Chapter  14 1798

UNITED STATES,  January 5, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

The Secretary for the Department of War on the 30th day of December last
made a representation to me of the situation of affairs in his office,
which I now transmit to the Senate and House of Representatives, and
recommend to their consideration and decision.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  January 8, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate :

The situation of affairs between some of the citizens of the United
States and the Cherokee Indians has evinced the propriety of holding a
treaty with that nation to extinguish by purchase their right to certain
parcels of land and to adjust and settle other points relative to the
safety and conveniency of our citizens. With this view I nominate Fisher
Ames, of Dedham, in the State of Massachusetts; Bushrod Washington, of
Richmond, in the State of Virginia, and Alfred Moore, of North Carolina,
to be commissioners of the United States with full powers to hold
conferences and conclude a treaty with the Cherokee Nation of Indians
for the purposes before mentioned.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  January 17, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

I have now an opportunity of transmitting to Congress a report of the
Secretary of State, with a copy of an act of the legislature of the
State of Kentucky consenting to the ratification of the amendment of
the Constitution of the United States proposed by Congress in their
resolution of the 2d day of December, 1793, relative to the suability
of States. This amendment, having been adopted by three-fourths of the
several States, may now be declared to be a part of the Constitution of
the United States.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  January 17, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

The situation of affairs between the United States and the Cherokee
Indians having evinced the expediency of a treaty with that nation for
the promotion of justice to them, as well as of the interests and
convenience of our citizens, I have nominated and, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate, appointed commissioners to hold
conferences and conclude a treaty as early as the season of the year
and the convenience of the parties will admit.

As we know very well by experience such negotiations can not be carried
on without considerable expenses, I recommend to your consideration the
propriety of making an appropriation at this time for defraying such as
may be necessary for holding and concluding a treaty.

That you may form your judgments with greater facility, I shall direct
the proper officer to lay before you an estimate of such articles and
expenses as may be thought indispensable.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  January 18, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

A representation has been made to me by the judge of the Pennsylvania
district of the United States of certain inconveniences and disagreeable
circumstances which have occurred in the execution of the law passed on
the 28th day of May, 1796, entitled "An act for the relief of persons
imprisoned for debt," as well as of certain doubts which have been
raised concerning its construction. This representation, together with
a report of the Attorney-General on the same subject, I now transmit to
Congress for their consideration, that if any amendments or explanations
of that law should be thought advisable they may be adopted.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  January 23, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

At the commencement of this session of Congress I proposed in the course
of it to communicate to both Houses further information concerning
the situation of our affairs in the territories of the United States
situated on the Mississippi River and in its neighborhood; our
intercourse with the Indian nations; our relations with the Spanish
Government, and the conduct of their officers and agents. This
information will be found in a report of the Secretary of State and the
documents attending it, which I now present to the Senate and House of
Representatives.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  February 2, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

I have received from our minister in London two acts of the Parliament
of Great Britain, one passed on the 4th of July, 1797, entitled "An
act for carrying into execution the treaty of amity, commerce, and
navigation concluded between His Majesty and the United States of
America," the other passed on the 19th day of July, 1797, entitled
"An act for regulating the trade to be carried on with the British
possessions in India by the ships of nations in amity with His Majesty."
These acts have such connections with the commercial and political
interests of the United States that it is proper they should be
communicated to Congress. I have accordingly transmitted copies of
them with this message.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  February 5, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

I have received a letter from His Excellency Charles Pinckney, esq.,
governor of the State of South Carolina, dated the 22d of October, 1797,
inclosing a number of depositions of witnesses to several captures and
outrages committed within and near the limits of the United States by a
French privateer belonging to Cape Francois, or Monte Christo, called
the  Vertitude  or  Fortitude , and commanded by a person of the name of
Jordan or Jourdain, and particularly upon an English merchant ship named
the  Oracabissa , which he first plundered and then burned, with the
rest of her cargo, of great value, within the territory of the United
States, in the harbor of Charleston, on the 17th day of October last,
copies of which letter and depositions, and also of several other
depositions relative to the same subject, received from the collector
of Charleston, are herewith communicated.

Whenever the channels of diplomatical communication between the United
States and France shall be opened, I shall demand satisfaction for the
insult and reparation for the injury.

I have transmitted these papers to Congress not so much for the purpose
of communicating an account of so daring a violation of the territory of
the United States as to show the propriety and necessity of enabling the
Executive authority of Government to take measures for protecting the
citizens of the United States and such foreigners as have a right to
enjoy their peace and the protection of their laws within their limits
in that as well as some other harbors which are equally exposed.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  February 12, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

In obedience to the law, I now present to both Houses of Congress my
annual account of expenditures from the contingent fund during the year
1797, by which it appears that on the 1st day of January last there
remained in the Treasury a balance of $15,494.24 subject to future
dispositions of Government.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  February 18, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

In the report of the Secretary of State and the documents herewith
transmitted will be found such information as is in our possession of
the losses recovered by the citizens of the United States under the
treaty made with Great Britain, which are now presented to the House of
Representatives in compliance with their request in their resolution of
the 1st of this month.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  February 20, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

