The auspicious circumstances under which you will commence the duties of the present session will lighten the burdens inseparable from the high trust committed to you. The fruits of the earth have been unusually abundant, commerce has flourished, the revenue has exceeded the most favorable anticipation, and peace and amity are preserved with foreign nations on conditions just and honorable to our country. For these inestimable blessings we can not but be grateful to that Providence which watches over the destiny of nations. As the term limited for the operation of the commercial convention with Great Britain will expire early in the month of July next, and it was deemed important that there should be no interval during which that portion of our commerce which was provided for by that convention should not be regulated, either by arrangement between the two Governments or by the authority of Congress, the minister of the United States at London was instructed early in the last summer to invite the attention of the British Government to the subject, with a view to that object. He was instructed to propose also that the negotiation which it was wished to open might extend to the general commerce of the two countries, and to every other interest and unsettled difference between them in the hope that an arrangement might be made on principles of reciprocal advantage which might comprehend and provide in a satisfactory manner for all these high concerns. I have the satisfaction to state that the proposal was received by the British Government in the spirit which prompted it, and that a negotiation has been opened at London embracing all these objects. On full consideration of the great extent and magnitude of the trust it was thought proper to commit it to not less than two of our distinguished citizens, and in consequence the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States at Paris has been associated with our envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at London, to both of whom corresponding instructions have been given, and they are now engaged in the discharge of its duties. It is proper to add that to prevent any inconvenience resulting from the delay incident to a negotiation on so many important subjects it was agreed before entering on it that the existing convention should be continued for a term not less than eight years. Our relations with Spain remain nearly in the state in which they were at the close of the last session. The convention of 1802, providing for the adjustment of a certain portion of the claims of our citizens for injuries sustained by spoliation, and so long suspended by the Spanish Government, has at length been ratified by it, but no arrangement has yet been made for the payment of another portion of like claims, not less extensive or well founded, or for other classes of claims, or for the settlement of boundaries. These subjects have again been brought under consideration in both countries, but no agreement has been entered into respecting them. In the mean time events have occurred which clearly prove the ill effect of the policy which that Government has so long pursued on the friendly relations of the two countries, which it is presumed is at least of as much importance to Spain as to the United States to maintain. A state of things has existed in the Floridas the tendency of which has been obvious to all who have paid the slightest attention to the progress of affairs in that quarter. Throughout the whole of those Provinces to which the Spanish title extends the Government of Spain has scarcely been felt. Its authority has been confined almost exclusively to the walls of Pensacola and St. Augustine, within which only small garrisons have been maintained. Adventurers from every country, fugitives from justice, and absconding slaves have found an asylum there. Several tribes of Indians, strong in the # of their warriors, remarkable for their ferocity, and whose settlements extend to our limits, inhabit those Provinces. These different hordes of people, connected together, disregarding on the one side the authority of Spain, and protected on the other by an imaginary line which separates Florida from the United States, have violated our laws prohibiting the introduction of slaves, have practiced various frauds on our revenue, and committed every kind of outrage on our peaceable citizens which their proximity to us enabled them to perpetrate. The invasion of Amelia Island last year by a small band of adventurers, not exceeding 150 in number, who wrested it from the inconsiderable Spanish force stationed there, and held it several months, during which a single feeble effort only was made to recover it, which failed, clearly proves how completely extinct the Spanish authority had become, as the conduct of those adventurers while in possession of the island as distinctly shows the pernicious purposes for which their combination had been formed. This country had, in fact, become the theater of every species of lawless adventure. With little population of its own, the Spanish authority almost extinct, and the colonial governments in a state of revolution, having no pretension to it, and sufficiently employed in their own concerns, it was in great measure derelict, and the object of cupidity to every adventurer. A system of buccaneering was rapidly organizing over it which menaced in its consequences the lawful commerce of every nation, and particularly the United States, while it presented a temptation to every people, on whose seduction its success principally depended. In regard to the United States, the pernicious effect of this unlawful combination was not confined to the ocean; the Indian tribes have constituted the effective force in Florida. With these tribes these adventurers had formed at an early period a connection with a view to avail themselves of that force to promote their own projects of accumulation and aggrandizement. It is to the interference of some of these adventurers, in misrepresenting the claims and titles of the Indians to land and in practicing on their savage propensities, that the Seminole war is principally to be traced. Men who thus connect themselves with savage communities and stimulate them to war, which is always attended on their part with acts of barbarity the most shocking, deserve to be viewed in a worse light than the savages. They would certainly have no claim to an immunity from the punishment which, according to the rules of warfare practiced by the savages, might justly be inflicted on the savages themselves. If the embarrassments of Spain prevented her from making an indemnity to our citizens for so long a time from her treasury for their losses by spoliation and otherwise, it was always in her power to have provided it by the cession of this territory. Of this her Government has been repeatedly apprised, and the cession was the more to have been anticipated as Spain must have known that in ceding it she would likewise relieve herself from the important obligation secured by the treaty of 1795 and all other compromitments respecting it. If the United States, from consideration of these embarrassments, declined pressing their claims in a spirit of hostility, the motive ought at least to have been duly appreciated by the Government of Spain. It is well known to her Government that other powers have made to the United States an indemnity for like losses sustained by their citizens at the same epoch. There is nevertheless a limit beyond which this spirit of amity and forbearance can in no instance be justified. If it was proper to rely on amicable negotiation for an indemnity for losses, it would not have been so to have permitted the inability of Spain to fulfill her engagements and to sustain her authority in the Floridas to be perverted by foreign adventurers and savages to purposes so destructive to the lives of our fellow citizens and the highest interests of the United States. The right of self defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and to individuals, and whether the attack be made by Spain herself or by those who abuse her power, its obligation is not the less strong. The invaders of Amelia Island had assumed a popular and respected title under which they might approach and wound us. As their object was distinctly seen, and the duty imposed on the Executive by an existing law was profoundly felt, that mask was not permitted to protect them. It was thought incumbent on the United States to suppress the establishment, and it was accordingly done. The combination in Florida for the unlawful purposes stated, the acts perpetrated by that combination, and, above all, the incitement of the Indians to massacre our fellow citizens of every age and of both sexes, merited a like treatment and received it. In pursuing these savages to an imaginary line in the woods it would have been the height of folly to have suffered that line to protect them. Had that been done the war could never cease. Even if the territory had been exclusively that of Spain and her power complete over it, we had a right by the law of nations to follow the enemy on it and to subdue him there. But the territory belonged, in a certain sense at least, to the savage enemy who inhabited it; the power of Spain had ceased to exist over it, and protection was sought under her title by those who had committed on our citizens hostilities which she was bound by treaty to have prevented, but had not the power to prevent. To have stopped at that line would have given new encouragement to these savages and new vigor to the whole combination existing there in the prosecution of all its pernicious purposes. In suppressing the establishment at Amelia Island no unfriendliness was manifested toward Spain, because the post was taken from a force which had wrested it from her. The measure, it is true, was not adopted in concert with the Spanish Government or those in authority under it, because in transactions connected with the war in which Spain and the colonies are engaged it was thought proper in doing justice to the United States to maintain a strict impartiality toward both the belligerent parties without consulting or acting in concert with either. It gives me pleasure to state that the Governments of Buenos Ayres and Venezuela, whose names were assumed, have explicitly disclaimed all participation in those measures, and even the knowledge of them until communicated by this Government, and have also expressed their satisfaction that a course of proceedings had been suppressed which if justly imputable to them would dishonor their cause. In authorizing Major-General Jackson to enter Florida in pursuit of the Seminoles care was taken not to encroach on the rights of Spain. I regret to have to add that in executing this order facts were disclosed respecting the conduct of the officers of Spain in authority there in encouraging the war, furnishing munitions of war and other supplies to carry it on, and in other acts not less marked which evinced their participation in the hostile purposes of that combination and justified the confidence with which it inspired the savages that by those officers they would be protected. A conduct so incompatible with the friendly relations existing between the two countries, particularly with the positive obligations of the 5th article of the treaty of 1795, by which Spain was bound to restrain, even by force, those savages from acts of hostility against the United States, could not fail to excite surprise. The commanding general was convinced that he should fail in his object, that he should in effect accomplish nothing, if he did not deprive those savages of the resource on which they had calculated and of the protection on which they had relied in making the war. As all the documents relating to this occurrence will be laid before Congress, it is not necessary to enter into further detail respecting it. Although the reasons which induced Major-General Jackson to take these posts were duly appreciated, there was nevertheless no hesitation in deciding on the course which it became the Government to pursue. As there was reason to believe that the commanders of these posts had violated their instructions, there was no disposition to impute to their Government a conduct so unprovoked and hostile. An order was in consequence issued to the general in command there to deliver the posts - Pensacola unconditionally to any person duly authorized to receive it, and St. Marks, which is in the heart of the Indian country, on the arrival of a competent force to defend it against those savages and their associates. In entering Florida to suppress this combination no idea was entertained of hostility to Spain, and however justifiable the commanding general was, in consequence of the misconduct of the Spanish officers, in entering St. Marks and Pensacola to terminate it by proving to the savages and their associates that they should not be protected even there, yet the amicable relations existing between the United States and Spain could not be altered by that act alone. By ordering the restitution of the posts those relations were preserved. To a change of them the power of the Executive is deemed incompetent; it is vested in Congress only. By this measure, so promptly taken, due respect was shown to the Government of Spain. The misconduct of her officers has not been imputed to her. She was enabled to review with candor her relations with the United States and her own situation, particularly in respect to the territory in question, with the dangers inseparable from it, and regarding the losses we have sustained for which indemnity has been so long withheld, and