Chapter L: Thomas, (2)

As a sequel to the correspondence on the subject previously communicated, I transmit to Congress extracts from a dispatch of the 20th ultimo from Mr. Adams, United States minister at London, to the Secretary of State, and a copy of an instruction from Earl Russell to Lord Lyons of the 10th instant, relative to the removal of certain citizens of the United States from the British mail steamer _Trent_ by order of the commander of the United States war steamer _San Jacinto_.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON CITY, _February 4, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

The third section of the "Act further to promote the efficiency of the Navy," approved December 21, 1861, provides--

That the President of the United States, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, shall have the authority to detail from the
retired list of the Navy for the command of squadrons and single ships
such officers as he may believe that the good of the service requires
to be thus placed in command; and such officers may, if upon the
recommendation of the President of the United States they shall receive
a vote of thanks of Congress for their services and gallantry in action
against an enemy, be restored to the active list, and not otherwise.

In conformity with this law, Captain Samuel F. Du Pont, of the Navy, was nominated to the Senate for continuance as the flag-officer in command of the squadron which recently rendered such important service to the Union in the expedition to the coast of South Carolina.

Believing that no occasion could arise which would more fully correspond with the intention of the law or be more pregnant with happy influence as an example, I cordially recommend that Captain Samuel F. Du Pont receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his services and gallantry displayed in the capture of Forts Walker and Beauregard, commanding the entrance of Port Royal Harbor, on the 7th of November, 1861.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _February 7, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant, requesting a communication of any recent correspondence relating to the presentation of American citizens to the Court of France, I transmit a copy of a dispatch of the 14th ultimo from the United States minister at Paris to the Secretary of State and of an instruction of Mr. Seward to Mr. Dayton of the 3d instant.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _February 12, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit to Congress a copy of a special treaty between the United States and His Majesty the King of Hanover for the abolition of the Stade dues, which was signed at Berlin on the 6th of November last. In this treaty, already approved by the Senate and ratified on the part of the United States, it is stipulated that the sums specified in Articles III and IV to be paid to the Hanoverian Government shall be paid at Berlin on the day of the exchange of ratifications. I therefore recommend that seasonable provision be made to enable the Executive to carry this stipulation into effect.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON CITY, _February 15, 1862_.

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

The third section of the "Act further to promote the efficiency of the Navy," approved December 21, 1861, provides--

That the President of the United States, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, shall have the authority to detail from the
retired list of the Navy for the command of squadrons and single ships
such officers as he may believe that the good of the service requires to
be thus placed in command; and such officers may, if upon the
recommendation of the President of the United States they shall receive
a vote of thanks of Congress for their services and gallantry in action
against an enemy, be restored to the active list, and not otherwise.

In conformity with this law, Captain Louis M. Goldsborough, of the Navy, was nominated to the Senate for continuance as the flag-officer in command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, which recently rendered such important service to the Union in the expedition to the coast of North Carolina.

Believing that no occasion could arise which would more fully correspond with the intention of the law or be more pregnant with happy influence as an example, I cordially recommend that Captain Louis M. Goldsborough receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his services and gallantry displayed in the combined attack of the forces commanded by him and Brigadier-General Burnside in the capture of Roanoke Island and the destruction of rebel gunboats on the 7th, 8th, and 10th of February, 1862.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _February 21, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

The President of the United States was last evening plunged into affliction by the death of a beloved child. The heads of the Departments, in consideration of this distressing event, have thought it would be agreeable to Congress and to the American people that the official and private buildings occupied by them should not be illuminated in the evening of the 22d instant.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
S.P. CHASE.
EDWIN M. STANTON.
GIDEON WELLES.
CALEB B. SMITH.
M. BLAIR.
EDWARD BATES.

WASHINGTON, _February 25, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit to Congress a copy of an instruction from Prince Gortchakoff to Mr. De Stoeckl, the minister of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia accredited to this Government, and of a note of the Secretary of State to the latter, relative to the adjustment of the question between the United States and Great Britain growing out of the removal of certain of our citizens from the British mail steamer _Trent_ by order of the commander of the United States war steamer _San Jacinto_.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _February 26, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

In transmitting to Congress the accompanying copy of two letters, bearing date the 14th of February, 1861, from His Majesty the Major King of Siam to the President of the United States, and of the President's answer thereto, I submit for their consideration the question as to the proper place of deposit of the gifts received with the royal letters referred to.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _February 27, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

