Chapter V: Part 5

I transmit, for the consideration of the Senate, a copy of a letter of the 21st ultimo from the governor of the Territory of Colorado to the Secretary of State, with the memorial to which it refers, relative to the location of the Pacific Railroad.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _March 12, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit, for your consideration, a copy of two communications from the minister of the United States at Paris, in regard to a proposed exhibition of fishery and water culture, to be held at Arcachon, near Bordeaux, in France, in July next.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _March 15, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant, upon the subject of the supposed kidnaping of colored persons in the Southern States for the purpose of selling them as slaves in Cuba, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 19, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives dated January 5, 1866, requesting information as to the number of men and officers in the regular and volunteer service of the United States, I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, with the papers by which it was accompanied.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _March 20, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th of December last, requesting information upon the present condition of affairs in the Republic of Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the papers by which it was accompanied.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _March 21, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a treaty made with the Great and Little Osage Indians on the 29th September, 1865, together with the accompanying papers.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _March 21, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon, a treaty made with the Woll-pah-pe tribe of Snake Indians on the 12th of August, 1865, together with the accompanying papers.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 26, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate a memorial of the legislature of Alabama, asking an extension of time for the completion of certain railroads in said State.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _March 30, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty negotiated with the Shawnee Indians, dated March 1, 1866, with supplemental article, dated March 14, 1866, with accompanying communications from the honorable Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _April 3, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith a report by the Secretary of War, in compliance with the Senate resolution of the 7th March, 1866, respecting the improvement of the Washington City Canal, to promote the health of the metropolis.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 3, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, dated the 22d ultimo, together with a letter addressed to him by the governor of Alabama, asking that the State of Alabama may be allowed to assume and pay in State bonds the direct tax now due from that State to the United States, or that delay of payment may be authorized until the State can by the sale of its bonds or by taxation make provision for the liquidation of the indebtedness.

I concur in the opinion of the Secretary of the Treasury "that it is desirable that the State of Alabama and the other Southern States should be allowed to assume and pay their proportion of the direct taxes now due," and therefore recommend the necessary legislation by Congress.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _April 4, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit to Congress a report from the Secretary of State, with the accompanying papers, relative to the claim on this Government of the owners of the British vessel _Magicienne_, and recommend an appropriation for the satisfaction of the claim, pursuant to the award of the arbitrators.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _April 5, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I herewith transmit communications from the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postmaster-General, suggesting a modification of the oath of office prescribed by the act of Congress approved July 2, 1862. I fully concur in their recommendation, and as the subject pertains to the efficient administration of the revenue and postal laws in the Southern States I earnestly commend it to the early consideration of Congress.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _April 6, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a supplemental article to the Pottawatomie treaty of November 15, 1861, concluded on the 29th ultimo, together with the accompanying communications from the Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 7, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Interior, with the accompanying papers, in reference to grants of land made by acts of Congress passed in the years 1850, 1853, and 1856 to the States of Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Louisiana, to aid in the construction of certain railroads. As these acts will expire by limitation on the 11th day of August, 1866, leaving the roads for whose benefit they were conferred in an unfinished condition, it is recommended that the time within which they may be completed be extended for a period of five years.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _April 11, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 27th ultimo, in relation to the seizure and detention at New York of the steamship _Meteor_, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State and the papers by which it was accompanied.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _April 13, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty concluded with the Bois Forte band of Chippewa Indians on the 7th instant, together with the accompanying communications from the Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _April 13, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th instant, requesting information in regard to the rights and interests of American citizens in the fishing grounds adjacent to the British Provinces, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _April 20, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the Senate's resolution of the 8th January, 1866, I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War of the 19th instant, covering copies of the correspondence respecting General Orders, No. 17,[6] issued by the commander of the Department of California, and also the Attorney-General's opinion as to the question whether the order involves a breach of neutrality toward Mexico.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

[Footnote 6: Instructing commanders on the southern frontiers within the Department of California "to take the necessary measures to preserve the neutrality of the United States with respect to the parties engaged in the existing war in Mexico, and to suffer no armed parties to pass the frontier from the United States, nor suffer any arms or munitions of war to be sent over the frontier to either belligerent," etc.]

WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 20, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 2d instant, requesting information respecting the collection of the remains of officers and soldiers killed and buried on the various battlefields about Atlanta, I transmit herewith a report on the subject from the Secretary of War.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _April 21, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith a communication of this date from the Secretary of War, covering a copy of the proceedings of a board of officers in relation to brevet appointments in the Regular Army, requested in the Senate's resolution of the 18th April, 1866.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _April 23, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to ratification, a convention which was signed at Tangier on the 31st of May last between the United States and other powers on the one part and the Sultan of Morocco on the other part, concerning the administration and maintenance of a light-house on Cape Spartel.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _April 23, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 16th instant, requesting information relative to the proposed evacuation of Mexico by French military forces, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington, D.C., April 24, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I submit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, the accompanying communication from the Secretary of the Interior, in relation to the Union Pacific Railroad Company, eastern division.

It appears that the company were required to complete 100 miles of their road within three years after their acceptance of the conditions of the original act of Congress. This period expired December 22, 1865. Sixty-two miles had been previously accepted by the Government. Since that date an additional section of 23 miles has been completed. Commissioners appointed for that purpose have examined and reported upon it, and an application has been made for its acceptance.

The failure to complete 100 miles of road within the period prescribed renders it questionable whether the executive officers of the Government are authorized to issue the bonds and patents to which the company would be entitled if this as well as the other requirements of the act had been faithfully observed.

This failure may to some extent be ascribed to the financial condition of the country incident to the recent civil war. As the company appear to be engaged in the energetic prosecution of their work and manifest a disposition to comply with the conditions of the grant, I recommend that the time for the completion of this part of the road be extended and that authority be given for the issue of bonds and patents on account of the section now offered for acceptance notwithstanding such failure, should the company in other respects be thereunto entitled.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _April 28, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty this day concluded with the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations of Indians.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _April 30, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 25th instant, requesting information in regard to the rebel debt known as the cotton loan, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 2, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 23d ultimo, I transmit a report from the Secretary of War, from which it will be perceived that it is not deemed compatible with the public interests to communicate to the House the report made by General Smith and the Hon. James T. Brady of their investigations at New Orleans, La.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 4, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 5th of March, 1866, requesting the names of persons worth more than $20,000 to whom special pardons have been issued, and a statement of the amount of property which has been seized as belonging to the enemies of the Government, or as abandoned property, and returned to those who claimed to be the original owners, I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, and the Attorney-General, together with a copy of the amnesty proclamation of the 29th of May, 1865, and a copy of the warrants issued in cases in which special pardons are granted. The second, third, and fourth conditions of the warrant prescribe the terms, so far as property is concerned, upon which all such pardons are granted and accepted.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _May 4, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

Referring to my message of the 12th of March last, communicating information in regard to a proposed exposition of fishery and water culture at Arcachon, in France, I communicate a copy of another dispatch from the minister of the United States in Paris to the Secretary of State, and again invite the attention of Congress to the subject.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _May 7, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 19th ultimo, I transmit herewith a report from Benjamin C. Truman, relative to the condition of the Southern people and the States in which the rebellion existed.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _May 9, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit to Congress a copy of a correspondence between the Secretary of State and the acting chargé d'affaires of the United States at Guayaquil, in the Republic of Ecuador, from which it appears that the Government of that Republic has failed to pay the first installment of the award of the commissioners under the convention between the United States and Ecuador of the 25th November, 1862, which installment was due on the 17th of February last.

As debts of this character from one government to another are justly regarded as of a peculiarly sacred character, and as further diplomatic measures are not in this instance likely to be successful, the expediency of authorizing other proceedings in case they should ultimately prove to be indispensable is submitted to your consideration.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 10, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, in answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 3d instant, requesting information concerning discriminations made by the so-called Maximilian Government of Mexico against American commerce, or against commerce from particular American ports.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _May 11, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to that part of the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th instant which calls for information in regard to the clerks employed in the Department of State.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _May 16, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit to Congress a copy of the correspondence between the Secretary of State and Cornelius Vanderbilt, of New York, relative to the joint resolution of the 28th of January, 1864, upon the subject of the gift of the steamer _Vanderbilt_ to the United States.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington, May 7, 1866_.

Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX,

_Speaker of the House of Representatives_.

SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith a communication of the Secretary of War, inclosing one from the Lieutenant-General, relative to the necessity for legislation upon the subject of the Army.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 17, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In further response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th instant, calling for information in regard to clerks employed in the several Executive Departments, I transmit herewith reports from the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the Interior and the Postmaster-General.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 22, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, made in compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th instant, calling for information in respect to clerks employed in the several Executive Departments of the Government.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 22, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th ultimo, requesting a collation of the provisions in reference to freedmen contained in the amended constitutions of the Southern States and in the laws of those States passed since the suppression of the rebellion, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 24, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report from the Postmaster-General, made in answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 14th instant, calling for information relative to the proposed mail steamship service between the United States and Brazil.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 25, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st instant, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, with the accompanying papers, in reference to the operations of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _May 30, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

With sincere regret I announce to Congress that Winfield Scott, late Lieutenant-General in the Army of the United States, departed this life at West Point, in the State of New York, on the 29th day of May instant, at 11 o'clock in the forenoon. I feel well assured that Congress will share in the grief of the nation which must result from its bereavement of a citizen whose high fame is identified with the military history of the Republic.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 30, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit a communication from the Secretary of War, covering a supplemental report to that already made to the House of Representatives, in answer to its resolution of the 21st instant, requesting the reports of General Steedman and others in reference to the operations of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 5, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to ratification, a convention between the United States and the Republic of Venezuela on the subject of the claims of citizens of the United States upon the Government of that Republic, which convention was signed by the plenipotentiaries of the parties at the city of Caracas on the 25th of April last.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 9, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report from the Acting Secretary of the Interior, communicating the information requested by a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st ultimo, in relation to the removal of the Sioux Indians of Minnesota and the provisions made for their accommodation in the Territory of Nebraska.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 9, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a call of the Senate, as expressed in a resolution adopted on the 6th instant, I transmit a copy of the report of the Board of Visitors to the United States Naval Academy for the year 1866.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 11, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th ultimo, calling for information relative to the claims of citizens of the United States against the Republic of Venezuela, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 11, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

It is proper that I should inform Congress that a copy of an act of the legislature of Georgia of the 10th of March last has been officially communicated to me, by which that State accepts the donation of lands for the benefit of colleges for agriculture and the mechanic arts, which donation was provided for by the acts of Congress of the 2d of July, 1862, and 14th of April, 1864.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 11, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I communicate and invite the attention of Congress to a copy of joint resolutions of the senate and house of representatives of the State of Georgia, requesting a suspension of the collection of the internal-revenue tax due from that State pursuant to the act of Congress of the 5th of August, 1861.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 13, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th instant, requesting information concerning the provisions of the laws and ordinances of the late insurgent States on the subject of the rebel debt, so called, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the document by which it was accompanied.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 14, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 28th of May, requesting information as to what progress has been made in completing the maps connected with the boundary survey under the treaty of Washington, with copies of any correspondence on this subject not heretofore printed, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents which accompanied it.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 15, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 13th instant, calling for information in regard to the departure of troops from Austria to Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 16, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I communicate herewith a report from the Acting Secretary of the Interior, furnishing, as requested by a resolution of the Senate of the 25th ultimo, information touching the transactions of the executive branch of the Government respecting the transportation, settlement, and colonization of persons of the African race.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 18, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In reply to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th instant, requesting information in regard to the dispatch of military forces from Austria for service in Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State on the subject.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 20, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st ultimo, requesting information as to the collection of the direct tax in the States whose inhabitants participated in the rebellion, I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, accompanied by a report from the Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 22, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I submit to Congress a report of the Secretary of State, to whom was referred the concurrent resolution of the 18th instant, respecting a submission to the legislatures of the States of an additional article to the Constitution of the United States. It will be seen from this report that the Secretary of State had, on the 16th instant, transmitted to the governors of the several States certified copies of the joint resolution passed on the 13th instant, proposing an amendment to the Constitution.

