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24th CONG. 2d SESS.]

Message of the President of the United States.

British islands, has become very extensive, and requires the interposition of Congress to give it security. No obstacle is perceived to an interchange of mails between New York and Liverpool, or other foreign ports, as proposed by the Postmaster General. On the contrary, it promises, by the security it will afford, to facilitate commercial transactions, and give rise to an enlarged intercourse among the people of different nations, which cannot but have a happy effect. Through the city of New York most of the correspondence between the Canadas and Europe is now carried on, and urgent representations have been received from the head of the Provincial Post Office, asking the interposition of the United States to guard it from the accidents and losses to which it is now subjected. Some legislation appears to be called for, as well by our own interest as by comity to the adjoining British Provinces.

The expediency of providing a fire-proof building for the important books and papers of the Post Office Department is worthy of consideration. In the present condition of our Treasury it is neither necessary nor wise to leave essential public interests exposed to so much danger, when they can so readily be made secure. There are weighty considerations in the location of a new building for that Department, in favor of placing it near the other Executive buildings.

The important subjects of a survey of the coast, and the manufacture of a standard of weights and measures for the different custom-houses, have been in progress for some years, under the general direction of the Executive, and the immediate superintendence of a gentleman possessing high scientific attainments. At the last session of Congress, the making of a set of weights and measures for each State in the Union, was added to the others by a joint resolution.

The care and correspondence, as to all these subjects, have been devolved on the Treasury Department during the last year. A special report from the Secretary of the Treasury will soon be communicated to Congress, which will show what has been accomplished as to the whole; the number and compensation of the persons now employed in these duties, and the progress expected to be made during the ensuing year; with a copy of the various correspondence deemed necessary to throw light on the subjects which seem to require additional legislation. Claims have been made for retrospective allowances in behalf of the superintendent and some of his assistants, which I did not feel justified in granting; other claims have been made for large increases in compensation, which, under all the circumstances of the several cases, I declined making without the express sanction of Congress. In order to obtain that sanction, the subject was, at the last session, on my suggestion, and by request of the immediate superintendent, submitted by the Treasury Department to the Committee on Commerce of the House of Representatives. But no legislative action having taken place, the early attention of Congress is now invited to the enactment of some expressed and detailed pro

visions in relation to the various claims made for the past, and to the compensation and allowances deemed proper for the future.

It is further respectfully recommended that, such being the inconvenience of attention to these duties by the Chief Magistrate, and such the great pressure of business on the Treasury Department, the general supervision of the coast survey, and the completion of the weights and measures, if the works are kept united, should be devolved on a board of officers organized specially for that purpose, or on the Navy Board attached to the Navy Department.

All my experience and reflection confirm the conviction I have so often expressed to Congress in favor of an amendment of the constitution which will prevent, in any event, the election of the President and Vice President of the United States devolving on the House of Representatives and the Senate; and I therefore beg leave again to solicit your attention to the subject. There were various other suggestions in my last annual message not acted upon, particularly that relating to the want of uniformity in the laws of the District of Columbia, that are deemed worthy of your favorable consideration.

Before concluding this paper, I think it due to the various executive departments to bear testimony to their prosperous condition, and to the ability and integrity with which they have been conducted. It has been my aim to enforce in all of them a vigilant and faithful discharge of the public business, and it is gratifying to me to believe that there is no just cause of complaint from any quarter, at the manner in which they have fulfilled the objects of their creation.

Having now finished the observations deemed proper on this, the last occasion I shall have of communicating with the two Houses of Congress at their meeting, I cannot omit an expression of the gratitude which is due to the great body of my fellow-citizens, in whose partiality and indulgence I have found encouragement and support, in the many difficult and trying scenes through which it has been my lot to pass during my public career. Though deeply sensible that my exertions have not been crowned with a success corresponding to the degree of favor bestowed upon me, I am sure that they will be considered as having been directed by an earnest desire to promote the good of my country; and I am consoled by the persuasion that whatever errors have been committed will find a corrective in the intelligence and patriotism of those who will succeed us. All that has occurred during my administration is calculated to inspire me with increased confidence in the stability of our institutions; and should I be spared to enter upon that retirement which is so suitable to my age and infirm health, and so much desired by me in other respects, I shall not cease to invoke that beneficent Being to whose providence we are already so signally indebted, for the continuance of his blessings on our beloved country.

