which are not affected by the proceedings referred to, and which, if correctly viewed by that department, rendered its act a matter of imperious duty.

Coming as you do, for the most part, immediately from the people and the States, by election, and possessing the fullest opportunity to know their sentiments, the present Congress will be sincerely solicitous to carry into full and fair effect the will of their constituents in regard to this institution. It will be for those in whose behalf we all act, to decide whether the Executive Department of the Government, in the steps which it has taken on this subject, has been found in the line of its duty.

The accompanying report of the Secretary of War, with the documents annexed to it, exhibit the operations of the War Department for the past year, and the condition of the various subjects entrusted to its administration.

It will be seen from them that the army maintains the character it has heretofore acquired for efficiency and military knowledge. Nothing has occurred since your last session to require its services beyond the ordinary routine of duties, which upon the seaboard and the inland frontier devolve upon it in a time of peace. The system, so wisely adopted and so long pursued, of constructing fortifications at exposed points, and of preparing and collecting the supplies necessary for the military defence of the country, and thus providently furnishing in peace the means of defence in war, has been continued with the usual results. I recommend to your consideration the various subjects suggested in the report of the Secretary of War. Their adoption would promote the public service, and meliorate the condition of the army.

Our relations with the various Indian tribes have been undisturbed since the termination of the difficulties growing out of the hostile aggressions of the Sacs and Fox Indians. Several treaties have been formed for the relinquishment of territory to the United States, and for the migration of the occupants to the region assigned for their residence west of the Mississippi. Should these treaties be ratified by the Senate, provision will have been made for the removal of almost all the tribes now remaining east of that river, and for the termination of many difficult and embarrassing questions arising out of their anomalous political condition. It is to be hoped that those portions of two of the Southern tribes, which in that event will present the only remaining difficulties, will realize the necessity of emigration, and will speedily resort to it. My original convictions upon this subject have been confirmed by the course of events for several years, and experience is every day adding to their strength. Tha those tribes cannot exist, surrounded by our settlements, and in continua contact with our citizens, is certain. They have neither the intelligence the industry, the moral habits, nor the desire of improvement, which ar essential to any favorable change in their condition. Established in the midst of another and a superior race, and without appreciating the cause of their inferiority, or seeking to control them, they must necessaril yield to the force of circumstances, and ere long disappear. Such ha been their fate heretofore, and if it is to be averted, and it is, it can onl be done by a general removal beyond our boundary, and by the reorgan ization of their political system upon principles adapted to the new rela tions in which they will be placed. The experiment which has bee

recently made, has so far proved successful. The emigrants generally are represented to be prosperous and contented, the country suitable to their wants and habits, and the essential articles of subsistence easily procured. When the report of the commissioners now engaged in investigating the condition and prospects of these Indians, and in devising a plan for their intercourse and government, is received, I trust ample means of information will be in possession of the Government for adjusting all the unsettled questions connected with this interesting subject.

The operations of the navy during the year, and its present condition, are fully exhibited in the annual report from the Navy Department.

Suggestions are made by the Secretary of various improvements, which deserve careful consideration, and most of which, if adopted, bid fair to promote the efficiency of this important branch of the public service. Among these are the new organization of the Navy Board, the revision of the pay to officers, and a change in the period of time, or in the manner of making the annual appropriations, to which I beg leave to call your particular attention.

The views which are presented on almost every portion of our naval concerns, and especially on the amount of force and the number of officers, and the general course of policy appropriate in the present state of our country, for securing the great and useful purposes of naval protection in peace, and due preparation for the contingencies of war, meet with my entire approbation.

It will be perceived, from the report referred to, that the fiscal concerns of the establishment are in an excellent condition; and it is hoped that Congress may feel disposed to make promptly every suitable provision desired, either for preserving or improving the system.

The General Post Office Department has continued, upon the strength of its own resources, to facilitate the means of communication between the various portions of the Union with increased activity. The method, however, in which the accounts of the transportation of the mail have always been kept, appears to have presented an imperfect view of its expenses. It has recently been discovered that, from the earliest records of the department, the annual statements have been calculated to exhibit an amount considerably short of the actual expense incurred for that service. These illusory statements, together with the expense of carrying into effect the law of the last session of Congress, establishing new mail routes, and a disposition on the part of the head of the department to gratify the wishes of the public in the extension of mail facilities, have induced him to incur responsibilities for their improvement, beyond what the current resources of the department would sustain. As soon as he had discovered the imperfection of the method, he caused an investigation to be made of its results, and applied the proper remedy to correct the evil. It became necessary for him to withdraw some of the improvements which he had made, to bring the expenses of the department within its own resources. These expenses were incurred for the public good, and the public have enjoyed their benefit. They are now but partially suspended, and that where they may be discontinued with the least inconvenience to the country.

The progressive increase in the income from postages has equalled the highest expectations, and it affords demonstrative evidence of the grow

ing importance and great utility of this department. The details are exhibited in the accompanying report of the Postmaster General.

The many distressing accidents which have of late occurred in that portion of our navigation carried on by the use of steam power, deserve the immediate and unremitting attention of the constituted authorities of the country. The fact that the number of those fatal disasters is constantly increasing, notwithstanding the great improvements which are every where made in the machinery employed, and in the rapid advances which have been made in that branch of science, show very clearly that they are in a great degree the result of criminal negligence on the part of those by whom the vessels are navigated, and to whose care and attention the lives and property of our citizens are so extensively entrusted.

