REVENUE-CUTTER VETO MESSAGE. FEBRUARY 20, 1845. - To the Senate of the United States : I HEREWITH return the bill entitled, "An act relating to revenue-cutters and steamers," with the following objections to its becoming a law :— The executive has found it necessary, and esteemed it important to the public interests, to direct the building of two revenue-boats, to be propelled by wind or steam, as occasion may require; the one for the coast of Georgia, and the other for Mobile bay, to be used as despatch vessels if necessary. The models have been furnished by the navy department, and side wheels have been ordered, as being best tested, and least liable to failure. The one boat is directed to be built at Richmond, Virginia; the other at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; and contracts have been regularly entered into for their construction. The contractors have made and are making all necessary arrangements in procuring materials and sites for building, &c., and have doubtless been at considerable expense in the necessary preparations for completing their engagements. It was no part of the intention of the senate in originating the bill, I am well convinced, to violate the sanctity of contracts regularly entered into by the govern ment. The language of the act, nevertheless, is of a character to produce, in all probability, that effect. Its language is, "that no revenue-cutter or revenue-steamer shall hereafter be built (excepting such as are now in the course of building or equipment), nor purchased, unless an appropriation be first made by law therefor." The building of the two cutters under contract can not be said properly to have commenced, although preparations have been made for building; but even if the construction be ambiguous, it is better that all ambiguity should be removed, and thus the hazard of violating the pledged faith of the country be removed along with it. I am free to confess, that, existing contracts being guarded and protected, the law to operate in futuro would be regarded as both proper and wise. With these objections, I return the bill to the house in which it origi nated, for its final constitutional action. SPECIAL MESSAGE. FEBRUARY 20, 1845. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States :— I TRANSMIT, here with, for the information of Congress, copies of certain despatches recently received from Mr. Wise, our envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at the court of Brazil, upon the subject of the slave-trade, developing the means used, and the devices resorted to, in order to evade existing enactments upon that subject. Anxiously desirous as are the United States to suppress a traffic so revolting to humanity, in the efforts to accomplish which they have been the pioneers of civilized states, it can not but be a subject of the most profound regret that any portion of our citizens should be found acting in co-operation with the subjects of other powers in opposition to the policy of their own government, thereby subjecting to suspicion and to the hazard of disgrace the flag of their own country. It is true that this traffic is carried on altogether in foreign ports, and that our own coasts are free from its pollution: but the crime remains the same wherever perpetrated; and there are many circumstances to warrant the belief that some of our citizens are deeply involved in its guilt. The mode and manner of carrying on this trade are clearly and fearlessly set forth in the accompanying documents; and it would seem that a regular system has been adopted for the purpose of thwarting the policy and evading the penalties of our laws. American vessels, with the knowledge (as there are good reasons to believe) of the owners and masters, are chartered, or rather purchased, by notorious slave-dealers in Brazil, aided by English brokers and capitalists, with this intent. The vessel is only nominally chartered at so much per month; while, in truth, it is actually sold, to be delivered on the coast of Africa; the charter party binding the owners, in the meantime, to take on board, as passengers, a new crew in Brazil, who, when delivered on the coast, are to navigate her back to the ports of Brazil with her cargo of slaves. Under this agreement, the vessel clears from the United States for some port in Great Britain, where a cargo of merchandise, known as "coast goods," and designed especially for the African trade, is purchased, shipped, and consigned, together with the vessel, either directly to the slave-dealer himself, or to his agents or accomplices in Brazil. On her arrival, a new crew is put on board as passengers, and the vessel and cargo consigned to an equally guilty factor or agent on the coast of Africa, where the unlawful purpose, originally designed, is finally consummated. The merchandise is exchanged for slaves; the vessel is delivered up; her name obliterated; her papers destroyed; her American crew discharged, to be provided for by the charterers, and the new or passenger crew put in command, to carry back its miserable freight to the first contrivers of the voyage, or their employees in Brazil. During the whole progress of this tortuous enterprise, it is possible that neither the American crew originally enlisted, nor the passenger crew put on board in the Brazilian ports, are aware of the nature of the voyage; and yet it is on these, principally, ignorant if not innocent, that the penalties of the law are inflicted; while the guilty contrivers-the charterers, brokers, owners, and masters-in short, all who are most deeply concerned in the crime and its rewards, for the most part escape unpunished. It will be seen, from the examinations which have recently taken place at Rio, that the subjects of her Britannic majesty, as well as our own citizens, are deeply implicated in this inhuman traffic. British factors and agents, while they supply Africa with British fabrics in exchange for slaves, are chiefly instrumental in the abuse of the American flag; and the suggestions contained in the letter of Mr. Wise (whose judicious and zealous efforts in the matter can not be too highly commended), addressed to Mr. Hamilton, the British envoy, as to the best mode of suppressing the evil, deserve your most deliberate consideration-as they will receive, I doubt not, that of the British government. It is also worthy of consideration, whether any other measures than those now existing are necessary to give greater efficacy to the just and humane policy of our laws, which already provide for the restoration to Africa of slaves captured at sea by American cruisers. From time to time, pro vision has been made by this government for their comfortable support and maintenance, during a limited period after their restoration; and it is much to be regretted that this liberal policy has not been adopted by Great Britain. As it is, it seems to me that the policy it has adopted is calculated rather to perpetuate than to suppress the trade, by enlisting very large interests in its favor. Merchants and capitalists furnish the means for carrying it on; manufactures, for which the negroes are exchanged, are the products of her workshops; the slaves, when captured, instead of being returned