Lieutenant-General Scott has advised me that while he would cheerfully accept a commission as additional minister to Mexico, with a view to promote the interests of the United States and of peace, yet his infirmities are such that he could not be able to reach the capital of that country by any existing mode of travel, and he therefore deems it his duty to decline the important mission I had proposed for him. For this reason I withdraw the nomination in this respect heretofore submitted to the Senate. It is hardly necessary to add that the nomination was made without any knowledge of it on his part.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit to Congress a copy of a dispatch to the Secretary of State from the minister resident of the United States at Lisbon, concerning recent measures which have been adopted by the Government of Portugal intended to encourage the growth and to enlarge the area of the culture of cotton in its African possessions.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit to Congress a translation of an instruction to the minister of His Majesty the King of Italy accredited to this Government, and a copy of a note to that minister from the Secretary of State, relating to the settlement of the question arising out of the capture and detention of certain citizens of the United States, passengers on board the British steamer _Trent_, by order of Captain Wilkes, of the United States Navy.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate a translation of a note addressed to the Secretary of State on the 1st instant by General P. A. Herran, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the Granadian Confederation, with a translation of the communication accompanying that note from the special commissioner of that Republic, together with a copy of a letter from the special commissioner of the United States of the 26th ultimo, under the convention of the 10th September, 1857, setting forth the impracticability of disposing of the cases submitted to the joint commission now in session under the convention within the period prescribed therein.

I recommend, therefore, that the Senate consent to the extension of time for ---- days from and after the expiration of the time limited by the convention.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1862_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit herewith a communication[4] of the Secretary of War, inclosing a report of the Adjutant-General, in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 22d of January, 1862.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

[Footnote 4: Relating to assignment of officers of the Army to duty.]

WASHINGTON, _March 5, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I submit to the Senate, for its consideration, a copy of a message addressed to that body by my immediate predecessor on the 12th February, 1861, relating to the award made by the joint commission under the convention between the United States and Paraguay of the 4th February, 1859, together with the original "journal of the proceedings" of the commission and a printed copy of the "statements and arguments--and for the Republic," and request the advice of the Senate as to the final acquiescence in or rejection of the award of the commissioner by the Government of the United States. As the "journal" is an original document, pertaining to the archives of the Department of State, it is proper, when the Senate shall have arrived at a conclusion on the subject, that the volume be returned to the custody of the Secretary of State.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

MARCH 6, 1862.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I recommend the adoption of a joint resolution by your honorable bodies, which shall be substantially as follows:

_Resolved_, That the United States ought to cooperate with any State
which may adopt gradual abolishment of slavery, giving to such State
pecuniary aid, to be used by such State, in its discretion, to
compensate for the inconveniences, public and private, produced by such
change of system.

If the proposition contained in the resolution does not meet the approval of Congress and the country, there is the end; but if it does command such approval, I deem it of importance that the States and people immediately interested should be at once distinctly notified of the fact, so that they may begin to consider whether to accept or reject it. The Federal Government would find its highest interest in such a measure, as one of the most efficient means of self-preservation. The leaders of the existing insurrection entertain the hope that this Government will ultimately be forced to acknowledge the independence of some part of the disaffected region, and that all the slave States north of such part will then say, "The Union for which we have struggled being already gone, we now choose to go with the Southern section." To deprive them of this hope substantially ends the rebellion, and the initiation of emancipation completely deprives them of it as to all the States initiating it. The point is not that _all_ the States tolerating slavery would very soon, if at all, initiate emancipation; but that while the offer is equally made to all, the more northern shall by such initiation make it certain to the more southern that in no event will the former ever join the latter in their proposed confederacy. I say "initiation" because, in my judgment, gradual and not sudden emancipation is better for all. In the mere financial or pecuniary view any member of Congress with the census tables and Treasury reports before him can readily see for himself how very soon the current expenditures of this war would purchase, at fair valuation, all the slaves in any named State. Such a proposition on the part of the General Government sets up no claim of a right by Federal authority to interfere with slavery within State limits, referring, as it does, the absolute control of the subject in each case to the State and its people immediately interested. It is proposed as a matter of perfectly free choice with them.

In the annual message last December I thought fit to say "the Union must be preserved, and hence all indispensable means must be employed." I said this not hastily, but deliberately. War has been made and continues to be an indispensable means to this end. A practical reacknowledgment of the national authority would render the war unnecessary, and it would at once cease. If, however, resistance continues, the war must also continue; and it is impossible to foresee all the incidents which may attend and all the ruin which may follow it. Such as may seem indispensable or may obviously promise great efficiency toward ending the struggle must and will come.

