SPECIAL MESSAGES.
UNITED STATES, November 21, 1794.
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
I lay before Congress copies of a letter from the governor of the State of New York and of the exemplification of an act of the legislature thereof ratifying the amendment of the Constitution of the United States proposed by the Senate and House of Representatives at their last session, respecting the judicial power.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, November 21, 1794.
Gentlemen of the Senate:
In the negotiation between the United States and His Catholic Majesty I have received satisfactory proofs of attention and ability exerted in behalf of the United States to bring it to a happy and speedy issue. But it is probable that by complying with an intimation made to the Secretary of State by the commissioners of His Catholic Majesty much further delay in concluding it may be prevented. Notwithstanding, therefore, I retain full confidence in our minister resident at Madrid, who is charged with powers as commissioner plenipotentiary, I nominate Thomas Pinckney to be envoy extraordinary of the United States to His Catholic Majesty, for the purpose of negotiating of and concerning the navigation of the river Mississippi, and such other matters relative to the confines of their territories, and the intercourse to be had thereon, as the mutual interests and general harmony of neighboring and friendly nations require should be precisely adjusted and regulated, and of and concerning the general commerce between the United States and the kingdoms and dominions of his said Catholic Majesty.
It is believed that by his temporary absence from London in the discharge of these new functions no injury will arise to the United States.
I also nominate:
John Miller Russell, of Massachusetts, to be consul of the United States of America for the port of St. Petersburg, in Russia, and for such other places as shall be nearer to the said port than to the residence of any other consul or vice-consul of the United States within the same allegiance;
Joseph Pitcairn, of New York, to be vice-consul of the United States of America at Paris, vice Alexander Duvernet, superseded; and
Nathaniel Brush, of Vermont, to be supervisor for the United States in the district of Vermont, vice Noah Smith, who has resigned.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, November 25, 1794.
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
I lay before you a statement of the troops in the service of the United States, which has been submitted to me by the Secretary of War. It will rest with Congress to consider and determine whether further inducements shall be held out for entering into the military service of the United States in order to complete the establishment authorized by law.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, December 17, 1794.
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
I lay before Congress copies of the journal of the proceedings of the executive department of the government of the United States south of the river Ohio to the 1st of September, 1794.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, December 30, 1794.
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
I lay before you a report, made to me by the Secretary of War, respecting the frontiers of the United States. The disorders and the great expenses which incessantly arise upon the frontiers are of a nature and magnitude to excite the most serious considerations.
I feel a confidence that Congress will devise such constitutional and efficient measures as shall be equal to the great objects of preserving our treaties with the Indian tribes and of affording an adequate protection to our frontiers.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, January 2, 1795.
Gentlemen of the Senate:
A spirit of discontent, from several causes, arose in the early part of the present year among the Six Nations of Indians, and particularly on the ground of a projected settlement by Pennsylvania, at Presque Isle, upon Lake Erie. The papers upon this point have already been laid before Congress. It was deemed proper on my part to endeavor to tranquillize the Indians by pacific measures. Accordingly a time and place was appointed at which a free conference should be had upon all the causes of discontent, and an agent was appointed with the instructions of which No. 1, herewith transmitted, is a copy.
A numerous assembly of Indians was held in Canandaigua, in the State of New York the proceedings whereof accompany this message, marked No. 2.
The two treaties, the one with the Six Nations and the other with the Oneida, Tuscorora, and Stockbridge Indians dwelling in the country of the Oneidas, which have resulted from the mission of the agent, are herewith laid before the Senate for their consideration and advice.
The original engagement of the United States to the Oneidas is also sent herewith.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, January 8, 1795.
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
I lay before Congress copies of acts passed by the legislatures of the States of Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York, ratifying the amendment proposed by the Senate and House of Representatives at their last session to the Constitution of the United States respecting the judicial power thereof.
The minister of the French Republic having communicated to the Secretary of State certain proceedings of the committee of public safety respecting weights and measures, I lay these also before Congress.
The letter from the governor of the Western territory, copies of which are now transmitted, refers to a defect in the judicial system of that territory deserving the attention of Congress.
The necessary absence of the judge of the district of Pennsylvania upon business connected with the late insurrection is stated by him in a letter of which I forward copies to have produced certain interruptions in the judicial proceedings of that district which can not be removed without the interposition of Congress.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, February 4, 1795.
