Chapter II: Part 2

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I submit to the Senate, for their consideration and advice, the following treaties entered into with several of the Indian tribes, to wit:

A treaty of peace and friendship made and concluded by William Clark, Ninian Edwards, and Auguste Choteau, commissioners on the part of the United States of America, and the chiefs and warriors of the Menomene tribe or nation of Indians, on the 30th of March, 1817, at St. Louis.

A treaty of peace and friendship made and concluded on the 4th June, 1817, at St. Louis, by William Clark, Ninian Edwards, and Auguste Choteau, commissioners on the part of the United States of America, and the chiefs and warriors of the Ottoes tribe of Indians.

A treaty of peace and friendship made and concluded on the 5th June, 1817, at St. Louis, by William Clark, Ninian Edwards, and Auguste Choteau, commissioners on the part of the United States of America, and the chiefs and warriors of the Poncarar tribe of Indians.

A treaty concluded at the Cherokee Agency on the 8th of July, 1817, between Major-General Andrew Jackson, Joseph McMinn, governor of the State of Tennessee, and General David Meriwether, commissioners of the United States of America, of the one part, and the chiefs, headmen, and warriors of the Cherokee Nation east of the Mississippi River and the chiefs, headmen, and warriors of the Cherokees on the Arkansas River, and their deputies, John D. Chisholm and James Rogers.

A treaty concluded on the 29th day of September, 1817, at the foot of the Rapids of the Miami of Lake Erie, between Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur, commissioners of the United States, and the sachems, chiefs, and warriors of the Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, Shawnese, Potawatamies, Ottawas, and Chippewa tribes of Indians.

The Wyandots and other tribes parties to the treaty lately concluded with them have, by a deputation to this city, requested permission to retain possession of such lands as they actually cultivate and reside on, for the ensuing year. They have also expressed a desire that the reservations made in their favor should be enlarged, representing that they had entered into the treaty in full confidence that that would be done, preferring a reliance on the justice of the United States for such extension rather than that the treaty should fail.

The Wyandots claim an extension of their reservation to 16 miles square, and the other tribes in a proportional degree. Sufficient information is not now in the possession of the Executive to enable it to decide how far it may be proper to comply with the wishes of these tribes in the extent desired. The necessary information may be obtained in the course of the next year, and if they are permitted to remain in the possession of the lands they cultivate during that time such further extension of their reservations may be made by law at the next session as justice and a liberal policy toward these people may require. It is submitted to the consideration of the Senate whether it may not be proper to annex to their advice and consent for the ratification of the treaty a declaration providing for the above objects.

JAMES MONROE.

DECEMBER 11, 1817.

WASHINGTON, _December 15, 1817_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 8th of this month, I transmit, for the information of the House, a report from the Secretary of State, with the documents referred to in it, containing all the information in the possession of the Executive which it is proper to disclose, relative to certain persons who lately took possession of Amelia Island and Galvezton.

JAMES MONROE.

DECEMBER 18, 1817.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 11th of this month, I transmit, for the information of the Senate, a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, relating to the progress made in surveying the several tracts of military bounty lands appropriated by Congress for the late army of the United States, and the time at which such survey will probably be completed.

JAMES MONROE.

DECEMBER 22, 1817.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th of this month, requesting to be informed of the present strength of the Army of the United States, its distribution among the several military posts which it is designed to protect, and its competency to preserve and defend the fortifications amongst which it is distributed, and to aid in constructing such other military works, if any, as it may be deemed proper to erect for the more effectual security of the United States and of the Territories thereof, I now transmit a report from the Secretary of War which contains the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.

DECEMBER 29, 1817.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 16th of this month, requesting information touching the execution of so much of the first article of the treaty of Ghent as relates to the restitution of slaves, which has not heretofore been communicated, I now transmit a report of the Secretary of State on that subject.

JAMES MONROE.

DECEMBER 29, 1817.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 12th of this month, requesting to be informed whether any, and which, of the Representatives in a list thereto annexed have held offices since the 4th of March last, designating the offices, the times of appointment and acceptance, and whether they were at that time so held or when they had been resigned, I now transmit a report from the Secretary of State which contains the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _January 12, 1818_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

The claim of the representatives of the late Caron de Beaumarchais having been recommended to the favorable consideration of the Legislature by my predecessor in his message to Congress of the 31st of January last, and concurring in the sentiments therein expressed, I now transmit copies of a new representation relative to it received by the Secretary of State from the minister of France, and of a correspondence on the subject between the minister of the United States at Paris and the Duke of Richelieu, inclosed with that representation.