The proposition now made (though an offer only), I hope it may be esteemed no offense to ask whether the pecuniary consideration tendered would not be of more value to the States and private persons concerned than are the institution and property in it in the present aspect of affairs.

While it is true that the adoption of the proposed resolution would be merely initiatory, and not within itself a practical measure, it is recommended in the hope that it would soon lead to important practical results. In full view of my great responsibility to my God and to my country, I earnestly beg the attention of Congress and the people to the subject.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 7, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate thereon, a treaty concluded at Paola, Kans., on the 18th day of August, between Seth Clover, commissioner on the part of the United States, and the delegates of the united tribes of Kaskaskia and Peoria, Piankeshaw, and Wea Indians.

I also transmit a communication of the Secretary of the Interior of the 6th instant and accompanying papers from the Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs, in relation to the subject.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _March 12, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant, requesting "a copy of any correspondence on the records or files of the Department of State in regard to railway systems in Europe," I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers by which it was accompanied.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

With reference to my recent message on the subject of claims of citizens of the United States on the Government of Paraguay, I transmit a copy of three memorials of the claimants and of their closing arguments in the case, together with extracts from a dispatch from Mr. Bowlin, the late commissioner of the United States to that country. These extracts show that President Lopez offered and expected to pay a large sum of money as a compromise of the claims.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _March 14, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I submit to Congress the accompanying copy of a correspondence between the Secretary of State, the Danish chargé d'affaires, and the Secretary of the Navy, concerning the case of the bark _Jorgen Lorentzen_, a Danish vessel seized on her voyage from Rio Janeiro to Havana by the United States ship _Morning Light_ and subsequently released. I recommend the appropriation of the amount of the award of the referees.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON CITY, _March 20, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

The third section of the "Act further to promote the efficiency of the Navy," approved December 21, 1861, provides--

That the President of the United States, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, shall have the authority to detail from the
retired list of the Navy for the command of squadrons and single ships
such officers as he may believe that the good of the service requires to
be thus placed in command; and such officers may, if upon the
recommendation of the President of the United States they shall receive
a vote of thanks of Congress for their services and gallantry in action
against an enemy, be restored to the active list, and not otherwise.

In conformity with this law, Captain Samuel F. Du Pont, of the Navy, was nominated to the Senate for continuance as the flag-officer in command of the squadron which recently rendered such important service to the Union in the expedition to the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

Believing that no occasion could arise which would more fully correspond with the intention of the law or be more pregnant with happy influence as an example, I cordially recommend that Captain Samuel F. Du Pont receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his service and gallantry displayed in the capture since the 21st December, 1861, of various points on the coasts of Georgia and Florida, particularly Brunswick, Cumberland Island and Sound, Amelia Island, the towns of St. Marys, St. Augustine, and Jacksonville and Fernandina.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _March 26, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit a copy of a communication[5] of the 21st of December last addressed to the Secretary of State by the governor of the Territory of Nevada, and commend to the particular attention of Congress those parts of it which show that further legislation is desirable for the public welfare in that quarter.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

[Footnote 5: Containing a narrative of incidents pertaining to the government of the Territory of Nevada.]

WASHINGTON, _March 31, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to ratification, a treaty of commerce and navigation between the United States and the Ottoman Empire, signed at Constantinople on the 25th of last month. Extracts from a dispatch of the same date, upon the subject of the treaty, from Mr. Morris, the United States minister at Constantinople, to the Secretary of State, are also herewith communicated.

It will be noticed that the exchange of ratifications is to take place within three months from the date of the instrument. This renders it desirable that the Senate should decide in regard to it as soon as this may be convenient, for if that decision be favorable the ratifications of this Government must reach Constantinople prior to the expiration of the three months adverted to.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _April 5, 1862_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday, requesting any information which may have been received at the Department of State showing the system of revenue and finance now existing in any foreign country, I transmit a copy of a recent dispatch from Mr. Pike, the United States minister at The Hague. This is understood to be the only information on the subject of the resolution recently received which has not been made public.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _April 10, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to ratification, a treaty between the United States and Her Britannic Majesty for the suppression of the slave trade. A copy of the correspondence between the Secretary of State and Lord Lyons on the subject of the treaty is also herewith transmitted.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _April 14, 1862_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 3d ultimo, requesting information in regard to the present condition of Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _April 15, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

On the 26th of June, 1860, the Senate approved of the treaty of friendship and commerce between the United States and Nicaragua, signed on the 16th of March, 1859, with certain amendments.

