State of the Union Addresses of Zachary Taylor
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Zachary Taylor >> State of the Union Addresses of Zachary Taylor
The accounts and estimates which will be submitted to Congress in the
report of the Secretary of the Treasury show that there will probably be a
deficit occasioned by the expenses of the Mexican War and treaty on the 1st
day of July next of $5,828,121.66, and on the 1st day of July, 1851, of
$10,547,092.73, making in the whole a probable deficit to be provided for
of $16,375,214.39. The extraordinary expenses of the war with Mexico and
the purchase of California and New Mexico exceed in amount this deficit,
together with the loans heretofore made for those objects. I therefore
recommend that authority be given to borrow what ever sum may be necessary
to cover that deficit. I recommend the observance of strict economy in the
appropriation and expenditure of public money.
I recommend a revision of the existing tariff and its adjustment on a basis
which may augment the revenue. I do not doubt the right or duty of Congress
to encourage domestic industry, which is the great source of national as
well as individual wealth and prosperity. I look to the wisdom and
patriotism of Congress for the adoption of a system which may place home
labor at last on a sure and permanent footing and by due encouragement of
manufactures give a new and increased stimulus to agriculture and promote
the development of our vast resources and the extension of our commerce.
Believing that to the attainment of these ends, as well as the necessary
augmentation of the revenue and the prevention of frauds, a system of
specific duties is best adapted, I strongly recommend to Congress the
adoption of that system, fixing the duties at rates high enough to afford
substantial and sufficient encouragement to our own industry and at the
same time so adjusted as to insure stability.
The question of the continuance of the subtreasury system is respectfully
submitted to the wisdom of Congress. If continued, important modifications
of it appear to be indispensable.
For further details and views on the above and other matters connected with
commerce, the finances, and revenue I refer to the report of the Secretary
of the Treasury.
No direct aid has been given by the General Government to the improvement
of agriculture except by the expenditure of small sums for the collection
and publication of agricultural statistics and for some chemical analyses,
which have been thus far paid for out of the patent fund. This aid is, in
my opinion, wholly inadequate. To give to this leading branch of American
industry the encouragement which it merits, I respectfully recommend the
establishment of an agricultural bureau, to be connected with the
Department of the Interior. To elevate the social condition of the
agriculturist, to increase his prosperity, and to extend his means of
usefulness to his country, by multiplying his sources of information,
should be the study of every statesman and a primary object with every
legislator.
No civil government having been provided by Congress for California, the
people of that Territory, impelled by the necessities of their political
condition, recently met in convention for the purpose of forming a
constitution and State government, which the latest advices give me reason
to suppose has been accomplished; and it is believed they will shortly
apply for the admission of California into the Union as a sovereign State.
Should such be the case, and should their constitution be conformable to
the requisitions of the Constitution of the United States, I recommend
their application to the favorable consideration of Congress. The people of
New Mexico will also, it is believed, at no very distant period present
themselves for admission into the Union. Preparatory to the admission of
California and New Mexico the people of each will have instituted for
themselves a republican form of government, "laying its foundation in such
principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem
most likely to effect their safety and happiness." By awaiting their action
all causes of uneasiness may be avoided and confidence and kind feeling
preserved. With a view of maintaining the harmony and tranquillity so dear
to all, we should abstain from the introduction of those exciting topics of
a sectional character which have hitherto produced painful apprehensions in
the public mind; and I repeat the solemn warning of the first and most
illustrious of my predecessors against furnishing "any ground for
characterizing parties by geographical discriminations."
A collector has been appointed at San Francisco under the act of Congress
extending the revenue laws over California, and measures have been taken to
organize the custom-houses at that and the other ports mentioned in that
act at the earliest period practicable. The collector proceeded overland,
and advices have not yet been received of his arrival at San Francisco.
