Chapter V: Front Matter (5)

I feel it to be my duty to invite your attention to the accompanying communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, in relation to the probable demands which will be made upon the Treasury for the present quarter. It will be seen that, without arresting the requisitions which will be made by the War and Navy Departments for the months of March, April, and May, there will be an unprovided-for deficit of upward of three millions.

I can not bring myself, however, to believe that it will enter into the view of any department of the Government to arrest works of defense now in progress of completion or vessels under construction or preparation for sea. Having due regard to the unsettled condition of our foreign relations and the exposed situation of our inland and maritime frontier, I should feel myself wanting in my duty to the country if I could hesitate in urging upon Congress all necessary appropriations for placing it in an attitude of strength and security. Such recommendation, however, has heretofore been made in full reliance as well on Congress as on the well-known patriotism of the people, their high sense of national honor, and their determination to defend our soil from the possibility, however remote, of a hostile invasion.

The diminution in the revenue arising from the great diminution of duties under what is commonly called the compromise act necessarily involves the Treasury in embarrassments, which have been for some years palliated by the temporary expedient of issuing Treasury notes--an expedient which, affording no permanent relief, has imposed upon Congress from time to time the necessity of replacing the old by a new issue. The amount outstanding on the 4th of March, 1840, varies in no great degree from the amount which will be outstanding on the 1st of January next, while in the interim the new issues are rendered equivalent to the redemption of the old, and at the end of the fiscal year leave an augmented pressure on the finances by the accumulation of interest.

The contemplated revision of the tariff of duties may, and doubtless will, lead in the end to a relief of the Treasury from these constantly recurring embarrassments, but it must be obvious that time will be necessary to realize the full anticipations of financial benefit from any modification of the tariff laws. In the meantime I submit to Congress the suggestions made by the Secretary, and invite its prompt and speedy action.

JOHN TYLER.

WASHINGTON, _March 8, 1842_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

In my message of the 7th of December I suggested to Congress the propriety, and in some degree the necessity, of making proper provisions by law within the pale of the Constitution for the removal at their commencement and at the option of the party of all such cases as might arise in State courts involving national questions or questions touching the faithful observance and discharge of the international obligations of the United States from such State tribunal to the Federal judiciary. I am urged to repeat at this time this recommendation by the receipt of intelligence, upon which I can rely, that a subject of Great Britain residing in Upper Canada has been arrested upon a charge of connection with the expedition fitted out by the Canadian authorities by which the _Caroline_ was destroyed, and will in all probability be subjected to trial in the State courts of New York. It is doubtful whether in this state of things, should his discharge be demanded by the British Government, this Government is invested with any control over the subject until the case shall have reached the court of final resort of the State of New York and been decided in that court; and although such delay ought not, in a national point of view to give cause of umbrage to Great Britain, yet the prompt and instant rendering of justice to foreign nations should be placed among our highest duties. I can not, therefore, in consideration of what properly becomes the United States, and in anticipation of any demand from a foreign government for the discharge of one of its subjects, forego the duty of repeating my recommendation to Congress for the immediate Adoption of some suitable legislative provision on this subject.

JOHN TYLER.

WASHINGTON, _March 11, 1842_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 23d ultimo, I communicate to that body a report from the Secretary of State, conveying copies of the correspondence[26] which contains the information called for by said resolution.

JOHN TYLER.

[Footnote 26: Relating to complaints of Spain and Portugal that the operation of the revenue act of September 11, 1841, infringed treaty stipulations.]

WASHINGTON, _March 12, 1842_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I have reason to think that the rejection of Silas Reed as surveyor-general of Illinois and Missouri on the evening of the last day of the session of the Senate at the last session of Congress was founded in a misapprehension of facts, which, while it deprived the public of the services of a useful officer, left him to suffer a considerable degree of injustice in his reputation. After mature reflection upon all the circumstances of his case, and particularly of facts which have become known since his rejection, I have felt it my duty to submit his nomination for the same office anew to the Senate for its advice and consent.

