SPECIAL MESSAGES. (continued 4)

Although the answer thus given to the application made to you, by direction of the President, under date of the 1st of March last, to ascertain the sense of the State of Maine in regard to a conventional line of boundary may be regarded as conclusive, I still deem it proper, with reference to your excellency's message, to mark a misconception which appears to have existed on your part when communicating to the legislature the letter and documents received from this Department. This is done with the greater freedom since the frank and liberal manner in which your excellency invited the attention of that body to the subject is highly appreciated by the President. The question therein presented for consideration was not, as your excellency supposed, whether the State of Maine should "take the lead in abandoning the treaty and volunteer propositions for a conventional line," but simply whether the government of Maine would consent that the General Government should entertain a direct negotiation with the British Government for a conventional line of boundary on the northeastern frontier of the United States. Had that consent been given it would have been reasonable to expect the proposition of a line from Great Britain, as it was that power which particularly desired the resort to that mode of settling the controversy. It was also the intention of the President so to arrange the negotiation that the approbation of Maine to the boundary line agreed upon should have been secured. It was with this view that in the application to the State of Maine for its assent to a negotiation for a conventional line express reference was made to such conditions as she might think proper to prescribe. To all such as were, in the opinion of the President, required by a proper regard for the security of Maine and consistent with the Constitution he would have yielded a ready assent. Of that character was he disposed to regard a condition that in a negotiation for the final establishment of a new line, with power on the part of the negotiators to stipulate for the cession or exchange of territory as the interests and convenience of the parties might be found to require, the State of Maine should be represented by commissioners of her own selection and that their previous assent should be requisite to make any treaty containing such stipulation binding upon her.

These suggestions are not now made as matter of complaint at the decision which the State of Maine has come to on a matter in which she was at perfect liberty to pursue the course she has adopted, but in justice to the views of the President in making the application.

I am instructed to announce to your excellency that by direction of the President, upon due consideration of the result of the late application of the General Government to the State of Maine on the subject of the northeastern boundary and in accordance with the expressed wishes of her legislature, I have informed Mr. Fox of the willingness of this Government to enter into an arrangement with that of Great Britain for the establishment of a joint commission of survey and exploration upon the basis of the original American proposition and the modifications offered by Her Majesty's Government, and to apprise you that Mr. Fox, being at present unprovided with full powers for negotiating the proposed convention, has transmitted my communication to his Government in order that such fresh instructions may be furnished to him or such other steps taken as may be deemed expedient on its part.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, your excellency's obedient servant,

JOHN FORSYTH.

WASHINGTON, May 21, 1838.

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States:

The accompanying copy of a communication addressed by the Secretary of War to the Cherokee delegation is submitted to Congress in order that such measures may be adopted as are required to carry into effect the benevolent intentions of the Government toward the Cherokee Nation, and which it is hoped will induce them to remove peaceably and contentedly to their new homes in the West.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, May 24, 1838.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

I herewith submit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, explanatory of the manner in which extracts from certain newspapers relating to the introduction of foreign paupers into this country, and the steps taken to prevent it, became connected with his communication to me on that subject, accompanying my message of the 11th instant. Sensible that those extracts are of a character which would, if attention had been directed to them, have prevented their transmission to the House, I request permission to withdraw them.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, May 30, 1838.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary of State, in answer to their resolution of the 28th instant, relative to the claim34 in the case of the ship Mary and cargo, of Baltimore.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, May 31, 1838.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 28th instant, regarding the annexation of the Republic of Texas to the United States, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, June 1, 1838.

To the Senate of the United States:

Negotiations have been opened with the Osage and Delaware Indians, in compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 19th of January last, for the relinquishment of certain school lands secured to them by treaty. These relinquishments have been obtained on the terms authorized by the resolution, and copies of them are herewith transmitted for the information of the Senate.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, June 4, 1838.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

I transmit herewith to the House of Representatives a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers, relating to the claim of the orphan children of Peter Shackerly,35 in answer to their resolution of the 28th ultimo.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, June 6, 1838.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

In compliance with the resolution of the 4th instant, calling for any communication received from the governors of the States of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama in reference to the proposed modification of the Cherokee treaty of 1835, I herewith inclose a report of the Secretary of War, accompanied by a copy of a letter addressed by him to the governor of Georgia and of his reply thereto. As stated by the Secretary, no communication on that subject has been received from either of the other executives mentioned.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, June 7, 1838.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

I transmit to the House of Representatives an account against the United States, presented by Heman Cady, of Plattsburg, in the State of New York, for services alleged to have been rendered as deputy marshal for the northern district of New York from the 20th December, 1837, to the 9th February, 1838, by direction of the attorney and marshal of the United States for that district, in endeavoring to prevent the arming and enlisting of men for the invasion of Canada. I also transmit certain documents which were exhibited in support of the said account. I recommend to the consideration of Congress the expediency of an appropriation for the payment of this claim and of some general provision for the liquidation and payment of others which may be expected to be presented hereafter for services of a similar character rendered before and after the passage of the act of the 20th March last, for preserving the neutrality of the United States on the northern frontier, which act imposes important duties upon the marshals and other civil officers, but omits to provide for their remuneration or for the reimbursement of their expenses.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, June 7, 1838.