Meanwhile, it is understood that the customs have continued to be collected
there by officers acting under the military authority, as they were during
the Administration of my predecessor. It will, I think, be expedient to
confirm the collections thus made, and direct the avails (after such
allowances as Congress may think fit to authorize) to be expended within
the Territory or to be paid into the Treasury for the purpose of meeting
appropriations for the improvement of its rivers and harbors.
A party engaged on the coast survey was dispatched to Oregon in January
last. According to the latest advices, they had not left California; and
directions have been given to them, as soon as they shall have fixed on the
sites of the two light-houses and the buoys authorized to be constructed
and placed in Oregon, to proceed without delay to make reconnaissance of
the most important points on the coast of California, and especially to
examine and determine on sites for light-houses on that coast, the speedy
erection of which is urgently demanded by our rapidly increasing commerce.
I have transferred the Indian agencies from upper Missouri and Council
Bluffs to Santa Fe and Salt Lake, and have caused to be appointed subagents
in the valleys of the Gila, the Sacramento, and the San Joaquin rivers.
Still further legal provisions will be necessary for the effective and
successful extension of our system of Indian intercourse over the new
territories.
I recommend the establishment of a branch mint in California, as it will,
in my opinion, afford important facilities to those engaged in mining, as
well as to the Government in the disposition of the mineral lands.
I also recommend that commissions be organized by Congress to examine and
decide upon the validity of the present subsisting land titles in
California and New Mexico, and that provision be made for the establishment
of offices of surveyor-general in New Mexico, California, and Oregon and
for the surveying and bringing into market the public lands in those
Territories. Those lands, remote in position and difficult of access, ought
to be disposed of on terms liberal to all, but especially favorable to the
early emigrants.
In order that the situation and character of the principal mineral deposits
in California may be ascertained, I recommend that a geological and
mineralogical exploration be connected with the linear surveys, and that
the mineral lands be divided into small lots suitable for mining and be
disposed of by sale or lease, so as to give our citizens an opportunity of
procuring a permanent right of property in the soil. This would seem to be
as important to the success of mining as of agricultural pursuits.
The great mineral wealth of California and the advantages which its ports
and harbors and those of Oregon afford to commerce, especially with the
islands of the Pacific and Indian oceans and the populous regions of
eastern Asia, make it certain that there will arise in a few years large
and prosperous communities on our western coast. It therefore becomes
important that a line of communication, the best and most expeditious which
the nature of the country will admit, should be opened within the territory
of the United States from the navigable waters of the Atlantic or the Gulf
of Mexico to the Pacific. Opinion, as elicited and expressed by two large
and respectable conventions lately assembled at St. Louis and Memphis,
points to a railroad as that which, if practicable, will best meet the
wishes and wants of the country. But while this, if in successful
operation, would be a work of great national importance and of a value to
the country which it would be difficult to estimate, it ought also to be
regarded as an undertaking of vast magnitude and expense, and one which
must, if it be indeed practicable, encounter many difficulties in its
construction and use. Therefore, to avoid failure and disappointment; to
enable Congress to judge whether in the condition of the country through
which it must pass the work be feasible, and, if it be found so, whether it
should be undertaken as a national improvement or left to individual
enterprise, and in the latter alternative what aid, if any, ought to be
extended to it by the Government, I recommend as a preliminary measure a
careful reconnaissance of the several proposed routes by a scientific corps
and a report as to the practicability of making such a road, with an
estimate of the cost of its construction and support.
For further views on these and other matters connected with the duties of
the home department I refer you to the report of the Secretary of the
Interior.
I recommend early appropriations for continuing the river and harbor
improvements which have been already begun, and also for the construction
of those for which estimates have been made, as well as for examinations
and estimates preparatory to the commencement of such others as the wants
of the country, and especially the advance of our population over new
districts and the extension of commerce, may render necessary. An estimate
of the amount which can be advantageously expended within the next fiscal
year under the direction of the Bureau of Topographical Engineers
accompanies the report of the Secretary of War, to which I respectfully
invite the attention of Congress.