JAMES MONROE.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I have the satisfaction to inform Congress that the establishment at Amelia Island has been suppressed, and without the effusion of blood. The papers which explain this transaction I now lay before Congress.

By the suppression of this establishment and of that at Galveztown, which will soon follow; if it has not already ceased to exist, there is good cause to believe that the consummation of a project fraught with much injury to the United States has been prevented.

When we consider the persons engaged in it, being adventurers from different countries, with very few, if any, of the native inhabitants of the Spanish colonies; the territory on which the establishments were made--one on a portion of that claimed by the United States westward of the Mississippi, the other on a part of East Florida, a Province in negotiation between the United States and Spain; the claim of their leader as announced by his proclamation on taking possession of Amelia Island, comprising the whole of both the Floridas, without excepting that part of West Florida which is incorporated into the State of Louisiana; their conduct while in the possession of the island making it instrumental to every species of contraband, and, in regard to slaves, of the most odious and dangerous character, it may fairly be concluded that if the enterprise had succeeded on the scale on which it was formed much annoyance and injury would have resulted from it to the United States.

Other circumstances were thought to be no less deserving of attention. The institution of a government by foreign adventurers in the island, distinct from the colonial governments of Buenos Ayres, Venezuela, or Mexico, pretending to sovereignty and exercising its highest offices, particularly in granting commissions to privateers, were acts which could not fail to draw after them the most serious consequences. It was the duty of the Executive either to extend to this establishment all the advantages of that neutrality which the United States had proclaimed, and have observed in favor of the colonies of Spain who, by the strength of their own population and resources, had declared their independence and were affording strong proof of their ability to maintain it, or of making the discrimination which circumstances required.

Had the first course been pursued, we should not only have sanctioned all the unlawful claims and practices of this pretended Government in regard to the United States, but have countenanced a system of privateering in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere the ill effects of which might, and probably would, have been deeply and very extensively felt.

The path of duty was plain from the commencement, but it was painful to enter upon it while the obligation could be resisted. The law of 1811, lately published, and which it is therefore proper now to mention, was considered applicable to the case from the moment that the proclamation of the chief of the enterprise was seen, and its obligation was daily increased by other considerations of high importance already mentioned, which were deemed sufficiently strong in themselves to dictate the course which has been pursued.

Early intimation having been received of the dangerous purposes of these adventurers, timely precautions were taken by the establishment of a force near the St. Marys to prevent their effect, or it is probable that it would have been more sensibly felt.

To such establishments, made so near to our settlements in the expectation of deriving aid from them, it is particularly gratifying to find that very little encouragement was given. The example so conspicuously displayed by our fellow-citizens that their sympathies can not be perverted to improper purposes, but that a love of country, the influence of moral principles, and a respect for the laws are predominant with them, is a sure pledge that all the very flattering anticipations which have been formed of the success of our institutions will be realized. This example has proved that if our relations with foreign powers are to be changed it must be done by the constituted authorities, who alone, acting on a high responsibility, are competent to the purpose, and until such change is thus made that our fellow-citizens will respect the existing relations by a faithful adherence to the laws which secure them.

Believing that this enterprise, though undertaken by persons some of whom may have held commissions from some of the colonies, was unauthorized by and unknown to the colonial governments, full confidence is entertained that it will be disclaimed by them, and that effectual measures will be taken to prevent the abuse of their authority in all cases to the injury of the United States.

For these injuries, especially those proceeding from Amelia Island, Spain would be responsible if it was not manifest that, though committed in the latter instance through her territory, she was utterly unable to prevent them. Her territory, however, ought not to be made instrumental, through her inability to defend it, to purposes so injurious to the United States. To a country over which she fails to maintain her authority, and which she permits to be converted to the annoyance of her neighbors, her jurisdiction for the time necessarily ceases to exist. The territory of Spain will nevertheless be respected so far as it may be done consistently with the essential interests and safety of the United States. In expelling these adventurers from these posts it was not intended to make any conquest from Spain or to injure in any degree the cause of the colonies. Care will be taken that no part of the territory contemplated by the law of 1811 shall be occupied by a foreign government of any kind, or that injuries of the nature of those complained of shall be repeated; but this, it is expected, will be provided for with every other interest in a spirit of amity in the negotiation now depending with the Government of Spain.