back to their homes, are transferred to her colonial possessions in the West Indies, and made the means of swelling the amount of their products, by a system of apprenticeship for a term of years; and the officers and crew who capture the vessels receive, on the whole number of slaves, so many pounds sterling per capita, by way of bounty. It must be obvious, that while these large interests are enlisted in favor of its continuance, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to suppress the nefarious traffic, and that its results would be in effect but a continuance of the slave-trade of another and more cruel form; for it can be but a matter of little difference with the African, whether he is torn from his country and transported to the West Indies as a slave in the regular course of the trade, or captured by a cruiser, transported to the same place, and made to perform the same labor, under the name of an apprentice, which is at present the practical operation of the policy adopted. It is to be hoped that her Britannic majesty's government will, upon a review of all the circumstances stated in these despatches, adopt some efficient measures for the suppression of the trade which she has so long attempted to put down, with, as yet, so little success, and more consonant with the original policy of restoring the captured African to his home. SPECIAL MESSAGE. FEBRUARY 21, 1845. To the House of Representatives of the United States: IN compliance with your resolution of the 23d of January last, asking information "if any, and what, officers of the United States have been guilty of embezzlement of public money since the 19th of August, 1841; and further, whether such officers have been criminally prosecuted for such embezzlement; and, if not, that the reasons why they have not been so prosecuted be communicated," I herewith transmit letters from the secretaries of the treasury, war, and navy departments, and the postmastergeneral, and from various heads of bureaus, from which it will be seen that no case of embezzlement by any person holding office under the gov ernment is known to have occurred since the 19th of August, 1841, unless exceptions are to be found in the cases of the postmaster at Tompkinsville, Kentucky, who was instantly removed from office, and all papers necessary for his prosecution were transmitted to the United States district attorney; and John Flanagan, superintendent of lead-mines of the upper Mississippi, who was also removed, and whose place of residence, as will be seen by the letter of the head of the ordnance bureau, has been, and still is, unknown. ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. In consequence of the decease of William H. Harrison, president of the United States, on the 4th of April, 1841, being one month after his inauguration, the duties of the executive office devolved upon John Tyler, the vice-president, elected at the same time with President Harrison. Immediately after the decease of the president, Mr. Fletcher Webster, chief clerk in the department of state, accompanied by Mr. Beall, an officer of the senate, set out for the residence of the vice-president, in Virginia, bearing to him the following letter: "WASHINGTON, April 4, 1841. "TO JOHN TYLER, VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:"SIR: It has become our most painful duty to inform you that William Henry Harrison, late president of the United States, has departed this life. "This distressing event took place this day, at the president's mansion, in this city, at thirty minutes before one, in the morning. "We lose no time in despatching the chief clerk in the state department, as a special messenger to bear you the melancholy tidings. "We have the honor to be, with the highest regard your obedient ser vants. "DANIEL WEBSTER, Secretary of State, "JOHN J. CRITTENDEN, Attorney-General, "FRANCIS GRANGER, Postmaster-General." By the extraordinary despatch used in sending the official intelligence to the vice-president, at Williamsburg, and a similar despatch by him in repairing to the seat of government, Mr. Tyler arrived in Washington on Tuesday morning, the 6th of April, at four o'clock, and took lodgings at Brown's hotel. At twelve o'clock all the heads of departments, with the exception of the secretary of the navy, Mr. Badger, who was then absent on a visit to his family, waited upon President Tyler, to pay him their official and personal respects. They were received by him with politeness and kindness. He signified his deep feeling of the public calamity sustained by the death of President Harrison, and expressed his profound sensibility to the heavy responsibilities so suddenly devolved upon himself. He spoke of the present state of things with great concern and seriousness, and made known his wishes that the several heads of departments would continue to fill the places which they then respectively occupied; and expressed his confidence that they would afford all the aid in their power to enable him to carry on the administration of the government successfully. The president then took and subscribed the following oath of office :"I do solemnly swear, that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend, the constitution of the United States. "April 6, 1841." "JOHN TYLER. "DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, SS. "I, William Cranch, chief judge of the circuit court of the District of Columbia, certify that the above-named John Tyler personally appeared before me this day, and although he deems himself qualified to perform the duties and exercise the powers and office of president, on the death of William Henry Harrison, late president of the United States, without any other oath than that which he has taken as vice-president, yet, as doubts may arise, and for greater caution, took and subscribed the foregoing oath before me. 66 April 6, 1841." "W. CRANCH. On the following day, the new president attended the funeral of President Harrison, taking the place assigned him in the procession, following the heads of departments, after the family and relations of the late president. Two days after this solemn pageant was over, an inaugural address to the people of the United States, which will be found in the preceding pages, was issued by President Tyler, through the public press; the principles of which address gave general satisfaction. Although some of the expressions were somewhat ambiguous, the whig party was relieved from anxiety by the general tone and sentiments of the address; and confidence was felt that the president would co-operate with the majority of Congress in carrying out the views and desires of those by whom he had been elected. There were those, however, among the prominent whigs (of whom the late Hon. Samuel L. Southard, of New Jersey, and then president of the senate pro tem., was one), who had long known Mr. Tyler, and carefully observed his course in the councils of the nation, who apprehended that he would carry with him into the presidency his peculiar notions of a strict construction of the constitution, imbibed in the Virginia school of democracy, involving principles which, if carried out, would prove repugnant to the views of public policy entertained by |