Even in ordinary times any question of amending the Constitution must be justly regarded as of paramount importance. This importance is at the present time enhanced by the fact that the joint resolution was not submitted by the two Houses for the approval of the President and that of the thirty-six States which constitute the Union eleven are excluded from representation in either House of Congress, although, with the single exception of Texas, they have been entirely restored to all their functions as States in conformity with the organic law of the land, and have appeared at the national capital by Senators and Representatives, who have applied for and have been refused admission to the vacant seats. Nor have the sovereign people of the nation been afforded an opportunity of expressing their views upon the important questions which the amendment involves. Grave doubts, therefore, may naturally and justly arise as to whether the action of Congress is in harmony with the sentiments of the people, and whether State legislatures, elected without reference to such an issue, should be called upon by Congress to decide respecting the ratification of the proposed amendment.

Waiving the question as to the constitutional validity of the proceedings of Congress upon the joint resolution proposing the amendment or as to the merits of the article which it submits through the executive department to the legislatures of the States, I deem it proper to observe that the steps taken by the Secretary of State, as detailed in the accompanying report, are to be considered as purely ministerial, and in no sense whatever committing the Executive to an approval or a recommendation of the amendment to the State legislatures or to the people. On the contrary, a proper appreciation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution, as well as of the interests of national order, harmony, and union, and a due deference for an enlightened public judgment may at this time well suggest a doubt whether any amendment to the Constitution ought to be proposed by Congress and pressed upon the legislatures of the several States for final decision until after the admission of such loyal Senators and Representatives of the now unrepresented States as have been or as may hereafter be chosen in conformity with the Constitution and laws of the United States.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 22, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

In further answer to recent resolutions of the Senate and House of Representatives, requesting information in regard to the employment of European troops in Mexico, I transmit to Congress a copy of a dispatch of the 4th of this month addressed to the Secretary of State by the minister of the United States at Paris.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 22, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 18th instant, calling for information in regard to the arrest and imprisonment in Ireland of American citizens, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State on the subject.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON CITY, _June 23, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior, communicating in part the information requested by a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 23d of April last, in relation to appropriations and expenditures connected with the Indian service.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 28, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Navy and the accompanying copy of a report and maps prepared by a board of examiners appointed under authority of the joint resolution approved June 1, 1866, "to examine a site for a fresh-water basin for ironclad vessels of the United States Navy."

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 28, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith reports from the heads of the several Executive Departments, made in answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 4th instant, requesting information as to whether any of the civil or military employees of the Government have assisted in the rendition of public honors to the rebel living or dead.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _July 7, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

The accompanying report of the Secretary of the Treasury is transmitted to the Senate in compliance with its resolution of the 20th ultimo, calling for a statement of the expenditures of the United States for the various public works of the Government in each State and Territory of the Union and in the District of Columbia from the year 1860 to the close of the year 1865.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 7, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty concluded with the Seminole Nation of Indians on the 21st day of March, 1866, together with the accompanying communications from the Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 7, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty concluded with the Creek Nation of Indians on the 14th day of June, 1866, together with the accompanying communications from the Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _July 17, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday, requesting information relative to proposed international movements in connection with the Paris Universal Exposition for the reform of systems of coinage, weights, and measures, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State and the documents by which it was accompanied.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _July 17, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I herewith transmit to Congress a report, dated 12th instant, with the accompanying papers, received from the Secretary of State, in compliance with the requirements of the eighteenth section of the act entitled "An act to regulate the diplomatic and consular systems of the United States," approved August 18, 1856.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _July 20, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, certain articles of agreement made at the Delaware Agency, Kans., on the 4th instant between the United States and the Delaware Indians.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _July 20, 1866_.