ANDREW JACKSON. WASHINGTON, 5th December, 1836.

Documents accompanying the President's Message.

[24th CoNG. 2d SESS.

DOCUMENTS ACCOMPANYING THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

A.

Statement of distribution of surplus revenue of $30,000,000 among the several States, agreeably to the number of electoral votes for President, and according to the constitutional mode of direct taxation by representative population, and the difference arising from those two modes of distribution, as per census of 1830.

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REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR AD storekeepers; corps of Engineers 22; Topographical Engi

INTERIM.

DEPARTMENT OF WAR,

December 3, 1836.

SIR: In compliance with your directions, I have the honor to lay before you the usual annual reports of the several divisions of this Department, and to submit, for your consideration, a summary of the contents of those documents, together with such additional statements and suggestions as seemed to me to be required by the present condition and necessities of the public service.

I. THE ARMY.

1. Organization and force.-It appears, from the report of Major General Macomb, and the tables annexed to it, that the regular army of the United States consists of 648 commissioned officers, and 7,310 non commissioned officers, musicians, artificers, and privates; making an aggregate of 7,958, organized as follows: General Staff 14, viz., one major general commanding; two brigadier generals, each commanding one of the two military districts into which the United States are divided; one adjutant general; two inspectors general; one quartermaster general, and four quartermasters; and one commissary general of subsistence, and two commissaries; Pay department 18, viz., one paymaster general and seventeen paymasters; Medical department 76, viz., one surgeon general, fifteen surgeons, and sixty assistant surgeons; Purchasing department 3, viz., one commissary general of purchases and two military

neers 10; Ordnance department (including 294 non-commissioned officers and enlisted men) 308; two regiments of dragoons, each containing ten companies of sixty privates each; four regiments of artillery, each containing nine companies of forty-two privates each; and seven regiments of infantry, each containing ten companies of forty-two privates each.

The present actual force of the regular army, according to the last general return, is 6,283; but it also appears from that return, that after making the necessary deductions for sickness, and other circumstances, the available force for service in the field, at the latest dates, was 4,282.

The difference between the actual force (6,283) and the force allowed by law (7,958) is 1,320, and is occasioned by the fact, that only 360 recruits have yet been obtained for the new regiment of dragoons authorized by the act of the last session, and by the vacancies caused by expiration of service and other casualties in the other regiments.

2. Distribution and present position of the troops.—The Eastern department, under the command of Major General Scott, includes thirty posts, from twenty of which the troops have been mostly withdrawn for service in the Creek country and in Florida. The whole number of officers of the line and men at the several stations in the Eastern department, including absentees, is therefore now only 1,124. Of that number 113 are at Fort Winnebago, 114 at Fort Brady, 105 at Fort Mackinac, 149 at Fort Howard, 67 at Fort Dearborn, 122 at Fort Gratiot; all which posts are on

24th CONG. 2d SESS.]

Documents accompanying the President's Message.

the Northwestern frontier, or in that vicinity, and the remainder at posts in the Atlantic States.

The Western department, under the command of Major General Gaines, now includes twenty posts and four temporary stations. Several of these posts have also been evacuated, and the troops ordered to Florida, so that the whole number of officers of the line and men now stationed at them, including absentees, amounts only to 2,458. Of that number 233 are at Fort Snelling, 185 at Fort Crawford, 321 at Fort Leavenworth, 132 at Fort Gibson, 158 at Fort Towson, 44 at Fort Coffee, 360 at Fort Jesup, and 124 at a station twenty miles from that place, 147 at Camp Sabine, and 428 at Camp Nacogdoches; all which posts and stations are in the Northwest or on or near the Western frontier; 136 at Fort Mitchell, Alabama, and 53 at Fort Cass, Tennessee.

The regular force serving in Florida consists of the four regiments of artillery, (five companies excepted;) eight companies of the fourth regiment of infantry, one company of dragoons, and a battalion of three hundred and twenty marines; making, in the aggregate, about two thousand, according to the latest returns received at the Adjutant General's office. After deducting the number reported sick, and absentees, the efficient regular force for field service in Florida will not exceed fifteen hundred.