In obedience to the law of the United States of the 3d of March, 1797,
entitled "An act authorizing an expenditure and making an appropriation
for the prosecution of the claims of certain citizens of the United
States for property captured by the belligerent powers," I submit to
Congress the account exhibited to me by the Secretary of State with his
report of the 17th of this month.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  February 21, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate :

Having received the original treaty concluded between the United States
and the Government of Tunis, I lay it before the Senate of the United
States whether they advise and consent to its ratification.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  February 23, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

The inclosed memorial from the commissioners appointed under an act of
the United States entitled "An act for establishing the temporary and
permanent seat of the Government of the United States," representing
the situation and circumstances of the city of Washington, I take this
opportunity to present to both Houses of the Legislature and recommend
to their consideration. Alexander White, esq., one of those commissioners,
is now in this city, and will be able to give to Congress, or any of
their committees, any explanation or further information which the
subject may require.

JOHN ADAMS

UNITED STATES,  March 5, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

The first dispatches from our envoys extraordinary since their arrival
at Paris were received at the Secretary of State's office at a late hour
last evening. They are all in a character which will require some days
to be deciphered, except the last, which is dated the 8th of January,
1798. The contents of this letter are of so much importance to be
immediately made known to Congress and to the public, especially to the
mercantile part of our fellow-citizens, that I have thought it my duty
to communicate them to both Houses without loss of time.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  March 12, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate :

Insinuations having been repeatedly made in the name of the Court of
Sweden of an inclination to renew the connection between the United
States and that power, I sent, in the recess of the Senate, to our
minister at Berlin a full power to negotiate that business, with
such alterations as might be agreeable to both parties; but as that
commission, if not renewed with the advice and consent of the Senate,
will expire with the present session of Congress, I now nominate John
Quincy Adams to be a commissioner with full powers to negotiate a treaty
of amity and commerce with His Majesty the King of Sweden.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  March 19, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

The dispatches from the envoys extraordinary of the United States to the
French Republic, which were mentioned in my message to both Houses of
Congress of the 5th instant, have been examined and maturely considered.

While I feel a satisfaction in informing you that their exertions for
the adjustment of the differences between the two nations have been
sincere and unremitted, it is incumbent on me to declare that I perceive
no ground of expectation that the objects of their mission can be
accomplished on terms compatible with the safety, the honor, or the
essential interests of the nation.

This result can not with justice be attributed to any want of moderation
on the part of this Government, or to any indisposition to forego
secondary interests for the preservation of peace. Knowing it to be
my duty, and believing it to be your wish, as well as that of the
great body of the people, to avoid by all reasonable concessions any
participation in the contentions of Europe, the powers vested in our
envoys were commensurate with a liberal and pacific policy and that high
confidence which might justly be reposed in the abilities, patriotism,
and integrity of the characters to whom the negotiation was committed.
After a careful review of the whole subject, with the aid of all the
information I have received, I can discern nothing which could have
insured or contributed to success that has been omitted on my part, and
nothing further which can be attempted consistently with maxims for
which our country has contended at every hazard, and which constitute
the basis of our national sovereignty.

Under these circumstances I can not forbear to reiterate the
recommendations which have been formerly made, and to exhort you to
adopt with promptitude, decision, and unanimity such measures as
the ample resources of the country afford for the protection of our
seafaring and commercial citizens, for the defense of any exposed
portions of our territory, for replenishing our arsenals, establishing
foundries and military manufactures, and to provide such efficient
revenue as will be necessary to defray extraordinary expenses and supply
the deficiencies which may be occasioned by depredations on our
commerce.

The present state of things is so essentially different from that in
which instructions were given to the collectors to restrain vessels of
the United States from sailing in an armed condition that the principle
on which those orders were issued has ceased to exist. I therefore
deem it proper to inform Congress that I no longer conceive myself
justifiable in continuing them, unless in particular cases where there
may be reasonable ground of suspicion that such vessels are intended
to be employed contrary to law.

In all your proceedings it will be important to manifest a zeal, vigor,
and concert in defense of the national rights proportioned to the danger
with which they are threatened.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  April 3, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

In compliance with the request of the House of Representatives expressed
in their resolution of the 2d of this month, I transmit to both Houses
those instructions to and dispatches from the envoys extraordinary of
the United States to the French Republic which were mentioned in my
message of the 19th of March last, omitting only some names and a few
expressions descriptive of the persons.

I request that they may be considered in confidence until the members
of Congress are fully possessed of their contents and shall have had
opportunity to deliberate on the consequences of their publication,
after which time I submit them to your wisdom.

JOHN ADAMS

UNITED STATES,  April 12, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate :

A treaty with the Mohawk Nation of Indians has by accident lain long
neglected. It was executed under the authority of the Honorable Isaac
Smith, a commissioner of the United States. I now submit it to the
Senate for their consideration.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  May 3, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate :

His Excellency John Jay, esq., governor of New York, has informed me
that the Oneida tribe of Indians have proposed to sell a part of their
land to the said State, and that the legislature at their late session
authorized the purchase, and to accomplish this object the governor has
desired that a commissioner may be appointed to hold a treaty with the
Oneida tribe of Indians, at which the agents of the State of New York
may agree with them on the terms of the purchase. I therefore nominate
Joseph Hopkinson, esq., of Pennsylvania, to be the commissioner to hold
a treaty with the said Oneida tribe of Indians for the purpose above
mentioned.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  June 21, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

While I congratulate you on the arrival of General Marshall, one of our
late envoys extraordinary to the French Republic, at a place of safety,
where he is justly held in honor, I think it my duty to communicate to
you a letter received by him from Mr. Gerry, the only one of the three
who has not received his conge. This letter, together with another from
the minister of foreign relations to him of the 3d of April, and his
answer of the 4th, will shew the situation in which he remains  his
intentions and prospects.

