A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents Part 9

Under this view the question as to the manner in which the Federal Government can or ought to embark in the construction of roads and ca.n.a.ls, and the extent to which it may impose burthens on the people for these purposes, may be presented on its own merits, free of all disguise and of every embarra.s.sment, except such as may arise from the Const.i.tution itself. a.s.suming these suggestions to be correct, will not our const.i.tuents require the observance of a course by which they can be effected? Ought they not to require it? With the best disposition to aid, as far as I can conscientiously, in furtherance of works of internal improvement, my opinion is that the soundest views of national policy at this time point to such a course. Besides the avoidance of an evil influence upon the local concerns of the country, how solid is the advantage which the Government will reap from it in the elevation of its character! How gratifying the effect of presenting to the world the sublime spectacle of a Republic of more than 12,000,000 happy people, in the fifty-fourth year of her existence, after having pa.s.sed through two protracted wars--the one for the acquisition and the other for the maintenance of liberty--free from debt and with all her immense resources unfettered! What a salutary influence would not such an exhibition exercise upon the cause of liberal principles and free government throughout the world! Would we not ourselves find in its effect an additional guaranty that our political inst.i.tutions will be transmitted to the most remote posterity without decay? A course of policy destined to witness events like these can not be benefited by a legislation which tolerates a scramble for appropriations that have no relation to any general system of improvement, and whose good effects must of necessity be very limited. In the best view of these appropriations, the abuses to which they lead far exceed the good which they are capable of promoting. They may be resorted to as artful expedients to shift upon the Government the losses of unsuccessful private speculation, and thus, by ministering to personal ambition and self-aggrandizement, tend to sap the foundations of public virtue and taint the administration of the Government with a demoralizing influence.

In the other view of the subject, and the only remaining one which it is my intention to present at this time, is involved the expediency of embarking in a system of internal improvement without a previous amendment of the Const.i.tution explaining and defining the precise powers of the Federal Government over it. a.s.suming the right to appropriate money to aid in the construction of national works to be warranted by the cotemporaneous and continued exposition of the Const.i.tution, its insufficiency for the successful prosecution of them must be admitted by all candid minds. If we look to usage to define the extent of the right, that will be found so variant and embracing so much that has been overruled as to involve the whole subject in great uncertainty and to render the execution of our respective duties in relation to it replete with difficulty and embarra.s.sment. It is in regard to such works and the acquisition of additional territory that the practice obtained its first footing. In most, if not all, other disputed questions of appropriation the construction of the Const.i.tution may be regarded as unsettled if the right to apply money in the enumerated cases is placed on the ground of usage.

This subject has been one of much, and, I may add, painful, reflection to me. It has bearings that are well calculated to exert a powerful influence upon our hitherto prosperous system of government, and which, on some accounts, may even excite despondency in the breast of an American citizen. I will not detain you with professions of zeal in the cause of internal improvements. If to be their friend is a virtue which deserves commendation, our country is blessed with an abundance of it, for I do not suppose there is an intelligent citizen who does not wish to see them flourish. But though all are their friends, but few, I trust, are unmindful of the means by which they should be promoted; none certainly are so degenerate as to desire their success at the cost of that sacred instrument with the preservation of which is indissolubly bound our country's hopes. If different impressions are entertained in any quarter; if it is expected that the people of this country, reckless of their const.i.tutional obligations, will prefer their local interest to the principles of the Union, such expectations will in the end be disappointed; or if it be not so, then indeed has the world but little to hope from the example of free government. When an honest observance of const.i.tutional compacts can not be obtained from communities like ours, it need not be antic.i.p.ated elsewhere, and the cause in which there has been so much martyrdom, and from which so much was expected by the friends of liberty, may be abandoned, and the degrading truth that man is unfit for self-government admitted. And this will be the case if _expediency_ be made a rule of construction in interpreting the Const.i.tution. Power in no government could desire a better shield for the insidious advances which it is ever ready to make upon the checks that are designed to restrain its action.