To the Senate of the United States:

Having received satisfactory assurances from the Government of Ecuador of its desire to negotiate a treaty of commerce on the most liberal principles in place of the expired treaty made with the Republic of Colombia, heretofore regulating our intercourse with Ecuador, it is my design to give the requisite authority for that purpose to the chargé d'affaires of the United States about to be appointed for Peru, with instructions to stop in Ecuador on his way to Lima as the agent of the United States to accomplish that object. The only additional charges to be incurred will be the expense of his journey from Panama to Quito, and from thence to the place of embarkation for Lima, to be paid out of the foreign-intercourse fund. I make this communication to the Senate that an opportunity may be afforded for the expression of an opinion, if it shall be deemed necessary, on the exercise of such a power by the Executive without applying to the Senate for its approbation and consent. In debate it has been sometimes asserted that this power, frequently exercised without question or complaint, and leading to no practical evil, as no arrangement made under such circumstances can be obligatory upon the United States without being submitted to the approbation of the Senate, is an encroachment upon its rightful authority. It appears to have been considered that the annual appropriation of a gross sum for the expenses of foreign intercourse is intended, among other objects, to provide for the cost of such agencies, and that the authority granted is the same as that frequently given to the Secretary of State to form treaties with the representatives or agents of foreign governments, upon the granting of which the Senate never have been consulted.

Desiring in this and in all other instances to act with the most cautious respect to the claims of other branches of the Government, I bring this subject to the notice of the Senate that if it shall be deemed proper to raise any question it may be discussed and decided before and not after the power shall have been exercised.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON CITY, June 11, 1838.

To the Senate of the United States:

I submit herewith, for consideration and action, a communication from the Secretary of War and the treaty with the Otoe, Missouria, and Omaha Indians therein referred to.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, June 20, 1838.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

I transmit, in compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th instant, reports from the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and War, with the documents referred to by them respectively. It will be seen that the outrage committed on the steamboat Sir Robert Peel, under the British flag, within the waters of the United States, and on the steamboat Telegraph, under the American flag, at Brockville, in Upper Canada, have not been followed by any demand by either Government on the other for redress. These acts have been so far treated on each side as criminal offenses committed within the jurisdiction of tribunals competent to inquire into the facts and to punish the persons concerned in them. Investigations have been made, some of the individuals inculpated have been arrested, and prosecutions are in progress, the result of which can not be doubted. The excited state of public feeling on the borders of Canada on both sides of the line has occasioned the most painful anxiety to this Government. Every effort has been and will be made to prevent the success of the design, apparently formed and in the course of execution by Canadians who have found a refuge within the territory, aided by a few reckless persons of our own country, to involve the nation in a war with a neighboring and friendly power. Such design can not succeed while the two Governments appreciate and confidently rely upon the good faith of each other in the performance of their respective duties. With a fixed determination to use all the means in my power to put a speedy and satisfactory termination to these border troubles, I have the most confident assurances of the cordial cooperation of the British authorities, at home and in the North American possessions, in the accomplishment of a purpose so sincerely and earnestly desired by the Governments and people both of the United States and Great Britain.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, June 28, 1838.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

In compliance with a resolution passed by the House of Representatives on the 23d instant, in respect to the new Treasury building, I submit the inclosed report from the commissioners charged with a general superintendence of the work, and which, with the documents annexed, is believed to contain all the information desired.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, June 28, 1838.

To the Senate of the United States:

I nominate Lieutenant-Colonel Thayer, of the Corps of Engineers, for the brevet of colonel in the Army, agreeably to the recommendation of the Secretary of War.

M. VAN BUREN.

WAR DEPARTMENT, June 28, 1838.

The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

SIR: In submitting the name of Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel S. Thayer, of the Corps of Engineers, for the brevet of colonel for ten years' faithful service in one grade it may be proper to state the circumstances of his case.

When the law of 1812 regulating brevets was repealed by the act of June 30, 1834, all the officers of the Army who were known to be entitled to the ordinary brevet promotion for ten years' faithful service in one grade received on that day, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, the brevet promotion to which they were respectively entitled. The regulation which governed the subject under the law had reference only to service with regularly organized bodies of troops, and valid claims arising under it were generally known and easily understood at the Adjutant-General's Office. If incidental cases occurred for which the written regulations could not provide the rule, although equally valid, such, nevertheless, may not in every instance have been known at the War Department until specially represented by the party interested. The case of Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Thayer happened to be one of those incidental claims, and as soon as it was submitted for consideration its validity was clearly seen and acknowledged. Had it been submitted to the Department when the list was made out in June, 1834, it may not be doubted that this highly meritorious and deserving officer would at the time have received the brevet of colonel for "having served faithfully as brevet lieutenant-colonel and performed the appropriate duties of that grade for ten years," which, it may be seen, was due more than a year before the passage of the act repealing the law.

In presenting now this deferred case for your favorable consideration justice requires that I should advert to the valuable services rendered to the Army and the country by Lieutenant-Colonel Thayer as Superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point. In 1817 he found that institution defective in all its branches, and without order; in 1833 he left it established upon a basis alike honorable to himself and useful to the nation. These meritorious services constitute another claim which entitles this officer to the notice of the Government, and as they come fairly within one of the conditions of the law which yet open the way to brevet promotion, the incentive it provides is fully realized by the services that have been rendered.

I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant,

J.R. POINSETT.

WASHINGTON, July 2, 1838.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives a report36 from the Secretary of State, together with the documents therein referred to in answer to their resolution of the 28th of May last.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, July 3, 1838.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

I transmit a report from the War Department, in relation to the investigations of the allegations of fraud committed on the Creek Indians in the sales of their reservations authorized by the resolution of that body of the 1st of July, 1836.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, July 4, 1838.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

In further compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st of March last, requesting papers on the subject of the relations between the United States and Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred, supplementary to the report of that officer communicated with my message to the House of Representatives of the 27th of April last.

M. VAN BUREN.

WASHINGTON, July 7, 1838.

The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE.

SIR: In conformity with the resolution of the Senate, I transmit herewith the report of Major-General Jesup,27 together with a letter from the Secretary of War.

M. VAN BUREN.