JAMES MONROE.

JANUARY 13, 1818.

WASHINGTON, _January 23, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 9th of December last, requesting information of what roads have been made or are in progress under the authority of the Executive of the United States, the States and Territories through which they pass or are intended to pass, the periods when they were ordered to be made, and how far they have been executed, I now communicate a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, and likewise a report from the Secretary of War, containing the information which is desired.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _January 28, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 22d of this month, requesting to be informed "in what manner the troops in the service of the United States now operating against the Seminole tribe of Indians have been subsisted, whether by contract or otherwise, and whether they have been furnished regularly with rations," I now transmit a report from the Secretary of War containing the information required.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _January 29, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 23d of December last, requesting information relative to the imprisonment and detention in confinement of Richard W. Meade, a citizen of the United States, I now transmit to the House a report from the Secretary of State containing the information required.

JAMES MONROE.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 8th of last month, requesting me to cause to be laid before it the proceedings which may have been had under an act entitled "An act for the gradual increase of the Navy of the United States," specifying the number of ships put on the stocks and of what class; the quantity of materials procured for shipbuilding, and also the sums of money which may have been paid out of the fund created by said act, and for what objects; and likewise the contracts which may have been entered into in execution of the act aforesaid on which moneys may not yet have been advanced, I now transmit a report of the Secretary of the Navy, accompanied by a report from the Board of Commissioners of the Navy, with documents which contain the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.

FEBRUARY 2, 1818.

WASHINGTON, _February 6, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives a report of the Secretary of State, in compliance with the resolution of said House requesting information respecting the ratification of the thirteenth article of the amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1818_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

As the house appropriated for the President of the United States will be finished this year, it is thought to merit the attention of the Congress in what manner it should be furnished and what measures ought to be adopted for the safe-keeping of the furniture in future. All the public furniture provided before 1814 having been destroyed with the public buildings in that year, and little afterwards procured, owing to the inadequacy of the appropriation, it has become necessary to provide almost every article requisite for such an establishment, whence the sum to be expended will be much greater than at any former period. The furniture in its kind and extent is thought to be an object not less deserving attention than the building for which it is intended. Both being national objects, each seems to have an equal claim to legislative sanction. The disbursement of the public money, too, ought, it is presumed, to be in like manner provided for by law. The person who may happen to be placed by the suffrage of his fellow-citizens in the high trust, having no personal interest in these concerns, should be exempted from undue responsibility respecting them.

For a building so extensive, intended for a purpose exclusively national, in which in the furniture provided for it a mingled regard is due to the simplicity and purity of our institutions and to the character of the people who are represented in it, the sum already appropriated has proved altogether inadequate, The present is therefore a proper time for Congress to take the subject into consideration, with a view to all the objects claiming attention, and to regulate it by law. On a knowledge of the furniture procured and the sum expended for it a just estimate may be formed regarding the extent of the building of what will still be wanting to furnish the house. Many of the articles, being of a durable nature, may be handed down through a long series of service, and being of great value, such as plate, ought not to be left altogether and at all times to the care of servants alone. It seems to be advisable that a public agent Should be charged with it during the occasional absences of the President, and have authority to transfer it from one President to another, and likewise to make reports of occasional deficiencies, as the basis on which further provision should be made.

It may also merit consideration whether it may not be proper to commit the care of the public buildings, particularly the President's house and the Capitol, with the grounds belonging to them, including likewise the furniture of the latter, in a more special manner to a public agent. Hitherto the charge of this valuable property seems to have been connected with the structure of the buildings and committed to those employed in it. This guard will necessarily cease when the buildings are finished, at which time the interest in them will be proportionably augmented. It is presumed that this trust is, in a certain degree at least, incidental to the other duties of the superintendent of the public buildings, but it may merit consideration whether it will not be proper to charge him with it more explicitly, and to give him authority to employ one or more persons under him for these purposes.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _February 12, 1818_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I lay before the House of Representatives copies of two communications received at the Department of State from the minister of Great Britain, and submit to their consideration the propriety of making such legislative provisions as may be necessary for a compliance with the representations contained in them.