I presume that before this time he has received fresh instructions (a
copy of which accompanies this message) to consent to no loans, and
therefore the negotiation may be considered at an end.

I will never send another minister to France without assurances that he
will be received, respected, and honored as the representative of a
great, free, powerful, and independent nation.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  June 27, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

I have received a letter from His Excellency Thomas Mifflin, governor of
Pennsylvania, inclosing some documents which I judge it my duty to lay
before Congress without loss of time.

As my opinion coincides entirely with that of his excellency the
governor, I recommend the subject to the consideration of both Houses of
Congress, whose authority alone appears to me adequate to the occasion.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  July 2, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate :

I nominate George Washington, of Mount Vernon, to be Lieutenant-General
and Commander in Chief of all the armies raised or to be raised in the
United States.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  July 13, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate :

A resolution of both Houses of Congress authorizing an adjournment on
Monday, the 16th of this month, has been laid before me. Sensible of
the severity of the service in so long a session, it is with great
reluctance that I find myself obliged to offer any consideration which
may operate against the inclinations of the members; but certain
measures of Executive authority which will require the consideration of
the Senate, and which can not be matured, in all probability, before
Monday or Tuesday, oblige me to request of the Senate that they would
continue their session until Wednesday or Thursday.

JOHN ADAMS.

UNITED STATES,  July 17, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate :

Believing that the letter received this morning from General Washington
will give high satisfaction to the Senate, I transmit them a copy of it,
and congratulate them and the public on this great event  the General's
acceptance of his appointment as Lieutenant-General and Commander in
Chief of the Army.

JOHN ADAMS.

MOUNT VERNON,  July 13, 1798 .

JOHN ADAMS,

 President of the United States .

DEAR SIR: I had the honor, on the evening of the 11th instant, to
receive from the hands of the Secretary of War your favor of the 7th,
announcing that you had, with the advice and consent of the Senate,
appointed me "Lieutenant-General and Commander in Chief of all the
armies raised or to be raised for the service of the United States."

I can not express how greatly affected I am at this new proof of public
confidence and the highly flattering manner in which you have been
pleased to make the communication. At the same time I must not conceal
from you my earnest wish that the choice had fallen upon a man less
declined in years and better qualified to encounter the usual
vicissitudes of war.

You know, sir, what calculation I had made relative to the probable
course of events on my retiring from office, and the determination I had
consoled myself with of closing the remnant of my days in my present
peaceful abode. You will therefore be at no loss to conceive and
appreciate the sensations I must have experienced to bring my mind to
any conclusion that would pledge me, at so late a period of life, to
leave scenes I sincerely love to enter upon the boundless field of
public action, incessant trouble, and high responsibility.

It was not possible for me to remain ignorant of or indifferent to
recent transactions. The conduct of the Directory of France toward our
country, their insidious hostility to its Government, their various
practices to withdraw the affections of the people from it, the evident
tendency of their acts and those of their agents to countenance and
invigorate opposition, their disregard of solemn treaties and the laws
of nations, their war upon our defenseless commerce, their treatment of
our ministers of peace, and their demands amounting to tribute could not
fail to excite in me corresponding sentiments with those my countrymen
have so generally expressed in their affectionate addresses to you.
Believe me, sir, no one can more cordially approve of the wise and
prudent measures of your Administration. They ought to inspire universal
confidence, and will no doubt, combined with the state of things, call
from Congress such laws and means as will enable you to meet the full
force and extent of the crisis.

Satisfied, therefore, that you have sincerely wished and endeavored to
avert war, and exhausted to the last drop the cup of reconciliation, we
can with pure hearts appeal to Heaven for the justice of our cause, and
may confidently trust the final result to that kind Providence who has
heretofore and so often signally favored the people of these United
States.

Thinking in this manner, and feeling how incumbent it is upon every
person, of every description, to contribute at all times to his
country's welfare, and especially in a moment like the present, when
everything we hold dear and sacred is so seriously threatened, I have
finally determined to accept the commission of Commander in Chief of the
armies of the United States, with the reserve only that I shall not be
called into the field until the Army is in a situation to require my
presence or it becomes indispensable by the urgency of circumstances.

In making this reservation I beg it to be understood that I do not mean
to withhold any assistance to arrange and organize the Army which you
may think I can afford. I take the liberty also to mention that I
must decline having my acceptance considered as drawing after it any
immediate charge upon the public, or that I can receive any emoluments
annexed to the appointment before entering into a situation to incur
expense.

The Secretary of War being anxious to return to the seat of Government,
I have detained him no longer than was necessary to a full communication
upon the several points he had in charge.

With very great respect and consideration, I have the honor to be, dear
sir, your most obedient and humble servant,

G'o. WASHINGTON.