For want of the necessary returns of the volunteers serving in that quarter, the estimate of that auxiliary force, at this time, is less accurate; but, from the best data in the Adjutant General's office, it may be thus computed: Tennessee volunteers, about 1,200; Alabama do., 300; Florida do., 250; and Washington city do., 59; amounting in all to about 1,800, besides seven hundred and thirty volunteer Creek Indians who have been mustered into the service of the United States, and are now employed with the army. The whole active force, then, regular, volunteer, and Indian, now in Florida, is probably somewhat less than four thousand.

Besides the volunteers above mentioned, there are also now employed, of that description of force, 361 in Tennessee, under the command of Brigadier General Wool; 537 in Arkansas, under the command of Brigadiar General Arbuckle; and 58 in Alabama; making, when added to those serving in Florida, an aggregate of near 2,800.

tude and energy demanded by the crisis. On the fourth ultimo, no report having been received from that officer, and being deemed necessary that the Department should act, without further delay, on the information then in its possession, despatches were sent by express to Governor Call and to Major General Jesup, expressing to the former the surprise and disappointment of the President at the failure of his movement, and calling for an explanation, and directing the latter to assume the command. General Jesup was also instructed to establish posts at or near the mouth of the Withlacoochee, at Fort King, and at Volusia; and after taking the proper measures for securing, through them, the safety of the frontier, and for procuring sufficient and regular supplies, to concentrate all his disposable forces, and to proceed, without delay, to possess himself of the positions occupied by the Indians, and of the whole country between the Withlacoochee and Tampa bay. Should the war thereafter be continued, he was then directed to take such advanced positions to the south of Volusia, and to the east and south of Tampa bay, as the nature of the country might admit, and to push from them such further operations as might be necessary to the most speedy and effectual subjugation of the enemy.

No acknowledgment of the receipt of the despatches of the 4th of November has yet reached the Department; but it is known that Governor Call and General Jesup have both been very actively engaged in preparing for offensive movements, and the latest intelligence gives reason to hope that the objects of the campaign will soon be accomplished. But as these expectations may be disappointed, and as the term of service of the Tennessee volunteers, who compose a very important part of the force serving in Florida, will expire on the 1st of January, it has been deemed important to make provision for supplying their places, in part at least, from the regular army. With this view the commanding officer of the second regiment of dragoons was directed, on the 26th ultimo, to organize the recruits enlisted for that corps into companies, and to hold them in readiness to be moved to Florida on the shortest notice. It is also expected that two additional companies of artillery may be prepared for the like purpose during the present month. After maturing these arrangements, information was received at the Department that General Jesup had recently called on the Governor of Alabama for a battalion, and on the Governor of Georgia for a regiment of volunteers, to meet the contingency of a want of force on the discharge of the Tennessee brigade. This call has been approved as a proper precautionary measure; but it is believed that the other troops now in Florida will be sufficient, especially when reinforced as above suggested, for all available purposes, even should the war be continued, and that the services of the volunteers last called for may therefore very soon be dispensed with.

3. Movements during the last year, and now in progress. At the date of the last annual report from this Department, several companies had been placed in Florida, under the command of Brigadier General Clinch, for the purpose of restraining any hostile intentions on the part of the Seminole Indians, and of enforcing the execution of the treaty providing for their removal. It was then hoped that an open rupture would be prevented, and it was confidently believed that the eleven companies actually in Florida, amounting to five hundred and thirty-six officers and men, would be amply sufficient, with the reinforcements then I beg leave to refer to the report of the General-in-chief under orders, and with such aid as might be derived from for a succinct account of the operations rendered necessary the local militia and volunteers, to put down any hostile by the hostile movements of the Creek Indians. To that attempt which might be made by the disaffected portion of account, however, it is but just to add that the marine corps, the tribe. Both these expectations were disappointed, and at a very alarming juncture, generously volunteered their a protracted warfare ensued, which has not yet been ter-services to aid in suppressing those hostilities, and were acminated. cordingly employed for that purpose. Since the termination of their tour of duty in the Creek country, they have been moved to Florida, where they now compose a most efficient portion of General Jesup's force.