I therefore nominate Silas Reed to be surveyor-general of Illinois and Missouri, in place of Joseph C. Brown, removed.

JOHN TYLER.

MARCH 15, 1842.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I take the earliest moment to correct an error into which I inadvertently fell in my message of the 12th instant, nominating Silas Reed to be surveyor-general for Illinois and Missouri. In that message I represent the nominee as being rejected by the Senate on the evening of the last day of the last session of Congress, when upon a more accurate inquiry I find that he was rejected on the 14th of August, 1841, and his successor nominated on the 23d August and confirmed on the 13th September, which was the last day of the last session of Congress, and which fact had become identified in my memory, upon which I drew when I wrote the message, with the fact of his rejection.

I hasten to make the correction, not deeming it, however, of much moment in regard to the real merits of the nomination; for whether the rejection occurred on the last or any other day of the session, if done under a misapprehension or mistake of the facts, the Senate, I doubt not, will take equal pleasure in correcting the error.

JOHN TYLER.

WASHINGTON, _March 17, 1842_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 2d ultimo, requesting information in regard to the demarcation of the boundary line between the United States and the Republic of Texas, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers by which it was accompanied.

JOHN TYLER.

WASHINGTON, _March 17, 1842_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I have the honor to submit the accompanying report and documents[27] from the Postmaster-General, in compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 16th February.

JOHN TYLER.

[Footnote 27: Statements of the quantity and cost of labor and materials for the new public buildings in Washington, D.C., etc.]

WASHINGTON, _March 23, 1842_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

A resolution adopted by the House of Representatives on the 16th instant, in the following words, viz, "_Resolved_, That the President of the United States and the heads of the several Departments be requested to communicate to the House of Representatives the names of such of the members (if any) of the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses who have been applicants for office, and for what offices, distinguishing between those who have applied in person and those whose applications were made by friends, whether in person or by writing," has been transmitted to me for my consideration.

If it were consistent with the rights and duties of the executive department, it would afford me great pleasure to furnish in this, as in all cases in which proper information is demanded, a ready compliance with the wishes of the House of Representatives. But since, in my view, general considerations of policy and propriety, as well as a proper defense of the rights and safeguards of the executive department, require of me as the Chief Magistrate to refuse compliance with the terms of this resolution, it is incumbent on me to urge, for the consideration of the House of Representatives, my reasons for declining to give the desired information.

All appointments to office made by a President become from the date of their nomination to the Senate official acts, which are matter of record and are at the proper time made known to the House of Representatives and to the country. But applications for office, or letters respecting appointments, or conversations held with individuals on such subjects are not official proceedings, and can not by any means be made to partake of the character of official proceedings unless after the nomination of such person so writing or conversing the President shall think proper to lay such correspondence or such conversations before the Senate. Applications for office are in their very nature confidential, and if the reasons assigned for such applications or the names of the applicants were communicated, not only would such implied confidence be wantonly violated, but, in addition, it is quite obvious that a mass of vague, incoherent, and personal matter would be made public at a vast consumption of time, money, and trouble without accomplishing or tending in any manner to accomplish, as it appears to me, any useful object connected with a sound and constitutional administration of the Government in any of its branches.

But there is a consideration of a still more effective and lofty character which is with me entirely decisive of the correctness of the view that I have taken of this question. While I shall ever evince the greatest readiness to communicate to the House of Representatives all proper information which the House shall deem necessary to a due discharge of its constitutional obligations and functions, yet it becomes me, in defense of the Constitution and laws of the United States, to protect the executive department from all encroachment on its powers, rights, and duties. In my judgment a compliance with the resolution which has been transmitted to me would be a surrender of duties and powers which the Constitution has conferred exclusively on the Executive, and therefore such compliance can not be made by me nor by the heads of Departments by my direction. The appointing power, so far as it is bestowed on the President by the Constitution, is conferred without reserve or qualification. The reason for the appointment and the responsibility of the appointment rest with him alone. I can not perceive anywhere in the Constitution of the United States any right conferred on the House of Representatives to hear the reasons which an applicant may urge for an appointment to office under the executive department, or any duty resting upon the House of Representatives by which it may become responsible for any such appointment.