PROCLAMATIONS.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

As the safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and essentially
depend on the protection and the blessing of Almighty God, and the
national acknowledgment of this truth is not only an indispensable duty
which the people owe to Him, but a duty whose natural influence is
favorable to the promotion of that morality and piety without which
social happiness can not exist nor the blessings of a free government
be enjoyed; and as this duty, at all times incumbent, is so especially
in seasons of difficulty or of danger, when existing or threatening
calamities, the just judgments of God against prevalent iniquity, are
a loud call to repentance and reformation; and as the United States of
America are at present placed in a hazardous and afflictive situation
by the unfriendly disposition, conduct, and demands of a foreign power,
evinced by repeated refusals to receive our messengers of reconciliation
and peace, by depredations on our commerce, and the infliction of
injuries on very many of our fellow-citizens while engaged in their
lawful business on the seas  under these considerations it has appeared
to me that the duty of imploring the mercy and benediction of Heaven
on our country demands at this time a special attention from its
inhabitants.

I have therefore thought fit to recommend, and I do hereby recommend,
that Wednesday, the 9th day of May next, be observed throughout the
United States as a day of solemn humility, fasting, and prayer; that
the citizens of these States, abstaining on that day from their
customary worldly occupations, offer their devout addresses to the
Father of Mercies agreeably to those forms or methods which they have
severally adopted as the most suitable and becoming; that all religious
congregations do, with the deepest humility, acknowledge before God the
manifold sins and transgressions with which we are justly chargeable as
individuals and as a nation, beseeching Him at the same time, of His
infinite grace, through the Redeemer of the World, freely to remit all
our offenses, and to incline us by His Holy Spirit to that sincere
repentance and reformation which may afford us reason to hope for his
inestimable favor and heavenly benediction; that it be made the subject
of particular and earnest supplication that our country may be protected
from all the dangers which threaten it; that our civil and religious
privileges may be preserved inviolate and perpetuated to the latest
generations; that our public councils and magistrates may be especially
enlightened and directed at this critical period; that the American
people may be united in those bonds of amity and mutual confidence and
inspired with that vigor and fortitude by which they have in times past
been so highly distinguished and by which they have obtained such
invaluable advantages; that the health of the inhabitants of our land
may be preserved, and their agriculture, commerce, fisheries, arts, and
manufactures be blessed and prospered; that the principles of genuine
piety and sound morality may influence the minds and govern the lives of
every description of our citizens, and that the blessings of peace,
freedom, and pure religion may be speedily extended to all the nations
of the earth.

And finally, I recommend that on the said day the duties of humility
and prayer be accompanied by fervent thanksgiving to the Bestower
of Every Good Gift, not only for His having hitherto protected and
preserved the people of these United States in the independent enjoyment
of their religious and civil freedom, but also for having prospered them
in a wonderful progress of population, and for conferring on them many
and great favors conducive to the happiness and prosperity of a nation.

 (SEAL.)

Given under my hand and the seal of the United States of America, at
Philadelphia, this 23d day of March, A.D. 1798, and of the Independence
of the said States the twenty-second.

JOHN ADAMS.

By the President:
  TIMOTHY PICKERING,
     Secretary of State .

 (From C.R. Adams's Works of John Adams, Vol. IX, p. 170.)

PROCLAMATION.

JULY 13, 1798.

The citizen Joseph Philippe Letombe having heretofore produced to the
President of the United States his commission as consul-general of the
French Republic within the United States of America, and another
commission as consul of the French Republic at Philadelphia; and, in
like manner, the citizen Rosier having produced his commission as
vice-consul of the French Republic at New York; and the citizen Arcambal
having produced his commission as vice-consul of the French Republic at
Newport; and citizen Theodore Charles Mozard having produced his
commission as consul of the French Republic within the States of New
Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island; and the President of the
United States having thereupon granted an exequatur to each of the
French citizens above named, recognizing them in their respective
consular offices above mentioned, and declaring them respectively free
to exercise and enjoy such functions, powers, and privileges as are
allowed to a consul-general, consuls, and vice-consuls of the French
Republic by their treaties, conventions, and laws in that case made and
provided; and the Congress of the United States, by their act passed the
7th day of July, 1798, having declared "that the United States are of
right freed and exonerated from the stipulations of the treaties and of
the consular convention heretofore concluded between the United States
and France, and that the same shall not henceforth be regarded as
legally obligatory on the Government or citizens of the United States,"
and by a former act, passed the 13th day of May, 1798, the Congress of
the United States having "suspended the commercial intercourse between
the United States and France and the dependencies thereof," which
commercial intercourse was the direct and chief object of the consular
establishment; and

Whereas actual hostilities have long been practiced on the commerce of
the United States by the cruisers of the French Republic under the
orders of its Government, which orders that Government refuses to revoke
or relax; and hence it has become improper any longer to allow the
consul-general, consuls, and vice-consuls of the French Republic above
named, or any of its consular persons or agents heretofore admitted in
these United States, any longer to exercise their consular functions:

These are therefore to declare that I do no longer recognize the said
citizen Letombe as consul-general or consul, nor the said citizens
Rosier and Arcambal as vice-consuls, nor the said citizen Mozard as
consul of the French Republic in any part of these United States, nor
permit them or any other consular persons or agents of the French
Republic heretofore admitted in the United States to exercise their
functions as such; and I do hereby wholly revoke the exequaturs
heretofore given to them respectively, and do declare them absolutely
null and void from this day forward.