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Indications of a mischievous disposition having been exhibited by the Winnebagoes and other tribes in the Northwest, some movements of troops in the Upper Mississippi were had in the months of July and August last, which produced the desired effect of awing them into quietness.

The most important military operations growing out of this state of things, are mentioned in the accompanying report of Major General Macomb, which brings down the narrative of events in Florida to the retirement of the forces under Governor Call from the Withlacoochee, in October last. Authentic intelligence of that event reached the Department on the 1st ultimo, through the medium of letters received by some of the bureaus and of officers direct from Florida. By the same channels of information it was also The movements of the forces under the personal comascertained that the health of Governor Call had been so mand of Major General Gaines, on the western frontiers of much impaired by sickness and fatigue as to make it doubt- Louisiana and Arkansas, are sufficiently stated in the reful whether he could renew the campaign with the prompti-port of the General-in-chief. General Gaines has recently

Documents accompanying the President's Message.

[24th CoNG. 2d SESS.

property impressed into the service of the United States, nor for any special damage done to individuals or their property by the troops of the United States, or the enemy. Some of these cases ought, undoubtedly, to be provided for by Congress; and, perhaps, under the peculiar circumstances which attended them, provision should be made for embracing the whole.

join the garrison at that post, and seventy-five recruits are on their way to join the first regiment of dragoons at Fort Gibson. The public property at Fort Dearborn will remain in charge of the late commandant of the post.

4. General Staff.-The reports of the chiefs of the different staff departments exhibit a perspicuous view of their operations during the past year.

been relieved of this command by Brigadier General Arbuckle, who was instructed, under date of the 10th of October last, to make a full report of the condition of things in that quarter. He was also particularly advised that, under the instructions previously given to General Gaines, that officer was not to advance into the territory claimed by Mexico; and if he should have advanced, was to retire, unless the Indians were actually engaged in hostilities against In addition to the movements now in progress, already the United States, or unless he had undoubted evidence mentioned, the troops stationed at Fort Dearborn, Chicathat such hostilities were intended and were actually in prep-go, have been ordered to proceed to Fort Howard, and to aration within that territory. On the 11th ultimo a communication was received from the officer in command at Camp Nacogdoches, giving an unfavorable account of the health of the troops at the post, and stating that their continuance there during the winter would make it necessary to construct barracks and quarters for their comfortable accommodation. In consequence of this communication, Brigadier General Arbuckle was instructed, under date of the 12th ultimo, to take all necessary measures to restore the health of the troops; and, in the event of his deciding to retain possession of Camp Nacogdoches, to provide at that place all needful accommodations. He was also informed that it was not in the power of the Department, with the limited information then in its possession, to give any positive order in regard to the further occupation of the post. The opinion was, however, expressed, that there seemed to be no adequate cause for any longer maintaining a position so unhealthful and inconvenient; and he was instructed, in case he had not already withdrawn the troops, to give the requisite orders for that purpose immediately on the receipt of that communication, unless he should then have in his possession information satisfying him that the maintenance of the post is esssential to the protection of our frontiers and to the due execution of our treaty stipulations, as explained in the previous instructions to General Gaines and to himself.

In the month of June last it became necessary to call on the Governor of Tennessee, under the act of the last session, for a volunteer force sufficient to put down any hostile attempt on the part of the disaffected Cherokees, and to ensure the peaceful execution of the treaty then lately concluded with that tribe. The command of the troops to be raised for this purpose was committed to Brigadier General Wool, who immediately repaired to the Cherokee country, and is yet in command there. The force under him amounted, at one time, to about 2,450, but has lately been reduced to 361, a number sufficient, from present appearances, to prevent any difficulty in that quarter. Much praise is due to General Wool for the promptitude and zeal with which he has devoted himself to the execution of his duties.

The whole number of militia and volunteers mustered into the service of the United States, in the various movements and operations above mentioned, appears, from the rolls received in the office of the Adjutant General, to have been about 24,500. In the case of the Tennessee volunteers, mustered by General Wool, a larger number appeared than had been called for; but as they acted in good faith and under patriotic impulses, and as the commanding general deemed it best to receive them, it seems proper that provision should be made for their pay.

