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SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized forthwith to complete all the public armed vessels now authorized by law, and to purchase or charter, arm, equip, and man, such merchant vessels and steam-boats as, upon examination, may be found fit, or easily converted into armed vessels fit for the public service, and in such number as he may deem necessary for the protection of the seaboard, lake coast, and the general defence of the country.

No. 99. Treaty with Great Britain

June 15, 1846

So much of the northern boundary of the United States as lay between the Lake of the Woods and the Rocky Mountains had been fixed by the Ashburton treaty of 1842; west of the mountains, however, the boundary was still undetermined. By virtue of the discovery of the Mississippi, France had claimed all the region west of that river as far as the Pacific; and this claim, of doubtful value at best, had passed to the United States upon the purchase of Louisiana in 1803. The region known as Oregon was also claimed by the United States, on the ground of Gray's discovery of the Columbia River in 1791. Oregon was also claimed by Great Britain; but by a convention of Oct. 20, 1818, the two countries agreed to a joint occupancy of the country for ten years, without prejudice to the rights of either party. By the treaty of 1819 between the United States and Spain, the latter accepted the 42d parallel as the northern limit of its possessions on the Pacific coast; while by treaties of 1824 with the United States, and of 1825 with Great Britain, the southern limit of the Russian possessions was fixed at 54° 40′. The “Oregon country," therefore, was the region between 42° and 54° 40′, and west of the Rocky Mountains. The convention of 1818 was continued indefinitely Aug. 6, 1827, but made terminable by either party after Oct. 20, 1828, on twelve months' notice. In the presidential campaign of 1844 the Democratic platform demanded "the re-occupation of Oregon, and the re-annexation of Texas, at the earliest practicable pericd," the intention being, of course, to use Oregon as a political offset to Texas. A bill to organize a territorial government for Oregon, with the line of 54° 40′ as the northern limit, passed the House Feb. 3, 1845, but the Senate refused to consider it because slavery was to be prohibited in the proposed territory. A joint resolution of April 27, 1846, authorized the President, at his discretion, to give the required notice of withdrawal from the agreement of 1827 with Great Britain. The matter in dispute was finally settled by the treaty of June 15, 1846, although, owing to

the disagreement of the commissioners under the treaty, a portion of the water boundary remained undetermined until 1871.

REFERENCES. -Text in U. S. Stat. at Large, IX., 869-870. The message of the President transmitting the treaty and correspondence, together with the proceedings of the Senate, are in Senate Doc. 489, 29th Cong., 1st Sess., and Cong. Globe, Appendix, 1168-1178; see also Senate Doc. 1, pp. 138-192, and Senate Doc. 117.

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ARTICLE I.

From the point on the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, where the boundary laid down in existing treaties and conventions between the United States and Great Britain terminates, the line of boundary between the territories of the United States and those of her Britannic Majesty shall be continued westward along the said forty-ninth parallel of north latitude to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island, and thence southerly through the middle of the said channel, and of Fuca's Straits, to the Pacific Ocean: Provided, however, That the navigation of the whole of the said channel and straits, south of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, remain free and open to both parties.

ARTICLE II.

From the point at which the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude shall be found to intersect the great northern branch of the Columbia River, the navigation of the said branch shall be free and open to the Hudson's Bay Company, and to all British subjects trading with the same, to the point where the said branch meets the main stream of the Columbia, and thence down the said main stream to the ocean, with free access into and through the said river or rivers, it being understood that all the usual portages along the line thus described shall, in like manner, be free and open. In navigating the said river or rivers, British subjects, with their goods and produce, shall be treated on the same footing as citizens of the United States; it being, however, always understood that nothing in this article shall be construed as preventing, or intended to prevent, the government of the United States from making any regulations respecting the navigation of the said river or rivers not inconsistent with the present treaty.

ARTICLE III.

In the future appropriation of the territory south of the fortyninth parallel of north latitude, as provided in the first article of this treaty, the possessory rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, and of all British subjects who may be already in the occupation of land or other property lawfully acquired within the said territory, shall be respected.

ARTICLE IV.

The farms, lands, and other property of every description, belonging to the Puget's Sound Agricultural Company, on the north side of the Columbia River, shall be confirmed to the said company. In case, however, the situation of those farms and lands should be considered by the United States to be of public and political importance, and the United States government should signify a desire to obtain possession of the whole, or of any part thereof, the property so required shall be transferred to the said government, at a proper valuation, to be agreed upon between the parties.

