, it

incalculable importance, is the union of these states, and the sacred duty of all to contribute to its preservation by a liberal support of the general government in the exercise of its just powers. You have been wisely admonished to "accustom yourselves to think and speak of the Union as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity, watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety, discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned, and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of any attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts." Without union our independence and liberty would never have been achieved,-without union they never can be maintained. Divided into twenty-four, or even a smaller number of separate communities, we shall see our internal trade burdened with numberless restraints and exactions; communication between distant points and sections obstructed, or cut off; our sons made soldiers to deluge with blood the fields they now till in peace; the mass of our people borne down and impoverished by taxes to support armies and navies; and military leaders at the head of their victorious legions becoming our lawgivers and judges. The loss of liberty, of all good government, of peace, plenty, and happiness, must inevitably follow a dissolution of the Union. In supporting it, therefore, we support all that is dear to the freeman and the philanthropist.

The eyes of

The time at which I stand before you is full of interest. all nations are fixed on our republic. The event of the existing crisis will be decisive in the opinion of mankind of the practicability of our federal system of government. Great is the stake placed in our hands; great is the responsibility which must rest upon the people of the United States. Let us realize the importance of the attitude in which we stand before the world. Let us exercise forbearance and firmness. Let us extricate our country from the dangers which surround it, and learn wisdom from the lessons they inculcate.

Deeply impressed with the truth of these observations, and under the obligation of that solemn oath which I am about to take, I shall continue to exert all my faculties to maintain the just powers of the constitution, and to transmit unimpaired to posterity the blessings of our federal union. At the same time, it will be my aim to inculcate, by my official acts, the necessity of exercising, by the general government, those powers only that are clearly delegated; to encourage simplicity and economy in the expenditures of the government; to raise no more money from the people than may be requisite for these objects, and in a manner that will best promote the interests of all classes of the community, and of all portions of the Union. Constantly bearing in mind that, in entering into society, "individuals must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest," it will be my desire so to discharge my duties as to foster, with our brethren in all parts of the country, a spirit of liberal concession and compromise; and, by reconciling our fellow citizens to those partial sacrifices which they must unavoidably make, for the preservation of a greater good, to recommend our invaluable government and union to the confidence and affections of the American people.

preserved from dangers of all kinds, and continue for ever a UNITED AND HAPPY PEOPLE.

FIFTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.

DECEMBER 3, 1833.

Fellow Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:

ON your assembling to perform the high trusts which the people of the United States have confided to you, of legislating for their common welfare, it gives me pleasure to congratulate you upon the happy condition of our beloved country. By the favor of Divine Providence, health is again restored to us; peace reigns within our borders; abundance crowns the labors of our fields; commerce and domestic industry flourish and increase; and individual happiness rewards the private virtue and enterprize of our citi

zens.

With Great Britain, the interesting question of our northeastern boundary remains still undecided. A negotiation, however, upon that subject, has been renewed since the close of the last Congress, and a proposition has been submitted to the British government, with the view of establishing, in conformity with the resolution of the Senate, the line designated by the treaty of 1783. Though no definitive answer has been received, it may be daily looked for, and I entertain a hope that the overture may ultimately lead to a satisfactory adjustment of this important matter.

is to be regretted that the stipulations of the convention, concluded on the 4th of July, 1831, remain in some important parts unfulfilled.

By the second article of that convention, it was stipulated that the sum payable to the United States should be paid at Paris, in six annual instalments, into the hands of such person or persons as should be authorised by the Government of the United States to receive it; and by the same article the first instalment was payable on the second day of February, 1833. By the act of Congress of the 13th of July, 1832, it was made the duty of the secretary of the treasury to cause the several instalments, with the interest thereon, to be received from the French government, and transferred to the United States, in such manner as he may deem best; and by the same act of Congress, the stipulations on the part of the United States, in the convention, were in all respects fulfilled. Not doubting that a treaty thus made and ratified by the two governments, and faithfully executed by the United States, would be promptly complied with by the other party, and desiring to avoid the risk and expense of intermediate agencies, the secretary of the treasury deemed it advisable to receive and transfer the first instalment by means of a draft upon the French minister of finance. A draft for this purpose was accordingly drawn in favor of the cashier of the bank of the United States, for the amount accruing to the United States out of the first instalment, and the interest payable with it. This bill was not drawn at Washington until five days after the instalment was payable at Paris, and was accompanied by a special authority from the president, authorising the cashier, or his assigns, to receive the amount. The mode thus adopted of receiving the instalment, was officially made known to the French government by the American chargé d'affaires at Paris, pursuant to instructions from the department of state. The bill, however, though not presented for payment until the 23d day of March, was not paid, and for the reasons assigned by the French minister of finance, that no appropriation had been made by the French Chambers. It is not known to me, that, up to that period, any appropriation had been required of the Chambers; and although a communication was subsequently made to the Chambers by direction of the king, recommending that the necessary provision should be made for carrying the convention into effect, it was at an advanced period of the ses sion, and the subject was finally postponed until the next meeting of the Chambers.

Notwithstanding it has been supposed by the French ministry that the financial stipulation of the treaty cannot be carried into effect without an appropriation by the Chambers, it appears to me to be not only consistent with the character of France, but due to the character of both governments, as well as to the rights of our citizens, to treat the convention, made and ratified in proper form, as pledging the good faith of the French government for its execution, and as imposing upon each department an obligation to fulfil it; and I have received assurances through our chargé d'affaires at Paris, and the French minister plenipotentiary at Washington, and more recently through the minister of the United States at Paris, that the delay has not proceeded from any indisposition on the part of the king and his ministers to fulfil the treaty, and that measures will be presented at the next meeting of the Chambers, and with a reasonable hope of success, to obtain the necessary appropriation.

It is necessary to state, however, that the documents, except certain lists of vessels captured, condemned, or burnt at sea, proper to facilitate the ex

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Addresses and Messages of the Presidents of the United States from ...