_To the Senate_:

I herewith submit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty negotiated at the city of Washington, D.C., on the 19th instant, between the United States, represented by Dennis N. Cooley, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and Elijah Sells, superintendent of Indian affairs for the southern superintendency, and the Cherokee Nation of Indians; represented by its delegates, James McDaniel, Smith Christie, White Catcher, L.H. Benge, J.B. Jones, and Daniel H. Ross.

The distracted condition of the Cherokee Nation and the peculiar relation of many of its members to this Government during the rebellion presented almost insuperable difficulties to treating with them. The treaty now submitted is a result of protracted negotiations. Its stipulations are, it is believed, as satisfactory to the contracting parties and furnish as just provisions for the welfare of the Indians and as strong guaranties for the maintenance of peaceful relations with them as under the circumstances could be expected.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 24, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I hereby transmit, for the constitutional action of the Senate, a treaty concluded on the 15th of November, 1865, between the United States and the confederate tribes and bands of Indians of middle Oregon, the same being amendatory and supplemental to the treaty with said Indians of the 25th of June, 1855.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _July 24, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

The following "Joint resolution, restoring Tennessee to her relations in the Union," was last evening presented for my approval:

Whereas in the year 1861 the government of the State of Tennessee was seized upon and taken possession of by persons in hostility to the United States, and the inhabitants of said State, in pursuance of an act of Congress, were declared to be in a state of insurrection against the United States; and

Whereas said State government can only be restored to its former political relations in the Union by the consent of the lawmaking power of the United States; and

Whereas the people of said State did, on the 22d day of February, 1865, by a large popular vote, adopt and ratify a constitution of government whereby slavery was abolished and all ordinances and laws of secession and debts contracted under the same were declared void; and

Whereas a State government has been organized under said constitution which has ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United States abolishing slavery, also the amendment proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress, and has done other acts proclaiming and denoting loyalty: Therefore,

_Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled_, That the State of Tennessee is hereby restored to her former proper practical relations to the Union, and is again entitled to be represented by Senators and Representatives in Congress.

The preamble simply consists of statements, some of which are assumed, while the resolution is merely a declaration of opinion. It comprises no legislation, nor does it confer any power which is binding upon the respective Houses, the Executive, or the States. It does not admit to their seats in Congress the Senators and Representatives from the State of Tennessee, for, notwithstanding the passage of the resolution, each House, in the exercise of the constitutional right to judge for itself of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its members, may, at its discretion, admit them or continue to exclude them. If a joint resolution of this kind were necessary and binding as a condition precedent to the admission of members of Congress, it would happen, in the event of a veto by the Executive, that Senators and Representatives could only be admitted to the halls of legislation by a two-thirds vote of each of the Houses.

Among other reasons recited in the preamble for the declaration contained in the resolution is the ratification by the State government of Tennessee of "the amendment to the Constitution of the United States abolishing slavery, also the amendment proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress." If, as is also declared in the preamble, "said State government can only be restored to its former political relations in the Union by the consent of the lawmaking power of the United States," it would really seem to follow that the joint resolution which at this late day has received the sanction of Congress should have been passed, approved, and placed on the statute books before any amendment to the Constitution was submitted to the legislature of Tennessee for ratification. Otherwise the inference is plainly deducible that while, in the opinion of Congress, the people of a State may be too strongly disloyal to be entitled to representation, they may nevertheless, during the suspension of their "former proper practical relations to the Union," have an equally potent voice with other and loyal States in propositions to amend the Constitution, upon which so essentially depend the stability, prosperity, and very existence of the nation.

A brief reference to my annual message of the 4th of December last will show the steps taken by the Executive for the restoration to their constitutional relations to the Union of the States that had been affected by the rebellion. Upon the cessation of active hostilities provisional governors were appointed, conventions called, governors elected by the people, legislatures assembled, and Senators and Representatives chosen to the Congress of the United States. At the same time the courts of the United States were reopened, the blockade removed, the custom-houses reestablished, and postal operations resumed. The amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery forever within the limits of the country was also submitted to the States, and they were thus invited to and did participate in its ratification, thus exercising the highest functions pertaining to a State. In addition nearly all of these States, through their conventions and legislatures, had adopted and ratified constitutions "of government whereby slavery was abolished and all ordinances and laws of secession and debts contracted under the same were declared void." So far, then, the political existence of the States and their relations to the Federal Government had been fully and completely recognized and acknowledged by the executive department of the Government; and the completion of the work of restoration, which had progressed so favorably, was submitted to Congress, upon which devolved all questions pertaining to the admission to their seats of the Senators and Representatives chosen from the States whose people had engaged in the rebellion.