the injuries we have suffered through that territory, and her means of redress, she was likewise enabled to take with honor the course best calculated to do justice to the United States and to promote her own welfare. Copies of the instructions to the commanding general, of his correspondence with the Secretary of War, explaining his motives and justifying his conduct, with a copy of the proceedings of the courts- martial in the trial of Arbuthnot and Ambristie, and of the correspondence between the Secretary of State and the minister plenipotentiary of Spain near this Government, and of the minister plenipotentiary of the United States at Madrid with the Government of Spain, will be laid before Congress. The civil war which has so long prevailed between Spain and the Provinces in South America still continues, without any prospect of its speedy termination. The information respecting the condition of those countries which has been collected by the commissioners recently returned from thence will be laid before Congress in copies of their reports, with such other information as has been received from other agents of the United States. It appears from these communications that the Government at Buenos Ayres declared itself independent in 1816 July, having previously exercised the power of an independent Government, though in the name of the King of Spain, from the year 1810; that the Banda Oriental, Entre Rios, and Paraguay, with the city of Santa Fee, all of which are also independent, are unconnected with the present Government of Buenos Ayres; that Chili has declared itself independent and is closely connected with Buenos Ayres; that Venezuela has also declared itself independent, and now maintains the conflict with various success; and that the remaining parts of South America, except Monte Video and such other portions of the eastern bank of the La Plata as are held by Portugal, are still in the possession of Spain or in a certain degree under her influence. By a circular note addressed by the ministers of Spain to the allied powers, with whom they are respectively accredited, it appears that the allies have undertaken to mediate between Spain and the South American Provinces, and that the manner and extent of their interposition would be settled by a congress which was to have met at Aix-la-Chapelle in September last. From the general policy and course of proceeding observed by the allied powers in regard to this contest it is inferred that they will confine their interposition to the expression of their sentiments, abstaining from the application of force. I state this impression that force will not be applied with the greater satisfaction because it is a course more consistent with justice and likewise authorizes a hope that the calamities of the war will be confined to the parties only, and will be of shorter duration. From the view taken of this subject, founded on all the information that we have been able to obtain, there is good cause to be satisfied with the course heretofore pursued by the United States in regard to this contest, and to conclude that it is proper to adhere to it, especially in the present state of affairs. I have great satisfaction in stating that our relations with France, Russia, and other powers continue on the most friendly basis. In our domestic concerns we have ample cause of satisfaction. The receipts into the Treasury during the three first quarters of the year have exceeded $17M. After satisfying all the demands which have been made under existing appropriations, including the final extinction of the old 6% stock and the redemption of a moiety of the Louisiana debt, it is estimated that there will remain in the Treasury on the 1st day of January next more than $2M. It is ascertained that the gross revenue which has accrued from the customs during the same period amounts to $21M, and that the revenue of the whole year may be estimated at not less than $26M. The sale of the public lands during the year has also greatly exceeded, both in quantity and price, that of any former year, and there is just reason to expect a progressive improvement in that source of revenue. It is gratifying to know that although the annual expenditure has been increased by the act of the last session of Congress providing for Revolutionary pensions to an amount about equal to the proceeds of the internal duties which were then repealed, the revenue for the ensuing year will be proportionally augmented, and that whilst the public expenditure will probably remain stationary, each successive year will add to the national resources by the ordinary increase of our population and by the gradual development of our latent sources of national prosperity. The strict execution of the revenue laws, resulting principally from the salutary provisions of the act of the 20th of April last amending the several collection laws, has, it is presumed, secured to domestic manufactures all the relief that can be derived from the duties which have been imposed upon foreign merchandise for their protection. Under the influence of this relief several branches of this important national interest have assumed greater activity, and although it is hoped that others will gradually revive and ultimately triumph over every obstacle, yet the expediency of granting further protection is submitted to your consideration. The measures of defense authorized by existing laws have been pursued with the zeal and activity due to so important an object, and with all the dispatch practicable in so extensive and great an undertaking. The survey of our maritime and inland frontiers has been continued, and at the points where it was decided to erect fortifications the work has been commenced, and in some instances considerable progress has been made. In compliance with resolutions of the last session, the Board of Commissioners were directed to examine in a particular manner the parts of the coast therein designated and to report their opinion of the most suitable sites for two naval depots. This work is in a train of execution. The opinion of the Board on this subject, with a plan of all the works necessary to a general system of defense so far as it has been formed, will be laid before Congress in a report from the proper department as soon as it can be prepared. In conformity with the appropriations of the last session, treaties have been formed with the Quapaw tribe of Indians, inhabiting the country on the Arkansaw, and the Great and Little Osages north of the White River; with the tribes in the State of Indiana; with the several tribes within the State of Ohio and the Michigan Territory, and with the Chickasaws, by which very extensive cessions of territory have been made to the United States. Negotiations are now depending with the tribes in the Illinois Territory and with the Choctaws, by which it is expected that other extensive cessions will be made. I take great interest in stating that the cessions already made, which are considered so important to the United States, have been obtained on conditions very satisfactory to the Indians. With a view to the security of our inland frontiers, it has been thought expedient to establish strong posts at the mouth of Yellow Stone River and at the Mandan village on the Missouri, and at the mouth of St. Peters on the Mississippi, at no great distance from our northern boundaries. It can hardly be presumed while such posts are maintained in the rear of the Indian tribes that they will venture to attack our peaceable inhabitants. A strong hope is entertained that this measure will likewise be productive of much good to the tribes themselves, especially in promoting the great object of their civilization. Experience has clearly demonstrated that independent savage communities can not long exist within the limits of a civilized population. The progress of the latter has almost invariably terminated in the extinction of the former, especially of the tribes belonging to our portion of this hemisphere, among whom loftiness of sentiment and gallantry in action have been conspicuous. To civilize them, and even to prevent their extinction, it seems to be indispensable that their independence as communities should cease, and that the control of the United States over them should be complete and undisputed. The hunter state will then be more easily abandoned, and recourse will be had to the acquisition and culture of land and to other pursuits tending to dissolve the ties which connect them together as a savage community and to give a new character to every individual. I present this subject to the consideration of Congress on the presumption that it may be found expedient and practicable to adopt some benevolent provisions, having these objects in view, relative to the tribes within our settlements. It has been necessary during the present year to maintain, a strong naval force in the Mediterranean and in the Gulf of Mexico, and to send some public ships along the southern coast and to the Pacific Ocean. By these means amicable relations with the Barbary Powers have been preserved, our commerce has been protected, and our rights respected. The augmentation of our Navy is advancing with a steady progress toward the limit contemplated by law. I communicate with great satisfaction the accession of another State (Illinois) to our Union, because I perceive from the proof afforded by the additions already made the regular progress and sure consummation of a policy of which history affords no example, and of which the good effect can not be too highly estimated. By extending our Government on the principles of our Constitution over the vast territory within our limits, on the Lakes and the Mississippi and its numerous streams, new life and vigor are infused into every part of our system. By increasing the number of the States the confidence of the State governments in their own security is increased and their jealousy of the National Government proportionally diminished. The impracticability of one consolidated Government for this great and growing nation will be more apparent and will be universally admitted. Incapable of exercising local authority except for general purposes, the General Government will no longer be dreaded. In those cases of a local nature and for all the great purposes for which it was instituted its authority will be cherished. Each Government will acquire new force and a greater freedom of action within its proper sphere. Other inestimable advantages will follow. Our produce will be augmented to an incalculable amount in articles of the greatest value for domestic use and foreign commerce. Our navigation will in like degree be increased, and as the shipping of the Atlantic States will be employed in the transportation of the vast produce of the Western country, even those parts of the United States which are most remote from each other will be further bound together by the strongest ties which mutual interest can create. The situation of this District, it is thought, requires the attention of Congress. By the Constitution the power of legislation is exclusively vested in the Congress of the United States. In the exercise of this power, in which the people have no participation, Congress legislate in all cases directly on the local concerns of the District. As this is a departure, for a special purpose, from the general principles of our system, it may merit consideration whether an arrangement better adapted to the principles of our Government and to the particular interests of the people may not be devised which will neither infringe the Constitution nor affect the object which the provision in question was intended to secure. The growing population, already considerable, and the increasing business of the District, which it is believed already interferes with the deliberations of Congress on great national concerns, furnish additional motives for recommending this subject to your consideration. When we view the great blessings with which our country has been favored, those which we now enjoy, and the means which we possess of handing them down unimpaired to our latest posterity, our attention is irresistibly drawn to the source from whence they flow. Let us, then, unite in offering our most grateful acknowledgments for these blessings to the Divine Author of All Good.