On the next day, namely, June 27, 1860, the Senate adopted a resolution extending the period for the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty for six months from that date; that is, until the 27th of December, 1860.

Although the amendments of the Senate were immediately transmitted to our minister in Nicaragua for submission to the Government of that Republic, he failed, notwithstanding earnest efforts, to induce that Government to call an extra session of Congress to take into consideration the amendments of the Senate of the United States within the supplementary time named in the resolution of June 27, 1860, for the exchange of ratifications.

It was not until the 25th of March, 1861, nearly three months after the expiration of the six months extended by the Senate resolution, that the Congress of Nicaragua acted favorably upon the amendments of the Senate of the United States.

A translation of the decree of the Nicaraguan Government approving the treaty as amended, with an additional amendment, is herewith inclosed.

It will be perceived that while the ratification of Nicaragua recites literally the second amendment of the Senate and accepts it with an additional clause, it does not in explicit terms accept the first amendment of the Senate, striking out the last clause of the sixteenth article.

That amendment is of so much importance that the adoption or rejection of it by the Government of Nicaragua should not be left to construction or inference.

The final amendment of that Government properly extended the time of exchanging ratifications for an additional twelve months. That time has expired. For obvious reasons connected with our internal affairs, the subject has not sooner been submitted to the Senate, but the treaty is now laid before that body, with this brief historical sketch and the decree of the Nicaraguan Government, for such further advice as may be deemed necessary and proper in regard to the acceptance or rejection of the amendments of Nicaragua.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _April 15, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In consequence of the delay attending the approval by the Senate of the extradition treaty with Mexico signed on the 11th December last, it is impossible to effect the exchange of ratifications of that and the postal convention of the same date within the period assigned by those instruments.

I recommend, therefore, the passage of a resolution at the earliest practicable moment extending the time specified in the eighth article of the extradition treaty and in the twelfth article of the postal convention for the exchange of ratifications for sixty days from and after the 11th June next, the date of the expiration of the period named for that purpose in both instruments.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 15, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration and such constitutional action as the Senate may deem proper to take, a treaty negotiated on the 6th March, 1861, between late Agent Vanderslice, on the part of the United States, and certain delegates of the Sac and Fox of the Missouri and the Iowa tribes of Indians; also certain petitions of said tribes, praying that the treaty may be ratified with an amendment as set forth in said petitions. A letter of the Secretary of the Interior, with a report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and letter of the present agent of the Indians, accompany the treaty and petitions.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

APRIL 16, 1862.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:

The act entitled "An act for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia" has this day been approved and signed.

I have never doubted the constitutional authority of Congress to abolish slavery in this District, and I have ever desired to see the national capital freed from the institution in some satisfactory way. Hence there has never been in my mind any question upon the subject except the one of expediency, arising in view of all the circumstances. If there be matters within and about this act which might have taken a course or shape more satisfactory to my judgment, I do not attempt to specify them. I am gratified that the two principles of compensation and colonization are both recognized and practically applied in the act.

In the matter of compensation, it is provided that claims may be presented within ninety days from the passage of the act, "but not thereafter;" and there is no saving for minors, femes covert, insane or absent persons. I presume this is an omission by mere oversight, and I recommend that it be supplied by an amendatory or supplemental act.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _April 18, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit to Congress a copy of a correspondence between the Secretary of State and Benjamin E. Brewster, of Philadelphia, relative to the arrest in that city of Simon Cameron, late Secretary of War, at the suit of Pierce Butler, for trespass _vi et armis_, assault and battery, and false imprisonment.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington, April 24, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In obedience to your resolution of the 17th instant, I herewith communicate the testimony and judgment of the recent naval court of inquiry in the case of Lieutenant Charles E. Fleming, of the United States Navy; also the testimony and finding of the naval retiring board in the case of the said Lieutenant Fleming.

I have the honor to state that the judgment and finding aforesaid have not been approved by me.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _April 26, 1862_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 24th of February last, requesting information in regard to insurgent privateers in foreign ports, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington, May 1, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate in relation to Brigadier-General Stone, I have the honor to state that he was arrested and imprisoned under my general authority, and upon evidence which, whether he be guilty or innocent, required, as appears to me, such proceedings to be had against him for the public safety. I deem it incompatible with the public interest, as also, perhaps, unjust to General Stone, to make a more particular statement of the evidence.

