will pass south of said territorial line; and that, under the last construction, in both cases, the territorial line will be intersected by a line running due east from the south bend of Lake Michigan. For the longitude of the several points abovementioned, I have the honor to refer to my report furnished in January, 1834. I have the honor to be, Very respectfully, A. TALCOTT, Captain of Engineers. A TABLE of the latitude and longitude of certain points required to be determined by the law of July, 1832, with a view to the adjustment of the Northern boundary of the State of Ohio.* The Secretary of State has the honor to report to the President, that in consequence of the unfortunate controversy arising from the conflicting legislation of the State of Ohio and the Territory of Michigan, relative to the boundary between that State and Territory, this Department, under his directions, instructed Messrs. Rush and Howard to confer with the Governor of Ohio and Acting Governor of Michigan, and endeavor to produce such an arrangement as would prevent hostile collision, until Congress could decide the question between them; and he now respectfully submits copies of the instructions to those gentlemen, and all the correspondence of the Department with them; copies of letters addressed to the President; of a correspondence with certain citizens of Ohio; and also copies of the correspondence of the Department with the authorities of Ohio and the authorities of Michigan, on the subject of the dispute; showing how far the Executive of the United States has considered it proper to interfere; the respective pretensions of the State and Territory; and the present state of the controversy about the northern boundary of Ohio and the southern boundary of Michigan. JOHN FORSYTH. To the PRESIDENT. LIST OF ACCOMPANYING PAPERS. The Attorney General to the President of the U. S. March 21, 1835. 5, 1835. 6, 1835. 6, 1835. March 7, 1835. March 12, 1835. March 15, 1835. March 21, 1835. June 2, 1835. 5, 1835. 5. 1835. 9, 1835. 12, 1835. 29, 1835. 2, 1835. 18, 1835. 1, 1835. 17, 1835. 25, 1835. 11, 1835. 16, 1835. 17, 1835. 24, 1835. 1, 1835. 10, 1835. Acting Governor of Michigan to Secretary of State, 2, 1835. 20, 1835. 6, 1835. 9, 1835. 20, 1835. 3. 1835. 28, 1835. 29, 1835. 8, 1835. 8, 1835. 8, 1835. 12, 1835. 19, 1835. Acting Governor of Michigan to Secretary of State, September 28, 1835. Messrs. Swayne, Allan and Disney, to Secretary of State, July 1, 1835. ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE, March 21, 1835. SIR: Having carefully examined the several documents referred to me, on the 17th instant, touching the controversy now existing between the authorities of the State of Ohio and of the Territory of Michigan, in respect to the disputed boundaries of the State and Territory, and having also bestowed such reflection on the ordinances, acts of Congress, and other matters applicable to the subject, as the necessary brevity of the time allowed me has permitted, I shall now proceed to answer the question, whether the President has any authority to interfere in this controversy, and if so, in what manner? The President is so fully acquainted with the origin, progress, and present state of this unfortunate dispute, that I shall deem it sufficient, in the following remarks, to advert to such only of the facts connected with it, as may be necessary to a correct understanding of my opinion. The territory in dispute comprehends a tract lying east of the northeasterly part of the State of Indiana, north of a line drawn due east from the southern extreme of Lake Michigan, and south of a direct line drawn from the southern extreme of Lake Michigan to the most northerly cape of the Miami or Maumee bay, on Lake Erie. It extends in length from the east line of Indiana to Lake Erie, and is supposed to be about nine miles wide at one end, and about five at the other. It now is, and for several years past has been, under the actual, and so far as respects the State of Ohio, the exclusive, jurisdiction of the Territorial Government of Michigan. The merits of the controversy were fully discussed before committees of the last Congress, by Mr. Vinton, one of the members of the House of Representatives for the State of Ohio, in behalf of the delegation of that State, and Mr. Lyon, the delegate from the Territory of Michigan, in elaborate written arguments, which have since been printed for the use of Congress. The general object of these arguments was, on the part of Ohio, to establish the right of that State to the more northern of the two lines abovementioned, as her true boundary, and to obtain from Congress a final settlement of the subject, by an act recognising that line, and authorizing, accordingly, the extension of her limits and jurisdiction ;--on the