The auspicious circumstances under which you will commence the duties of the present session will lighten the burdens inseparable from the high trust committed to you. The fruits of the earth have been unusually abundant, commerce has flourished, the revenue has exceeded the most favorable anticipation, and peace and amity are preserved with foreign nations on conditions just and honorable to our country. For these inestimable blessings we can not but be grateful to that Providence which watches over the destiny of nations. As the term limited for the operation of the commercial convention with Great Britain will expire early in the month of July next, and it was deemed important that there should be no interval during which that portion of our commerce which was provided for by that convention should not be regulated, either by arrangement between the two Governments or by the authority of Congress, the minister of the United States at London was instructed early in the last summer to invite the attention of the British Government to the subject, with a view to that object. He was instructed to propose also that the negotiation which it was wished to open might extend to the general commerce of the two countries, and to every other interest and unsettled difference between them in the hope that an arrangement might be made on principles of reciprocal advantage which might comprehend and provide in a satisfactory manner for all these high concerns. I have the satisfaction to state that the proposal was received by the British Government in the spirit which prompted it, and that a negotiation has been opened at London embracing all these objects. On full consideration of the great extent and magnitude of the trust it was thought proper to commit it to not less than two of our distinguished citizens, and in consequence the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States at Paris has been associated with our envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at London, to both of whom corresponding instructions have been given, and they are now engaged in the discharge of its duties. It is proper to add that to prevent any inconvenience resulting from the delay incident to a negotiation on so many important subjects it was agreed before entering on it that the existing convention should be continued for a term not less than eight years. Our relations with Spain remain nearly in the state in which they were at the close of the last session. The convention of 1802, providing for the adjustment of a certain portion of the claims of our citizens for injuries sustained by spoliation, and so long suspended by the Spanish Government, has at length been ratified by it, but no arrangement has yet been made for the payment of another portion of like claims, not less extensive or well founded, or for other classes of claims, or for the settlement of boundaries. These subjects have again been brought under consideration in both countries, but no agreement has been entered into respecting them. In the mean time events have occurred which clearly prove the ill effect of the policy which that Government has so long pursued on the friendly relations of the two countries, which it is presumed is at least of as much importance to Spain as to the United States to maintain. A state of things has existed in the Floridas the tendency of which has been obvious to all who have paid the slightest attention to the progress of affairs in that quarter. Throughout the whole of those Provinces to which the Spanish title extends the Government of Spain has scarcely been felt. Its authority has been confined almost exclusively to the walls of Pensacola and St. Augustine, within which only small garrisons have been maintained. Adventurers from every country, fugitives from justice, and absconding slaves have found an asylum there. Several tribes of Indians, strong in the # of their warriors, remarkable for their ferocity, and whose settlements extend to our limits, inhabit those Provinces. These different hordes of people, connected together, disregarding on the one side the authority of Spain, and protected on the other by an imaginary line which separates Florida from the United States, have violated our laws prohibiting the introduction of slaves, have practiced various frauds on our revenue, and committed every kind of outrage on our peaceable citizens which their proximity to us enabled them to perpetrate. The invasion of Amelia Island last year by a small band of adventurers, not exceeding 150 in number, who wrested it from the inconsiderable Spanish force stationed there, and held it several months, during which a single feeble effort only was made to recover it, which failed, clearly proves how completely extinct the Spanish authority had become, as the conduct of those adventurers while in possession of the island as distinctly shows the pernicious purposes for which their combination had been formed. This country had, in fact, become the theater of every species of lawless adventure. With little population of its own, the Spanish authority almost extinct, and the colonial governments in a state of revolution, having no pretension to it, and sufficiently employed in their own concerns, it was in great measure derelict, and the object of cupidity to every adventurer. A system of buccaneering was rapidly organizing over it which menaced in its consequences the lawful commerce of every nation, and particularly the United States, while it presented a temptation to every people, on whose seduction its success principally depended. In regard to the United States, the pernicious effect of this unlawful combination was not confined to the ocean; the Indian tribes have constituted the effective force in Florida. With these tribes these adventurers had formed at an early period a connection with a view to avail themselves of that force to promote their own projects of accumulation and aggrandizement. It is to the interference of some of these adventurers, in misrepresenting the claims and titles of the Indians to land and in practicing on their savage propensities, that the Seminole war is principally to be traced. Men who thus connect themselves with savage communities and stimulate them to war, which is always attended on their part with acts of barbarity the most shocking, deserve to be viewed in a worse light than the savages. They would certainly have no claim to an immunity from the punishment which, according to the rules of warfare practiced by the savages, might justly be inflicted on the savages themselves. If the embarrassments of Spain prevented her from making an indemnity to our citizens for so long a time from her treasury for their losses by spoliation and otherwise, it was always in her power to have provided it by the cession of this territory. Of this her Government has been repeatedly apprised, and the cession was the more to have been anticipated as Spain must have known that in ceding it she would likewise relieve herself from the important obligation secured by the treaty of 1795 and all other compromitments respecting it. If the United States, from consideration of these embarrassments, declined pressing their claims in a spirit of hostility, the motive ought at least to have been duly appreciated by the Government of Spain. It is well known to her Government that other powers have made to the United States an indemnity for like losses sustained by their citizens at the same epoch. There is nevertheless a limit beyond which this spirit of amity and forbearance can in no instance be justified. If it was proper to rely on amicable negotiation for an indemnity for losses, it would not have been so to have permitted the inability of Spain to fulfill her engagements and to sustain her authority in the Floridas to be perverted by foreign adventurers and savages to purposes so destructive to the lives of our fellow citizens and the highest interests of the United States. The right of self defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and to individuals, and whether the attack be made by Spain herself or by those who abuse her power, its obligation is not the less strong. The invaders of Amelia Island had assumed a popular and respected title under which they might approach and wound us. As their object was distinctly seen, and the duty imposed on the Executive by an existing law was profoundly felt, that mask was not permitted to protect them. It was thought incumbent on the United States to suppress the establishment, and it was accordingly done. The combination in Florida for the unlawful purposes stated, the acts perpetrated by that combination, and, above all, the incitement of the Indians to massacre our fellow citizens of every age and of both sexes, merited a like treatment and received it. In pursuing these savages to an imaginary line in the woods it would have been the height of folly to have suffered that line to protect them. Had that been done the war could never cease. Even if the territory had been exclusively that of Spain and her power complete over it, we had a right by the law of nations to follow the enemy on it and to subdue him there. But the territory belonged, in a certain sense at least, to the savage enemy who inhabited it; the power of Spain had ceased to exist over it, and protection was sought under her title by those who had committed on our citizens hostilities which she was bound by treaty to have prevented, but had not the power to prevent. To have stopped at that line would have given new encouragement to these savages and new vigor to the whole combination existing there in the prosecution of all its pernicious purposes. In suppressing the establishment at Amelia Island no unfriendliness was manifested toward Spain, because the post was taken from a force which had wrested it from her. The measure, it is true, was not adopted in concert with the Spanish Government or those in authority under it, because in transactions connected with the war in which Spain and the colonies are engaged it was thought proper in doing justice to the United States to maintain a strict impartiality toward both the belligerent parties without consulting or acting in concert with either. It gives me pleasure to state that the Governments of Buenos Ayres and Venezuela, whose names were assumed, have explicitly disclaimed all participation in those measures, and even the knowledge of them until communicated by this Government, and have also expressed their satisfaction that a course of proceedings had been suppressed which if justly imputable to them would dishonor their because. In authorizing Major-General Jackson to enter Florida in pursuit of the Seminoles care was taken not to encroach on the rights of Spain. I regret to have to add that in executing this order facts were disclosed respecting the conduct of the officers of Spain in authority there in encouraging the war, furnishing munitions of war and other supplies to carry it on, and in other acts not less marked which evinced their participation in the hostile purposes of that combination and justified the confidence with which it inspired the savages that by those officers they would be protected. A conduct so incompatible with the friendly relations existing between the two countries, particularly with the positive obligations of the 5th article of the treaty of 1795, by which Spain was bound to restrain, even by force, those savages from acts of hostility against the United States, could not fail to excite surprise. The commanding general was convinced that he should fail in his object, that he should in effect accomplish nothing, if he did not deprive those savages of the resource on which they had calculated and of the protection on which they had relied in making the war. As all the documents relating to this occurrence will be laid before Congress, it is not necessary to enter into further detail respecting it. Although the reasons which induced Major-General Jackson to take these posts were duly appreciated, there was nevertheless no hesitation in deciding on the course which it became the Government to pursue. As there was reason to believe that the commanders of these posts had violated their instructions, there was no disposition to impute to their Government a conduct so unprovoked and hostile. An order was in consequence issued to the general in command there to deliver the posts - Pensacola unconditionally to any person duly authorized to receive it, and St. Marks, which is in the heart of the Indian country, on the arrival of a competent force to defend it against those savages and their associates. In entering Florida to suppress this combination no idea was entertained of hostility to Spain, and however justifiable the commanding general was, in consequence of the misconduct of the Spanish officers, in entering St. Marks and Pensacola to terminate it by proving to the savages and their associates that they should not be protected even there, yet the amicable relations existing between the United States and Spain could not be altered by that act alone. By ordering the restitution of the posts those relations were preserved. To a change of them the power of the Executive is deemed incompetent; it is vested in Congress only. By this measure, so promptly taken, due respect was shown to the Government of Spain. The misconduct of her officers has not been imputed to her. She was enabled to review with candor her relations with the United States and her own situation, particularly in respect to the territory in question, with the dangers inseparable from it, and regarding the losses we have sustained for which indemnity has been so long withheld, and the injuries we have suffered through that territory, and her means of redress, she was likewise enabled to take with honor the course best calculated to do justice to the United States and to promote her own welfare. Copies of the instructions to the commanding general, of his correspondence with the Secretary of War, explaining his motives and justifying his conduct, with a copy of the proceedings of the courts- martial in the trial of Arbuthnot and Ambristie, and of the correspondence between the Secretary of State and the minister plenipotentiary of Spain near this Government, and of the minister plenipotentiary of the United States at Madrid with the Government of Spain, will be laid before Congress. The civil war which has so long prevailed between Spain and the Provinces in South America still continues, without any prospect of its speedy termination. The information respecting the condition of those countries which has been collected by the commissioners recently returned from thence will be laid before Congress in copies of their reports, with such other information as has been received from other agents of the United States. It appears from these communications that the Government at Buenos Ayres declared itself independent in 1816 July, having previously exercised the power of an independent Government, though in the