He has not been tried because in the state of military operations at the time of his arrest and since the officers to constitute a court-martial and for witnesses could not be withdrawn from duty without serious injury to the service. He will be allowed a trial without any unnecessary delay, the charges and specifications will be furnished him in due season, and every facility for his defense will be afforded him by the War Department.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington, May 1, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In accordance with the suggestion of the Secretary of the Treasury contained in the accompanying letter, I have the honor to transmit the inclosed petition and report thereon of the Third Auditor for the consideration of Congress.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 14, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

The third section of the "Act further to promote the efficiency of the Navy," approved 21st of December, 1861, provides--

That the President of the United States, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, shall have the authority to detail from the
retired list of the Navy for the command of squadrons and single ships
such officers as he may believe that the good of the service requires
to be thus placed in command; and such officers may, if upon the
recommendation of the President of the United States they shall receive
a vote of thanks of Congress for their services and gallantry in action
against an enemy, be restored to the active list, and not otherwise.

In conformity with this law, Captain David G. Farragut was nominated to the Senate for continuance as the flag-officer in command of the squadron which recently rendered such important service to the Union by his successful operations on the Lower Mississippi and capture of New Orleans.

Believing that no occasion could arise which would more fully correspond with the intention of the law or be more pregnant with happy influence as an example, I cordially recommend that Captain D.G. Farragut receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his services and gallantry displayed in the capture since 21st December, 1861, of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, city of New Orleans, and the destruction of various rebel gunboats, rams, etc.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 14, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I submit herewith a list of naval officers who commanded vessels engaged in the recent brilliant operations of the squadron commanded by Flag-Officer Farragut, which led to the capture of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, city of New Orleans, and the destruction of rebel gunboats, rams, etc., in April, 1862. For their services and gallantry on those occasions I cordially recommend that they should by name receive a vote of thanks of Congress.

LIST.

Captain Theodorus Bailey.
Captain Henry W. Morris.
Captain Thomas T. Craven.
Commander Henry H. Bell.
Commander Samuel Phillips Lee.
Commander Samuel Swartwout.
Commander Melancton Smith.
Commander Charles Stewart Boggs.
Commander John De Camp.
Commander James Alden.
Commander David D. Porter.
Commander Richard Wainwright.
Commander William B. Renshaw.
Lieutenant Commanding Abram D. Harrell.
Lieutenant Commanding Edward Donaldson.
Lieutenant Commanding George H. Preble.
Lieutenant Commanding Edward T. Nichols.
Lieutenant Commanding Jonathan M. Wainwright.
Lieutenant Commanding John Guest.
Lieutenant Commanding Charles H.B. Caldwell.
Lieutenant Commanding Napoleon B. Harrison.
Lieutenant Commanding Albert N. Smith.
Lieutenant Commanding Pierce Crosby.
Lieutenant Commanding George M. Ransom.
Lieutenant Commanding Watson Smith.
Lieutenant Commanding John H. Russell.
Lieutenant Commanding Walter W. Queen.
Lieutenant Commanding K. Randolph Breese.
Acting Lieutenant Commanding Selim E. Woodworth.
Acting Lieutenant Commanding Charles H. Baldwin.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE, _May, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty negotiated on the 13th of March, 1862, between H.W. Farnsworth, a commissioner on the part of the United States, and the authorized representatives of the Kansas tribe of Indians.

A communication from the Secretary of the Interior, together with a letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, suggesting certain amendments to the treaty and inclosing papers relating thereto, are also transmitted.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _May 21, 1862_.

_To the Senate_:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 14th instant, requesting information in regard to arrests in the State of Kentucky, I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, to whom the resolution was referred.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _May 22, 1862_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 20th instant, requesting information in regard to the indemnity obtained by the consul-general of the United States at Alexandria, Egypt, for the maltreatment of Faris-El-Hakim, an agent in the employ of the American missionaries in that country, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _May 23, 1862_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 22d instant, calling for further correspondence relative to Mexican affairs.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

[The same message was sent to the Senate, in answer to a resolution of that body.]

WASHINGTON, _May 26, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

The insurrection which is yet existing in the United States and aims at the overthrow of the Federal Constitution and the Union was clandestinely prepared during the winter of 1860 and 1861, and assumed an open organization in the form of a treasonable provisional government at Montgomery, in Alabama, on the 18th day of February, 1861. On the 12th day of April, 1861, the insurgents committed the flagrant act of civil war by the bombardment and capture of Fort Sumter, which cut off the hope of immediate conciliation. Immediately afterwards all the roads and avenues to this city were obstructed, and the capital was put into the condition of a siege. The mails in every direction were stopped, and the lines of telegraph cut off by the insurgents, and military and naval forces which had been called out by the Government for the defense of Washington were prevented from reaching the city by organized and combined treasonable resistance in the State of Maryland. There was no adequate and effective organization for the public defense. Congress had indefinitely adjourned. There was no time to convene them. It became necessary for me to choose whether, using only the existing means, agencies, and processes which Congress had provided, I should let the Government fall at once into ruin or whether, availing myself of the broader powers conferred by the Constitution in cases of insurrection, I would make an effort to save it, with all its blessings, for the present age and for posterity.