All these steps had been taken when, on the 4th day of December, 1865, the Thirty-ninth Congress assembled. Nearly eight months have elapsed since that time; and no other plan of restoration having been proposed by Congress for the measures instituted by the Executive, it is now declared, in the joint resolution submitted for my approval, "that the State of Tennessee is hereby restored to her former proper practical relations to the Union, and is again entitled to be represented by Senators and Representatives in Congress." Thus, after the lapse of nearly eight months, Congress proposes to pave the way to the admission to representation of one of the eleven States whose people arrayed themselves in rebellion against the constitutional authority of the Federal Government.

Earnestly desiring to remove every cause of further delay, whether real or imaginary, on the part of Congress to the admission to seats of loyal Senators and Representatives from the State of Tennessee, I have, notwithstanding the anomalous character of this proceeding, affixed my signature to the resolution. My approval, however, is not to be construed as an acknowledgment of the right of Congress to pass laws preliminary to the admission of duly qualified Representatives from any of the States. Neither is it to be considered as committing me to all the statements made in the preamble, some of which are, in my opinion, without foundation in fact, especially the assertion that the State of Tennessee has ratified the amendment to the Constitution of the United States proposed by the Thirty-ninth Congress. No official notice of such ratification has been received by the Executive or filed in the Department of State; on the contrary, unofficial information from the most reliable sources induces the belief that the amendment has not yet been constitutionally sanctioned by the legislature of Tennessee. The right of each House under the Constitution to judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members is undoubted, and my approval or disapproval of the resolution could not in the slightest degree increase or diminish the authority in this respect conferred upon the two branches of Congress.

In conclusion I can not too earnestly repeat my recommendation for the admission of Tennessee, and all other States, to a fair and equal participation in national legislation when they present themselves in the persons of loyal Senators and Representatives who can comply with all the requirements of the Constitution and the laws. By this means harmony and reconciliation will be effected, the practical relations of all the States to the Federal Government reestablished, and the work of restoration, inaugurated upon the termination of the war, successfully completed.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _July 25, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I nominate Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant to be General of the Army of the United States.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _July 26, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to two resolutions of the House of Representatives of the 23d instant, in the following words, respectively--

_Resolved_, That the House of Representatives respectfully request the
President of the United States to urge upon the Canadian authorities,
and also the British Government, the release of the Fenian prisoners
recently captured in Canada;

_Resolved_, That this House respectfully request the President to cause
the prosecutions instituted in the United States courts against the
Fenians to be discontinued, if compatible with the public interest--

I transmit a report on the subject from the Secretary of State, together with the documents which accompany it.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

VETO MESSAGES.

WASHINGTON, _February 19, 1866_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I have examined with care the bill, which originated in the Senate and has been passed by the two Houses of Congress, to amend an act entitled "An act to establish a bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees," and for other purposes. Having with much regret come to the conclusion that it would not be consistent with the public welfare to give my approval to the measure, I return the bill to the Senate with my objections to its becoming a law.

I might call to mind in advance of these objections that there is no immediate necessity for the proposed measure. The act to establish a bureau for the relief of freedmen and refugees, which was approved in the month of March last, has not yet expired. It was thought stringent and extensive enough for the purpose in view in time of war. Before it ceases to have effect further experience may assist to guide us to a wise conclusion as to the policy to be adopted in time of peace.

I share with Congress the strongest desire to secure to the freedmen the full enjoyment of their freedom and property and their entire independence and equality in making contracts for their labor, but the bill before me contains provisions which in my opinion are not warranted by the Constitution and are not well suited to accomplish the end in view.