name of the King of Spain, from the year 1810; that the Banda Oriental, Entre Rios, and Paraguay, with the city of Santa Fee, all of which are also independent, are unconnected with the present Government of Buenos Ayres; that Chili has declared itself independent and is closely connected with Buenos Ayres; that Venezuela has also declared itself independent, and now maintains the conflict with various success; and that the remaining parts of South America, except Monte Video and such other portions of the eastern bank of the La Plata as are held by Portugal, are still in the possession of Spain or in a certain degree under her influence. By a circular note addressed by the ministers of Spain to the allied powers, with whom they are respectively accredited, it appears that the allies have undertaken to mediate between Spain and the South American Provinces, and that the manner and extent of their interposition would be settled by a congress which was to have met at Aix-la-Chapelle in September last. From the general policy and course of proceeding observed by the allied powers in regard to this contest it is inferred that they will confine their interposition to the expression of their sentiments, abstaining from the application of force. I state this impression that force will not be applied with the greater satisfaction because it is a course more consistent with justice and likewise authorizes a hope that the calamities of the war will be confined to the parties only, and will be of shorter duration. From the view taken of this subject, founded on all the information that we have been able to obtain, there is good because to be satisfied with the course heretofore pursued by the United States in regard to this contest, and to conclude that it is proper to adhere to it, especially in the present state of affairs. I have great satisfaction in stating that our relations with France, Russia, and other powers continue on the most friendly basis. In our domestic concerns we have ample because of satisfaction. The receipts into the Treasury during the three first quarters of the year have exceeded $17M. After satisfying all the demands which have been made under existing appropriations, including the final extinction of the old 6% stock and the redemption of a moiety of the Louisiana debt, it is estimated that there will remain in the Treasury on the 1st day of January next more than $2M. It is ascertained that the gross revenue which has accrued from the customs during the same period amounts to $21M, and that the revenue of the whole year may be estimated at not less than $26M. The sale of the public lands during the year has also greatly exceeded, both in quantity and price, that of any former year, and there is just reason to expect a progressive improvement in that source of revenue. It is gratifying to know that although the annual expenditure has been increased by the act of the last session of Congress providing for Revolutionary pensions to an amount about equal to the proceeds of the internal duties which were then repealed, the revenue for the ensuing year will be proportionally augmented, and that whilst the public expenditure will probably remain stationary, each successive year will add to the national resources by the ordinary increase of our population and by the gradual development of our latent sources of national prosperity. The strict execution of the revenue laws, resulting principally from the salutary provisions of the act of the 20th of April last amending the several collection laws, has, it is presumed, secured to domestic manufactures all the relief that can be derived from the duties which have been imposed upon foreign merchandise for their protection. Under the influence of this relief several branches of this important national interest have assumed greater activity, and although it is hoped that others will gradually revive and ultimately triumph over every obstacle, yet the expediency of granting further protection is submitted to your consideration. The measures of defense authorized by existing laws have been pursued with the zeal and activity due to so important an object, and with all the dispatch practicable in so extensive and great an undertaking. The survey of our maritime and inland frontiers has been continued, and at the points where it was decided to erect fortifications the work has been commenced, and in some instances considerable progress has been made. In compliance with resolutions of the last session, the Board of Commissioners were directed to examine in a particular manner the parts of the coast therein designated and to report their opinion of the most suitable sites for two naval depots. This work is in a train of execution. The opinion of the Board on this subject, with a plan of all the works necessary to a general system of defense so far as it has been formed, will be laid before Congress in a report from the proper department as soon as it can be prepared. In conformity with the appropriations of the last session, treaties have been formed with the Quapaw tribe of Indians, inhabiting the country on the Arkansaw, and the Great and Little Osages north of the White River; with the tribes in the State of Indiana; with the several tribes within the State of Ohio and the Michigan Territory, and with the Chickasaws, by which very extensive cessions of territory have been made to the United States. Negotiations are now depending with the tribes in the Illinois Territory and with the Choctaws, by which it is expected that other extensive cessions will be made. I take great interest in stating that the cessions already made, which are considered so important to the United States, have been obtained on conditions very satisfactory to the Indians. With a view to the security of our inland frontiers, it has been thought expedient to establish strong posts at the mouth of Yellow Stone River and at the Mandan village on the Missouri, and at the mouth of St. Peters on the Mississippi, at no great distance from our northern boundaries. It can hardly be presumed while such posts are maintained in the rear of the Indian tribes that they will venture to attack our peaceable inhabitants. A strong hope is entertained that this measure will likewise be productive of much good to the tribes themselves, especially in promoting the great object of their civilization. Experience has clearly demonstrated that independent savage communities can not long exist within the limits of a civilized population. The progress of the latter has almost invariably terminated in the extinction of the former, especially of the tribes belonging to our portion of this hemisphere, among whom loftiness of sentiment and gallantry in action have been conspicuous. To civilize them, and even to prevent their extinction, it seems to be indispensable that their independence as communities should cease, and that the control of the United States over them should be complete and undisputed. The hunter state will then be more easily abandoned, and recourse will be had to the acquisition and culture of land and to other pursuits tending to dissolve the ties which connect them together as a savage community and to give a new character to every individual. I present this subject to the consideration of Congress on the presumption that it may be found expedient and practicable to adopt some benevolent provisions, having these objects in view, relative to the tribes within our settlements. It has been necessary during the present year to maintain, a strong naval force in the Mediterranean and in the Gulf of Mexico, and to send some public ships along the southern coast and to the Pacific Ocean. By these means amicable relations with the Barbary Powers have been preserved, our commerce has been protected, and our rights respected. The augmentation of our Navy is advancing with a steady progress toward the limit contemplated by law. I communicate with great satisfaction the accession of another State (Illinois) to our Union, because I perceive from the proof afforded by the additions already made the regular progress and sure consummation of a policy of which history affords no example, and of which the good effect can not be too highly estimated. By extending our Government on the principles of our Constitution over the vast territory within our limits, on the Lakes and the Mississippi and its numerous streams, new life and vigor are infused into every part of our system. By increasing the number of the States the confidence of the State governments in their own security is increased and their jealousy of the National Government proportionally diminished. The impracticability of one consolidated Government for this great and growing nation will be more apparent and will be universally admitted. Incapable of exercising local authority except for general purposes, the General Government will no longer be dreaded. In those cases of a local nature and for all the great purposes for which it was instituted its authority will be cherished. Each Government will acquire new force and a greater freedom of action within its proper sphere. Other inestimable advantages will follow. Our produce will be augmented to an incalculable amount in articles of the greatest value for domestic use and foreign commerce. Our navigation will in like degree be increased, and as the shipping of the Atlantic States will be employed in the transportation of the vast produce of the Western country, even those parts of the United States which are most remote from each other will be further bound together by the strongest ties which mutual interest can create. The situation of this District, it is thought, requires the attention of Congress. By the Constitution the power of legislation is exclusively vested in the Congress of the United States. In the exercise of this power, in which the people have no participation, Congress legislate in all cases directly on the local concerns of the District. As this is a departure, for a special purpose, from the general principles of our system, it may merit consideration whether an arrangement better adapted to the principles of our Government and to the particular interests of the people may not be devised which will neither infringe the Constitution nor affect the object which the provision in question was intended to secure. The growing population, already considerable, and the increasing business of the District, which it is believed already interferes with the deliberations of Congress on great national concerns, furnish additional motives for recommending this subject to your consideration. When we view the great blessings with which our country has been favored, those which we now enjoy, and the means which we possess of handing them down unimpaired to our latest posterity, our attention is irresistibly drawn to the source from whence they flow. Let us, then, unite in offering our most grateful acknowledgments for these blessings to the Divine Author of All Good.
the auspicious circumstances under which you will commence the duties of the present session will lighten the burdens inseparable from the high trust committed to you the fruits of the earth have been unusually abundant commerce has flourished the revenue has exceeded the most favorable anticipation and peace and amity are preserved with foreign nations on conditions just and honorable to our country for these inestimable blessings we can not but be grateful to that providence which watches over the destiny of nations as the term limited for the operation of the commercial convention with great britain will expire early in the month of july next and it was deemed important that there should be no interval during which that portion of our commerce which was provided for by that convention should not be regulated either by arrangement between the two governments or by the authority of congress the minister of the united states at london was instructed early in the last summer to invite the attention of the british government to the subject with a view to that object he was instructed to propose also that the negotiation which it was wished to open might extend to the general commerce of the two countries and to every other interest and unsettled difference between them in the hope that an arrangement might be made on principles of reciprocal advantage which might comprehend and provide in a satisfactory manner for all these high concerns i have the satisfaction to state that the proposal was received by the british government in the spirit which prompted it and that a negotiation has been opened at london embracing all these objects on full consideration of the great extent and magnitude of the trust it was thought proper to commit it to not less than two of our distinguished citizens and in consequence the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the united states at paris has been associated with our envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at london to both of whom corresponding instructions have been given and they are now engaged in the discharge of its duties it is proper to add that to prevent any inconvenience resulting from the delay incident to a negotiation on so many important subjects it was agreed before entering on it that the existing convention should be continued for a term not less than eight years our relations with spain remain nearly in the state in which they were at the close of the last session the convention of 1802 providing for the adjustment of a certain portion of the claims of our citizens for injuries sustained by spoliation and so long suspended by the spanish government has at length been ratified by