I thereupon summoned my constitutional advisers, the heads of all the Departments, to meet on Sunday, the 20th day of April, 1861, at the office of the Navy Department, and then and there, with their unanimous concurrence, I directed that an armed revenue cutter should proceed to sea to afford protection to the commercial marine, and especially the California treasure ships then on their way to this coast. I also directed the commandant of the navy-yard at Boston to purchase or charter and arm as quickly as possible five steamships for purposes of public defense. I directed the commandant of the navy-yard at Philadelphia to purchase or charter and arm an equal number for the same purpose. I directed the commandant at New York to purchase or charter and arm an equal number. I directed Commander Gillis to purchase or charter and arm and put to sea two other vessels. Similar directions were given to Commodore Du Pont, with a view to the opening of passages by water to and from the capital. I directed the several officers to take the advice and obtain the aid and efficient services in the matter of His Excellency Edwin D. Morgan, the governor of New York, or in his absence George D. Morgan, William M. Evarts, R.M. Blatchford, and Moses H. Grinnell, who were by my directions especially empowered by the Secretary of the Navy to act for his Department in that crisis in matters pertaining to the forwarding of troops and supplies for the public defense.

On the same occasion I directed that Governor Morgan and Alexander Cummings, of the city of New York, should be authorized by the Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, to make all necessary arrangements for the transportation of troops and munitions of war, in aid and assistance of the officers of the Army of the United States, until communication by mails and telegraph should be completely reestablished between the cities of Washington and New York. No security was required to be given by them, and either of them was authorized to act in case of inability to consult with the other.

On the same occasion I authorized and directed the Secretary of the Treasury to advance, without requiring security, $2,000,000 of public money to John A. Dix, George Opdyke, and Richard M. Blatchford, of New York, to be used by them in meeting such requisitions as should be directly consequent upon the military and naval measures necessary for the defense and support of the Government, requiring them only to act without compensation and to report their transactions when duly called upon. The several Departments of the Government at that time contained so large a number of disloyal persons that it would have been impossible to provide safely through official agents only for the performance of the duties thus confided to citizens favorably known for their ability, loyalty, and patriotism.

The several orders issued upon these occurrences were transmitted by private messengers, who pursued a circuitous way to the seaboard cities, inland across the States of Pennsylvania and Ohio and the northern lakes. I believe that by these and other similar measures taken in that crisis, some of which were without any authority of law, the Government was saved from overthrow. I am not aware that a dollar of the public funds thus confided without authority of law to unofficial persons was either lost or wasted, although apprehensions of such misdirection occurred to me as objections to those extraordinary proceedings, and were necessarily overruled.

I recall these transactions now because my attention has been directed to a resolution which was passed by the House of Representatives on the 30th day of last month, which is in these words:

_Resolved_, That Simon Cameron, late Secretary of War, by investing
Alexander Cummings with the control of large sums of the public money
and authority to purchase military supplies without restriction, without
requiring from him any guaranty for the faithful performance of his
duties, when the services of competent public officers were available,
and by involving the Government in a vast number of contracts with
persons not legitimately engaged in the business pertaining to the
subject-matter of such contracts, especially in the purchase of arms
for future delivery, has adopted a policy highly injurious to the
public service, and deserves the censure of the House.