In testimony whereof, etc.

JOHN ADAMS.

SECOND ANNUAL ADDRESS.

UNITED STATES,  December 8, 1798 .

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

While with reverence and resignation we contemplate the dispensations
of Divine Providence in the alarming and destructive pestilence with
which several of our cities and towns have been visited, there is
cause for gratitude and mutual congratulations that the malady has
disappeared and that we are again permitted to assemble in safety at
the seat of Government for the discharge of our important duties. But
when we reflect that this fatal disorder has within a few years made
repeated ravages in some of our principal seaports, and with increased
malignancy, and when we consider the magnitude of the evils arising
from the interruption of public and private business, whereby the
national interests are deeply affected, I think it my duty to invite
the Legislature of the Union to examine the expediency of establishing
suitable regulations in aid of the health laws of the respective States;
for these being formed on the idea that contagious sickness may be
communicated through the channels of commerce, there seems to be a
necessity that Congress, who alone can regulate trade, should frame a
system which, while it may tend to preserve the general health, may be
compatible with the interests of commerce and the safety of the revenue.

While we think on this calamity and sympathize with the immediate
sufferers, we have abundant reason to present to the Supreme Being our
annual oblations of gratitude for a liberal participation in the
ordinary blessings of His providence. To the usual subjects of gratitude
I can not omit to add one of the first importance to our well-being and
safety; I mean that spirit which has arisen in our country against the
menaces and aggression of a foreign nation. A manly sense of national
honor, dignity, and independence has appeared which, if encouraged and
invigorated by every branch of the Government, will enable us to view
undismayed the enterprises of any foreign power and become the sure
foundation of national prosperity and glory.

The course of the transactions in relation to the United States and
France which have come to my knowledge during your recess will be made
the subject of a future communication. That communication will confirm
the ultimate failure of the measures which have been taken by the
Government of the United States toward an amicable adjustment of
differences with that power. You will at the same time perceive that the
French Government appears solicitous to impress the opinion that it is
averse to a rupture with this country, and that it has in a qualified
manner declared itself willing to receive a minister from the United
States for the purpose of restoring a good understanding. It is
unfortunate for professions of this kind that they should be expressed
in terms which may countenance the inadmissible pretension of a right to
prescribe the qualifications which a minister from the United States
should possess, and that while France is asserting the existence of a
disposition on her part to conciliate with sincerity the differences
which have arisen, the sincerity of a like disposition on the part of
the United States, of which so many demonstrative proofs have been
given, should even be indirectly questioned. It is also worthy of
observation that the decree of the Directory alleged to be intended to
restrain the depredations of French cruisers on our commerce has not
given, and can not give, any relief. It enjoins them to conform to all
the laws of France relative to cruising and prizes, while these laws are
themselves the sources of the depredations of which we have so long, so
justly, and so fruitlessly complained.

The law of France enacted in January last, which subjects to capture and
condemnation neutral vessels and their cargoes if any portion of the
latter are of British fabric or produce, although the entire property
belong to neutrals, instead of being rescinded has lately received a
confirmation by the failure of a proposition for its repeal. While this
law, which, is an unequivocal act of war on the commerce of the nations
it attacks, continues in force those nations can see in the French
Government only a power regardless of their essential rights, of their
independence and sovereignty; and if they possess the means they can
reconcile nothing with their interest and honor but a firm resistance.

Hitherto, therefore, nothing is discoverable in the conduct of France
which ought to change or relax our measures of defense. On the contrary,
to extend and invigorate them is our true policy. We have no reason to
regret that these measures have been thus far adopted and pursued, and
in proportion as we enlarge our view of the portentous and incalculable
situation of Europe we shall discover new and cogent motives for the
full development of our energies and resources.

But in demonstrating by our conduct that we do not fear war in the
necessary protection of our rights and honor we shall give no room to
infer that we abandon the desire of peace. An efficient preparation for
war can alone insure peace. It is peace that we have uniformly and
perseveringly cultivated, and harmony between us and France may be
restored at her option. But to send another minister without more
determinate assurances that he would be received would be an act
of humiliation to which the United States ought not to submit. It
must therefore be left with France (if she is indeed desirous of
accommodation) to take the requisite steps. The United States will
steadily observe the maxims by which they have hitherto been governed.
They will respect the sacred rights of embassy; and with a sincere
disposition on the part of France to desist from hostility, to make
reparation for the injuries heretofore inflicted on our commerce, and to
do justice in future, there will be no obstacle to the restoration of a
friendly intercourse. In making to you this declaration I give a pledge
to France and the world that the Executive authority of this country
still adheres to the humane and pacific policy which has invariably
governed its proceedings, in conformity with the wishes of the other
branches of the Government and of the people of the United States.
But considering the late manifestations of her policy toward foreign
nations, I deem it a duty deliberately and solemnly to declare my
opinion that whether we negotiate with her or not, vigorous preparations
for war will be alike indispensable. These alone will give to us an
equal treaty and insure its observance.