it but no arrangement has yet been made for the payment of another portion of like claims not less extensive or well founded or for other classes of claims or for the settlement of boundaries these subjects have again been brought under consideration in both countries but no agreement has been entered into respecting them in the mean time events have occurred which clearly prove the ill effect of the policy which that government has so long pursued on the friendly relations of the two countries which it is presumed is at least of as much importance to spain as to the united states to maintain a state of things has existed in the floridas the tendency of which has been obvious to all who have paid the slightest attention to the progress of affairs in that quarter throughout the whole of those provinces to which the spanish title extends the government of spain has scarcely been felt its authority has been confined almost exclusively to the walls of pensacola and augustine within which only small garrisons have been maintained adventurers from every country fugitives from justice and absconding slaves have found an asylum there several tribes of indians strong in the of their warriors remarkable for their ferocity and whose settlements extend to our limits inhabit those provinces these different hordes of people connected together disregarding on the one side the authority of spain and protected on the other by an imaginary line which separates florida from the united states have violated our laws prohibiting the introduction of slaves have practiced various frauds on our revenue and committed every kind of outrage on our peaceable citizens which their proximity to us enabled them to perpetrate the invasion of amelia island last year by a small band of adventurers not exceeding 150 in number who wrested it from the inconsiderable spanish force stationed there and held it several months during which a single feeble effort only was made to recover it which failed clearly proves how completely extinct the spanish authority had become as the conduct of those adventurers while in possession of the island as distinctly shows the pernicious purposes for which their combination had been formed this country had in fact become the theater of every species of lawless adventure with little population of its own the spanish authority almost extinct and the colonial governments in a state of revolution having no pretension to it and sufficiently employed in their own concerns it was in great measure derelict and the object of cupidity to every adventurer a system of buccaneering was rapidly organizing over it which menaced in its consequences the lawful commerce of every nation and particularly the united states while it presented a temptation to every people on whose seduction its success principally depended in regard to the united states the pernicious effect of this unlawful combination was not confined to the ocean the indian tribes have constituted the effective force in florida with these tribes these adventurers had formed at an early period a connection with a view to avail themselves of that force to promote their own projects of accumulation and aggrandizement it is to the interference of some of these adventurers in misrepresenting the claims and titles of the indians to land and in practicing on their savage propensities that the seminole war is principally to be traced men who thus connect themselves with savage communities and stimulate them to war which is always attended on their part with acts of barbarity the most shocking deserve to be viewed in a worse light than the savages they would certainly have no claim to an immunity from the punishment which according to the rules of warfare practiced by the savages might justly be inflicted on the savages themselves if the embarrassments of spain prevented her from making an indemnity to our citizens for so long a time from her treasury for their losses by spoliation and otherwise it was always in her power to have provided it by the cession of this territory of this her government has been repeatedly apprised and the cession was the more to have been anticipated as spain must have known that in ceding it she would likewise relieve herself from the important obligation secured by the treaty of 1795 and all other compromitments respecting it if the united states from consideration of these embarrassments declined pressing their claims in a spirit of hostility the motive ought at least to have been duly appreciated by the government of spain it is well known to her government that other powers have made to the united states an indemnity for like losses sustained by their citizens at the same epoch there is nevertheless a limit beyond which this spirit of amity and forbearance can in no instance be justified if it was proper to rely on amicable negotiation for an indemnity for losses it would not have been so to have permitted the inability of spain to fulfill her engagements and to sustain her authority in the floridas to be perverted by foreign adventurers and savages to purposes so destructive to the lives of our fellow citizens and the highest interests of the united states the right of self defense never ceases it is among the most sacred and alike necessary to nations and to individuals and whether the attack be made by spain herself or by those who abuse her power its obligation is not the less strong the invaders of amelia island had assumed a popular and respected title under which they might approach and wound us as their object was distinctly seen and the duty imposed on the executive by an existing law was profoundly felt that mask was not permitted to protect them it was thought incumbent on the united states to suppress the establishment and it was accordingly done the combination in florida for the unlawful purposes stated the acts perpetrated by that combination and above all the incitement of the indians to massacre our fellow citizens of every age and of both sexes merited a like treatment and received it in pursuing these savages to an imaginary line in the woods it would have been the height of folly to have suffered that line to protect them had that been done the war could never cease even if the territory had been exclusively that of spain and her power complete over it we had a right by the law of nations to follow the enemy on it and to subdue him there but the territory belonged in a certain sense at least to the savage enemy who inhabited it the power of spain had ceased to exist over it and protection was sought under her title by those who had committed on our citizens hostilities which she was bound by treaty to have prevented but had not the power to prevent to have stopped at that line would have given new encouragement to these savages and new vigor to the whole combination existing there in the prosecution of all its pernicious purposes in suppressing the establishment at amelia island no unfriendliness was manifested toward spain because the post was taken from a force which had wrested it from her the measure it is true was not adopted in concert with the spanish government or those in authority under it because in transactions connected with the war in which spain and the colonies are engaged it was thought proper in doing justice to the united states to maintain a strict impartiality toward both the belligerent parties without consulting or acting in concert with either it gives me pleasure to state that the governments of buenos ayres and venezuela whose names were assumed have explicitly disclaimed all participation in those measures and even the knowledge of them until communicated by this government and have also expressed their satisfaction that a course of proceedings had been suppressed which if justly imputable to them would dishonor their because in authorizing jackson to enter florida in pursuit of the seminoles care was taken not to encroach on the rights of spain i regret to have to add that in executing this order facts were disclosed respecting the conduct of the officers of spain in authority there in encouraging the war furnishing munitions of war and other supplies to carry it on and in other acts not less marked which evinced their participation in the hostile purposes of that combination and justified the confidence with which it inspired the savages that by those officers they would be protected a conduct so incompatible with the friendly relations existing between the two countries particularly with the positive obligations of the 5th article of the treaty of 1795 by which spain was bound to restrain even by force those savages from acts of hostility against the united states could not fail to excite surprise the commanding general was convinced that he should fail in his object that he should in effect accomplish nothing if he did not deprive those savages of the resource on which they had calculated and of the protection on which they had relied in making the war as all the documents relating to this occurrence will be laid before congress it is not necessary to enter into further detail respecting it although the reasons which induced jackson to take these posts were duly appreciated there was nevertheless no hesitation in deciding on the course which it became the government to pursue as there was reason to believe that the commanders of these posts had violated their instructions there was no disposition to impute to their government a conduct so unprovoked and hostile an order was in consequence issued to the general in command there to deliver the posts pensacola unconditionally to any person duly authorized to receive it and marks which is in the heart of the indian country on the arrival of a competent force to defend it against those savages and their associates in entering florida to suppress this combination no idea was entertained of hostility to spain and however justifiable the commanding general was in consequence of the misconduct of the spanish officers in entering marks and pensacola to terminate it by proving to the savages and their associates that they should not be protected even there yet the amicable relations existing between the united states and spain could not be altered by that act alone by ordering the restitution of the posts those relations were preserved to a change of them the power of the executive is deemed incompetent it is vested in congress only by this measure so promptly taken due respect was shown to the government of spain the misconduct of her officers has not been imputed to her she was enabled to review with candor her relations with the united states and her own situation particularly in respect to the territory in question with the dangers inseparable from it and regarding the losses we have sustained for which indemnity has been so long withheld and the injuries we have suffered through that territory and her means of redress she was likewise enabled to take with honor the course best calculated to do justice to the united states and to promote her own welfare copies of the instructions to the commanding general of his correspondence with the secretary of war explaining his motives and justifying his conduct with a copy of the proceedings of the martial in the trial of arbuthnot and ambristie and of the correspondence between the secretary of state and the minister plenipotentiary of spain near this government and of the minister plenipotentiary of the united states at madrid with the government of spain will be laid before congress the civil war which has so long prevailed between spain and the provinces in south america still continues without any prospect of its speedy termination the information respecting the condition of those countries which has been collected by the commissioners recently returned from thence will be laid before congress in copies of their reports with such other information as has been received from other agents of the united states it appears from these communications that the government at buenos ayres declared itself independent in 1816 july having previously exercised the power of an independent government though in the name of the king of spain from the year 1810 that the banda oriental entre rios and paraguay with the city of santa fee all of which are also independent are unconnected with the present government of buenos ayres that chili has declared itself independent and is closely connected with buenos ayres that venezuela has also declared itself independent and now maintains the conflict with various success and that the remaining parts of south america except monte video and such other portions of the eastern bank of the la plata as are held by portugal are still in the possession of spain or in a certain degree under her influence by a circular note addressed by the ministers of spain to the allied powers with whom they are respectively accredited it appears that the allies have undertaken to mediate between spain and the south american provinces and that the manner and extent of their interposition would be settled by a congress which was to have met at in september last from the general policy and course of proceeding observed by the allied powers in regard to this contest it is inferred that they will confine their interposition to the expression of their sentiments abstaining from the application of force i state this impression that force will not be applied with the greater satisfaction because it is a course more consistent with justice and likewise authorizes a hope that the calamities of the war will be confined to the parties only and will be of shorter duration from the view taken of this subject founded on all the information