Any assumption or misapprehension on the part of the House of Representatives of its duties and powers in respect to appointments by which it encroaches on the rights and duties of the executive department is to the extent to which it reaches dangerous, impolitic, and unconstitutional.

For these reasons, so perfectly convincing to my mind, I beg leave respectfully to repeat, in conclusion, that I can not comply with the request contained in the above resolution.

JOHN TYLER.

WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1842_.

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

Notwithstanding the urgency with which I have on more than one occasion felt it my duty to press upon Congress the necessity of providing the Government with the means of discharging its debts and maintaining inviolate the public faith, the increasing embarrassments of the Treasury impose upon me the indispensable obligation of again inviting your most serious attention to the condition of the finances. Fortunately for myself in thus bringing this important subject to your view for a deliberate and comprehensive examination in all its bearings, and I trust I may add for a final adjustment of it to the common advantage of the whole Union, I am permitted to approach it with perfect freedom and candor. As few of the burdens for which provision is now required to be made have been brought upon the country during my short administration of its affairs, I have neither motive nor wish to make them a matter of crimination against any of my predecessors. I am disposed to regard, as I am bound to treat, them _as facts_ which can not now be undone, and as deeply interesting to us all, and equally imposing upon all the most solemn duties; and the only use I would make of the errors of the past is by a careful examination of their causes and character to avoid if possible the repetition of them in future. The condition of the country, indeed, is such as may well arrest the conflict of parties.

The conviction seems at length to have made its way to the minds of all that the disproportion between the public responsibilities and the means provided for meeting them is no casual nor transient evil. It is, on the contrary, one which for some years to come, notwithstanding a resort to all reasonable retrenchments and the constant progress of the country in population and productive power, must continue to increase under existing laws, unless we consent to give up or impair all our defenses in war and peace. But this is a thought which I am persuaded no patriotic mind would for a moment entertain. Without affecting an alarm, which I do not feel, in regard to our foreign relations, it may safely be affirmed that they are in a state too critical and involve too many momentous issues to permit us to neglect in the least, much less to abandon entirely, those means of asserting our rights without which negotiation is without dignity and peace without security.

In the report of the Secretary of the Treasury submitted to Congress at the commencement of the present session it is estimated that after exhausting all the probable resources of the year there will remain a deficit of about $14,000,000. With a view partly to a permanent system of revenue and partly to immediate relief from actual embarrassment, that officer recommended, together with a plan for establishing a Government exchequer, some expedients of a more temporary character, viz, the issuing of Treasury notes and the extension of the time for which the loan authorized to be negotiated by the act of the last session should be taken. Congress accordingly provided for an issue of Treasury notes to the amount of $5,000,000, but subject to the condition that they should not be paid away below par.

No measure connected with the last of the two objects above mentioned was introduced until recently into the House of Representatives. Should the loan bill now pending before that body pass into a law for its present amount, there would still remain a deficit of $2,500,000. It requires no argument to show that such a condition of the Treasury is incompatible not only with a high state of public credit, but with anything approaching to efficiency in the conduct of public affairs. It must be obvious even to the most inexperienced minds that, to say nothing of any particular exigency, actual or imminent, there should be at all times in the Treasury of a great nation, with a view to contingencies of ordinary occurrence, a surplus at least equal in amount to the above deficiency. But that deficiency, serious as it would be in itself, will, I am compelled to say, rather be increased than diminished without the adoption of measures adequate to correct the evil at once. The stagnation of trade and business, in some degree incident to the derangement of the national finances and the state of the revenue laws, holds out but little prospect of relief, in the ordinary course of things, for some time to come.