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No. 100. Independent Treasury Act

August 6, 1846

THE passage of the act of July 4, 1840, "to provide for the collection, safe keeping, transfer, and disbursement of the public revenue," seemed to mark the final success of the so-called independent treasury plan, which had been several times urged by the President, and twice rejected by the House in the twenty-fifth Congress. The success of the Whigs, however, in the election of 1840, was followed, Aug. 13, 1841, by the repeal of the act; while the veto of two successive bank bills by President Tyler, in the same year, led to the immediate resignation of the members of the Cabinet, with the exception of Webster, and to a formal repudiation of Tyler by the Whigs. From 1841 to 1846 the custody of the public funds devolved upon the Treasury Department without special regulation by law. December 19, 1845, a bill embodying the general features of the independent treasury act of 1840 was reported in the House. The bill was taken up March 30, and passed April 2 by a vote of 123 1 Signed: "James Buchanan, Richard Pakenham." - ED.

to 67. It was not reported in the Senate until June 8, and was not further considered until July 29; Aug. 1 the bill passed the Senate, the vote being 28 to 25. The amendments of the Senate were agreed to by the House Aug. 5, and on the 6th the act was approved.

REFERENCES. Text in U. S. Stat. at Large, IX., 59-66. For the proceedings, see the House and Senate Journals, 29th Cong., 1st Sess.; for the debates, see the Cong. Globe, or Benton's Abridgment, XV. The act of 1840 is in U. S. Stat. at Large, V., 385-392. On the treatment of the public money after 1841, see House Exec. Doc. 123, 27th Cong., 2d Sess. Webster's speech of Aug. 1, 1846, is in his Works (ed. 1857), V., 244-252. For Clay's speeches on the various sub-treasury plans, see his Life and Speeches (ed. 1844), II., 279-303, 310-349, 384-405, 432-436; for his speech on Tyler's bank vetoes, ib., II., 485-507. See also Kinley's Independent Treasury, chap. 2.

An Act to provide for the better Organization of the Treasury, and for the Collection, Safe-Keeping, Transfer, and Disbursement of the public Revenue.

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Be it enacted. That the rooms prepared and provided in the new treasury building at the seat of government for the use of the treasurer of the United States, his assistants, and clerks, and occupied by them, and also the fireproof vaults and safes erected in said rooms for the keeping of the public moneys in the possession and under the immediate control of said treasurer, and such other apartments as are provided for in this act as places of deposit of the public money, are hereby constituted and declared to be the treasury of the United States. And all moneys paid into the same shall be subject to the draft of the treasurer, drawn agreeably to appropriations made by law.

[Sections 2-4 provide that the mint at Philadelphia, the branch mint at New Orleans, and the places provided for at New York, Boston, Charleston, and St. Louis, under the act of July 4, 1840, for the use of receivers-general of public money, shall be places of deposit.]

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the President shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate appoint, four officers to be denominated "assistant treasurers of the United States," which said officers shall hold their respective offices for the term of four years, unless sooner removed therefrom; one of which shall be located at the city of New York ... ; one . . . at the city of Boston . . . ; one at the

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SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the treasurer of the United States, the treasurer of the mint of the United States, the treasurers, and those acting as such, of the various branch mints, all collectors of the customs, all surveyors of the customs acting also as collectors, all assistant treasurers, all receivers of public moneys at the several land offices, all postmasters, and all public officers of whatsoever character, be, and they are hereby, required to keep safely, without loaning, using, depositing in banks, or exchanging for other funds than as allowed by this act, all the public money collected by them, or otherwise at any time placed in their possession and custody, till the same is ordered, by the proper department or officer of the government, to be transferred or paid out; and when such orders for transfer or payment are received, faithfully and promptly to make the same as directed, and to do and perform all other duties as fiscal agents of the government which may be imposed by this or any other acts of Congress, or by any regulation of the treasury department made in conformity to law; and also to do and perform all acts and duties required by law, or by direction of any of the Executive departments of the government, as agents for paying pensions, or for making any other disbursements which either of the heads of these departments may be required by law to make, and which are of a character to be made by the depositaries hereby constituted, consistently with the other official duties imposed upon them.

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SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That all collectors and receivers of public money, of every character and description, within the District of Columbia, shall, as frequently as they may be directed by the Secretary of the Treasury, or the PostmasterGeneral so to do, pay over to the treasurer of the United States, at the treasury, all public moneys collected by them, or in their hands; that all such collectors and receivers of public moneys within the cities of Philadelphia and New Orleans shall, upon the same direction, pay over to the treasurers of the mints in their respective cities, at the said mints, all public moneys collected by them, or in their hands; and that all such collectors and receivers of public moneys within the cities of New York, Boston, Charleston, and St. Louis, shall, upon the same direction, pay over to the assistant treasurers in their respective cities, at their offices, re

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