WASHINGTON, June 6, 1838. To the House of Representatives of the United States: In compliance with the resolution of the 4th instant, calling for any communication received from the governors of the States of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama in reference to the proposed modification of the Cherokee treaty of 1835, I herewith inclose a report of the Secretary of War, accompanied by a copy of a letter addressed by him to the governor of Georgia and of his reply thereto. As stated by the Secretary, no communication on that subject has been received from either of the other executives mentioned. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, June 7, 1838. To the House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit to the House of Representatives an account against the United States, presented by Heman Cady, of Plattsburg, in the State of New York, for services alleged to have been rendered as deputy marshal for the northern district of New York from the 20th December, 1837, to the 9th February, 1838, by direction of the attorney and marshal of the United States for that district, in endeavoring to prevent the arming and enlisting of men for the invasion of Canada. I also transmit certain documents which were exhibited in support of the said account. I recommend to the consideration of Congress the expediency of an appropriation for the payment of this claim and of some general provision for the liquidation and payment of others which may be expected to be presented hereafter for services of a similar character rendered before and after the passage of the act of the 20th March last, for preserving the neutrality of the United States on the northern frontier, which act imposes important duties upon the marshals and other civil officers, but omits to provide for their remuneration or for the reimbursement of their expenses. To the Senate of the United States: M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, June 7, 1838. Having received satisfactory assurances from the Government of Ecuador of its desire to negotiate a treaty of commerce on the most liberal principles in place of the expired treaty made with the Republic of Colombia, heretofore regulating our intercourse with Ecuador, it is my design to give the requisite authority for that purpose to the chargé d'affaires of the United States about to be appointed for Peru, with instructions to stop in Ecuador on his way to Lima as the agent of the United States to accomplish that object. The only additional charges to be incurred will be the expense of his journey from Panama to Quito, and from thence to the place of embarkation for Lima, to be paid out of the foreign-intercourse fund. I make this communication to the Senate that an opportunity may be afforded for the expression of an opinion, if it shall be deemed necessary, on the exercise of such a power by the Executive without applying to the Senate for its approbation and consent. debate it has been sometimes asserted that this power, frequently exercised without question or complaint, and leading to no practical evil, as no arrangement made under such circumstances can be obligatory upon the United States without being submitted to the approbation of the Senate, is an encroachment upon its rightful authority. It appears to have been considered that the annual appropriation of a gross sum for the expenses of foreign intercourse is intended, among other objects, to provide for the cost of such agencies, and that the authority granted is the same as that frequently given to the Secretary of State to form treaties with the representatives or agents of foreign governments, upon the granting of which the Senate never have been consulted. Desiring in this and in all other instances to act with the most cautious respect to the claims of other branches of the Government, I bring this subject to the notice of the Senate that if it shall be deemed proper to raise any question it may be discussed and decided before and not after the power shall have been exercised. M. VAN BUREN. To the Senate of the United States: WASHINGTON CITY, June 11, 1838. I submit herewith, for consideration and action, a communication from the Secretary of War and the treaty with the Otoe, Missouria, and Omaha Indians therein referred to. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, June 20, 1838. To the House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit, in compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 11th instant, reports from the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and War, with the documents referred to by them respectively. It will be seen that the outrage committed on the steamboat Sir Robert Peel, under the British flag, within the waters of the United States, and on the steamboat Telegraph, under the American flag, at Brockville, in Upper Canada, have not been followed by any demand by either Government on the other for redress. These acts have been so far treated on each side as criminal offenses committed within the jurisdiction of tribunals competent to inquire into the facts and to punish the persons concerned in them. Investigations have been made, some of the individuals inculpated have been arrested, and prosecutions are in progress, the result of which can not be doubted. The excited state of public feeling on the borders of Canada on both sides of the line has occasioned the most painful anxiety to this Government. Every effort has been and will be made to prevent the success of the design, apparently formed and in the course of execution by Canadians who have found a refuge within the territory, aided by a few reckless persons of our own country, to involve the nation in a war with a neighboring and friendly power. Such design can not succeed while the two Governments appreciate and confidently rely upon the good faith of each other in the performance of their respective duties. With a fixed determination to use all the means in my power to put a speedy and satisfactory termination to these border troubles, I have the most confident assurances of the cordial cooperation of the British authorities, at home and in the North American possessions, in the accomplishment of a purpose so sincerely and earnestly desired by the Governments and people both of the United States and Great Britain. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, June 28, 1838. To the House of Representatives of the United States: In compliance with a resolution passed by the House of Representatives on the 23d instant, in respect to the new Treasury building, I submit the inclosed report from the commissioners charged with a general superintendence of the work, and which, with the documents annexed, is believed to contain all the information desired. To the Senate of the United States: M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, June 28, 1838. I nominate Lieutenant-Colonel Thayer, of the Corps of Engineers, for the brevet of colonel in the Army, agreeably to the recommendation of the Secretary of War. M. VAN BUREN. WAR DEPARTMENT, June 28, 1838. The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. SIR: In submitting the name of Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel S. Thayer, of the Corps of Engineers, for the brevet of colonel for ten years' faithful service in one grade it may be proper to state the circumstances of his case. When the law of 1812 regulating brevets was repealed by the act of June 30, 1834, all the officers of the Army who were known to be entitled to the ordinary brevet promotion for ten years' faithful service in one grade received on that day, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, the brevet promotion to which they were respectively entitled. The regulation which governed the subject under the law had reference only to service with regularly organized bodies of troops, and valid claims arising under it were generally known and easily understood at the AdjutantGeneral's Office. If incidental cases occurred for which the written regulations could not provide the rule, although equally valid, such, nevertheless, may not ir every instance have been known at the War Department until specially represented by the party interested. The case of Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Thayer happened to be one of those incidental claims, and as soon as it was submitted for considera. tion its validity was clearly seen and acknowledged. Had it been submitted to the Department when the list was made out in June, 1834, it may not be doubted that this highly meritorious and deserving officer would at the time have received the brevet of colonel for "having served faithfully as brevet lieutenant-colonel and performed the appropriate duties of that grade for ten years," which, it may be seen, was due more than a year before the passage of the act repealing the law. In presenting now this deferred case for your favorable consideration justice requires that I should advert to the valuable services rendered to the Army and the country by Lieutenant-Colonel Thayer as Superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point. In 1817 he found that institution defective in all its branches, and without order; in 1833 he left it established upon a basis alike honorable to himself and useful to the nation. These meritorious services constitute another claim which entitles this officer to the notice of the Government, and as they come fairly within one of the conditions of the law which yet open the way to brevet promotion, the incentive it provides is fully realized by the services that have been rendered. I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, J. R. POINSETT. WASHINGTON, July 2, 1838. To the House of Representatives of the United States: I herewith transmit to the House of Representatives a report * from the Secretary of State, together with the documents therein referred to in answer to their resolution of the 28th of May last. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, July 3, 1838. To the House of Representatives of the United States: I transmit a report from the War Department, in relation to the investigations of the allegations of fraud committed on the Creek Indians in the sales of their reservations authorized by the resolution of that body of the 1st of July, 1836. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, July 4, 1838. To the House of Representatives of the United States: In further compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st of March last, requesting papers on the subject of the relations between the United States and Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred, supplementary to the report of that officer communicated with my message to the House of Representatives of the 27th of April last. The PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE. M. VAN BUREN. WASHINGTON, July 7, 1838. SIR: In conformity with the resolution of the Senate, I transmit herewith the report of Major-General Jesup,† together with a letter from the Secretary of War. M. VAN BUREN. * Transmitting reports of the commissioners appointed under the sixth and seventh articles of the treaty of Ghent to ascertain and fix the boundary between the United States and the British possessions in North America, etc. † Relating to operations while commanding the army in Florida. PROCLAMATIONS. [From Statutes at Large (Little, Brown & Co.), Vol. XI, p. 784.] BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas information having been received of a dangerous excitement on the northern frontier of the United States in consequence of the civil war begun in Canada, and instructions having been given to the United States officers on that frontier and applications having been made to the governors of the adjoining States to prevent any unlawful interference on the part of our citizens in the contest unfortunately commenced in the British Provinces, additional information has just been received that, notwithstanding the proclamations of the governors of the States of New York and Vermont exhorting their citizens to refrain from any unlawful acts within the territory of the United States, and notwithstanding the presence of the civil officers of the United States, who by my directions have visited the scenes of commotion with a view of impressing the citizens with a proper sense of their duty, the excitement, instead of being appeased, is every day increasing in degree; that arms and munitions of war and other supplies have been procured by the insurgents in the United States; that a military force, consisting in part, at least, of citizens of the United States, had been actually organized, had congregated at Navy Island, and were still in arms under the command of a citizen of the United States, and that they were constantly receiving accessions and aid: Now, therefore, to the end that the authority of the laws may be maintained and the faith of treaties observed, I, Martin Van Buren, do most earnestly exhort all citizens of the United States who have thus violated their duties to return peaceably to their respective homes; and I hereby warn them that any persons who shall compromit the neutrality of this Government by interfering in an unlawful manner with the affairs of the neighboring British Provinces will render themselves liable to arrest and punishment under the laws of the United States, which will be rigidly enforced; and, also, that they will receive no aid or countenance from their Government, into whatever difficulties they may be thrown by the violation of the laws of their country and the territory of a neighboring and friendly nation. Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, the 5th day of January, A. D. 1838, and the sixty-second of the Independence [SEAL.] of the United States. M. VAN BUREN. By the President: JOHN FORSYTH, Secretary of State. |