Under such circumstances I am deeply impressed with the necessity of meeting the crisis with a vigor and decision which it imperatively demands at the hands of all intrusted with the conduct of public affairs. The gravity of the evil calls for a remedy proportioned to it. No slight palliatives or occasional expedients will give the country the relief it needs. Such measures, on the contrary, will in the end, as is now manifest to all, too surely multiply its embarrassments. Relying, as I am bound to do, on the representatives of a people rendered illustrious among nations by having paid off its whole public debt, I shall not shrink from the responsibility imposed upon me by the Constitution of pointing out such measures as will in my opinion insure adequate relief. I am the more encouraged to recommend the course which necessity exacts by the confidence which I have in its complete success. The resources of the country in everything that constitutes the wealth and strength of nations are so abundant, the spirit of a most industrious, enterprising, and intelligent people is so energetic and elastic, that the Government will be without the shadow of excuse for its delinquency if the difficulties which now embarrass it be not speedily and effectually removed.

From present indications it is hardly doubtful that Congress will find it necessary to lay additional duties on imports in order to meet the ordinary current expenses of the Government. In the exercise of a sound discrimination having reference to revenue, but at the same time necessarily affording incidental protection to manufacturing industry, it seems equally probable that duties on some articles of importation will have to be advanced above 20 per cent. In performing this important work of revising the tariff of duties, which in the present emergency would seem to be indispensable, I can not too strongly recommend the cultivation of a spirit of mutual harmony and concession, to which the Government itself owes its origin, and without the continued exercise of which jarring and discord would universally prevail.

An additional reason for the increase of duties in some instances beyond the rate of 20 per cent will exist in fulfilling the recommendations already made, and now repeated, of making adequate appropriations for the defenses of the country.

By the express provision of the act distributing the proceeds of the sales of the public lands among the States its operation is _ipso facto_ to cease so soon as the rate of the duties shall exceed the limits prescribed in the act.

In recommending the adoption of measures for distributing the proceeds of the public lands among the States at the commencement of the last session of Congress such distribution was urged by arguments and considerations which appeared to me then and appear to me now of great weight, and was placed on the condition that it should not render necessary any departure from the act of 1833. It is with sincere regret that I now perceive the necessity of departing from that act, because I am well aware that expectations justly entertained by some of the States will be disappointed by any occasion which shall withhold from them the proceeds of the lands. But the condition was plainly expressed in the message and was inserted in terms equally plain in the law itself, and amidst the embarrassments which surround the country on all sides and beset both the General and the State Governments it appears to me that the object first and highest in importance is to establish the credit of this Government and to place it on durable foundations, and thus afford the most effectual support to the credit of the States, equal at least to what it would receive from a direct distribution of the proceeds of the sales of the public lands.

When the distribution law was passed there was reason to anticipate that there soon would be a real surplus to distribute. On that assumption it was in my opinion a wise, a just, and a beneficent measure. But to continue it in force while there is no such surplus to distribute and when it is manifestly necessary not only to increase the duties, but at the same time to borrow money in order to liquidate the public debt and disembarrass the public Treasury, would cause it to be regarded as an unwise alienation of the best security of the public creditor, which would with difficulty be excused and could not be justified.