The bill proposes to establish by authority of Congress military jurisdiction over all parts of the United States containing refugees and freedmen. It would by its very nature apply with most force to those parts of the United States in which the freedmen most abound, and it expressly extends the existing temporary jurisdiction of the Freedmen's Bureau, with greatly enlarged powers, over those States "in which the ordinary course of judicial proceedings has been interrupted by the rebellion." The source from which this military jurisdiction is to emanate is none other than the President of the United States, acting through the War Department and the Commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau. The agents to carry out this military jurisdiction are to be selected either from the Army or from civil life; the country is to be divided into districts and subdistricts, and the number of salaried agents to be employed may be equal to the number of counties or parishes in all the United States where freedmen and refugees are to be found.

The subjects over which this military jurisdiction is to extend in every part of the United States include protection to "all employees, agents, and officers of this bureau in the exercise of the duties imposed" upon them by the bill. In eleven States it is further to extend over all cases affecting freedmen and refugees discriminated against "by local law, custom, or prejudice." In those eleven States the bill subjects any white person who may be charged with depriving a freedman of "any civil rights or immunities belonging to white persons" to imprisonment or fine, or both, without, however, defining the "civil rights and immunities" which are thus to be secured to the freedmen by military law. This military jurisdiction also extends to all questions that may arise respecting contracts. The agent who is thus to exercise the office of a military judge may be a stranger, entirely ignorant of the laws of the place, and exposed to the errors of judgment to which all men are liable. The exercise of power over which there is no legal supervision by so vast a number of agents as is contemplated by the bill must, by the very nature of man, be attended by acts of caprice, injustice, and passion.

The trials having their origin under this bill are to take place without the intervention of a jury and without any fixed rules of law or evidence. The rules on which offenses are to be "heard and determined" by the numerous agents are such rules and regulations as the President, through the War Department, shall prescribe. No previous presentment is required nor any indictment charging the commission of a crime against the laws; but the trial must proceed on charges and specifications. The punishment will be, not what the law declares, but such as a court-martial may think proper; and from these arbitrary tribunals there lies no appeal, no writ of error to any of the courts in which the Constitution of the United States vests exclusively the judicial power of the country.

While the territory and the classes of actions and offenses that are made subject to this measure are so extensive, the bill itself, should it become a law, will have no limitation in point of time, but will form a part of the permanent legislation of the country. I can not reconcile a system of military jurisdiction of this kind with the words of the Constitution which declare that "no person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger," and that "in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed." The safeguards which the experience and wisdom of ages taught our fathers to establish as securities for the protection of the innocent, the punishment of the guilty, and the equal administration of justice are to be set aside, and for the sake of a more vigorous interposition in behalf of justice we are to take the risks of the many acts of injustice that would necessarily follow from an almost countless number of agents established in every parish or county in nearly a third of the States of the Union, over whose decisions there is to be no supervision or control by the Federal courts. The power that would be thus placed in the hands of the President is such as in time of peace certainly ought never to be intrusted to any one man.

If it be asked whether the creation of such a tribunal within a State is warranted as a measure of war, the question immediately presents itself whether we are still engaged in war. Let us not unnecessarily disturb the commerce and credit and industry of the country by declaring to the American people and to the world that the United States are still in a condition of civil war. At present there is no part of our country in which the authority of the United States is disputed. Offenses that may be committed by individuals should not work a forfeiture of the rights of whole communities. The country has returned, or is returning, to a state of peace and industry, and the rebellion is in fact at an end. The measure, therefore, seems to be as inconsistent with the actual condition of the country as it is at variance with the Constitution of the United States.

If, passing from general considerations, we examine the bill in detail, it is open to weighty objections.