that we have been able to obtain there is good because to be satisfied with the course heretofore pursued by the united states in regard to this contest and to conclude that it is proper to adhere to it especially in the present state of affairs i have great satisfaction in stating that our relations with france russia and other powers continue on the most friendly basis in our domestic concerns we have ample because of satisfaction the receipts into the treasury during the three first quarters of the year have exceeded 17m after satisfying all the demands which have been made under existing appropriations including the final extinction of the old 6 stock and the redemption of a moiety of the louisiana debt it is estimated that there will remain in the treasury on the 1st day of january next more than 2m it is ascertained that the gross revenue which has accrued from the customs during the same period amounts to 21m and that the revenue of the whole year may be estimated at not less than 26m the sale of the public lands during the year has also greatly exceeded both in quantity and price that of any former year and there is just reason to expect a progressive improvement in that source of revenue it is gratifying to know that although the annual expenditure has been increased by the act of the last session of congress providing for revolutionary pensions to an amount about equal to the proceeds of the internal duties which were then repealed the revenue for the ensuing year will be proportionally augmented and that whilst the public expenditure will probably remain stationary each successive year will add to the national resources by the ordinary increase of our population and by the gradual development of our latent sources of national prosperity the strict execution of the revenue laws resulting principally from the salutary provisions of the act of the 20th of april last amending the several collection laws has it is presumed secured to domestic manufactures all the relief that can be derived from the duties which have been imposed upon foreign merchandise for their protection under the influence of this relief several branches of this important national interest have assumed greater activity and although it is hoped that others will gradually revive and ultimately triumph over every obstacle yet the expediency of granting further protection is submitted to your consideration the measures of defense authorized by existing laws have been pursued with the zeal and activity due to so important an object and with all the dispatch practicable in so extensive and great an undertaking the survey of our maritime and inland frontiers has been continued and at the points where it was decided to erect fortifications the work has been commenced and in some instances considerable progress has been made in compliance with resolutions of the last session the board of commissioners were directed to examine in a particular manner the parts of the coast therein designated and to report their opinion of the most suitable sites for two naval depots this work is in a train of execution the opinion of the board on this subject with a plan of all the works necessary to a general system of defense so far as it has been formed will be laid before congress in a report from the proper department as soon as it can be prepared in conformity with the appropriations of the last session treaties have been formed with the quapaw tribe of indians inhabiting the country on the arkansaw and the great and little osages north of the white river with the tribes in the state of indiana with the several tribes within the state of ohio and the michigan territory and with the chickasaws by which very extensive cessions of territory have been made to the united states negotiations are now depending with the tribes in the illinois territory and with the choctaws by which it is expected that other extensive cessions will be made i take great interest in stating that the cessions already made which are considered so important to the united states have been obtained on conditions very satisfactory to the indians with a view to the security of our inland frontiers it has been thought expedient to establish strong posts at the mouth of yellow stone river and at the mandan village on the missouri and at the mouth of peters on the mississippi at no great distance from our northern boundaries it can hardly be presumed while such posts are maintained in the rear of the indian tribes that they will venture to attack our peaceable inhabitants a strong hope is entertained that this measure will likewise be productive of much good to the tribes themselves especially in promoting the great object of their civilization experience has clearly demonstrated that independent savage communities can not long exist within the limits of a civilized population the progress of the latter has almost invariably terminated in the extinction of the former especially of the tribes belonging to our portion of this hemisphere among whom loftiness of sentiment and gallantry in action have been conspicuous to civilize them and even to prevent their extinction it seems to be indispensable that their independence as communities should cease and that the control of the united states over them should be complete and undisputed the hunter state will then be more easily abandoned and recourse will be had to the acquisition and culture of land and to other pursuits tending to dissolve the ties which connect them together as a savage community and to give a new character to every individual i present this subject to the consideration of congress on the presumption that it may be found expedient and practicable to adopt some benevolent provisions having these objects in view relative to the tribes within our settlements it has been necessary during the present year to maintain a strong naval force in the mediterranean and in the gulf of mexico and to send some public ships along the southern coast and to the pacific ocean by these means amicable relations with the barbary powers have been preserved our commerce has been protected and our rights respected the augmentation of our navy is advancing with a steady progress toward the limit contemplated by law i communicate with great satisfaction the accession of another state illinois to our union because i perceive from the proof afforded by the additions already made the regular progress and sure consummation of a policy of which history affords no example and of which the good effect can not be too highly estimated by extending our government on the principles of our constitution over the vast territory within our limits on the lakes and the mississippi and its numerous streams new life and vigor are infused into every part of our system by increasing the number of the states the confidence of the state governments in their own security is increased and their jealousy of the national government proportionally diminished the impracticability of one consolidated government for this great and growing nation will be more apparent and will be universally admitted incapable of exercising local authority except for general purposes the general government will no longer be dreaded in those cases of a local nature and for all the great purposes for which it was instituted its authority will be cherished each government will acquire new force and a greater freedom of action within its proper sphere other inestimable advantages will follow our produce will be augmented to an incalculable amount in articles of the greatest value for domestic use and foreign commerce our navigation will in like degree be increased and as the shipping of the atlantic states will be employed in the transportation of the vast produce of the western country even those parts of the united states which are most remote from each other will be further bound together by the strongest ties which mutual interest can create the situation of this district it is thought requires the attention of congress by the constitution the power of legislation is exclusively vested in the congress of the united states in the exercise of this power in which the people have no participation congress legislate in all cases directly on the local concerns of the district as this is a departure for a special purpose from the general principles of our system it may merit consideration whether an arrangement better adapted to the principles of our government and to the particular interests of the people may not be devised which will neither infringe the constitution nor affect the object which the provision in question was intended to secure the growing population already considerable and the increasing business of the district which it is believed already interferes with the deliberations of congress on great national concerns furnish additional motives for recommending this subject to your consideration when we view the great blessings with which our country has been favored those which we now enjoy and the means which we possess of handing them down unimpaired to our latest posterity our attention is irresistibly drawn to the source from whence they flow let us then unite in offering our most grateful acknowledgments for these blessings to the divine author of all good
auspicious circumstances commence duties present session lighten burdens inseparable high trust committed fruits earth unusually abundant commerce flourished revenue exceeded favorable anticipation peace amity preserved foreign nations conditions honorable country inestimable blessings grateful providence watches destiny nations term limited operation commercial convention great britain expire early month july next deemed important interval portion commerce provided convention regulated either arrangement two governments authority congress minister united states london instructed early last summer invite attention british government subject view object instructed propose also negotiation wished open might extend general commerce two countries every interest unsettled difference hope arrangement might made principles reciprocal advantage might comprehend provide satisfactory manner high concerns satisfaction state proposal received british government spirit prompted negotiation opened london embracing objects full consideration great extent magnitude trust thought proper commit less two distinguished citizens consequence envoy extraordinary minister plenipotentiary united states paris associated envoy extraordinary minister plenipotentiary london corresponding instructions given engaged discharge duties proper add prevent inconvenience resulting delay incident negotiation many important subjects agreed entering existing convention continued term less eight years relations spain remain nearly state close last session convention 1802 providing adjustment certain portion claims citizens injuries sustained spoliation long suspended spanish government length ratified arrangement yet made payment another portion like claims less extensive well founded classes claims settlement boundaries subjects brought consideration countries agreement entered respecting mean time events occurred clearly prove ill effect policy government long pursued friendly relations two countries presumed least much importance spain united states maintain state things existed floridas tendency obvious paid slightest attention progress affairs quarter throughout whole provinces spanish title extends government spain scarcely felt authority confined almost exclusively walls pensacola augustine within small garrisons maintained adventurers every country fugitives justice absconding slaves found asylum several tribes indians strong warriors remarkable ferocity whose settlements extend limits inhabit provinces different hordes people connected together disregarding one side authority spain protected imaginary line separates florida united states violated laws prohibiting introduction slaves practiced various frauds revenue committed every kind outrage peaceable citizens proximity us enabled perpetrate invasion amelia island last year small band adventurers exceeding 150 number wrested inconsiderable spanish force stationed held several months single feeble effort made recover failed clearly proves completely extinct spanish authority become conduct adventurers possession island distinctly shows pernicious purposes combination formed country fact become theater every species lawless adventure little population spanish authority almost extinct colonial governments state revolution pretension sufficiently employed concerns great measure derelict object cupidity every adventurer system buccaneering rapidly organizing menaced consequences lawful commerce every nation particularly united states presented temptation every people whose seduction success principally depended regard united states pernicious effect unlawful combination confined ocean indian tribes constituted effective force florida tribes adventurers formed early period connection view avail force promote projects accumulation aggrandizement interference adventurers misrepresenting claims titles indians land practicing savage propensities seminole war principally traced men thus connect savage communities stimulate war always attended part acts barbarity shocking deserve viewed worse light savages would certainly claim immunity punishment according rules warfare practiced savages might justly inflicted savages embarrassments spain prevented making indemnity citizens long time treasury losses spoliation otherwise always power provided cession territory government repeatedly apprised cession anticipated spain must known ceding would likewise