Among the measures of preparation which appear expedient, I take the
liberty to recall your attention to the naval establishment. The
beneficial effects of the small naval armament provided under the acts
of the last session are known and acknowledged. Perhaps no country ever
experienced more sudden and remarkable advantages from any measure of
policy than we have derived from the arming for our maritime protection
and defense. We ought without loss of time to lay the foundation for an
increase of our Navy to a size sufficient to guard our coast and protect
our trade. Such a naval force as it is doubtless in the power of the
United States to create and maintain would also afford to them the best
means of general defense by facilitating the safe transportation of
troops and stores to every part of our extensive coast. To accomplish
this important object, a prudent foresight requires that systematical
measures be adopted for procuring at all times the requisite timber and
other supplies. In what manner this shall be done I leave to your
consideration.

I will now advert, gentlemen, to some matters of less moment, but proper
to be communicated to the National Legislature.

After the Spanish garrisons had evacuated the posts they occupied at the
Natchez and Walnut Hills the commissioner of the United States commenced
his observations to ascertain the point near the Mississippi which
terminated the northernmost part of the thirty-first degree of north
latitude. From thence he proceeded to run the boundary line between
the United States and Spain. He was afterwards joined by the Spanish
commissioner, when the work of the former was confirmed, and they
proceeded together to the demarcation of the line. Recent information
renders it probable that the Southern Indians, either instigated to
oppose the demarcation or jealous of the consequences of suffering white
people to run a line over lands to which the Indian title had not
been extinguished, have ere this time stopped the progress of the
commissioners; and considering the mischiefs which may result from
continuing the demarcation in opposition to the will of the Indian
tribes, the great expense attending it, and that the boundaries which
the commissioners have actually established probably extend at least as
far as the Indian title has been extinguished, it will perhaps become
expedient and necessary to suspend further proceedings by recalling our
commissioner.

The commissioners appointed in pursuance of the fifth article of the
treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation between the United States and
His Britannic Majesty to determine what river was truly intended under
the name of the river Saint Croix mentioned in the treaty of peace, and
forming a part of the boundary therein described, have finally decided
that question. On the 25th of October they made their declaration that
a river called Scoodiac, which falls into Passamaquoddy Bay at its
northwestern quarter, was the true Saint Croix intended in the treaty of
peace, as far as its great fork, where one of its streams comes from the
westward and the other from the northward, and that the latter stream is
the continuation of the Saint Croix to its source. This decision, it is
understood, will preclude all contention among individual claimants, as
it seems that the Scoodiac and its northern branch bound the grants of
land which have been made by the respective adjoining Governments. A
subordinate question, however, it has been suggested, still remains to
be determined. Between the mouth of the Saint Croix as now settled and
what is usually called the Bay of Fundy lie a number of valuable
islands. The commissioners have not continued the boundary line through
any channel of these islands, and unless the bay of Passamaquoddy be a
part of the Bay of Fundy this further adjustment of boundary will be
necessary. But it is apprehended that this will not be a matter of any
difficulty.

Such progress has been made in the examination and decision of cases of
captures and condemnations of American vessels which were the subject of
the seventh article of the treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation
between the United States and Great Britain that it is supposed the
commissioners will be able to bring their business to a conclusion in
August of the ensuing year.

The commissioners acting under the twenty-fifth article of the treaty
between the United States and Spain have adjusted most of the claims of
our citizens for losses sustained in consequence of their vessels and
cargoes having been taken by the subjects of His Catholic Majesty during
the late war between France and Spain.

Various circumstances have concurred to delay the execution of the law
for augmenting the military establishment, among these the desire of
obtaining the fullest information to direct the best selection of
officers. As this object will now be speedily accomplished, it is
expected that the raising and organizing of the troops will proceed
without obstacle and with effect.

 Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

I have directed an estimate of the appropriations which will be
necessary for the service of the ensuing year to be laid before you,
accompanied with a view of the public receipts and expenditures to a
recent period. It will afford you satisfaction to infer the great extent
and solidity of the public resources from the prosperous state of the
finances, notwithstanding the unexampled embarrassments which have
attended commerce. When you reflect on the conspicuous examples of
patriotism and liberality which have been exhibited by our mercantile
fellow-citizens, and how great a proportion of the public resources
depends on their enterprise, you will naturally consider whether their
convenience can not be promoted and reconciled with the security of the
revenue by a revision of the system by which the collection is at
present regulated.

During your recess measures have been steadily pursued for effecting
the valuations and returns directed by the act of the last session,
preliminary to the assessment and collection of a direct tax. No other
delays or obstacles have been experienced except such as were expected
to arise from the great extent of our country and the magnitude and
novelty of the operation, and enough has been accomplished to assure
a fulfillment of the views of the Legislature.

 Gentlemen of the Senate and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives :

I can not close this address without once more adverting to our
political situation and inculcating the essential importance of uniting
in the maintenance of our dearest interests; and I trust that by the
temper and wisdom of your proceedings and by a harmony of measures we
shall secure to our country that weight and respect to which it is so
justly entitled.

JOHN ADAMS.