But I do not entertain such gloomy apprehensions. If it be the wish of the people that the construction of roads and ca.n.a.ls should be conducted by the Federal Government, it is not only highly expedient, but indispensably necessary, that a previous amendment of the Const.i.tution, delegating the necessary power and defining and restricting its exercise with reference to the sovereignty of the States, should be made. Without it nothing extensively useful can be effected. The right to exercise as much jurisdiction as is necessary to preserve the works and to raise funds by the collection of tolls to keep them in repair can not be dispensed with. The c.u.mberland road should be an instructive admonition of the consequences of acting without this right. Year after year contests are witnessed, growing out of efforts to obtain the necessary appropriations for completing and repairing this useful work. Whilst one Congress may claim and exercise the power, a succeeding one may deny it; and this fluctuation of opinion must be unavoidably fatal to any scheme which from its extent would promote the interests and elevate the character of the country. The experience of the past has shown that the opinion of Congress is subject to such fluctuations.

If it be the desire of the people that the agency of the Federal Government should be confined to the appropriation of money in aid of such undertakings, in virtue of State authorities, then the occasion, the manner, and the extent of the appropriations should be made the subject of const.i.tutional regulation. This is the more necessary in order that they may be equitable among the several States, promote harmony between different sections of the Union and their representatives, preserve other parts of the Const.i.tution from being undermined by the exercise of doubtful powers or the too great extension of those which are not so, and protect the whole subject against the deleterious influence of combinations to carry by concert measures which, considered by themselves, might meet but little countenance.

That a const.i.tutional adjustment of this power upon equitable principles is in the highest degree desirable can scarcely be doubted, nor can it fail to be promoted by every sincere friend to the success of our political inst.i.tutions. In no government are appeals to the source of power in cases of real doubt more suitable than in ours. No good motive can be a.s.signed for the exercise of power by the const.i.tuted authorities, while those for whose benefit it is to be exercised have not conferred it and may not be willing to confer it. It would seem to me that an honest application of the conceded powers of the General Government to the advancement of the common weal present a sufficient scope to satisfy a reasonable ambition. The difficulty and supposed impracticability of obtaining an amendment of the Const.i.tution in this respect is, I firmly believe, in a great degree unfounded. The time has never yet been when the patriotism and intelligence of the American people were not fully equal to the greatest exigency, and it never will when the subject calling forth their interposition is plainly presented to them. To do so with the questions involved in this bill, and to urge them to an early, zealous, and full consideration of their deep importance, is, in my estimation, among the highest of our duties.

A supposed connection between appropriations for internal improvement and the system of protecting duties, growing out of the anxieties of those more immediately interested in their success, has given rise to suggestions which it is proper I should notice on this occasion. My opinions on these subjects have never been concealed from those who had a right to know them. Those which I have entertained on the latter have frequently placed me in opposition to individuals as well as communities whose claims upon my friendship and grat.i.tude are of the strongest character, but I trust there has been nothing in my public life which has exposed me to the suspicion of being thought capable of sacrificing my views of duty to private considerations, however strong they may have been or deep the regrets which they are capable of exciting.

As long as the encouragement of domestic manufactures is directed to national ends it shall receive from me a temperate but steady support.

There is no necessary connection between it and the system of appropriations. On the contrary, it appears to me that the supposition of their dependence upon each other is calculated to excite the prejudices of the public against both. The former is sustained on the grounds of its consistency with the letter and spirit of the Const.i.tution, of its origin being traced to the a.s.sent of all the parties to the original compact, and of its having the support and approbation of a majority of the people, on which account it is at least ent.i.tled to a fair experiment. The suggestions to which I have alluded refer to a forced continuance of the national debt by means of large appropriations as a subst.i.tute for the security which the system derives from the principles on which it has. .h.i.therto been sustained. Such a course would certainly indicate either an unreasonable distrust of the people or a consciousness that the system does not possess sufficient soundness for its support if left to their voluntary choice and its own merits. Those who suppose that any policy thus founded can be long upheld in this country have looked upon its history with eyes very different from mine. This policy, like every other, must abide the will of the people, who will not be likely to allow any device, however specious, to conceal its character and tendency.