relieve important obligation secured treaty 1795 compromitments respecting united states consideration embarrassments declined pressing claims spirit hostility motive ought least duly appreciated government spain well known government powers made united states indemnity like losses sustained citizens epoch nevertheless limit beyond spirit amity forbearance instance justified proper rely amicable negotiation indemnity losses would permitted inability spain fulfill engagements sustain authority floridas perverted foreign adventurers savages purposes destructive lives fellow citizens highest interests united states right self defense never ceases among sacred alike necessary nations individuals whether attack made spain abuse power obligation less strong invaders amelia island assumed popular respected title might approach wound us object distinctly seen duty imposed executive existing law profoundly felt mask permitted protect thought incumbent united states suppress establishment accordingly done combination florida unlawful purposes stated acts perpetrated combination incitement indians massacre fellow citizens every age sexes merited like treatment received pursuing savages imaginary line woods would height folly suffered line protect done war could never cease even territory exclusively spain power complete right law nations follow enemy subdue territory belonged certain sense least savage enemy inhabited power spain ceased exist protection sought title committed citizens hostilities bound treaty prevented power prevent stopped line would given new encouragement savages new vigor whole combination existing prosecution pernicious purposes suppressing establishment amelia island unfriendliness manifested toward spain post taken force wrested measure true adopted concert spanish government authority transactions connected war spain colonies engaged thought proper justice united states maintain strict impartiality toward belligerent parties without consulting acting concert either gives pleasure state governments buenos ayres venezuela whose names assumed explicitly disclaimed participation measures even knowledge communicated government also expressed satisfaction course proceedings suppressed justly imputable would dishonor authorizing jackson enter florida pursuit seminoles care taken encroach rights spain regret add executing order facts disclosed respecting conduct officers spain authority encouraging war furnishing munitions war supplies carry acts less marked evinced participation hostile purposes combination justified confidence inspired savages officers would protected conduct incompatible friendly relations existing two countries particularly positive obligations 5th article treaty 1795 spain bound restrain even force savages acts hostility united states could fail excite surprise commanding general convinced fail object effect accomplish nothing deprive savages resource calculated protection relied making war documents relating occurrence laid congress necessary enter detail respecting although reasons induced jackson take posts duly appreciated nevertheless hesitation deciding course became government pursue reason believe commanders posts violated instructions disposition impute government conduct unprovoked hostile order consequence issued general command deliver posts pensacola unconditionally person duly authorized receive marks heart indian country arrival competent force defend savages associates entering florida suppress combination idea entertained hostility spain however justifiable commanding general consequence misconduct spanish officers entering marks pensacola terminate proving savages associates protected even yet amicable relations existing united states spain could altered act alone ordering restitution posts relations preserved change power executive deemed incompetent vested congress measure promptly taken due respect shown government spain misconduct officers imputed enabled review candor relations united states situation particularly respect territory question dangers inseparable regarding losses sustained indemnity long withheld injuries suffered territory means redress likewise enabled take honor course best calculated justice united states promote welfare copies instructions commanding general correspondence secretary war explaining motives justifying conduct copy proceedings martial trial arbuthnot ambristie correspondence secretary state minister plenipotentiary spain near government minister plenipotentiary united states madrid government spain laid congress civil war long prevailed spain provinces south america still continues without prospect speedy termination information respecting condition countries collected commissioners recently returned thence laid congress copies reports information received agents united states appears communications government buenos ayres declared independent 1816 july previously exercised power independent government though name king spain year 1810 banda oriental entre rios paraguay city santa fee also independent unconnected present government buenos ayres chili declared independent closely connected buenos ayres venezuela also declared independent maintains conflict various success remaining parts south america except monte video portions eastern bank la plata held portugal still possession spain certain degree influence circular note addressed ministers spain allied powers respectively accredited appears allies undertaken mediate spain south american provinces manner extent interposition would settled congress met september last general policy course proceeding observed allied powers regard contest inferred confine interposition expression sentiments abstaining application force state impression force applied greater satisfaction course consistent justice likewise authorizes hope calamities war confined parties shorter duration view taken subject founded information able obtain good satisfied course heretofore pursued united states regard contest conclude proper adhere especially present state affairs great satisfaction stating relations france russia powers continue friendly basis domestic concerns ample satisfaction receipts treasury three first quarters year exceeded 17m satisfying demands made existing appropriations including final extinction old 6 stock redemption moiety louisiana debt estimated remain treasury 1st day january next 2m ascertained gross revenue accrued customs period amounts 21m revenue whole year may estimated less 26m sale public lands year also greatly exceeded quantity price former year reason expect progressive improvement source revenue gratifying know although annual expenditure increased act last session congress providing revolutionary pensions amount equal proceeds internal duties repealed revenue ensuing year proportionally augmented whilst public expenditure probably remain stationary successive year add national resources ordinary increase population gradual development latent sources national prosperity strict execution revenue laws resulting principally salutary provisions act 20th april last amending several collection laws presumed secured domestic manufactures relief derived duties imposed upon foreign merchandise protection influence relief several branches important national interest assumed greater activity although hoped others gradually revive ultimately triumph every obstacle yet expediency granting protection submitted consideration measures defense authorized existing laws pursued zeal activity due important object dispatch practicable extensive great undertaking survey maritime inland frontiers continued points decided erect fortifications work commenced instances considerable progress made compliance resolutions last session board commissioners directed examine particular manner parts coast therein designated report opinion suitable sites two naval depots work train execution opinion board subject plan works necessary general system defense far formed laid congress report proper department soon prepared conformity appropriations last session treaties formed quapaw tribe indians inhabiting country arkansaw great little osages north white river tribes state indiana several tribes within state ohio michigan territory chickasaws extensive cessions territory made united states negotiations depending tribes illinois territory choctaws expected extensive cessions made take great interest stating cessions already made considered important united states obtained conditions satisfactory indians view security inland frontiers thought expedient establish strong posts mouth yellow stone river mandan village missouri mouth peters mississippi great distance northern boundaries hardly presumed posts maintained rear indian tribes venture attack peaceable inhabitants strong hope entertained measure likewise productive much good tribes especially promoting great object civilization experience clearly demonstrated independent savage communities long exist within limits civilized population progress latter almost invariably terminated extinction former especially tribes belonging portion hemisphere among loftiness sentiment gallantry action conspicuous civilize even prevent extinction seems indispensable independence communities cease control united states complete undisputed hunter state easily abandoned recourse acquisition culture land pursuits tending dissolve ties connect together savage community give new character every individual present subject consideration congress presumption may found expedient practicable adopt benevolent provisions objects view relative tribes within settlements necessary present year maintain strong naval force mediterranean gulf mexico send public ships along southern coast pacific ocean means amicable relations barbary powers preserved commerce protected rights respected augmentation navy advancing steady progress toward limit contemplated law communicate great satisfaction accession another state illinois union perceive proof afforded additions already made regular progress sure consummation policy history affords example good effect highly estimated extending government principles constitution vast territory within limits lakes mississippi numerous streams new life vigor infused every part system increasing number states confidence state governments security increased jealousy national government proportionally diminished impracticability one consolidated government great growing nation apparent universally admitted incapable exercising local authority except general purposes general government longer dreaded cases local nature great purposes instituted authority cherished government acquire new force greater freedom action within proper sphere inestimable advantages follow produce augmented incalculable amount articles greatest value domestic use foreign commerce navigation like degree increased shipping atlantic states employed transportation vast produce western country even parts united states remote bound together strongest ties mutual interest create situation district thought requires attention congress constitution power legislation exclusively vested congress united states exercise power people participation congress legislate cases directly local concerns district departure special purpose general principles system may merit consideration whether arrangement better adapted principles government particular interests people may devised neither infringe constitution affect object provision question intended secure growing population already considerable increasing business district believed already interferes deliberations congress great national concerns furnish additional motives recommending subject consideration view great blessings country favored enjoy means possess handing unimpaired latest posterity attention irresistibly drawn source whence flow let us unite offering grateful acknowledgments blessings divine author good