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
I lay before Congress, for their consideration, a letter from the Secretary of State upon the subject of a loan which is extremely interesting and urgent.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, February 17, 1795.
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
I transmit to Congress copies of a letter from the governor of the State of New Hampshire and of an act of the legislature thereof "ratifying the article proposed in amendment to the Constitution of the United States respecting the judicial power."
I also lay before Congress copies of a letter from the governor of the State of North Carolina and of an act of the legislature thereof ceding to the United States certain lands upon the conditions therein mentioned.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, February 17, 1795.
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
I have received copies of two acts of the legislature of Georgia, one passed on the 28th day of December and the other on the 7th day of January last, for appropriating and selling the Indian lands within the territorial limits claimed by that State. These copies, though not officially certified, have been transmitted to me in such a manner as to leave no room to doubt their authenticity. These acts embrace an object of such magnitude, and in their consequences may so deeply affect the peace and welfare of the United States, that I have thought it necessary now to lay them before Congress.
In confidence, I also forward copies of several documents and papers received from the governor of the Southwestern territory. By these it seems that hostilities with the Cherokees have ceased, and that there is a pleasing prospect of a permanent peace with that nation; but from all the communications of the governor it appears that the Creeks, in small parties, continue their depredations, and it is uncertain to what they may finally lead.
The several papers now communicated deserve the immediate attention of Congress, who will consider how far the subjects of them may require their cooperation.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, February 25, 1795.
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
I communicate to Congress copies of a letter from the governor of the State of Georgia and of an act of the legislature thereof "to ratify the resolution of Congress explanatory of the judicial power of the United States."
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, February 28, 1795.
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
In my first communication to Congress during their present session I gave them reason to expect that "certain circumstances of our intercourse with foreign nations" would be transmitted to them. There was at that time every assurance for believing that some of the most important of our foreign affairs would have been concluded and others considerably matured before they should rise. But notwithstanding I have waited until this moment, it has so happened that, either from causes unknown to me or from events which could not be controlled, I am yet unable to execute my original intention. That I may, however, fulfill the expectation given as far as the actual situation of things will in my judgment permit, I now, in confidence', lay before Congress the following general statement:
Our minister near the French Republic has urged compensation for the injuries which our commerce has sustained from captures by French cruisers, from the nonfulfillment of the contracts of the agents of that Republic with our citizens, and from the embargo at Bordeaux. He has also pressed an allowance for the money voted by Congress for relieving the inhabitants of St. Domingo. It affords me the highest pleasure to inform Congress that perfect harmony reigns between the two Republics, and that those claims are in a train of being discussed with candor and of being amicably adjusted.
So much of our relation to Great Britain may depend upon the result of our late negotiations in London that until that result shall arrive I can not undertake to make any communication upon this subject.
After the negotiation with Spain had been long depending unusual and unexpected embarrassments were raised to interrupt its progress. But the commissioner of His Catholic Majesty near the United States having declared to the Secretary of State that if a particular accommodation should be made in the conducting of the business no further delay would ensue, I thought proper, under all circumstances, to send to His Catholic Majesty an envoy extraordinary specially charged to bring to a conclusion the discussions which have been formerly announced to Congress.
The friendship of Her Most Faithful Majesty has been often manifested in checking the passage of the Algerine corsairs into the Atlantic Ocean. She has also furnished occasional convoys to the vessels of the United States, even when bound to other ports than her own. We may therefore promise ourselves that, as in the ordinary course of things few causes can exist for dissatisfaction between the United States and Portugal, so the temper with which accidental difficulties will be met on each side will speedily remove them.
Between the Executive of the United States and the Government of the United Netherlands but little intercourse has taken place during the last year. It may be acceptable to Congress to learn that our credit in Holland is represented as standing upon the most respectable footing.
Upon the death of the late Emperor of Morocco an agent was dispatched to renew with his successor the treaty which the United States had made with him. The agent, unfortunately, died after he had reached Europe in the prosecution of his mission. But until lately it was impossible to determine with any degree of probability who of the competitors for that Empire would be ultimately fixed in the supreme power. Although the measures which have been since adopted for the renewal of the treaty have been obstructed by the disturbed situation of Amsterdam, there are good grounds for presuming as yet upon the pacific disposition of the Emperor, in fact, toward the United States, and that the past miscarriage will be shortly remedied.