In presenting these opinions I have spoken with the freedom and candor which I thought the occasion for their expression called for, and now respectfully return the bill which has been under consideration for your further deliberation and judgment.

ANDREW JACKSON.

WASHINGTON, _May 31, 1830_.

_To the Senate of the United States_.

GENTLEMEN: I have considered the bill proposing "to authorize a subscription of stock in the Washington Turnpike Road Company," and now return the same to the Senate, in which it originated.

I am unable to approve this bill, and would respectfully refer the Senate to my message to the House of Representatives on returning to that House the bill "to authorize a subscription of stock in the Maysville, Washington, Paris and Lexington Turnpike Road Company" for a statement of my objections to the bill herewith returned. The message referred to bears date on the 27th instant, and a printed copy of the same is herewith transmitted,

ANDREW JACKSON.

(NOTE.--For reasons for the pocket vetoes of "An act for making appropriations for building light-houses, light-boats, beacons, and monuments, placing buoys, and for improving harbors and directing surveys," and "An act to authorize a subscription for stock in the Louisville and Portland Ca.n.a.l Company," see Second Annual Message, dated December 6, 1830, p. 508.)

PROCLAMATIONS.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas it has been represented that many uninformed or evil-disposed persons have taken possession of or made a settlement on the public lands of the United States within the district of lands subject to sale at Huntsville, in the State of Alabama, which have not been previously sold, ceded, or leased by the United States, or the claim to which lands by such persons has not been previously recognized and confirmed by the United States, which possession or settlement is, by the act of Congress pa.s.sed on the 3d day of March, 1807, expressly prohibited; and

Whereas the due execution of the said act of Congress, as well as the general interest, requires that such illegal practices should be promptly repressed:

Now, therefore, I, Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, have thought proper to issue this my proclamation, commanding and strictly enjoining all persons who have unlawfully taken possession of or made any settlement on, or who now unlawfully occupy, any of the public lands within the district of lands subject to sale at Huntsville, in the State of Alabama, as aforesaid, forthwith to remove therefrom; and I do hereby further command and enjoin the marshal, or officer acting as marshal, in that State, where such possession shall have been taken or settlement made, to remove, from and after the 1st day of September, 1830, all or any of the said unlawful occupants; and to effect the said service I do hereby authorize the employment of such military force as may become necessary in pursuance of the provisions of the act of Congress aforesaid, warning the offenders, moreover, that they will be prosecuted in all such other ways as the law directs.

In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand.

(SEAL.)

Done at the city of Washington, the 6th day of March, A.D. 1830, and of the Independence of the United States of America the fifty-fourth.

ANDREW JACKSON.

By the President: M. VAN BUREN, _Secretary of State_.

(From original in General Land Office.)

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

In pursuance of law, I, Andrew Jackson, President of the United States of America, do hereby declare and make known that public sales will be held at the under-mentioned land offices, in the State of Louisiana, at the periods designated, to wit:

At the land office at New Orleans on the first Monday in November next, for the disposal of such of the public lands within the limits of the under-mentioned fractional townships as are not covered by private land claims, viz:

Fractional townships 6, 7, and 9 south, of range 12 east; fractional townships 9 and 10 south, of range 13 east; fractional township 11 south, of range 15 east; fractional township 12 south, of range 16 east; fractional township 12 south, of ranges 20 and 21 east; fractional township 13 south, of range 21 east.

The above-described lands are adjacent to and binding on the Mississippi River.