By the express terms of that compact it was, when ratified by the two Governments, to be in force for the term of four years _from the day of its signature_. The revocation of all the discriminating duties became, therefore, the obligation of both Governments _from that day_, and it is conceived that every individual who has been required to pay, and who has paid, any of the extra duties revoked by the convention has a just and lawful claim upon the respective Governments for its return. From various accidents it has happened that both here and in Great Britain the cessation of the extra duties has been fixed to commence at different times. It is desirable that Congress should pass an act providing for the return of _all_ the extra duties _incompatible with the terms of the convention_ which have been levied upon British vessels or merchandise after the 3d of July, 1815. The British Parliament have already set the example of fixing that day for the cessation of the extra duties of export by their act of 30th of June last, and the minister of the United States in London is instructed to require the extension of the same principle to _all_ the extra duties levied on vessels and merchandise of the United States in the ports of Great Britain since that day. It is not doubted that the British Government will comply with this requisition, and that the act suggested may be passed by Congress with full confidence that the reciprocal measure will receive the sanction of the British Parliament.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate requesting me to cause to be laid before them a statement of all the arms and accouterments which have been manufactured at the different armories of the United States, with the cost of each stand, and the number delivered to each State, respectively, under the act for arming the whole body of militia, I now transmit a report from the Secretary of War, with the documents marked A, B, and C, which, together with a report to him from the Ordnance Department, contains the information required.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _February 23, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 19th of January, 1818, requesting information of measures which have been taken in pursuance of so much of the act to authorize the appointment of a surveyor for lands in the northern part of the Mississippi Territory, passed the 3d of March, 1817, as relates to the reservation of certain sections for the purpose of laying out and establishing towns thereon, I now transmit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, which, with the letters and charts referred to in it, contains all the information which is desired.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _February 25, 1818_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

The commissioners of the two Governments, under the fourth article of the treaty of Ghent, having come to a decision upon the questions submitted to them, I lay before Congress copies of that decision, together with copies of the declaration signed and reported by the commissioners of this Government.

JAMES MONROE.

FEBRUARY 27, 1818.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I communicate herewith to the House of Representatives a copy of a letter from the governor of the State of South Carolina to the Secretary of State, together with extracts from the journals of proceedings in both branches of the legislature of that Commonwealth, relative to a proposed amendment of the Constitution, which letter and extracts are connected with the subject of my communication to the House of the 6th instant.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _February 28, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I lay before the House a report from the Secretary of State, together with the papers relating to the claims of merchants of the United States upon the Government of Naples, in conformity with the resolution of the House of the 30th January last.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _March 11, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate requesting information respecting the requisitions that were made on the contractors between the 1st of June and the 24th of December, 1817, for deposits of provisions in advance at the several posts on the frontiers of Georgia and the adjoining territory, their conduct in compliance therewith, the amount of money advanced to B. G. Orr, and the extent of his failure, with a copy of the articles of contract entered into with him, I now lay before the Senate a report from the Secretary of War, which, with the documents accompanying it, will afford the information desired.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1818_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 16th of December and of the House of Representatives of the 24th of February last, I lay before Congress a report of the Secretary of State, and the papers referred to in it, respecting the negotiation with the Government of Spain. To explain fully the nature of the differences between the United States and Spain and the conduct of the parties it has been found necessary to go back to an early epoch. The recent correspondence, with the documents accompanying it, will give a full view of the whole subject, and place the conduct of the United States in every stage and under every circumstance, for justice, moderation, and a firm adherence to their rights, on the high and honorable ground which it has invariably sustained.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _March 16, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the United States of the 31st of December last, requesting the President to cause to be laid before them a statement of the proceedings which may have been had under the act of Congress passed on the 3d March, 1817, entitled "An act to set apart and dispose of certain public lands for the encouragement and cultivation of the vine and olive," I now transmit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, containing all the information possessed by the Executive relating to the proceedings under the said act.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _March 16, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the United States of the 3d of February last, requesting the President to cause to be laid before them "a statement of the progress made under the act to provide for surveying the coast of the United States, passed February 10, 1807, and any subsequent acts on the same subject, and the expenses incurred thereby," I transmit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury containing the information required.

JAMES MONROE.

MARCH 19, 1818.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

In the course of the last summer a negotiation was commenced with the Government of the Netherlands with a view to the revival and modification of the commercial treaty existing between the two countries, adapted to their present circumstances.