The cession of territory made by the late treaty with Mexico has greatly
extended our exposed frontier and rendered its defense more difficult. That
treaty has also brought us under obligations to Mexico, to comply with
which a military force is requisite. But our military establishment is not
materially changed as to its efficiency from the condition in which it
stood before the commencement of the Mexican War. Some addition to it will
therefore be necessary, and I recommend to the favorable consideration of
Congress an increase of the several corps of the Army at our distant
Western posts, as proposed in the accompanying report of the Secretary of
War.
Great embarrassment has resulted from the effect upon rank in the Army
heretofore given to brevet and staff commissions. The views of the
Secretary of War on this subject are deemed important, and if carried into
effect will, it is believed, promote the harmony of the service. The plan
proposed for retiring disabled officers and providing an asylum for such of
the rank and file as from age, wounds, and other infirmities occasioned by
service have become unfit to perform their respective duties is recommended
as a means of increasing the efficiency of the Army and as an act of
justice due from a grateful country to the faithful soldier.
The accompanying report of the Secretary of the Navy presents a full and
satisfactory account of the condition and operations of the naval service
during the past year. Our citizens engaged in the legitimate pursuits of
commerce have enjoyed its benefits. Wherever our national vessels have gone
they have been received with respect, our officers have been treated with
kindness and courtesy, and they have on all occasions pursued a course of
strict neutrality, in accordance with the policy of our Government.
The naval force at present in commission is as large as is admissible with
the number of men authorized by Congress to be employed.
I invite your attention to the recommendation of the Secretary of the Navy
on the subject of a reorganization of the Navy in its various grades of
officers, and the establishing of a retired list for such of the officers
as are disqualified for active and effective service. Should Congress adopt
some such measure as is recommended, it will greatly increase the
efficiency of the Navy and reduce its expenditures.
I also ask your attention to the views expressed by him in reference to the
employment of war steamers and in regard to the contracts for the
transportation of the United States mails and the operation of the system
upon the prosperity of the Navy.
By an act of Congress passed August 14, 1848, provision was made for
extending post-office and mail accommodations to California and Oregon.
Exertions have been made to execute that law, but the limited provisions of
the act, the inadequacy of the means it authorizes, the ill adaptation of
our post-office laws to the situation of that country, and the measure of
compensation for services allowed by those laws, compared with the prices
of labor and rents in California, render those exertions in a great degree
ineffectual. More particular and efficient provision by law is required on
this subject.
The act of 1845 reducing postage has now, by its operation during four
years, produced results fully showing that the income from such reduced
postage is sufficient to sustain the whole expense of the service of the
Post-Office Department, not including the cost of transportation in mail
steamers on the lines from New York to Chagres and from Panama to Astoria,
which have not been considered by Congress as properly belonging to the
mail service.
It is submitted to the wisdom of Congress whether a further reduction of
postage should not now be made, more particularly on the letter
correspondence. This should be relieved from the unjust burden of
transporting and delivering the franked matter of Congress, for which
public service provision should be made from the Treasury. I confidently
believe that a change may safely be made reducing all single letter postage
to the uniform rate of 5 cents, regardless of distance, without thereby
imposing any greater tax on the Treasury than would constitute a very
moderate compensation for this public service; and I therefore respectfully
recommend such a reduction. Should Congress prefer to abolish the franking
privilege entirely, it seems probable that no demand on the Treasury would
result from the proposed reduction of postage. Whether any further
diminution should now be made, or the result of the reduction to 5 cents,
which I have recommended, should be first tested, is submitted to your
decision.
Since the commencement of the last session of Congress a postal treaty with
Great Britain has been received and ratified, and such relations have been
formed by the post-office departments of the two countries in pursuance of
that treaty as to carry its provisions into full operation. The attempt to
extend this same arrangement through England to France has not been equally
successful, but the purpose has not been abandoned.
For a particular statement of the condition of the Post-Office Department
and other matters connected with that branch of the public service I refer
you to the report of the Postmaster-General.