Causes of no ordinary character have recently depressed American credit in the stock market of the world to a degree quite unprecedented. I need scarcely mention the condition of the banking institutions of some of the States, the vast amount of foreign debt contracted during a period of wild speculation by corporations and individuals, and, above all, the Doctrine of repudiation of contracts solemnly entered into by States, which, although as yet applied only under circumstances of a peculiar character and generally rebuked with severity by the moral sense of the community, is yet so very licentious and, in a Government depending wholly on opinion, so very alarming that the impression made by it to our disadvantage as a people is anything but surprising. Under such circumstances it is imperatively due from us to the people whom we represent that when we go into the money market to contract a loan we should tender such securities as to cause the money lender, as well at home as abroad, to feel that the most propitious opportunity is afforded him of investing profitably and judiciously his capital. A government which has paid off the debts of two wars, waged with the most powerful nation of modern times, should not be brought to the necessity of chaffering for terms in the money market. Under such circumstances as I have adverted to our object should be to produce with the capitalist a feeling of entire confidence, by a tender of that sort of security which in all times past has been esteemed sufficient, and which for the small amount of our proposed indebtedness will unhesitatingly be regarded as amply adequate. While a pledge of all the revenues amounts to no more than is implied in every instance when the Government contracts a debt, and although it ought in ordinary circumstances to be entirely satisfactory, yet in times like these the capitalist would feel better satisfied with the pledge of a specific fund, ample in magnitude to the payment of his interest and ultimate reimbursement of his principal. Such is the character of the land fund. The most vigilant money dealer will readily perceive that not only will his interest be secure on such a pledge, but that a debt of $18,000,000 or $20,000,000 would by the surplus of sales over and above the payment of the interest be extinguished within any reasonable time fixed for its redemption. To relieve the Treasury from its embarrassments and to aid in meeting its requisitions until time is allowed for any new tariff of duties to become available, it would seem to be necessary to fund a debt approaching to $15,000,000; and in order to place the negotiation of the loan beyond a reasonable doubt I submit to Congress whether the proceeds of the sales of the public lands should not be pledged for the payment of the interest, and the Secretary of the Treasury be authorized out of the surplus of the proceeds of such sales to purchase the stock, when it can be procured on such terms as will render it beneficial in that way, to extinguish the debt and prevent the accumulation of such surplus while its distribution is suspended.

No one can doubt that were the Federal Treasury now as prosperous as it was ten years ago and its fiscal operations conducted by an efficient agency of its own, coextensive with the Union, the embarrassments of the States and corporations in them would produce, even if they continued as they are (were that possible), effects far less disastrous than those now experienced. It is the disorder here, at the heart and center of the system, that paralyzes and deranges every part of it. Who does not know the permanent importance, not to the Federal Government alone, but to every State and every individual within its jurisdiction, even in their most independent and isolated individual pursuits, of the preservation of a sound state of public opinion and a judicious administration here? The sympathy is instantaneous and universal. To attempt to remedy the evil of the deranged credit and currency of the States while the disease is allowed to rage in the vitals of this Government would be a hopeless undertaking.

It is the full conviction of this truth which emboldens me most earnestly to recommend to your early and serious consideration the measures now submitted to your better judgment, as well as those to which your attention has been already invited. The first great want of the country, that without answering which all attempts at bettering the present condition of things will prove fruitless, is a complete restoration of the credit and finances of the Federal Government. The source and foundation of all credit is in the confidence which the Government inspires, and just in proportion as that confidence shall be shaken or diminished will be the distrust among all classes of the community and the derangement and demoralization in every branch of business and all the interests of the country. Keep up the standard of good faith and punctuality in the operations of the General Government, and all partial irregularities and disorders will be rectified by the influence of its example; but suffer that standard to be debased or disturbed, and it is impossible to foresee to what a degree of degradation and confusion all financial interests, public and private, may sink. In such a country as this the representatives of the people have only to will it, and the public credit will be as high as it ever was.

My own views of the measures calculated to effect this great and desirable object I have thus frankly expressed to Congress under circumstances which give to the entire subject a peculiar and solemn interest. The Executive can do no more. If the credit of the country be exposed to question, if the public defenses be broken down or weakened, if the whole administration of public affairs be embarrassed for want of the necessary means for conducting them with vigor and effect, I trust that this department of the Government will be found to have done all that was in its power to avert such evils, and will be acquitted of all just blame on account of them.

JOHN TYLER.

WASHINGTON, _March 25, 1842_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I have the honor herewith to submit a report[28] from the Secretary of the Navy, in compliance with your resolution of the 18th February, 1842.

JOHN TYLER.

[Footnote 28: Transmitting list of agents, etc., employed by the Navy Department without express authority of law, etc.]