The report from the Secretary of State which I now lay before Congress will show the obstacles which arose in the progress of the conferences between the respective plenipotentiaries, and which resulted in the agreement between them then to refer the subject to the consideration of their respective Governments. As the difficulties appear to be of a nature which may, perhaps, for the present be more easily removed by reciprocal legislative regulations, formed in the spirit of amity and conciliation, than by conventional stipulations, Congress may think it advisable to leave the subsisting treaty in its present state, and to meet the liberal exemption from discriminating tonnage duties which has been conceded in the Netherlands to the vessels of the United States by a similar exemption to the vessels of the Netherlands which have arrived, or may hereafter arrive, in our ports, commencing from the time when the exemption was granted to the vessels of the United States. I would further recommend to the consideration of Congress the expediency of extending the benefit of the same regulation, to commence from the passage of the law, to the vessels of Russia, Hamburg, and Bremen, and of making it prospectively general in favor of every nation in whose ports the vessels of the United States are admitted on the same footing as their own.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _March 23, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I lay before the Senate a report from the Secretary of the Navy, with the estimate of the expense which will be incurred by the establishment of two dockyards for repairing vessels of the largest size.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1818_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

I now lay before Congress all the information in the possession of the Executive respecting the war with the Seminoles, and the measures which it has been thought proper to adopt for the safety of our fellow-citizens on the frontier exposed to their ravages. The inclosed documents show that the hostilities of this tribe were unprovoked, the offspring of a spirit long cherished and often manifested toward the United States, and that in the present instance it was extending itself to other tribes and daily assuming a more serious aspect. As soon as the nature and object of this combination were perceived the major-general commanding the Southern division of the troops of the United States was ordered to the theater of action, charged with the management of the war and vested with the powers necessary to give it effect. The season of the year being unfavorable to active operations, and the recesses of the country affording shelter to these savages in case of retreat, may prevent a prompt termination of the war; but it may be fairly presumed that it will not be long before this tribe and its associates receive the punishment which they have provoked and justly merited.

As almost the whole of this tribe inhabits the country within the limits of Florida, Spain was bound by the treaty of 1795 to restrain them from committing hostilities against the United States. We have seen with regret that her Government has altogether failed to fulfill this obligation, nor are we aware that it made any effort to that effect. When we consider her utter inability to check, even in the slightest degree, the movements of this tribe by her very small and incompetent force in Florida, we are not disposed to ascribe the failure to any other cause. The inability, however, of Spain to maintain her authority over the territory and Indians within her limits, and in consequence to fulfill the treaty, ought not to expose the United States to other and greater injuries. When the authority of Spain ceases to exist there, the United States have a right to pursue their enemy on a principle of self-defense. In this instance the right is more complete and obvious because we shall perform only what Spain was bound to have performed herself. To the high obligations and privileges of this great and sacred right of self-defense will the movement of our troops be strictly confined. Orders have been given to the general in command not to enter Florida unless it be in pursuit of the enemy, and in that case to respect the Spanish authority wherever it is maintained; and he will be instructed to withdraw his forces from the Province as soon as he shall have reduced that tribe to order, and secure our fellow-citizens in that quarter by satisfactory arrangements against its unprovoked and savage hostilities in future.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In conformity with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 5th of December last, I now transmit a report of the Secretary of State, with a copy of the documents which it is thought proper to communicate relating to the independence and political condition of the Provinces of Spanish America,

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _March 26, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives, in compliance with their resolution of March 20, such information not heretofore communicated as is in the possession of the Executive relating to the occupation of Amelia Island. If any doubt had before existed of the improper conduct of the persons who authorized and of those who were engaged in the invasion and previous occupancy of that island, of the unfriendly spirit toward the United States with which it was commenced and prosecuted, and of its injurious effect on their highest interests, particularly by its tendency to compromit them with foreign powers in all the unwarrantable acts of the adventurers, it is presumed that these documents would remove it. It appears by the letter of Mr. Pazos, agent of Commodore Aury, that the project of seizing the Floridas was formed and executed at a time when it was understood that Spain had resolved to cede them to the United States, and to prevent such cession from taking effect. The whole proceeding in every stage and circumstance was unlawful. The commission to General M'Gregor was granted at Philadelphia in direct violation of a positive law, and all the measures pursued under it by him in collecting his force and directing its movements were equally unlawful. With the conduct of these persons I have always been unwilling to connect any of the colonial governments, because I never could believe that they had given their sanction either to the project in its origin or to the measures which were pursued in the execution of it. These documents confirm the opinion which I have invariably entertained and expressed in their favor.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _March 28, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate relative to the pensioners of the United States, the sum annually paid to each, and the States or Territories in which said pensioners are respectively paid, I now transmit a report from the Secretary of War, which, with documents marked A and B, contains all the information required.