part of Michigan, to show that under the compact, and contained in the ordinance of 1787, referred to in the act erecting the Territory of Michigan, the people of the Territory are entitled, not only as regards Ohio, but also as regards Indiana and Illinois, to a southern boundary to be described by a line running due east and due west from the southern extreme of Lake Michigan. In the references hereinafter made to the claims and arguments of the respective parties, it will be understood that I refer to these papers, unless some other reference is expressly named. In respect to the power of the President to interfere with this subject, it is proper to premise, that whether its final settlement belongs exclusively to Congress, or to the Judiciary, it is very clear that it does not appertain to the Executive, as a separate department. In accordance with this principle, although I shall be obliged to state my views upon one or two of the subordinate points, more or less connected with the principal controversy, I shall carefully abstain, not only from the expression of any opinion concerning it, but from any such investigation of its merits, as might enable me to form a decided opinion thereon. It is only in obedience to the constitutional injunction, to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed," that the President can be required or authorized to interfere in any of the matters growing out of this controversy. It is therefore our first business to ascertain, whether any acts of Congress, now in force, are likely to be obstructed, in their faithful execution, by the steps taken, or about to be taken, by either of the contending parties. In my judgment there is reason to apprehend, that the acts which provide for the organization and government of the Territory of Michigan, may be thus affected. 'The first of these laws, approved on the 11th of January, 1805, enacts, that from and after the first day of June then next, "all that part of the Indiana Territory which lies north of a line drawn east from the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan, until it shall intersect Lake Erie, and east of a line drawn from the said southerly bend, through the middle of said lake, to its northern extremity, and thence due north to the northern boundary of the United States, shall, for the purpose of temporary government, constitute a separate Territory, and be called Michigan ;" and establishes "within the said Territory," a Territorial Government, similar to that provided for by the ordinance of 1787, and by the law of 1789, adapting it to the Federal Constitution. The line given by this act, as the southern boundary of the Territory, is the one claimed, and to which jurisdiction is now held, by the authorities of Michigan. The acts of the 16th of February, 1819, "authorizing the election of a Delegate from the Michigan Territory to the Congress of the United States, and extending the right of suffrage to the citizens of said Territory;" of the 3d of March, 1823, "to amend the ordinance and acts of Congress for the government of the Territory of Michigan, and for other purposes;" of the 5th of February, 1825, in addition to the last mentioned law; and of the 29th of January, 1827, " to allow the citizens of Michigan to elect the members of their Legislative Council, and for other purposes;" make various provisions for the government of the Territory, and authorize, among other things, its division into counties and townships, and the appointment of county and township officers, as well as the exercise of Executive, Legislative, and Judicial powers, in and over the whole Territory, as described in the act of the 11th of January, 1805. But though the southern boundary now claimed by the authorities of Michigan, is thus given to that Territory, by the act of 1805, and impliedly retained by all the subsequent acts just referred to, it is by no means acknowledged by the State of Ohio. On the part of that State it is alleged. that so much of the act of 1805, as relates to the southern boundary of Michigan, interferes with the true northern boundary of Ohio, as previously established by her constitution, and by the action of Congress, and is therefore null and void. To understand the ground of this objection, and to estimate its force, it is necessary to advert to the constitution of Ohio, and to the Congressional proceedings which preceded and followed its adoption. By the act of the 30th of April, 1802, authorizing the people of the eastern division of the Northwest Territory, (the now State of Ohio,) to form a constitution and State Government, it was enacted, "that the said State shall consist of all the territory included within the following boundaries, to wit: bounded on the east by the Pennsylvania line, on the south |