auspicious circumstance commence duty present session lighten burden inseparable high trust commit fruit earth unusually abundant commerce flourish revenue exceed favorable anticipation peace amity preserve foreign nation condition honorable country inestimable blessing grateful providence watch destiny nation term limited operation commercial convention great britain expire early month july next deem important interval portion commerce provide convention regulate either arrangement two government authority congress minister unite state london instruct early last summer invite attention british government subject view object instruct propose also negotiation wish open might extend general commerce two country every interest unsettle difference hope arrangement might make principle reciprocal advantage might comprehend provide satisfactory manner high concern satisfaction state proposal receive british government spirit prompt negotiation open london embracing object full consideration great extent magnitude trust think proper commit less two distinguish citizen consequence envoy extraordinary minister plenipotentiary unite state paris associate envoy extraordinary minister plenipotentiary london correspond instruction give engage discharge duty proper add prevent inconvenience result delay incident negotiation many important subject agree enter exist convention continue term less eight year relation spain remain nearly state close last session convention 1802 provide adjustment certain portion claim citizens injury sustain spoliation long suspend spanish government length ratify arrangement yet make payment another portion like claim less extensive well founded class claim settlement boundary subject brought consideration country agreement enter respect mean time event occur clearly prove ill effect policy government long pursue friendly relation two country presume least much importance spain united state maintain state thing exist floridas tendency obvious pay slight attention progress affair quarter throughout whole province spanish title extend government spain scarcely felt authority confine almost exclusively walls pensacola augustine within small garrison maintain adventurer every country fugitives justice abscond slave find asylum several tribe indian strong warrior remarkable ferocity whose settlement extend limit inhabit province different horde people connect together disregard one side authority spain protect imaginary line separate florida united state violate law prohibit introduction slave practice various frauds revenue commit every kind outrage peaceable citizen proximity u enabled perpetrate invasion amelia island last year small band adventurer exceed 150 number wrest inconsiderable spanish force station hold several month single feeble effort make recover fail clearly prove completely extinct spanish authority become conduct adventurer possession island distinctly show pernicious purpose combination form country fact become theater every specie lawless adventure little population spanish authority almost extinct colonial government state revolution pretension sufficiently employ concern great measure derelict object cupidity every adventurer system buccaneer rapidly organize menace consequence lawful commerce every nation particularly united state present temptation every people whose seduction success principally depend regard united state pernicious effect unlawful combination confine ocean indian tribe constitute effective force florida tribes adventurer form early period connection view avail force promote project accumulation aggrandizement interference adventurer misrepresent claim title indian land practice savage propensity seminole war principally trace men thus connect savage community stimulate war always attend part act barbarity shock deserve view bad light savage would certainly claim immunity punishment accord rule warfare practice savage might justly inflict savage embarrassment spain prevented making indemnity citizen long time treasury loss spoliation otherwise always power provide cession territory government repeatedly apprise cession anticipate spain must know cede would likewise relieve important obligation secure treaty 1795 compromitments respect united state consideration embarrassment decline press claim spirit hostility motive ought least duly appreciated government spain well known government power make united state indemnity like loss sustain citizen epoch nevertheless limit beyond spirit amity forbearance instance justify proper rely amicable negotiation indemnity loss would permit inability spain fulfill engagement sustain authority floridas pervert foreign adventurer savage purpose destructive life fellow citizen high interest unite state right self defense never cease among sacred alike necessary nation individual whether attack make spain abuse power obligation less strong invader amelia island assume popular respect title might approach wound u object distinctly see duty impose executive exist law profoundly felt mask permit protect thought incumbent united state suppress establishment accordingly do combination florida unlawful purpose state act perpetrate combination incitement indians massacre fellow citizen every age sexes merit like treatment receive pursuing savage imaginary line wood would height folly suffered line protect do war could never cease even territory exclusively spain power complete right law nation follow enemy subdue territory belong certain sense least savage enemy inhabited power spain cease exist protection seek title committed citizen hostility bound treaty prevent power prevent stop line would give new encouragement savage new vigor whole combination exist prosecution pernicious purpose suppress establishment amelia island unfriendliness manifest toward spain post take force wrested measure true adopt concert spanish government authority transaction connect war spain colony engage think proper justice united state maintain strict impartiality toward belligerent party without consult act concert either give pleasure state government buenos ayres venezuela whose name assume explicitly disclaim participation measure even knowledge communicated government also express satisfaction course proceeding suppress justly imputable would dishonor authorize jackson enter florida pursuit seminoles care take encroach right spain regret add execute order fact disclose respect conduct officer spain authority encouraging war furnish munition war supply carry act less marked evinced participation hostile purpose combination justify confidence inspire savage officer would protect conduct incompatible friendly relation exist two country particularly positive obligation 5th article treaty 1795 spain bound restrain even force savage act hostility united state could fail excite surprise command general convince fail object effect accomplish nothing deprive savage resource calculate protection rely make war document relate occurrence lay congress necessary enter detail respect although reason induce jackson take post duly appreciate nevertheless hesitation decide course become government pursue reason believe commander post violate instruction disposition impute government conduct unprovoked hostile order consequence issue general command deliver post pensacola unconditionally person duly authorize receive mark heart indian country arrival competent force defend savage associate enter florida suppress combination idea entertain hostility spain however justifiable command general consequence misconduct spanish officer enter mark pensacola terminate proving savage associate protect even yet amicable relation exist united state spain could alter act alone order restitution post relation preserve change power executive deem incompetent vested congress measure promptly take due respect show government spain misconduct officer impute enabled review candor relation united state situation particularly respect territory question danger inseparable regard loss sustain indemnity long withheld injury suffer territory mean redress likewise enabled take honor course best calculated justice united state promote welfare copy instruction command general correspondence secretary war explain motif justify conduct copy proceeding martial trial arbuthnot ambristie correspondence secretary state minister plenipotentiary spain near government minister plenipotentiary unite state madrid government spain lay congress civil war long prevail spain province south america still continue without prospect speedy termination information respect condition country collect commissioner recently return thence laid congress copy report information receive agent united state appear communications government buenos ayres declare independent 1816 july previously exercise power independent government though name king spain year 1810 banda oriental entre rio paraguay city santa fee also independent unconnected present government buenos ayres chili declare independent closely connected buenos ayres venezuela also declare independent maintains conflict various success remain part south america except monte video portion eastern bank la plata hold portugal still possession spain certain degree influence circular note address minister spain allied power respectively accredit appear ally undertaken mediate spain south american province manner extent interposition would settle congress meet september last general policy course proceed observe allied power regard contest infer confine interposition expression sentiment abstain application force state impression force apply great satisfaction course consistent justice likewise authorize hope calamity war confine party short duration view take subject found information able obtain good satisfied course heretofore pursue united state regard contest conclude proper adhere especially present state affair great satisfaction state relation france russia power continue friendly basis domestic concern ample satisfaction receipt treasury three first quarter year exceed 17m satisfy demand make exist appropriation include final extinction old 6 stock redemption moiety louisiana debt estimate remain treasury 1st day january next 2m ascertain gross revenue accrue custom period amount 21m revenue whole year may estimate less 26m sale public land year also greatly exceeded quantity price former year reason expect progressive improvement source revenue gratify know although annual expenditure increase act last session congress provide revolutionary pension amount equal proceeds internal duty repeal revenue ensue year proportionally augment whilst public expenditure probably remain stationary successive year add national resource ordinary increase population gradual development latent source national prosperity strict execution revenue law result principally salutary provision act 20th april last amending several collection law presume secure domestic manufacture relief derived duty impose upon foreign merchandise protection influence relief several branch important national interest assume great activity although hop others gradually revive ultimately triumph every obstacle yet expediency grant protection submit consideration measure defense authorize exist law pursue zeal activity due important object dispatch practicable extensive great undertake survey maritime inland frontier continue point decide erect fortification work commenced instance considerable progress make compliance resolution last session board commissioner direct examine particular manner part coast therein designate report opinion suitable site two naval depot work train execution opinion board subject plan work necessary general system defense far form laid congress report proper department soon prepared conformity appropriation last session treaty form quapaw tribe indian inhabit country arkansaw great little osage north white river tribe state indiana several tribe within state ohio michigan territory chickasaw extensive cession territory make united state negotiation depend tribes illinois territory choctaw expect extensive cession make take great interest state cession already make consider important united state obtain condition satisfactory indian view security inland frontier think expedient establish strong post mouth yellow stone river mandan village missouri mouth peter mississippi great distance northern boundary hardly presume post maintain rear indian tribe venture attack peaceable inhabitant strong hope entertain measure likewise productive much good tribe especially promote great object civilization experience clearly demonstrate independent savage community long exist within limit civilize population progress latter almost invariably terminate extinction former especially tribes belong portion hemisphere among loftiness sentiment gallantry action conspicuous civilize even prevent extinction seem indispensable independence community cease control united state complete undisputed hunter state easily abandon recourse acquisition culture land pursuit tend dissolve tie connect together savage community give new character every individual present subject consideration congress presumption may find expedient practicable adopt benevolent provision object view relative tribe within settlement necessary present year maintain strong naval force mediterranean gulf mexico send public ship along southern coast pacific ocean mean amicable relation barbary power preserve commerce protect right respect augmentation navy advance steady progress toward limit contemplate law communicate great satisfaction accession another state illinois union perceive proof afford addition already make regular progress sure consummation policy history affords example good effect highly estimate extend government principle constitution vast territory within limit lake mississippi numerous stream new life vigor infuse every part system increase number state confidence state government security increase jealousy national government proportionally diminish impracticability one consolidated government great grow nation apparent universally admit incapable exercise local authority except general purpose general government longer dread case local nature great purpose institute authority cherish government acquire new force great freedom action within proper sphere inestimable advantage follow produce augment incalculable amount article great value domestic use foreign commerce navigation like degree increase shipping atlantic state employ transportation vast produce western country even part unite state remote bound together strong tie mutual interest create situation district think require attention congress constitution power legislation exclusively vested congress united state exercise power people participation congress legislate case directly local concern district departure special purpose general principle system may merit consideration whether arrangement well adapt principles government particular interest people may devise neither infringe constitution affect object provision question intend secure grow population already considerable increase business district believe already interfere deliberation congress great national concern furnish additional motif recommend subject consideration view great blessing country favor enjoy mean possess hand unimpaired late posterity attention irresistibly draw source whence flow let u unite offer grateful acknowledgment blessing divine author good