JAMES MONROE.

APRIL 6, 1818.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

An arrangement having been made and concluded between this Government and that of Great Britain with respect to the naval armament of the two Governments, respectively, on the Lakes, I lay before the Senate a copy of the correspondence upon that subject, including the stipulations mutually agreed upon by the two parties. I submit it to the consideration of the Senate whether this is such an arrangement as the Executive is competent to enter into by the powers vested in it by the Constitution, or is such an one as requires the advice and consent of the Senate, and, in the latter case, for their advice and consent should it be approved.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _April 9, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate requesting me to cause to be laid before them a list of the names of the several agents of Indian affairs and of agents of Indian trading houses, with the pay and emolument of the agents, respectively, I now transmit a report from the Secretary of War, which contains the information required.

JAMES MONROE.

APRIL 10, 1818.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate respecting the supplies of the Northwestern army, within certain periods therein specified, by contractors, commissaries, and agents, and the expense thereby incurred, I now transmit to them a report from the Secretary of War, which, with the documents accompanying it, will afford the information required.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _April 15, 1818_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th instant, relative to the capture and imprisonment of certain persons, citizens of the United States, therein specifically mentioned, I now transmit a report from the Secretary of State, which, with the documents accompanying it, embraces the objects contemplated by the said resolution.

JAMES MONROE.

WASHINGTON, _April 20, 1818_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate a copy of the rules, regulations, and instructions for the naval service of the United States, prepared by the Board of Navy Commissioners in obedience to an act of Congress passed 7th of February, 1815, entitled "An act to alter and amend the several acts for establishing a Navy Department by adding thereto a Board of Commissioners."

JAMES MONROE.

PROCLAMATIONS.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas by an act of the lieutenant-governor, council, and assembly of His Britannic Majesty's Province of Nova Scotia, passed in the year 1816, it was, among other things, enacted that from and after the 1st day of May of that year "no plaster of paris, otherwise called gypsum, which should be laden or put on board any ship or vessel at any port or place within the limits of the said Province to be transported from thence to any other port or place within or without the said limits should, directly or indirectly, be unladen or landed or put on shore at any port or place in the United States of America eastward of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, nor unladen or put on board any American ship, vessel, boat, or shallop of any description at any port or place eastward of Boston aforesaid, under the penalty of the forfeiture of every such ship or vessel from which any such plaster of paris, or gypsum, should be unladen contrary to the provision of the said act, together with her boats, tackle, apparel, and furniture, to be seized and prosecuted in the manner thereinafter mentioned;" and

Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States passed on the 3d day of March, 1817, it was enacted that from and after the 4th day of July then next no plaster of paris the production of any country or its dependencies from which the vessels of the United States were not permitted to bring the same article should be imported into the United States in any foreign vessel, and that all plaster of paris imported or attempted to be imported into the United States contrary to the true intent and meaning of the said act of Congress, and the vessel in which the same might be imported or attempted to be imported, together with the cargo, tackle, apparel, and furniture, should be forfeited to the United States and liable to be seized, prosecuted, and condemned in the manner therein prescribed; and

Whereas by the said act of Congress it was further enacted that the same should continue and be in force five years from January 31, 1817; provided, nevertheless, that if any foreign nation or its dependencies which at the time of the passage of the said act of Congress had in force regulations on the subject of the trade in plaster of paris prohibiting the exportation thereof to certain ports of the United States should discontinue such regulations, the President of the United States was thereby authorized to declare that fact by his proclamation, and the restrictions imposed by the said act of Congress should from the date of such proclamation cease and be discontinued in relation to the nation or its dependencies discontinuing such regulations; and

Whereas an act of the lieutenant-governor, council, and assembly of His Britannic Majesty's Province of Nova Scotia, repealing the above-mentioned act of the said Province, passed in the year 1816, has been officially communicated by his said Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to this Government; and