Congress are already acquainted with the failure of the loan attempted in Holland for the relief of our unhappy fellow-citizens in Algiers. This subject, than which none deserves a more affectionate zeal, has constantly commanded my best exertions. I am happy, therefore, in being able to say that from the last authentic accounts the Dey was disposed to treat for a peace and ransom, and that both would in all probability have been accomplished had we not been disappointed in the means. Nothing which depends upon the Executive shall be left undone for carrying into immediate effect the supplementary act of Congress.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, March 2, 1795.
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
It appears from the information which I have lately received that it may be probably necessary to the more successful conduct of our affairs on the coast of Barbary that one consul should reside in Morocco, another in Algiers, and a third in Tunis or Tripoli. As no appointment for these offices will be accepted without some emolument annexed, I submit to the consideration of Congress whether it may not be advisable to authorize a stipend to be allowed to two consuls for that coast in addition to the one already existing.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, March 2, 1795.
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
I transmit to you copies of a letter from the governor of the State of Delaware and of an act inclosed "declaring the assent of that State to an amendment therein mentioned to the Constitution of the United States."
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, June 8, 1795.[[2]]
[!-- Note Anchor 2 --][Footnote 2: For proclamation convening Senate in extraordinary session see p. 587.]
Gentlemen of the Senate:
In pursuance of my nomination of John Jay as envoy extraordinary to His Britannic Majesty on the 16th day of April, 1794, and of the advice and consent of the Senate thereto on the 19th, a negotiation was opened in London. On the 7th of March, 1795, the treaty resulting therefrom was delivered to the Secretary of State. I now transmit to the Senate that treaty and other documents connected with it. They will, therefore, in their wisdom decide whether they will advise and consent that the said treaty be made between the United States and His Britannic Majesty.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, June 25, 1795.
Gentlemen of the Senate:
It has been represented by our minister plenipotentiary near the French Republic that such of our commercial relations with France as may require the support of the United States in detail can not be well executed without a consul-general. Of this I am satisfied when I consider the extent of the mercantile claims now depending before the French Government, the necessity of bringing into the hands of one agent the various applications to the several committees of administration residing at Paris, the attention which must be paid to the conduct of consuls, and vice-consuls, and the nature of the services which are the peculiar objects of a minister's care, and leave no leisure for his intervention in business to which consular functions are competent. I therefore nominate Fulwar Skipwith to be consul-general of the United States in France.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
UNITED STATES, June 25, 1795.
Gentlemen of the Senate:
Just at the close of the last session of Congress I received from one of the Senators and one of the Representatives of the State of Georgia an application for a treaty to be held with the tribes or nations of Indians claiming the right of soil to certain lands lying beyond the present temporary boundary line of that State, and which were described in an act of the legislature of Georgia passed on the 28th of December last, which has already been laid before the Senate. This application and the subsequent correspondence with the governor of Georgia are herewith transmitted. The subject being very important, I thought proper to postpone a decision upon that application. The views I have since taken of the matter, with the information received of a more pacific disposition on the part of the Creeks, have induced me now to accede to the request, but with this explicit declaration, that neither my assent nor the treaty which may be made shall be considered as affecting any question which may arise upon the supplementary act passed by the legislature of the State of Georgia on the 7th of January last, upon which inquiries have been instituted in pursuance of a resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives, and that any cession or relinquishment of the Indian claims shall be made in the general terms of the treaty of New York, which are contemplated as the form proper to be generally used on such occasions, and on the condition that one-half of the expense of the supplies of provisions for the Indians assembled at the treaty be borne by the State of Georgia.
Having concluded to hold the treaty requested by that State, I was willing to embrace the opportunity it would present of inquiring into the causes of the dissatisfaction of the Creeks which has been manifested since the treaty of New York by their numerous and distressing depredations on our Southwestern frontiers. Their depredations on the Cumberland have been so frequent and so peculiarly destructive as to lead me to think they must originate in some claim to the lands upon that river. But whatever may have been the cause, it is important to trace it to its source; for, independent of the destruction of lives and property, it occasions a very serious annual expense to the United States. The commissioners for holding the proposed treaty will, therefore, be instructed to inquire into the causes of the hostilities to which I have referred, and to enter into such reasonable stipulations as will remove them and give permanent peace to those parts of the United States.
I now nominate Benjamin Hawkins, of North Carolina: George Clymer, of Pennsylvania, and Andrew Pickens, of South Carolina, to be commissioners to hold a treaty with the Creek Nation of Indians, for the purposes hereinbefore expressed.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.