Legal provision will also be required for the just settlement of many of the accounts growing out of the employment of militia and volunteers, and for the satisfaction of claims which, though equitable, cannot be allowed by the ccounting officers.

In executing the first section of the act of the 28th of May last, "to provide for the payment of expenses incurred, and supplies furnished, on account of the militia or volunteers received into the service of the United States for the defence of Florida," it has been decided that this section does not authorize any allowance for horses or other

I beg leave to call your attention to the communication of the Adjutant General, setting forth the difficulties which have been, and are yet, experienced in various branches of the public service for the want of additional staff officers. The fiscal operations of the Quartermaster's and Subsistence departments have been unusually heavy, in consequence of the hostilities in which the army has been employed. It is due to these two important arms of the service that I should state that, from the time when adequate means were placed at their disposal by Congress, nothing has been omitted, on their part, to provide the necessary supplies for the troops in the field

The report of the acting Quartermaster General states the progress made, or rather the inability to make progress, in the construction of the roads and other works with which the department is charged. It also exposes, in a lucid and convincing manner, the utter insufficiency of this branch of the service, as now organized by law, to the execution of the duties committed to it.

The expenditures incurred during the past year in the emigration and subsistence of Indians, will appear in the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, to whose office that business was transferred by a regulation made on the 1st ultimo. This change was made from a conviction that the interests of the service would be promoted by bringing all matters belonging to any one branch under the care of the bureau to which they properly belonged. The clerks and messenger, allowed by law, have been transferred with the business.

The complaints made in the accompanying papers as to the want of sufficient strength in the staff departments, appear to me to be well founded.

The present system seems to have been framed upon the principle of concentrating the business of those departments at the seat of Government, and of employing therein a very small number of officers commissioned in the staff, the deficiencies being supplied by selections from the lines. This arrangement is very well adapted to a time of profound peace, when officers can be spared from the line without injury to the service, when the positions of the troops are chiefly permanent; and when the changes which occur are made with so much deliberation as to afford ample time for preparing adequate means of transportation and supply. But, when large bodies of troops, whose numbers and movements may be varied by unforseen contingencies, are to be supplied in the field, and at a great distance from the seat of Government, the system is worse than insufficient-it is the parent of expense, confusion, and delay. During the time necessarily occupied in the transmission of despatches to, and of instructions from, the War Department, the state of things may be so entirely changed as to render the instructions inapplicable; and, even if it remain unaltered, the loss of time in military operations is always a great evil, and sometimes a fatal one. To prevent inconveniences of this sort, it is evidently necessary that staff of

24th CoNG. 2d SESS.]

Documents accompanying the President's Message.

ficers of experience and rank should be associated with the commander, and, to supply such associates, the staff departments must be enlarged. On the other hand, to make the line of the army truly effective, officers should not be taken for staff service or other detached duties, in large numbers, nor for long periods, from their companies. And when, to relieve the weakness of the staff on a pressing contingency, officers are selected from the line, the difficulty, instead of being remedied, is only exchanged for a new, and possibly a greater one. The embarrassments occasioned by these causes, during the operations of the year, have been of constant recurrence, and of the most serious character.

5. Pay department.-So far as the regular army is concerned, there is nothing in the report of the Paymaster General demanding particular remark. His suggestions in regard to the services and responsibilities of the paymasters who have been, or who may he, employed in making payments to militia and volunteers, undoubtedly demand the attention of Congress. In order to a clear understanding of this subject, it should be observed that after the reduction of the army, on the conclusion of the late war, and until the act of July 14, 1832, the Secretary of War appears, in several instances, to have exercised the power of making discretionary allowances to paymasters of the army of the United States, for the risks and losses sustained by them in making payments to militia and volunteers. These allowances were made in the shape of commissions on the money paid, and were usually fixed at two and a half per cent. The only ground on which such a power could have been exercised, was the absence of any legislative provision making it a part of the regular duty of the army paymasters to make payments to militia and volunteers. But by the third section of the act of the 14th of July, 1832, it was made the duty of the district paymasters of the army of the United States, "in addition to the payments required to be made by them to the regular troops, to make payment to all other troops in the service of the United States, whenever required thereto by order of the President." The discretionary power, before possessed by the Secretary of War, to make an extra allowance for payments to the militia and volunteers, was, as I suppose, taken away by this provision; and it was, doubtless, in consequence of this change that the second section of the act of the 2d of March, 1833, expressly provided that the Secretary of War be authorized, at his discretion, out of the moneys appropriated by this or any former act, for the payment of the militia ordered into the service of the United States, according to law, during the last year, to allow and pay to the district paymasters of the army of the United States, employed in making such payments, a commission on the sums respectively paid by them, not exceeding one per centum upon the amount."

