To the Senate of the United States: I nominate the officers named in the accompanying list for regular promotion in the Army of the United States, as proposed by the Secretary of War. WASHINGTON, March 30, 1854. FRANKLIN PIERCE. WAR DEPARTMENT, March 30, 1854. SIR: I have the honor to lay before you the following list of officers for regular promotion in the Army of the United States: Corps of Engineers. Second Lieutenant John G. Foster to be first lieutenant, April 1, 1854, vice Rosecrans, resigned. Brevet Second Lieutenant James St. C. Morton to be first lieutenant, April 1, 1854, vice Foster, promoted. Second Regiment of Dragoons. Brevet Second Lieutenant George B. Anderson to be second lieutenant, March 21, 1854, vice Bingham, resigned. Third Regiment of Artillery. Second Lieutenant Richard Arnold to be first lieutenant, March 17, 1854, vice Shields, resigned. Fifth Regiment of Infantry. Brevet Second Lieutenant Henry F. Whitter to be second lieutenant, March 13, 1854, vice Neilly, deceased. I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant, To the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. To the Senate of the United States: I nominate D. Macauley, of Louisiana, to be consul of the United States for the port of Venice and the Adriatic ports which belong to the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom, in the place of Donald G. Mitchell, resigned. WASHINGTON, 31st March, 1854. To the Senate of the United States: FRANKLIN PIERCE. I nominate I. S. Pardee, of Wisconsin, to be consul of the United States for the port of San Juan del Sur, in Nicaragua, in the place of Loomis L. White, who has not acted in consequence of his not having obtained an exequatur. WASHINGTON, 31st March, 1854. To the Senate of the United States: FRANKLIN PIERCE. In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 21st instant, adopted in executive session, relative to the claims of the Mexican Govern ment, and of citizens of the Mexican Republic on this Government, and of citizens of the United States on the Government of that Republic, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred. WASHINGTON, 29th March, 1854. The messages were read. FRANKLIN PIERCE. Ordered, That the nominations of John W. Whitfield and Richard C. S. Brown be referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered, That the nomination of Thomas B. English be referred to the Committee on Public Lands. Ordered, That the nominations of Robert Edmonds, D. Macaulay and I. S. Pardee be referred to the Committee on Commerce. Ordered, That the nominations of John G. Foster and other officers for promotions in the Army be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. On motion by Mr. Jones, of Iowa, The Senate, by unanimous consent, proceeded to consider the nomination of Joseph Hollman; and Resolved, That the Senate advise and consent to his appointment, agreeably to the nomination. On motion by Mr. Pearce, Ordered, That the message in answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 21st instant, in relation to claims of Mexico and its citizens against the United States, and of citizens of the United States against Mexico, with the accompanying report and list of claims, lie on the table. Mr. Gwin, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom were re ferred, the 28th February, the nominations of Henry K. Stevens, Abner Read, Alexander C. Rhind, and Richard M. Cuyler, and on the 7th instant those of George M. Ransom and William F. Spicer, reported. Whereupon Resolved, That the Senate advise and consent to the appointment of the said persons, agreeably to their nominations respectively. MONDAY, APRIL 3, 1854. The following message was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Webster, his secretary : To the Senate of the United States: I nominate David H. Armstrong to be deputy postmaster at St. Louis, Missouri, in place of Archibald Gamble. WASHINGTON, D. C., April 3, 1854. To the Senate of the United States: FRANKLIN PIERCE. In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 13th instant, requesting a confidential communication of information touching the expedition under the authority of this Government for the purpose of opening trade with Japan, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred. WASHINGTON, 31st March, 1849. FRANKLIN PIERCE. To the Senate of the United States: I transmit herewith the report of the Secretary of State, in reply to the resolution of the Senate of the 27th ultimo. That part of the document which purports to recite my official instructions is strictly correct, that which is avowedly unofficial and unauthorized, it can hardly be necessary for me to say, in view of the documents already before the Senate, does not convey a correct impression of my "views and wishes." At no time, after an intention was entertained of sending Mr. Ward as special agent to Mexico, was either the Garay grant or the convention entered into by Mr. Conkling alluded to otherwise than as subjects which might embarrass the negotiation of the treaty, and were consequently not included in the instructions. While the departure of Mr. Ward under any circumstances, or in any respect, from the instructions committed to him is a matter of regret, it is just to say that, although he failed to convey in his letter to General Gadsden the correct import of remarks made by me anterior to his appointment as special agent, I impute to him no design of misrepresentation. WASHINGTON, D. C, April 1, 1854. The messages were read. FRANKLIN PIERCE. The Senate, by unanimous consent, proceeded to consider the nomination of David H. Armstrong; and Resolved, That the Senate advise and consent to his appointment, agreeably to the nomination. On motion by Mr. Mason, Ordered, That the message in answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 13th March, in relation to the expedition to Japan, be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. On motion by Mr. Mason, Ordered, That the message in answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 27th March, relative to any correspondence between C. L. Ward and General Gadsden, relating to negotiations with Mexico, lie on the table. Mr. Hamlin, from the Committee on Commerce, to whom were referred, the 10th February, the nomination of James W. Moore, and on the 31st March those of Robert Edmonds, D. Macaulay, and I. S. Pardee, reported. Whereupon Resolved, That the Senate advise and consent to the appointment of the said persons, agreeably to their nominatious