At the land office at Ouachita, on the third Monday in November next, for the disposal of the public lands within the limits of the undermentioned townships and fractional townships, viz:

Fractional townships 3 and 4 north, of range 1 east; fractional townships 2 and 3 and townships 19 and 20 north, of range 2 east; fractional townships 2 and 3 and townships 7, 13, 14, 19, and 20 north, of range 3 east; fractional township 3 and townships 8, 9, 13, 14, and 19 north, of range 4 east; township 9 north, of ranges 5 and 6 east; township 10 north, of range 7 east; townships 10, 11, and 12 north, of range 8 east; also township 8 north, of range 9 east, and townships 8 and 9 north, of range 10 east, including the Lake St. John and part of Lake Concordia, near Natchez; township 21 and fractional township 22 north, of range 12 east; fractional townships 21, 22, and 23, of range 13 east, in the vicinity of Lake Providence; fractional township 4 north, of range 1 west; fractional townships 5 and 6 north, of range 2 west; fractional townships 5 and 6 and township 7 north, of range 3 west.

At the land office at St. Helena on the third Monday in November next, for the disposal of the public lands within the limits of the undermentioned townships and fractional townships, viz:

Township 4 and fractional townships 5 and 7, of range 1 west; townships 1 and 2 and fractional townships 3, 4, and 5, of range 2 west; townships 1 and 2 and fractional township 3, of range 3 west; fractional townships 1 and 2, of range 4 west; townships 4 and 5, of range 1 east; township 4, of range 2 east; township 4 and fractional townships 7 and 8, of range 10 east; townships 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and fractional township 8, of range 11 east; townships 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and fractional township 8, of range 12 east; townships 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 and fractional townships 4 and 9, of range 13 east; fractional townships 1, 2, 3, and 10, of range 14 east; fractional township 10, of ranges 15, 16, and 17 east.

The townships and fractional townships will be offered in the order in which they are above designated, beginning with the lowest number of section in each.

The lands reserved by law for the use of schools or for other purposes are to be excluded from sale.

Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, this 5th day of June, 1830.

ANDREW JACKSON.

By the President: GEORGE GRAHAM, _Commissioner of the General Land Office_.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States of the 24th of May, 1828, ent.i.tled "An act in addition to an act ent.i.tled 'An act concerning discriminating duties of tonnage and impost,' and to equalize the duties on Prussian vessels and their cargoes," it is provided that upon satisfactory evidence being given to the President of the United States by the government of any foreign nation that no discriminating duties of tonnage or impost are imposed or levied in the ports of the said nation upon vessels wholly belonging to citizens of the United States, or upon the produce, manufactures, or merchandise imported in the same from the United States or from any foreign country, the President is thereby authorized to issue his proclamation declaring that the foreign discriminating duties of tonnage and impost within the United States are, and shall be, suspended and discontinued so far as respects the vessels of the said foreign nation and the produce, manufactures, or merchandise imported into the United States in the same from the said foreign nation or from any other foreign country, the said suspension to take effect from the time of such notification being given to the President of the United States and to continue so long as the reciprocal exemption of vessels belonging to citizens of the United States, and their cargoes, as aforesaid, shall be continued, and no longer; and

Whereas satisfactory evidence has lately been received by me from His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Oldenburg, through an official communication of F.A. Mensch, his consul in the United States, under date of the 15th of September, 1830, that no discriminating duties of tonnage or impost are imposed or levied in the ports of the Grand Dukedom of Oldenburg upon vessels wholly belonging to citizens of the United States or upon the produce, manufactures, or merchandise imported in the same from the United States or from any other country:

Now, therefore, I, Andrew Jackson, President of the United States of America, do hereby declare and proclaim that so much of the several acts imposing discriminating duties of tonnage and impost within the United States are, and shall be, suspended and discontinued so far as respects the vessels of the Grand Dukedom of Oldenburg and the produce, manufactures, and merchandise imported into the United States in the same from the Grand Dukedom of Oldenburg and from any other foreign country whatever, the said suspension to take effect from the day above mentioned and to continue thenceforward so long as the reciprocal exemption of the vessels of the United States and the produce, manufactures, and merchandise imported into the Grand Dukedom of Oldenburg in the same, as aforesaid, shall be continued on the part of the Government of His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Oldenburg.