ADDRESS OF THE SENATE TO JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

SIR: The Senate of the United States join you in thanks to Almighty God
for the removal of the late afflicting dispensations of His providence
and for the patriotic spirit and general prosperity of our country.
Sympathy for the sufferings of our fellow-citizens from disease and the
important interests of the Union demand of the National legislature a
ready cooperation with the State governments in the use of such means as
seem best calculated to prevent the return of this fatal calamity.

Although we have sincerely wished that an adjustment of our differences
with the Republic of France might be effected on safe and honorable
terms, yet the information you have given us of the ultimate failure of
the negotiation has not surprised us. In the general conduct of that
Republic we have seen a design of universal influence incompatible with
the self-government and destructive of the independence of other States.
In its conduct toward these United States we have seen a plan of
hostility pursued with unremitted constancy, equally disregarding the
obligations of treaties and the rights of individuals. We have seen
two embassies, formed for the purpose of mutual explanations and
clothed with the most extensive and liberal powers, dismissed without
recognition and even without a hearing. The Government of France has not
only refused to repeal but has recently enjoined the observance of its
former edict respecting merchandise of British fabric or produce the
property of neutrals, by which the interruption of our lawful commerce
and the spoliation of the property of our citizens have again received a
public sanction. These facts indicate no change of system or disposition;
they speak a more intelligible language than professions of solicitude
to avoid a rupture, however ardently made. But if, after the repeated
proofs we have given of a sincere desire for peace, these professions
should be accompanied by insinuations implicating the integrity
with which it has been pursued; if, neglecting and passing by the
constitutional and authorized agents of the Government, they are
made through the medium of individuals without public character or
authority, and, above all, if they carry with them a claim to prescribe
the political qualifications of the minister of the United States to
be employed in the negotiation, they are not entitled to attention or
consideration, but ought to be regarded as designed to separate the
people from their Government and to bring about by intrigue that which
open force could not effect.

We are of opinion with you, sir, that there has nothing yet been
discovered in the conduct of France which can justify a relaxation of
the means of defense adopted during the last session of Congress, the
happy result of which is so strongly and generally marked. If the force
by sea and land which the existing laws authorize should be judged
inadequate to the public defense, we will perform the indispensable duty
of bringing forward such other acts as will effectually call forth the
resources and force of our country.

A steady adherence to this wise and manly policy, a proper direction
of the noble spirit of patriotism which has arisen in our country, and
which ought to be cherished and invigorated by every branch of the
Government, will secure our liberty and independence against all open
and secret attacks.

We enter on the business of the present session with an anxious
solicitude for the public good, and shall bestow that consideration
on the several objects pointed out in your communication which they
respectively merit.

Your long and important services, your talents and firmness, so often
displayed in the most trying times and most critical situations, afford
a sure pledge of a zealous cooperation in every measure necessary to
secure us justice and respect,

JOHN LAURANCE,

 President of the Senate pro tempore .

DECEMBER 11, 1798.

REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT.

DECEMBER 12, 1798.

 To the Senate of the United States .

GENTLEMEN: I thank you for this address, so conformable to the spirit of
our Constitution and the established character of the Senate of the
United States for wisdom, honor, and virtue.

I have seen no real evidence of any change of system or disposition in
the French Republic toward the United States. Although the officious
interference of individuals without public character or authority is not
entitled to any credit, yet it deserves to be considered whether that
temerity and impertinence of individuals affecting to interfere in
public affairs between France and the United States, whether by their
secret correspondence or otherwise, and intended to impose upon the
people and separate them from their Government, ought not to be inquired
into and corrected.

I thank you, gentlemen, for your assurances that you will bestow that
consideration on the several objects pointed out in my communication
which they respectively merit.

If I have participated in that understanding, sincerity, and constancy
which have been displayed by my fellow-citizens and countrymen in the
most trying times and critical situations, and fulfilled my duties to
them, I am happy. The testimony of the Senate of the United States in my
favor is an high and honorable reward, which receives, as it merits, my
grateful acknowledgments. My zealous cooperation in measures necessary
to secure us justice and consideration may be always depended on.

JOHN ADAMS.

ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO JOHN ADAMS, PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES.

JOHN ADAMS,

 President of the United States .

SIR: The House of Representatives unite with you in deploring the
effects of the desolating malady by which the seat of Government and
other parts of our country have recently been visited. In calling our
attention to the fatality of its repeated ravages and inviting us to
consider the expediency of exercising our constitutional powers in aid
of the health laws of the respective States, your recommendation is
sanctioned by the dictates of humanity and liberal policy. On this
interesting subject we feel the necessity of adopting every wise
expedient for preventing a calamity so distressing to individual
sufferers and so prejudicial to our national commerce.

That our finances are in a prosperous state notwithstanding the
commercial derangements resulting from this calamity and from external
embarrassments is a satisfactory manifestation of the great extent and
solidity of the public resources. Connected with this situation of our
fiscal concerns, the assurance that the legal provisions for obtaining
revenue by direct taxation will fulfill the views of the Legislature is
peculiarly acceptable.