The act of the 14th of January, 1836, making appropriations for the suppression of hostilities commenced by the Seminole Indians, provides "that the sum of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars be, and the same hereby is, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to defray the expense attending the suppression of hostilities with the Seminole Indians in Florida, to be expended under the direction of the Secretary of War, conformably to the provisions of the act of April 5, 1832, making appropriations for the support of the army;" and the same reference is in effect made in the subsequent acts. When the act of the 5th of April, 1832, thus referred to, was passed, the discretionary power, spoken of above, was possessed by the Secretary of War, and was exercised in the settlement of the paymaster's ac counts, under that act, by the allowance of a commission of two and a half per cent. In a case of peculiar hardship, and of just merit, also, which occurred before the resignation of the late Secretary of War, the Paymaster General,

under the impression that the general reference to the act of the 5th of April, 1832, contained in the acts of the last session, included authority to allow a per centage, recommended such an allowance to the extent of one per cent. The Secretary of War referred the case to me, as Attorney General, and called for my opinion as to the power of the Department to allow the proposed commission. My opinion was, that the discretionary power was taken away by the act of 1832, above quoted, and also by the act of the 3d of March, 1835, making additional appropriations for the Delaware breakwater and other works, and that the intent to confer such a power was not sufficiently apparent in the general reference to the act of 1832, to authorize the allowance applied for. But as it would seem, from the report of the Paymaster General, that justice requires that additional compensation should be allowed, I concur in recommending a special provision, similar to that inserted in the act of the 2d of March, 1833.

6. Medical department. The number of cases treated by the officers of the Medical department, during the year ending the 30th of September last, was 14,356, of which number only 139 died. This result may be well taken as evidence of the professional skill of the surgeons and assistant surgeons, and of the care with which their duties are performed. For other matters respecting this department, I beg leave to refer to the report of the Surgeon General ad interim. His suggestions in regard to the pay of hospital stewards, and the repairing and erection of hospitals at the different military posts, appear to me to be worthy the attention of Congress.

7. Purchasing department.-The report of the Commissary General of Purchases exhibits the several amounts drawn and disbursed for clothing, camp equipage, &c. during the present year, with estimates for the like service for the year 1837.

8. Engineers and Topographical Engineers.—The reports of the Chief Engineer and of the head of the Topographical bureau exhibit the progress made during the last year upon the fortifications and other works under their care.

The failure during the session of 1834--'5, of the bill containing the usual appropriations for fortifications, occasioned a suspension of those works during the year 1835; and though liberal appropriations for resuming them were made at the last session of Congress, yet it unfortunately happened that the season for active operations was too far advanced, at the time of the passing of the appropriation laws, to allow of much progress during the present year. Operations have been also retarded by the difficulty of procuring laborers, and still more by the insufficiency of the Engineer department to furnish an adequate number of engineers to superintend the constructions. Several important works authorized at the last session have not even been commenced; and but little has been done towards the completion of those previously undertaken. The like remarks are applicable to the various improvements in harbors on the seaboard and lakes, and at the mouths and in the channels of navigable rivers.

From the causes above stated, but a small portion of the sums appropriated by the present Congress for the engineer and topographical service has yet been expended.

The balances of those appropriations may, however, be expended without any further law, and measures will be taken for resuming operations at an early day, and with all practicable vigor.

In the last annual report of the Secretary of War he stated the insufficiency of the corps of engineers, and of the topographical corps, to the expeditious and economical performance of the duties committed to them, and recommended their increase. His suggestions on this subject were approved by you, and the attention of Congress was invited to them in your message. The propriety of such

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