respectively. Mr. Gwin, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom were referred, the 28th February, the nominations of Henry K. Hoff, Henry Bruce, and Robert W. Shufeldt, reported. Mr. Walker, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom were referred, the 31st March, the nominations of John W. Whitfield and Richard C. S. Brown, reported. Whereupon Resolved, That the Senate advise and consent to the appointment of the said persons, agreeably to their nominatious respectively. Mr. Gwin offered the following resolution; which was considered, by unanimous consent, and agreed to: Resolved, That the President be requested to communicate to the Senate, confidentially, copies of all letters written by General Gadsden while acting as minister in Mexico, to the United States district attorney and United States marshal for the northern district of California, in reference to expeditions that might be or had been organized in California for the invasion of Sonora. On motion by Mr. Dodge, of Wisconsin, Ordered, That the injunction of secrecy be removed from the message and documents, as well as the proceedings of the Senate, relating to the treaty made with the Stockbridge Indians on the 24th day of November, 1848. The Senate, as in Committee f the Whole, resumed the consideration of the treaty between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic, concluded at the City of Mexico the 30th day of December, in the year of our Lord 1853; and After debate, On the question to agree to the first amendment reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations, to wit: ARTICLE 1. After the word "lake," at the end of the first clause, in sert: Provided, That "the most northern part of the Gulf of California," mentioned in this article, shall be indicated by a parallel of latitude to be drawn at the distance of one marine league south of the most southern point of the island called "Montague Island," as the same is laid down on the chart of "reconnaissance of the Colorado River" "by George H. Derby, lieutenant, United States Topographical Engineers, December, 1850"; which chart, attested by the signature of the Secretary of State of the United States and bearing the seal of the Department of State of the United States, for the greater certainty, is hereto annexed. The question was stated, Shall these words stand as a part of the article? Yeas And it was determined in the affirmative, Nays Those who voted in the affirmative are, 33 2 Messrs. Allen, Atchison, Badger, Bell, Brown, Butler, Chase, Clay, Dodge of Wisconsin, Dodge of Iowa, Evans, Everett, Fessenden, Fitzpatrick, Foot, Geyer, Gwin, Johnson, Jones of Iowa, Jones of Tennessee, Mason, Morton, Rusk, Shields, Slidell, Stuart, Sumner, Thompson of Kentucky, Toucey, Wade, Walker, Williams, Wright. Those who voted in the negative are, Messrs. Adams and Pettit. After debate, On motion by Mr. Stuart, The Senate adjourned. TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 1854. The following messages were received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Webster, his secretary: To the Senate of the United States: I nominate Donn Piatt, of Ohio, to be secretary of the legation of the United States near His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the French, in the place of Henry S. Sanford, resigned. FRANKLIN PIERCE. WASHINGTON, 4th April, 1854. To the Senate of the United States: I hereby nominate Benjamin L. Howell to be deputy postmaster at Aberdeen, county of Monroe, State of Mississippi, in place of Richard J. Cocke, resigned. EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, April 4, 1854. The messages were read. FRANKLIN PIERCE. Ordered, That the nomination of Donn Piatt be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. On motion by Mr. Adams, The Senate, by unanimous consent, proceeded to consider the nomination of Benjamin L. Howell; and Resolved, That the Senate advise and consent to this appointment, agreeably to the nomination. Mr. Mason, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred, the 3d instant, the message in relation to the expedition to Japan, reported that it was the opinion of the committee that the mes sage and accompanying documents should be printed in confidence for the use of the Senate. Whereupon Ordered, That the said message, with the accompanying documents, be printed in confidence for the use of the Senate. The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, resumed the consideration of the treaty between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic, concluded at the City of Mexico the 30th day of December, in the year of our Lord 1853; and After debate, Mr. Shields submitted the following amendment: To strike out from the first article the following words "To a point distant two marine leagues to the north of the most northern part of the Gulf of California; thence in succession a right line to the intersection of the 31st parallel of latitude north with 111° longitude west of Greenwich, whence another right line to the 31° 47′ 30′′ of north latitude, where the same will cross the boundary line descending the Rio Grande or Bravo del Norte, to the Gulf of Mexico, as defined in the 5th article of the treaty of Guadalupe. And it is agreed that should the line before described (from the intersection of the parallel 31° of latitude north with the meridian 1110 west of Greenwich to its crossing the Rio Grande in latitude 31° 47′ 30′′) traverse the Lake Gusman, said line shall be broken so as to form an angle at a point distant one marine league south of the most southern part of that lake: Provided, That "the most northern part of the Gulf of California," mentioned in this article, shall be indicated by a parallel of latitude, to be drawn at the distance of one marine league south of the most southern point of the island, called "Montague Island," as the same is laid down on the chart of "the reconnaissance of the Colorado River," "by George H. Derby, lieutenant United States Topographical Engineers, December, 1850," which chart, attested by the signature of the Secretary of State of the United States, and bearing the seal of the Department of State of the United States, for greater certainty is hereto annexed." and insert the following in lieu thereof: To the mouth of said river, and thence down the middle of the Gulf of California until it reaches a point in said gulf at the 31st parallel of north latitude, thence east along the 31st parallel of north latitude until it reaches the Rio Grande where that parallel of latitude strikes said river. |