That these evils may be greatly lessened, if not substantially removed, by means of precautionary and penal legislation, seems to be highly probable; so far, therefore, as the subject can be regarded as within the constitutional purview of Congress, I earnestly recommend it to your prompt and serious consideration.

I would also call your attention to the views I have heretofore expressed of the propriety of amending the constitution in relation to the mode of electing the President and Vice President of the United States. Regarding it as all-important to the future quiet and harmony of the people that every intermediate agency in the election of these officers should be removed, and that their eligibility should be limited to one term of either four or six years, I cannot too earnestly invite your consideration of the subject.

Trusting that your deliberations on all the topics of general interest to which I have adverted, and such others as your more extensive knowledge of the wants of our beloved country may suggest, may be crowned with success, I tender you, in conclusion, the co-operation which it may be in my power to afford them.

WASHINGTON, 3d December, 1833.

ANDREW JACKSON.

Ordered, That the said message do lie on the table, and that ten thousand copies thereof, with the accompanying documents, be printed. Mr. Hubbard submitted the following resolution, viz.

Resolved, That the rules of the House of Representatives, for the twenty-second Congress, be adopted for the government of this House, until otherwise ordered, with the exception of the 55th and 76th rules, which shall be expunged; and that the following shall be established as the 55th rule of this House, viz.

That thirty standing committees shall be appointed at the commencement of each session, viz.

A Committee of Elections;

of Ways and Means;

of Claims:

on Commerce;

on the Public Lands;

on the Post Office and Post Roads;

on the District of Columbia;

on the Judiciary;

A Committee on Revolutionary Claims;
on Public Expenditures;

on Private Land Claims;
on Manufactures;

on Agriculture;
on Indian Affairs;
on Military Affairs;
on Naval Affairs;
on Foreign Affairs;
on the Territories;

on Revolutionary Pensions;
on Invalid Pensions;

on Roads and Canals; and a

Committee on the Militia;

to consist of nine members each: and

A Committee of Revisal and Unfinished Business;

A Committee of Accounts;

A Committee on so much of the Public Accounts and Expenditures as relates to the Department of State;

A Committee on so much of the Public Accounts and Expenditures as relates to the Treasury Department;

A Committee on so much of the Public Accounts and Expenditures as relates to the Department of War;

A Committee on so much of the Public Accounts and Expenditures as relates to the Department of the Navy;

A Committee on so much of the Public Accounts and Expenditures as relates to the Post Office Department; and

A Committee on so much of the Public Accounts and Expenditures as relates to the Public Buildings;

to consist of five members each. And that the following rule be added to the rules of the House: That the members of this House shall sit uncovered, unless otherwise specially permitted by the Speaker.

And, after discussion, it was agreed that the rules of the House of Representatives for the twenty-second Congress be adopted for the government of this House, until otherwise ordered, with the exception of the 9th, 55th, and 76th rules.

On motion of Mr. Wardwell,

Resolved, That the Clerk cause to be furnished to the members of this House, during the present session, such newspapers as they may direct, the expense thereof not to exceed the price of three daily papers to each member.

On motion of Mr. Grennell,

Resolved, That two Chaplains, of different denominations, be elected by Congress, one by each House, to serve during the present session, who shall interchange weekly.

Ordered, That the Clerk request the concurrence of the Senate in this resolution.

And then the House adjourned until to-morrow, 12 o'clock meridian.

26

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1833.

[Dec. 4.

Another member, viz. from Pennsylvania, Henry A. Muhlenberg, appeared, was sworn to support the constitution of the United States, and took his seat.

A message from the Senate, by Mr. Lowrie, their Secretary:

Mr. Speaker: The Senate have concurred in the resolution for the pointment of Chaplains; and then he withdrew.

ap

The Speaker laid before the House sundry communications, viz. I. The report of the Secretary of the Treasury, of the reasons which induced him to give an order and direction that the deposites of the money of the United States shall not be made in the Bank of the United States or Branches thereof, but in certain State banks which have been designated for that purpose; prepared and submitted to the House in obedience to the 16th section of the act of Congress, entitled "An act to incorporate the Bank of the United States;" which report was laid on the table, and ten thousand copies thereof were ordered to be printed.

II. The annual statement of the expenditures on account of contingencies for the House of Representatives of the United States for the year ending 1st December, 1833, and of the clerks and other persons employed in the service of the said House for the same period, prepared by Matthew St. Clair Clarke, Clerk to the late House of Representatives; which statement was laid on the table.

III. A letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting a printed copy of the "Manual on the cultivation of the Sugar Cane, and the fabrication and refinement of Sugar," prepared under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, in compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of January 25, 1830; which letter was read, and laid on the table.

IV. A letter from Charles Gratiot, Chief Engineer, transmitting a report on the case of John Bruce, referred to the Engineer Department at the last session of Congress; which report was laid on the table.

V. A letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting a printed statement of the receipts and expenditures of the United States for the year 1832, prepared in pursuance of the standing order of the House of Representatives of the 30th December, 1791; which letter was read, and laid on the table.

VI. A letter from John Campbell, Treasurer of the United States, transmitting transcripts of sundry accounts of his office, which have been settled by the accounting officers for the years 1832 and 1833; which letter and accounts were laid on the table.

The House resumed the consideration of the objection raised and waived, on the first day of the session, to the calling and qualifying of Thomas P. Moore as the member for the fifth congressional district of the State of Kentucky;

And, after debate,

The House adjourned until to-morrow, 12 o'clock meridian.