Congress will see that I should be wanting equally in candor and in justice if I should leave the censure expressed in this resolution to rest exclusively or chiefly upon Mr. Cameron. The same sentiment is unanimously entertained by the heads of Departments who participated in the proceedings which the House of Representatives has censured. It is due to Mr. Cameron to say that although he fully approved the proceedings they were not moved nor suggested by himself, and that not only the President, but all the other heads of Departments, were at least equally responsible with him for whatever error, wrong, or fault was committed in the premises.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _May 30, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to ratification, a treaty of amity, commerce, consular privileges, and extradition between the United States and the Republic of Salvador, signed in this city on the 29th instant. It is believed that though this instrument contains no stipulation which may not be found in some subsisting treaty between the United States and foreign powers, it will prove to be mutually advantageous. Several of the Republics of this hemisphere, among which is Salvador, are alarmed at a supposed sentiment tending to reactionary movements against republican institutions on this continent. It seems, therefore, to be proper that we should show to any of them who may apply for that purpose that, compatibly with our cardinal policy and with an enlightened view of our own interests, we are willing to encourage them by strengthening our ties of good will and good neighborhood with them.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _June 4, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 29th ultimo, adopted in executive session, requesting information in regard to the claims of citizens of the United States on Paraguay and the correspondence relating thereto, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _June 4, 1862_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of War, in answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 2d of June, in relation to the authority and action of the Hon. Edward Stanly, military governor of North Carolina.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _June 10, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit to Congress a copy of a treaty for the suppression of the African slave trade, between the United States and Her Britannic Majesty, signed in this city on the 7th of April last, and the ratifications of which were exchanged at London on the 20th ultimo.

A copy of the correspondence which preceded the conclusion of the instrument between the Secretary of State and Lord Lyons, Her Britannic Majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, is also herewith transmitted.

It is desirable that such legislation as may be necessary to carry the treaty into effect should be enacted as soon as may comport with the convenience of Congress.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington, June 12, 1862_.

_To the Honorable House of Representatives_:

In obedience to the resolution of your honorable body of the 9th instant, requesting certain information in regard to the circuit court of the United States for the State of California, and the judge of said court, I have the honor to transmit a letter of the Attorney-General, with copies of two other letters and of an indorsement of my own upon one of them; all which, taken together, contain all the information within my power to give upon the subject.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington, June 13, 1862_.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I herewith transmit a memorial addressed and presented to me in behalf of the State of New York in favor of enlarging the locks of the Erie and Oswego Canal. While I have not given nor have leisure to give the subject a careful examination, its great importance is obvious and unquestionable. The large amount of valuable statistical information which is collated and presented in the memorial will greatly facilitate the mature consideration of the subject, which I respectfully ask for it at your hands.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington City, June 17, 1862_.

_The Speaker of the House of Representatives_:

The resolution of the House of Representatives of the 9th instant, asking whether any legislation is necessary in order to give effect to the provisions of the act of April 16, 1862, providing for the reorganization of the Medical Department of the Army, was referred to the Secretary of War, whose report thereon is herewith communicated.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _June 23, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

On the 7th day of December, 1861, I submitted to the Senate the project of a treaty between the United States and Mexico which had been proposed to me by Mr. Corwin, our minister to Mexico, and respectfully requested the advice of the Senate thereupon.

On the 25th day of February last a resolution was adopted by the Senate to the effect "that it is not advisable to negotiate a treaty that will require the United States to assume any portion of the principal or interest of the debt of Mexico, or that will require the concurrence of European powers."

This resolution having been duly communicated to me, notice thereof was immediately given by the Secretary of State to Mr. Corwin, and he was informed that he was to consider his instructions upon the subject referred to modified by this resolution and would govern his course accordingly. That dispatch failed to reach Mr. Corwin, by reason of the disturbed condition of Mexico, until a very recent date, Mr. Corwin being without instructions, or thus practically left without instructions, to negotiate further with Mexico.

In view of the very important events occurring there, he has thought that the interests of the United States would be promoted by the conclusion of two treaties which should provide for a loan to that Republic. He has therefore signed such treaties, and they having been duly ratified by the Government of Mexico he has transmitted them to me for my consideration. The action of the Senate is of course conclusive against an acceptance of the treaties on my part. I have, nevertheless, thought it just to our excellent minister in Mexico and respectful to the Government of that Republic to lay the treaties before the Senate, together with the correspondence which has occurred in relation to them. In performing this duty I have only to add that the importance of the subject thus submitted to the Senate can not be overestimated, and I shall cheerfully receive and consider with the highest respect any further advice the Senate may think proper to give upon the subject.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington, June 26, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

The accompanying treaty, made and concluded at the city of Washington on the 24th day of June, 1862, between the United States and the united bands of the Ottawa Indians of Blanchards Fork and of Roche de Boeuf, in Kansas, is transmitted for the consideration and constitutional action of the Senate, agreeably to recommendation of inclosed letter from the Secretary of the Interior of this date.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _July 1, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I most cordially recommend that Captain Andrew H. Foote, of the United States Navy, receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his eminent services in organizing the flotilla on the Western waters, and for his gallantry at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Island No. 10, and at various other places, whilst in command of the naval forces, embracing a period of nearly ten months.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 5, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate thereon, a treaty negotiated in this city on the 3d instant with the Sac and Fox Indians of the Mississippi.