By the act of the 3d of March, 1849, a board was constituted to make
arrangements for taking the Seventh Census, composed of the Secretary of
State, the Attorney-General, and the Postmaster-General; and it was made
the duty of this board "to prepare and cause to be printed such forms and
schedules as might be necessary for the full enumeration of the inhabitants
of the United States, and also proper forms and schedules for collecting in
statistical tables, under proper heads, such information as to mines,
agriculture, commerce, manufactures, education, and other topics as would
exhibit a full view of the pursuits, industry, education, and resources of
the country." The duties enjoined upon the census board thus established
having been performed, it now rests with Congress to enact a law for
carrying into effect the provision of the Constitution which requires an
actual enumeration of the people of the United States within the ensuing
year.
Among the duties assigned by the Constitution to the General Government is
one of local and limited application, but not on that account the less
obligatory. I allude to the trust committed to Congress as the exclusive
legislator and sole guardian of the interests of the District of Columbia.
I beg to commend these interests to your kind attention. As the national
metropolis the city of Washington must be an object of general interest;
and founded, as it was, under the auspices of him whose immortal name it
bears, its claims to the fostering care of Congress present themselves with
additional strength. Whatever can contribute to its prosperity must enlist
the feelings of its constitutional guardians and command their favorable
consideration.
Our Government is one of limited powers, and its successful administration
eminently depends on the confinement of each of its coordinate branches
within its own appropriate sphere. The first section of the Constitution
ordains that--
All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the
United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of
Representatives.
The Executive has authority to recommend (not to dictate) measures to
Congress. Having performed that duty, the executive department of the
Government can not rightfully control the decision of Congress on any
subject of legislation until that decision shall have been officially
submitted to the President for approval. The check provided by the
Constitution in the clause conferring the qualified veto will never be
exercised by me except in the cases contemplated by the fathers of the
Republic. I view it as an extreme measure, to be resorted to only in
extraordinary cases, as where it may become necessary to defend the
executive against the encroachments of the legislative power or to prevent
hasty and inconsiderate or unconstitutional legislation. By cautiously
confining this remedy within the sphere prescribed to it in the
contemporaneous expositions of the framers of the Constitution, the will of
the people, legitimately expressed on all subjects of legislation through
their constitutional organs, the Senators and Representatives of the United
States, will have its full effect. As indispensable to the preservation of
our system of self-government, the independence of the representatives of
the States and the people is guaranteed by the Constitution, and they owe
no responsibility to any human power but their constituents. By holding the
representative responsible only to the people, and exempting him from all
other influences, we elevate the character of the constituent and quicken
his sense of responsibility to his country. It is under these circumstances
only that the elector can feel that in the choice of the lawmaker he is
himself truly a component part of the sovereign power of the nation. With
equal care we should study to defend the rights of the executive and
judicial departments. Our Government can only be preserved in its purity by
the suppression and entire elimination of every claim or tendency of one
coordinate branch to encroachment upon another. With the strict observance
of this rule and the other injunctions of the Constitution, with a sedulous
inculcation of that respect and love for the Union of the States which our
fathers cherished and enjoined upon their children, and with the aid of
that overruling Providence which has so long and so kindly guarded our
liberties and institutions, we may reasonably expect to transmit them, with
their innumerable blessings, to the remotest posterity.
But attachment to the Union of the States should be habitually fostered in
every American heart. For more than half a century, during which kingdoms
and empires have fallen, this Union has stood unshaken. The patriots who
formed it have long since descended to the grave; yet still it remains, the
proudest monument to their memory and the object of affection and
admiration with everyone worthy to bear the American name. In my judgment
its dissolution would be the greatest of calamities, and to avert that
should be the study of every American. Upon its preservation must depend
our own happiness and that of countless generations to come. Whatever
dangers may threaten it, I shall stand by it and maintain it in its
integrity to the full extent of the obligations imposed and the powers
conferred upon me by the Constitution.
Z. TAYLOR.