WASHINGTON, _March 30, 1842_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit to the House of Representatives two extracts from a note of the chargé d'affaires of the Republic of Texas accredited to this Government to the Department of State, one suggesting in behalf of his Government such modifications of the existing laws of the United States as will impart greater facility to the trade between the two countries, particularly to that which passes across their frontier, and the other expressing a desire for some regulation on the part of this Government by means of which the communication by post between the United States and Texas may be improved.

As the wishes of the Texan Government in relation to those subjects can only be gratified by means of laws to be passed by Congress, they are accordingly referred to the consideration of the two Houses.

JOHN TYLER.

[The same message was sent to the Senate.]

WASHINGTON, _April 1, 1842_.

_To the Senate_:

In part compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 20th of July, 1841, I transmit herewith a report[29] from the Department of War.

JOHN TYLER.

[Footnote 29: Transmitting list of removals from and appointments to office in the Department of War from March 4, 1829, to September 30, 1841.]

WASHINGTON, _April 1, 1842_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

In compliance with your resolution of the 21st of March, I have the honor to submit the accompanying communication[30] from the Secretary of the Navy.

JOHN TYLER.

[Footnote 30: Relating to appointments to office in the Navy and Marine Corps since April 4, 1841.]

WASHINGTON, _April 4, 1842_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_.

In part compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st March, 1842, I herewith communicate a report[31] from the Secretary of State.

JOHN TYLER.

[Footnote 31: Transmitting list of appointments by the President or Secretary of State since April 4, 1841.]

WASHINGTON, _April 7, 1842_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives copies of a letter addressed to the Secretary of State by the chairman of the board of commissioners appointed to explore and survey the boundary line between the States of Maine and New Hampshire and the adjoining British Provinces, together with the report of the operations of that commission to the 31st ultimo, and a profile of the meridian line from the source of the St. Croix River as far as surveyed, illustrative of the report.

JOHN TYLER.

[The same message was sent to the Senate.]

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

_Washington, March 31, 1842_.

Hon. DANIEL WEBSTER,

_Secretary of State_.

SIR: By directions of the board of commissioners for exploring and surveying the northeastern boundary, I have handed you the papers hereinafter specified, viz:

1. The report of the operations of the commission up to the present date.

2. A profile of the meridian line of the source of the St. Croix as far as surveyed, intended to illustrate the report.

3. A portfolio of drawings intended for the same purpose.

4. A roll marked Appendix No. 1, containing the narrative of the field operations of the division of Professor Renwick.

5. A tin case containing the detail of the surveys of the division of Professor Renwick.

In reply to your inquiry in relation to the disposition of the said papers, I am directed respectfully to suggest that all which it is absolutely necessary to lay before Congress are the items 1 and 2, which, with a general map now in preparation, will contain all that will be of any general public interest.

The portfolio (No. 3) and the box of maps and profiles (No. 5) should remain on file in the Department; and while a part of the drawings in the former may be useful for illustration, the latter will be superseded by the general map, in which will be embodied all that they contain of importance to the question at issue.

Appendix No. 1, specified as No. 4 in the above list, will probably be demanded hereafter to give authenticity to the conclusions of the report (No. 1). It ought not, however, to be communicated until the Appendices Nos. 2 and 3, containing the operations of the divisions of Messrs. Graham and Talcott, are handed in; and of the three no more than a limited number of copies will be useful.

I have the honor to be, with much respect, your most obedient servant,

JAS. RENWICK,
_Chairman_.

_Report of the commissioners appointed by the President of the United States for the purpose of surveying and exploring the boundary line between the States of Maine and New Hampshire and the British Provinces_.

WASHINGTON, _March 28,1842_.

Hon. DANIEL WEBSTER,

_Secretary of State_.

SIR: The duties assigned to the undersigned by the instructions of your predecessor were twofold:

First. To explore and survey the lines respectively claimed by the Governments of the United States and Great Britain.

Second. To examine and report upon the arguments contained in the report of Messrs. Featherstonhaugh and Mudge addressed to the secretary of state of Her Britannic Majesty for foreign affairs under date of 16th April, 1840.