Whereas by the said repealing act of the said Province of Nova Scotia, one of the dependencies of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the regulations at the time of the passage of the said act of Congress in force in the said Province on the subject of the trade in plaster of paris, prohibiting the exportation thereof to certain ports of the United States, have been and are discontinued:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States of America, do by this my proclamation declare that fact, and that the restrictions imposed by the said act of Congress do from the date hereof cease and are discontinued in relation to His Britannic Majesty's said Province of Nova Scotia.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 23d day of April, A. D. 1818, and in the forty-second year of the Independence of the United States.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
John Quincy Adams
_Secretary of State_.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas an arrangement was entered into at the city of Washington in the month of April, A.D. 1817, between Richard Rush, esq., at that time acting as Secretary for the Department of State of the United States, for and in behalf of the Government of the United States, and the Right Honorable Charles Bagot, His Britannic Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, for and in behalf of His Britannic Majesty, which arrangement is in the words following, to wit:

The naval force to be maintained upon the American lakes by His
Majesty and the Government of the United States shall henceforth
be confined to the following vessels on each side; that is--

On Lake Ontario, to one vessel not exceeding 100 tons burden and
armed with one 18-pound cannon.

On the upper lakes, to two vessels not exceeding like burden each
and armed with like force.

On the waters of Lake Champlain, to one vessel not exceeding like
burden and armed with like force.

All other armed vessels on these lakes shall be forthwith dismantled,
and no other vessels of war shall be there built or armed.

If either party should hereafter be-desirous of annulling this
stipulation, and should give notice to that effect to the other
party, it shall cease to be binding after the expiration of six
months from the date of such notice.

The naval force so to be limited shall be restricted to such services
as will in no respect interfere with the proper duties of the armed
vessels of the other party.

And whereas the Senate of the United States have approved of the said arrangement and recommended that it should be carried into effect, the same having also received the sanction of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, acting in the name and on the behalf of His Britannic Majesty:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States, do by this my proclamation make known and declare that the arrangement aforesaid and every stipulation thereof has been duly entered into, concluded, and confirmed, and is of full force and effect.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 28th day of April, A.D. 1818, and of the Independence of the United States the forty-second.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
John Quincy Adams,
_Secretary of State_.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas it appears by a proclamation of the lieutenant-governor of His Britannic Majesty's Province of New Brunswick bearing date the 10th day of April last, and officially communicated by his envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary residing in the United States to this Government, that the regulations on the subject of the trade in plaster of paris, prohibiting the exportation thereof to certain ports of the United States, which were in force in the said Province at the time of the enactment of the act of the Congress of the United States entitled "An act to regulate the trade in plaster of paris," passed on the 3d day of March, 1817, have been and are discontinued:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States, do hereby declare that fact, and that the restrictions imposed by the said act of Congress shall from the date hereof cease and be discontinued in relation to the said Province of New Brunswick.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 4th day of July, A.D. 1818, and in the forty-third year of the Independence of the United States.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
John Quincy Adams,
_Secretary of State_.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States of the 3d of March, 1815, so much of the several acts imposing duties on the ships and vessels and on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the United States as imposed a discriminating duty of tonnage between foreign vessels and vessels of the United States and between goods imported into the United States in foreign vessels and vessels of the United States were repealed so far as the same respected the produce or manufacture of the nation to which such foreign ship or vessel might belong, such repeal to take effect in favor of any foreign nation whenever the President of the United States should be satisfied that the discriminating or countervailing duties of such foreign nation so far as they operate to the disadvantage of the United States have been abolished; and

Whereas satisfactory proof has been received by me from the burgo-masters and senators of the free and Hanseatic city of Bremen that from and after the 12th day of May, 1815, all discriminating or countervailing duties of the said city so far as they operated to the disadvantage of the United States have been and are abolished:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States of America, do hereby declare and proclaim that so much of the several acts imposing duties on the tonnage of ships and vessels and on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the United States as imposed a discriminating duty of tonnage between vessels of the free and Hanseatic city of Bremen and vessels of the United States and between goods imported into the United States in vessels of Bremen and vessels of the United States are repealed so far as the same respect the produce or manufacture of the said free Hanseatic city of Bremen.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 24th day of July, A.D. 1818, and the forty-third year of the Independence of the United States.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,
_Secretary of State_.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States of the 3d of March, 1815, so much of the several acts imposing duties on the ships and vessels and on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the United States as imposed a discriminating duty of tonnage between foreign vessels and vessels of the United States and between goods imported into the United States in foreign vessels and vessels of the United States were repealed so far as the same respected the produce or manufacture of the nation to which such foreign ship or vessel might belong, such repeal to take effect in favor of any foreign nation whenever the President of the United States should be satisfied that the discriminating or countervailing duties of such foreign nation so far as they operate to the disadvantage of the United States have been abolished; and

