Imágenes de páginas
PDF

Most Honorable Privy Council, Knight Commander of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath, her Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States of America, duly authorized for this purpose by their respective Governments, having met together at Washington, and having found that the laws required to carry the Articles XVIII to XXV, inclusive, and Article XXX of the treaty aforesaid into operation, have been passed by the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain, by the Parliament of Canada, and by the Legislature of Prince Edward's Island on the one part, and by the Congress of the United States on the other, hereby declare that Articles XVIII to XXV, inclusive, and Article XXX of the treaty between Her Britannic Majesty and the United States of America of the 8th of May, 1871, will take effect%n the first day of July next.

"In witness whereof the undersigned have signed this protocol, and have hereunto affixed their seals.

"Done in duplicate at Washington, this seventh day of June, 1873.

(Seal) (Signed) "Hamilton Fish.
(Seal) (Signed) "Edw'd Thoenton."

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of America, in pursuance of the premises, do hereby declare that I have received satisfactory evidence that the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain, the Parliament of Canada, and the Legislature of Prince Edward's Island, have passed laws on their part to give full effect to the provisions of the said treaty as contained in articles eighteenth to twentyfifth, inclusive, and article thirtieth of said Treaty.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this first day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy[seal.] three, and of the independence of the United States of America the ninetyseventh. U. S. Grant. By the President:

Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State.

Proclamation that an International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine will be opened in Philadelphia April 19,1876, July 3,1873.

Whereas by the act of Congress approved March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, providing for a national celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the independence of the United States, by the holding of an international exhibition of arts, manufactures, and products of the soil and mine, in the city of Philadelphia, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-six, it is provided as follows:

"That whenever the President shall be informed by the Governor of the State of Pennsylvania that provision has been made for the erection of suitable buildings for the purpose,

and for the exclusive control by the commission herein provided for of the proposed exhibition, the President shall, through the Department of State, make proclamation of the same, setting forth the time at which the exhibition will open, and the place at which it will be held; and he shall communicate to the diplomatic representatives of all nations copies of the same, together with such regulations as may be adopted by the commissioners, for publication in their respective countries;"

And whereas his excellency the Governor of the State of Pennsylvania did, on the twentyfourth day of June, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, inform me that provision has been made for the erection of said buildings, and for the exclusive control by the commission provided for in the said act of the proposed exhibition;

And whereas the President of the United States Centennial Commission has officially informed me of the dates fixed for the opening and closing of the said exhibition, and the place at which it is to be held:

Now, therefore, be it known that I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States, in conformity with the provisions of the act of Congress aforesaid, do hereby declare and proclaim that there will be held, at the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, an international exhibition of arts, manufactures, and products of the soil and mine, to be opened on the nineteenth day of April, Anno Domini eighteen hundred and seventy-six, and to be closed on the nineteenth day of October, in the same year.

And in the interest of peace, civilization, and domestic and international friendship and intercourse, I commend the celebration and exhibition to the people of the United States; and, in behalf of this Government and people, I cordially commend them to all nations who may be pleased to take part therein.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this third day of July, one thousand eight hundred l~L s 1 andseventy-three, and of the independL ' '-' ence of the United States the ninetyseventh. U. S. Grant. By the President:

Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State.

Proclamation respecting Discriminating Duties on French Vessels, September 22,1873.

Whereas satisfactory evidence was given me on the 13th day of September current, by the Marquis de Noailles, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from the French Republic, that on and after the 1st day of October next, merchandise imported into France in vessels of the United States, from whatever country, will be subject to no other duties or imposts than those which shall be collected upon merchandise imported into France from countries of its origin or from any other country in French vessels:

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by law, do hereby declare and proclaim that on and after the 1st day of October next, so long as merchandise imported into France in vessels of the United States, whether from the countries of its origin or from other countries, shall be admitted into the ports of France on the terms aforesaid, the discriminating duties heretofore levied upon merchandise imported into the United States in French vessels, either from the countries of its origin or from any other country, shall be and are discontinued and abolished.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington this twentysecond day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and [l. S.] seventy-three, and of the independence of the United States of America the ninetyeighth. U. S. Grant. By the President:

J. C. Bancroft Davis,

Acting Secretary of State.