In time of war it was eminently proper that we should provide for those who were passing suddenly from a condition of bondage to a state of freedom. But this bill proposes to make the Freedmen's Bureau, established by the act of 1865 as one of many great and extraordinary military measures to suppress a formidable rebellion, a permanent branch of the public administration, with its powers greatly enlarged. I have no reason to suppose, and I do not understand it to be alleged, that the act of March, 1865, has proved deficient for the purpose for which it was passed, although at that time and for a considerable period thereafter the Government of the United States remained unacknowledged in most of the States whose inhabitants had been involved in the rebellion. The institution of slavery, for the military destruction of which the Freedmen's Bureau was called into existence as an auxiliary, has been already effectually and finally abrogated throughout the whole country by an amendment of the Constitution of the United States, and practically its eradication has received the assent and concurrence of most of those States in which it at any time had an existence. I am not, therefore, able to discern in the condition of the country anything to justify an apprehension that the powers and agencies of the Freedmen's Bureau, which were effective for the protection of freedmen and refugees during the actual continuance of hostilities and of African servitude, will now, in a time of peace and after the abolition of slavery, prove inadequate to the same proper ends. If I am correct in these views, there can be no necessity for the enlargement of the powers of the Bureau, for which provision is made in the bill.

The third section of the bill authorizes a general and unlimited grant of support to the destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen, their wives and children. Succeeding sections make provision for the rent or purchase of landed estates for freedmen, and for the erection for their benefit of suitable buildings for asylums and schools, the expenses to be defrayed from the Treasury of the whole people. The Congress of the United States has never heretofore thought itself empowered to establish asylums beyond the limits of the District of Columbia, except for the benefit of our disabled soldiers and sailors. It has never founded schools for any class of our own people, not even for the orphans of those who have fallen in the defense of the Union, but has left the care of education to the much more competent and efficient control of the States, of communities, of private associations, and of individuals. It has never deemed itself authorized to expend the public money for the rent or purchase of homes for the thousands, not to say millions, of the white race who are honestly toiling from day to day for their subsistence. A system for the support of indigent persons in the United States was never contemplated by the authors of the Constitution; nor can any good reason be advanced why, as a permanent establishment, it should be founded for one class or color of our people more than another. Pending the war many refugees and freedmen received support from the Government, but it was never intended that they should thenceforth be fed, clothed, educated, and sheltered by the United States. The idea on which the slaves were assisted to freedom was that on becoming free they would be a self-sustaining population. Any legislation that shall imply that they are not expected to attain a self-sustaining condition must have a tendency injurious alike to their character and their prospects.

The appointment of an agent for every county and parish will create an immense patronage, and the expense of the numerous officers and their clerks, to be appointed by the President, will be great in the beginning, with a tendency steadily to increase. The appropriations asked by the Freedmen's Bureau as now established, for the year 1866, amount to $11,745,000. It may be safely estimated that the cost to be incurred under the pending bill will require double that amount--more than the entire sum expended in any one year under the Administration of the second Adams. If the presence of agents in every parish and county is to be considered as a war measure, opposition, or even resistance, might be provoked; so that to give effect to their jurisdiction troops would have to be stationed within reach of every one of them, and thus a large standing force be rendered necessary. Large appropriations would therefore be required to sustain and enforce military jurisdiction in every county or parish from the Potomac to the Rio Grande. The condition of our fiscal affairs is encouraging, but in order to sustain the present measure of public confidence it is necessary that we practice not merely customary economy, but, as far as possible, severe retrenchment.

In addition to the objections already stated, the fifth section of the bill proposes to take away land from its former owners without any legal proceedings being first had, contrary to that provision of the Constitution which declares that no person shall "be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." It does not appear that a part of the lands to which this section refers may not be owned by minors or persons of unsound mind, or by those who have been faithful to all their obligations as citizens of the United States. If any portion of the land is held by such persons, it is not competent for any authority to deprive them of it. If, on the other hand, it be found that the property is liable to confiscation, even then it can not be appropriated to public purposes until by due process of law it shall have been declared forfeited to the Government.

There is still further objection to the bill, on grounds seriously affecting the class of persons to whom it is designed to bring relief. It will tend to keep the mind of the freedman in a state of uncertain expectation and restlessness, while to those among whom he lives it will be a source of constant and vague apprehension.