Desirous as we are that all causes of hostility may be removed by the
amicable adjustment of national differences, we learn with satisfaction
that in pursuance of our treaties with Spain and with Great Britain
advances have been made for definitively settling the controversies
relative to the southern and northeastern limits of the United States.
With similar sentiments have we received your information that the
proceedings under commissions authorized by the same treaties afford to
a respectable portion of our citizens the prospect of a final decision
on their claims for maritime injuries committed by subjects of those
powers.

It would be the theme of mutual felicitation were we assured of
experiencing similar moderation and justice from the French Republic,
between which and the United States differences have unhappily arisen;
but this is denied us by the ultimate failure of the measures which have
been taken by this Government toward an amicable adjustment of those
differences and by the various inadmissible pretensions on the part of
that nation.

The continuing in force the decree of January last, to which you
have more particularly pointed our attention, ought of itself to be
considered as demonstrative of the real intentions of the French
Government. That decree proclaims a predatory warfare against the
unquestionable rights of neutral commerce which with our means of
defense our interest and our honor command us to repel. It therefore
now becomes the United States to be as determined in resistance as
they have been patient in suffering and condescending in negotiation.

While those who direct the affairs of France persist in the enforcement
of decrees so hostile to our essential rights, their conduct forbids us
to confide in any of their professions of amity.

As, therefore, the conduct of France hitherto exhibits nothing which
ought to change or relax our measures of defense, the policy of
extending and invigorating those measures demands our sedulous
attention. The sudden and remarkable advantages which this country has
experienced from a small naval armament sufficiently prove the utility
of its establishment. As it respects the guarding of our coast, the
protection of our trade, and the facility of safely transporting the
means of territorial defense to every part of our maritime frontier,
an adequate naval force must be considered as an important object of
national policy. Nor do we hesitate to adopt the opinion that, whether
negotiations with France are resumed or not, vigorous preparations for
war will be alike indispensable.

In this conjuncture of affairs, while with you we recognize our abundant
cause of gratitude to the Supreme Disposer of Events for the ordinary
blessings of Providence, we regard as of high national importance the
manifestation in our country of a magnanimous spirit of resistance to
foreign domination. This spirit merits to be cherished and invigorated
by every branch of Government as the estimable pledge of national
prosperity and glory.

Disdaining a reliance on foreign protection, wanting no foreign guaranty
of our liberties, resolving to maintain our national independence
against every attempt to despoil us of this inestimable treasure, we
confide under Providence in the patriotism and energies of the people of
these United States for defeating the hostile enterprises of any foreign
power.

To adopt with prudent foresight such systematical measures as may be
expedient for calling forth those energies wherever the national
exigencies may require, whether on the ocean or on our own territory,
and to reconcile with the proper security of revenue the convenience of
mercantile enterprise, on which so great a proportion of the public
resources depends, are objects of moment which shall be duly regarded in
the course of our deliberations.

Fully as we accord with you in the opinion that the United States ought
not to submit to the humiliation of sending another minister to France
without previous assurances sufficiently determinate that he will be
duly accredited, we have heard with cordial approbation the declaration
of your purpose steadily to observe those maxims of humane and pacific
policy by which the United States have hitherto been governed. While it
is left with France to take the requisite steps for accommodation, it is
worthy the Chief Magistrate of a free people to make known to the world
that justice on the part of France will annihilate every obstacle to the
restoration of a friendly intercourse, and that the Executive authority
of this country will respect the sacred rights of embassy. At the same
time, the wisdom and decision which have characterized your past
Administration assure us that no illusory professions will seduce you
into any abandonment of the rights which belong to the United States as
a free and independent nation.

December 13, 1798.

REPLY OF THE PRESIDENT.

DECEMBER 14, 1798.

 To the House of Representatives of the United States of America .

GENTLEMEN: My sincere acknowledgments are due to the House of
Representatives of the United States for this excellent address so
consonant to the character of representatives of a great and free
people. The judgment and feelings of a nation, I believe, were never
more truly expressed by their representatives than those of our
constituents by your decided declaration that with our means of defense
our interest and honor command us to repel a predatory warfare against
the unquestionable rights of neutral commerce; that it becomes the
United States to be as determined in resistance as they have been
patient in suffering and condescending in negotiation; that while those
who direct the affairs of France persist in the enforcement of decrees
so hostile to our essential rights their conduct forbids us to confide
in any of their professions of amity; that an adequate naval force
must be considered as an important object of national policy, and
that, whether negotiations with France are resumed or not, vigorous
preparations for war will be alike indispensable.

The generous disdain you so coolly and deliberately express of a
reliance on foreign protection, wanting no foreign guaranty of our
liberties, resolving to maintain our national independence against every
attempt to despoil us of this inestimable treasure, will meet the full
approbation of every sound understanding and exulting applauses from the
heart of every faithful American.

I thank you, gentlemen, for your candid approbation of my sentiments on
the subject of negotiation and for the declaration of your opinion that
the policy of extending and invigorating our measures of defense and the
adoption with prudent foresight of such systematical measures as may be
expedient for calling forth the energies of our country wherever the
national exigencies may require, whether on the ocean or on our own
territory, will demand your sedulous attention.

At the same time, I take the liberty to assure you it shall be my
vigilant endeavor that no illusory professions shall seduce me into any
abandonment of the rights which belong to the United States as a free
and independent nation.

JOHN ADAMS.

SPECIAL MESSAGES.