Commanding the Dispersion of all Turbulent and Disorderly Persons in Arkansas, May 15,1874.

Whereas certain turbulent and disorderly persons pretending that Elisha Baxter, the present executive of Arkansas, was not elected, have combined together with force and arms to resist his authority as such executive, and other authorities of said State; and whereas said Elisha Baxter has been declared duly elected by the General Assembly of said State, as provided in the constitution thereof, and has for a long period been exercising the functions of said office, into which he was inducted according to the constitution and laws of said State, and ought by its citizens to be considered as the lawful executive thereof; and whereas it is provided in the Constitution of the United States that the United States shall protect every State in the Union, on application of the Legislature, or the Executive when the Legislature cannot be convened, against domestic violence; and whereas said Elisha Baxter, under section 4 of article 4 of the Constitution of the United States, and the laws passed in pursuance thereof, has heretofore made application to me to protect said State and the citizens thereof against domestic violence; and whereas the General Assembly of said State convened in extra session at the capital thereof on the 11th instant, pursuant to a call made by said Elisha Baxter, and both Houses thereof have passed a jointresolution also applying to me to protect the State against domestic violence; and whereas it is provided in the laws of the United States that in all cases of insurrection in any State, or of obstruction to the laws thereof, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, on application of the Legislature of such State, or by the executive when the Legislature cannot be convened, to employ such part of the land and naval forces as shall be judged necessary for the purpose of suppressing such insurrection, or causing the laws to be duly executed; and whereas it is required that whenever it may be necessary, in the judgment of the President, to use the military force for the purpose aforesaid, he shall

forthwith by proclamation command such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective houses within a limited time: Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States, do hereby make proclamation and command all turbulent and disorderly persons to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within ten days from this date, and hereafter to submit themselves to the lawful authority of said executive and the other constituted authorities of said State; and I invoke the aid and co-operation of all good citizens to uphold law and preserve public peace.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this fifteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and seventy-four,

[seal.] and the independence of the United States the ninety-eighth. By the President: U. S. Grant.

Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State.

Proclamation announcing that the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain and the Legislature of Newfoundland have given effect to Articles 18th to 25th inclusive and Article 30th of the Treaty of Washington, May 29th, 1874.

Whereas, by the thirty-third article of a treaty concluded at Washington the 8th day of May, 1871, between the United States and Her Britannic Majesty, it was provided that "Articles XVIII to XXV, inclusive, and Article XXX of this treaty, shall take effect as soon as the laws required to carry them into operation shall have been passed by the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain, by the Parliament of Canada, and by the Legislature of Prince Edward's Island, on the one hand, and by the Congress of the United States on tho other; and whereas it is provided by Article XXXII of the treaty aforesaid that the provisions and stipulations of article XVIII to XXV of this treaty, inclusive, shall extend to the colony of Newfoundland, so far as they are applicable. But if the Imperial Parliament, the Legislature of Newfoundland, or the Congress of the United States shall not embrace the colony of Newfoundland in their laws enacted for carrying the foregoing articles into effect, then this article shall be of no effect; but the omission to make provision by law to give it effect by either of the legislative bodies aforesaid shall not in any way impair any other articles of this treaty."

And whereas by the second section of an act, entitled "An act to carry into effect the provisions of the treaty between the United States and Great Britain, signed in the city of Washington the 8th day of May, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, relating to the fisheries," it is provided: "That whenever the colony of Newfoundland shall give its consent to the application of the stipulations and provisions of the said articles eighteenth to twenty-fifth of said treaty, inclusive, to that colony, and the Legislature thereof and the Imperial Parliament shall pass the necessary laws for that purpose, the above enumerated articles, being the products of the fisheries of the colony of Newfoundland, shall be admitted into the United States free of duty from and after the date of a proclamation of the Presidentof the United States declaring that lie lias satisfactory evidence that the said colony of Newfoundland has consented, in a due and proper manner, to have the provisions of the said articles eighteenth to twenty-fifth, inclusive, of the said treaty extended to it, and to allow the United States the full benefits of all the stipulations therein contained, and shall be so admitted free of duty so long as the said articles eighteenth to twenty-fifth, inclusive, and article thirtieth of said treaty shall remain in force, according to the terms and conditions of articles thirty-third of said treaty;" and whereas the Secretary of State of the United States and Her Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Washington have recorded in a protocol of a conference held by them at the Department of State in Washington on the 28th day of May, 1874, in the following language: "Protocol of a conference received at Washington on the twenty-eighth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and seventy four. "Whereas it is provided by article XXXII of the treaty between the United States of America and Her Majesty, the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, signed at Washington on the 8th day of May, 1871, as follows:

Article XXXII. "It is further agreed that the provisions and stipulations of articles XVIII to XXV of this treaty, inclusive, shall extend to the colony of Newfoundland, so far as they are applicable. But if the Imperial Parliament, the Legislature of Newfoundland, or the Congress of the United States, shall not embrace the colony of Newfoundland in their laws enacted for carrying the foregoing articles into effect, then this article shall be of no effect; but the omission to make provision by law to give it effect, by either of the legislative bodies aforesaid, shall not in any way impair any other articles of this treaty.

"And whereas an act was passed by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, and approved on the first day of March, 1873, by the President of the United States, entitled 'An act to carry into effect the provisions of the treaty between the United States and Great Britain, signed in the city of Washington the eighth of May, 1871, relating to fisheries,' by which act it is provided:

'"sec. 2. That whenever the colony of Newfoundland shall give its consent to the application of the stipulations and provisions of the said articles eighteenth to twenty-fifth of said treaty, inclusive, to that colony, and the Legislature thereof, and the Imperial Parliament, shall pass the necessary laws for that purpose, the above enumerated articles, being the produce of the fisheries of the colony of Newfoundland, shall be admitted into the United States free of duty from and after the date of a proclamation by the President of the United States, declaring that he has satisfactory evidence that the said colony of Newfoundland has consented, in a due and proper manner, to have the provisions of the said arti

cles eighteenth to twenty fifth, inclusive, of the said treaty extended to it, and to allow the United States the full benefits of all the stipulations therein contained, and shall be so admitted free of duty, so long as the said articles eighteenth to twenty-fifth, inclusive, and article thirtieth of said treaty, shall remain in force, according to the terms and conditions of article thirty-third of said treaty.'

"And whereas an act was passed by the Governor, Legislative Council, and Assembly of Newfoundland, in legislative session convened, in the thirty-seventh year of Her Majesty's reign, and assented to by Her Majesty on the 12th dayvof May, 1874, entitled 'An act to carry into effect the provisions of the treaty of Washington, as far as they relate to this colony.'

"The undersigned, Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State of the United States, and the Right Honorable Sir Edward Thornton one of Her Majesty's most honorable Privy Council, Knight Commander of the most honorable Order of the Bath, Her Britannic Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States of America, duly authorized for this purpose by their respective Governments, having met together at Washington, and having found that the laws required to carry the articles XVIII to to XXV inclusive,and articles XXXand XXXII, of the treaty aforesaid into operation, have been passed by the Congress of the United States on the one part, and by the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain, by the Parliament of Canada, and by the Legislature of Prince Edward's Island and the Legislature of Newfoundland on the other, hereby declare articles XVIII to XXV inclusive, and article XXX, of the treaty between the United States of America and Her Britannic Majesty shall take effect, in accordance with article XXXIII of said treaty between the citizens of the United States of America and Her Majesty's subjects in the colony of Newfoundland, on the first day of June next.

"In witness whereof the undersigned have signed this protocol, and have hereunto affixed their seals.

"Done in duplicate at Washington, this twenty eighth day of May, 1874.

"[l. S.] Hamilton Fish,

"[l. S.] Ed'wd Thornton."

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United Kates of America, in pursuance of the premises, do hereby declare that I have received satisfactory evidence that the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain and the Legislature of Newfoundland have passed laws on their part to give full effect to the provisions of the said treaty, as contained in articles eighteenth to twentyfifth, inclusive, and article thirtieth of said treaty. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this twentyninth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and [seal.] seventy-four, and of the independence of the United States of America the ninety-eighth. U. S. Grant.

By the President:

Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State.

X.