Letters from the Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs accompany the treaty.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _July 9, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification, a postal convention with Costa Rica, concluded at San Jose on the 9th June last.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 11, 1862_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a treaty negotiated at the Kickapoo Agency on the 28th of June, 1862, between Charles B. Keith, commissioner on the part of the United States, and the chiefs, headmen, and delegates of the Kickapoo Indians of Kansas.

A letter of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 10th instant is also transmitted, suggesting amendments to the treaty for the consideration of the Senate.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 11, 1862_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I recommend that the thanks of Congress be given to the following officers of the United States Navy:

Captain James L. Lardner, for meritorious conduct at the battle of Port Royal and distinguished services on the coast of the United States against the enemy.

Captain Charles Henry Davis, for distinguished services in conflict with the enemy at Fort Pillow, at Memphis, and for successful operations at other points in the waters of the Mississippi River.

Commander John A. Dahlgren, for distinguished services in the line of his profession, improvements in ordnance, and zealous and efficient labors in the ordnance branch of the service.

Commander Stephen C. Rowan, for distinguished services in the waters of North Carolina, and particularly in the capture of Newbern, being in chief command of the naval forces.

Commander David D. Porter, for distinguished services in the conception and preparation of the means used for the capture of the forts below New Orleans, and for highly meritorious conduct in the management of the mortar flotilla during the bombardment of Forts Jackson and St. Philip.

Captain Silas H. Stringham, now on the retired list, for distinguished services in the capture of Forts Hatteras and Clark.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, _July 12, 1862_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit a report of the Secretary of State upon the subject of the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 9th ultimo, requesting information in regard to the relations between the United States and foreign powers.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 14, 1862_.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:

Herewith is a draft of a bill to compensate any State which may abolish slavery within its limits, the passage of which substantially as presented I respectfully and earnestly recommend.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That whenever the President of
the United States shall be satisfied that any State shall have lawfully
abolished slavery within and throughout such State, either immediately
or gradually, it shall be the duty of the President, assisted by the
Secretary of the Treasury, to prepare and deliver to such State an
amount of 6 per cent interest-bearing bonds of the United States equal
to the aggregate value at $---- per head of all the slaves within such
State as reported by the census of the year 1860; the whole amount for
any one State to be delivered at once if the abolishment be immediate,
or in equal annual installments if it be gradual, interest to begin
running on each bond at the time of its delivery, and not before.

_And be it further enacted_, That if any State, having so received any
such bonds, shall at any time afterwards by law reintroduce or tolerate
slavery within its limits contrary to the act of abolishment upon which
such bonds shall have been received, said bonds so received by said
State shall at once be null and void, in whosesoever hands they may be,
and such State shall refund to the United States all interest which may
have been paid on such bonds.

EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington, July 15, 1862_.

Hon. SOLOMON FOOT,
_President pro tempore of the Senate_.

SIR: Please inform the Senate that I shall be obliged if they will postpone the adjournment at least one day beyond the time which I understand to be now fixed for it.

Your obedient servant,

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

[The same message was addressed to Hon. Calusha A. Crow, Speaker of the House of Representatives.]

JULY 17, 1862.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives_:

Considering the bill for "An act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for other purposes," and the joint resolution explanatory of said act as being substantially one, I have approved and signed both.

Before I was informed of the passage of the resolution I had prepared the draft of a message stating objections to the bill becoming a law, a copy of which draft is herewith transmitted.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

_Fellow-Citizens of the House of Representatives_:

I herewith return to your honorable body, in which it originated, the
bill for an act entitled "An act to suppress treason and rebellion, to
seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for other purposes,"
together with my objections to its becoming a law.

There is much in the bill to which I perceive no objection. It is wholly
prospective, and touches neither person nor property of any loyal
citizen, in which particulars it is just and proper. The first and
second sections provide for the conviction and punishment of persons who
shall be guilty of treason and persons who shall "incite, set on foot,
assist, or engage in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority
of the United States or the laws thereof, or shall give aid and comfort
thereto, or shall engage in or give aid and comfort to any such existing
rebellion or insurrection." By fair construction persons within these
sections are not to be punished without regular trials in duly
constituted courts, under the forms and all the substantial provisions
of law and of the Constitution applicable to their several cases. To
this I perceive no objection, especially as such persons would be within
the general pardoning power and also the special provision for pardon
and amnesty contained in this act.