Whereas satisfactory proof has been received by me from the burgo-masters and senators of the free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg that from and after the 13th day of November, 1815, all discriminating and countervailing duties of the said city so far as they operated to the disadvantage of the United States have been and are abolished:

Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States of America, do hereby declare and proclaim that so much of the several acts imposing duties on the tonnage of ships and vessels and on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the United States as imposed a discriminating duty of tonnage between vessels of the free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg and vessels of the United States and between goods imported into the United States in vessels of Hamburg and vessels of the United States are repealed so far as the same respect the produce or manufacture of the said free Hanseatic city of Hamburg.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 1st day of August, A.D. 1818, and the forty-third year of the Independence of the United States.

JAMES MONROE.

By the President:
John Quincy Adams,
_Secretary of State_.

SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE.

NOVEMBER 16, 1818.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_:

The auspicious circumstances under which you will commence the duties of the present session will lighten the burdens inseparable from the high trust committed to you. The fruits of the earth have been unusually abundant, commerce has flourished, the revenue has exceeded the most favorable anticipation, and peace and amity are preserved with foreign nations on conditions just and honorable to our country. For these inestimable blessings we can not but be grateful to that Providence which watches over the destiny of nations.

As the term limited for the operation of the commercial convention with Great Britain will expire early in the month of July next, and it was deemed important that there should be no interval during which that portion of our commerce which was provided for by that convention should not be regulated, either by arrangement between the two Governments or by the authority of Congress, the minister of the United States at London was instructed early in the last summer to invite the attention of the British Government to the subject, with a view to that object. He was instructed to propose also that the negotiation which it was wished to open might extend to the general commerce of the two countries, and to every other interest and unsettled difference between them, particularly those relating to impressment, the fisheries, and boundaries, in the hope that an arrangement might be made on principles of reciprocal advantage which might comprehend and provide in a satisfactory manner for all these high concerns. I have the satisfaction to state that the proposal was received by the British Government in the spirit which prompted it, and that a negotiation has been opened at London embracing all these objects. On full consideration of the great extent and magnitude of the trust it was thought proper to commit it to not less than two of our distinguished citizens, and in consequence the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States at Paris has been associated with our envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at London, to both of whom corresponding instructions have been given, and they are now engaged in the discharge of its duties. It is proper to add that to prevent any inconvenience resulting from the delay incident to a negotiation on so many important subjects it was agreed before entering on it that the existing convention should be continued for a term not less than eight years.

Our relations with Spain remain nearly in the state in which they were at the close of the last session. The convention of 1802, providing for the adjustment of a certain portion of the claims of our citizens for injuries sustained by spoliation, and so long suspended by the Spanish Government, has at length been ratified by it, but no arrangement has yet been made for the payment of another portion of like claims, not less extensive or well founded, or for other classes of claims, or for the settlement of boundaries. These subjects have again been brought under consideration in both countries, but no agreement has been entered into respecting them. In the meantime events have occurred which clearly prove the ill effect of the policy which that Government has so long pursued on the friendly relations of the two countries, which it is presumed is at least of as much importance to Spain as to the United States to maintain. A state of things has existed in the Floridas the tendency of which has been obvious to all who have paid the slightest attention to the progress of affairs in that quarter. Throughout the whole of those Provinces to which the Spanish title extends the Government of Spain has scarcely been felt. Its authority has been confined almost exclusively to the walls of Pensacola and St. Augustine, within which only small garrisons have been maintained. Adventurers from every country, fugitives from justice, and absconding slaves have found an asylum there. Several tribes of Indians, strong in the number of their warriors, remarkable for their ferocity, and whose settlements extend to our limits, inhabit those Provinces. These different hordes of people, connected together, disregarding on the one side the authority of Spain, and protected on the other by an imaginary line which separates Florida from the United States, have violated our laws prohibiting the introduction of slaves, have practiced various frauds on our revenue, and committed every kind of outrage on our peaceable citizens which their proximity to us enabled them to perpetrate. The invasion of Amelia Island last year by a small band of adventurers, not exceeding 150 in number, who wrested it from the inconsiderable Spanish force stationed there, and held it several months, during which a single feeble effort only was made to recover it, which failed, clearly proves how completely extinct the Spanish authority had become, as the conduct of those adventurers while in possession of the island as distinctly shows the pernicious purposes for which their combination had been formed.