PRESIDENT GRANT'S INTERVIEWS AND LETTERS ON PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

On Currency and Finance.

The President's Letters written during the "Panic o/1873."

« [Reprinted from newspaper copies.]

Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C, September 28, 1873. Messrs. H. B. Claflin and Charles L. Anthony:

Gentlemen: In response to the news you have communicated to me touching the present stringency in the money market of the country, and the necessary steps to restore confidence and legitimate trade and commerce, I have the honor to communicate the following:

The Government is desirous of doing all in its power to relieve the present unsettled condition of business affairs, which is holding back the immense resources of the country now awaiting transportation to the seaboard and a market.

Confidence on the part of the people is the first thing needed to relieve this condition and to avert the threatened destruction of business, with its accompanying disasters to all classes of the people. To re-establish this feeling the Government is willing to take all legal measures at its command; but it is evident that no Government efforts will avail without the active co-operation of the banks and moneyed corporations of the country.

With the fourteen millions already paid out in the purchase of the Government indebtedness and the withdrawal of their large deposits from the Treasury, the banks are now strong enough to adopt a liberal policy on their part, and by a generous system of discounts to sustain the business interests of the country. Should such a course be pursued the forty-four millions of reserve will be considered as money in the Treasury to meet the demands of the public necessity as the circumstances of the country may require. Close attention will be given to the course pursued by those who have the means at their command of rendering all the aid necessary to restore trade to its proper channels and condition, with a view of strengthening the hands of those who carry out the measures above indicated. Orders have already been issued for the prepayment of the interest accruing in November.

U. S. Grant.

Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C, October 6, 1873. My Dear Mr. Cowdrey-. Your letter of the 20th ultimo was duly received and read, as was your previous letter. Neither required an answer particularly, and hence I did not answer them at that time. Your last letter, however, contains one sentence that it seems proper that I should reply to, that is as to an implied threat to the national banks contained in my letter to Messrs. Anthony and Claflin. Nothing was fur

ther from my mind than a threat. My whole object was to restore confidence to the public mind, and to give assurances that the Government would give all the aid in its power, keeping in view, at the same time, the solvency of the national Treasury.

You and all bank presidents know more about the condition of your banks than I can possibly know. In turn, I, through the Secretary of the Treasury, know more about the financial condition of the Government, its ability to render aid, <kc, than any person disconnected from the administration of its affairs can know. I alluded to the fact that the forty-million reserve notes in the Treasury would be regarded as money in the Treasury subject to use, for the purpose of showing that the means are at hand to give the relief we promise.

1 do not believe the present panic will work to individuals half the injury it will work general good to the country at large. Our monetary system is the creation of necessity. It has no elasticity, but in other respects it is the best that has ever been devised. No one now distrusts the value of his paper dollar; on the contrary, it is seized and hoarded with the same avidity now that the gold dollar has been in former like adversities. The panic will call attention to the defects in our monetary system, and will no doubt lead to legislation to relieve the want of elasticity.

The panic has brought greenbacks about to a par with silver. I wonder that silver is not already coming into the market to supply the deficiency in the circulating medium. When it does come—and I predict that it will soon—we will have made a rapid stride toward specie payments. Currency will never go below silver after that.

The circulation of silver will have other beneficial effects. Experience has proved that it takes about forty millions of fractional currency to make the small change necessary for the transaction of the business of the country. Silver will gradually take the place of this currency, and, further, will become the standard of values, which will be hoarded in a small way.

I estimate that this will consume from two to three hundred millions, in time, of this species of our circulating medium. It will leave the paper currency free to perform the legitimate functions of trade, and will tend to bring us back where we must come at last—to a specie basis. I confess to a desire to see a limited hoarding of money. It insures a firm foundation in time of need. But I want to see the hoarding of something that has a standard of value the world over. Silver has this, and if we once get back to that our strides toward a higher appreciation of our currency will be rapid.

Our mines are now producing almost unlimited amounts of silver, and it is becoming a question, •'What shall we do with it?" I suggest here a solution that will answer for some years, and suggest to you bankers whether you may not imitate it: To put it in circulation now; keep it there until it is fixed, and then we will find other markets. The South and Central American countries have asked us to coin their silver for them. There has never been authority of law to do so. I trust it will now be given. When it is given, it will be more than the equivalent of becoming exporters of articles of manufacture which were previously articles of import. Orders will come for large amounts of coin. It will be all in silver, while payments are not necessarily so. We become the manufacturer of this currency, with a profit, and will probably secure a portion of our pay in the more precious metal.

I have thought much about the recommendations I should make to Congress, and have changed slightly in regard to banking laws since I last had the pleasure of a personal interview with you. It is not necessary to state what those changes are, because they may undergo further modification. I shall give to the subject, however, my sincerest thoughts, and will court the views of others.

I have written this hastily, but if it calls forth any views you would like to express I will be glad to hear them. Yours, truly,

U. S. Grant.

A Denial Made.

A "special" having been published in the New York Times of March 21, 1874, purporting to indicate the President's purpose to veto a pending bill, if passed, the President authorized the following denial to be telegraphed by the reporter of the Associated Press, and it was published March 23:

President Grant, in conversation with a leading Western Republican Senator, said the-statement in a Washington dispatch to a New York paper published Saturday morning, that any egislation tending to inflation must run the gauntlet of his veto, was wholly without foundation; that he had conversed with no one on the subject, and if he were a member of Congress he should regard an intimation of a veto in advance of legislation as an unbecoming threat by the Executive, and should resent it.

Interview with Boston Merchants.

1874, April 4—A meeting was held in Boston "to protest against inflation," and passed resolutions and appointed a committee to present them to the President. Mr. William Gray, of that committee, made this report of the interview:

John H Clifford, William Gaston, John M. Forbes, Henry P. Kidder, and M. D. Spaulding, esquires, my associates upon the committee appointed by the meeting at Faneuil Hall, April 4, 1874, to present its resolutions and a memorial to the President of the United States: Gentlemen: You are aware that directly after the meeting in Faneuil Hall, by which we

were appointed, a memorial to the President, with the resolutions adopted by the citizens of Boston, was prepared and signed by all of the committee, including myself. It was understood that I should, as chairman, keep myself informed of the progress of the bill in the House of Representatives, and notify you when it became necessary to go to Washington. We all agreed to visit that city and present the memorial to the President as soon as the bill should have passed the House.

On Tuesday, the 14th instant, I went to New York, on my way to Washington, and on the evening of that day, while there, was informed by telegraph of the passage of the bill, and notified you immediately that I desired to meet you in Washington on Thursday morning, the lfith instant. When I reached the capital at midnight on Wednesday, I learned by telegraph that none of you could be there before the following Saturday morning.

As I had the original memorial, with the signatures of the whole committee, I decided to wait at once upon the President and present it to him.

I called upon General Sherman, who kindly offered to go with me to the President, and I gladly accepted his offer. We went, and were admitted at once, when General Sherman immediately left the President and myself alone together, and no other person was present during the interview.

I stated to the President that a large public meeting, the numbers of which were estimated by the newspapers from 2,500 to 4,000 persons, had been recently held in Faneuil Hall; that resolutions had been unanimously adopted, and a committee appointed to present them, with a memorial to be prepared by them, to the PresiDent: that the legislation of the House had advanced rapidly, and my associates were unprepared to leave home at the moment, and could not reach Washington before Saturday; that I regretted their absence, but as the paper which I had with me had been signed by every one of them delay seemed unnecessary, and I requested his permission to read the resolutions and memorial to him, to which request he assented.

I read the paper through without interruption from the President. When I had finished he said: "There are two things in that paper which I do not like. The resolutions say the legal tender acts were first declared unconstitutional, and afterwards constitutional by a majority of one vote. That is not exactly so. The resolutions attack my administration, in saying that the legal tender notes should have been paid with the reserves instead of using them to buy up long bonds. This was the policy of my administration, and such a resolution is an attack upon it which I do not like. I think that policy is right, and they call it wrong. That policy reduced the premium on gold from 34 per cent to 13 per cent."

I replied that it was the general understanding that the citizens of the United States were at full liberty to assemble in public meetings and pass any resolutions which they saw fit and present them to the President, observing proper courtesy; that I did not write the resolutions,

« AnteriorContinuar »