tory measures, and of making an arbitrary ufe of his power as head of the empire, fince the laws renewed in the prefent war forbid the ftates to separate, on any occafion, from the general affociation, and any armament, under the title of an armed neutrality, during the continuance of a war of the enpire, and interdict them in the moft pofitive manner from arbitrarily renouncing obligations formerly impofed upon them for the common defence.

His Imperial majefty, in virtue of the facred duties impofed upon him by his high office as fupreme head of the empire, on the other hand, being called upon to defend the rights of the Germanic confti tution againit every ftep and every principle incompatible with their fafety, to preferve to the empire, and to every particular ftate, its immunities entire, and to guard them against the prejudices which may arife from thefe meatures, will be difpofed in the mean time to grant them his approbation, if they are confined to the legal defence of the countries, and if they do not depart from the principles, the forms, and the obligations, prefcribed by the laws and the conftitution.

Meffage of the Prefident of the United States of America to Congress, Fan. 4, 1796.

Gentlemen of the Senate, and of the House of Reprefen

tatives,

A LETTER from the minifter plenipotentiary of the French republic, received on the 22d of last month, covered an addrefs, dated the 2 ft of October, 1795, from the

committee of public fafety, to the reprefentatives of the United States in congrefs; and alfo informed me, that he was inftructed by the committee to prefent to the United States the colours of France; I therefore proposed to receive them laft Friday, the first day of the new year, a day of general joy and congratulation. On that day the minifter of the French republic delivered the colours, with an ad. drefs, to which I returned an anfwer.

By the latter the house will fee that I have informed the minifter, that the colours will be deposited with the archives of the United States. But it feemed to me proper to exhibit to the two houses of congrefs, thefe evidences of the continued friendship of the French republic, together with the fentiments expreffed by me on the occafion, in behalf of the United States. They are herewith communicated.

GEORGE WASHINGTON. United States, Jan. 4, 1796.

Anfever of General Washington to a

Rejolution paffed by the House of Reprefentatives which had for its Object to procure a Copy of the infiractions granted to Mr. Jay, relatie to the Treaty with Great Britain.

Gentlemen of the Houfe of Reprefentatives,

WITH the utmost attention I have confidered your refolution of the 24th inftant, requetting me to lay before your houfe a copy of the inftructions to the minifter of the United States, who negotiated the treaty with the King of Great Britain, together with the correfpondence and other documents

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relative to that treaty, excepting fuch of the faid papers as any exifling negotiaton may render improper to be difclofed.

In deliberating on this fubject, it was impoflible for me to lofe fight of the principle which fome have avowed in its difcuffion, or to avoid extending my views to the confequences which muft flow from the admiffion of that principle.

I trust that no part of my conduct has ever indicated a difpofition to withhold any information which the conftitution has enjoined upon. the prefident as a duty to give, or which could be required of him by either house of congrefs as a right; and with truth I affirm, that it has been, as it will continue to be while I have the honour to prefide in the government, my conftant endeavour to harmonize with the other branches thereof, fo far as the truft delegated to me by the people of the United States, and my fenfe of the obligation it impofes, to preferve, protect, and defend the conftitution,' will permit.

The nature of foreign negotiations requires caution; and their fucceffes must often depend on fecrecy, and even when brought to a conclufion, a full disclosure of all the measures, demands, or eventual conceffions which may have been propofed or contemplated, would be extremely impolitic; for this might have a pernicious influence on future negotiations, or produce immediate inconveniencies; perhaps danger and mifchief, in relation to other powers. The neceffity of fuch caution and fecrecy was one cogent

reafon for vefting the power of making treaties in the prefident, with the advice and confent of the fenate; the principle on which that body was formed confining it to a fmall number of members. To admit, then, a right in the house of reprefentatives to demand, and to have as a matter of course, all the papers refpecting a negotiation with a foreign power, would be to establish a dangerous precedent.

It does not occur that the infpection of the papers afked for can be relative to any purpose under cognizance of the houfe of reprefentatives, except that of an impeachment, which the refolution has not expreffed. I repeat that I have no difpofition to withhold any information which the duty of my ftation will permit, or the public good fhall require to be disclosed; and, in fact, all the papers affecting the negotiation with Great Britain were laid before the fenate, when the treaty itself was communicated for their confideration and advice.

The course which the debate has taken on the refolution of the house, leads to fome obfervations on the mode of making treaties under the conftitution of the United States.

Having been a member of the general convention, and knowing the principles on which the conftitution was formed, I have never entertained but one opinion on this fubject; and from the first establifhment of the government to this moment, my conduct has exemplified that opinion, that the power of making treaties is exclufively vefted in the prefident, by

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and with the advice of the fenate, provided two-thirds of the fenators prefent concur; and that every treaty fo made and promulgated, thenceforward becomes the law of the land. It is thus that the treaty-making power has been underflood by foreign nations; and in all treaties made with them we have declared, and they have believed, that when ratified by the prefident, with the advice and confent of the fenate, they became obligatory. In this conftruction of the conftitution, every houfe of reprefentatives has heretofore acquiefced; and until the prefent time, not a doubt or fufpicion has appeared to my knowledge, that this conftruction was not a true one. Nay, they have more than ac quiefced; for until now, without controverting the obligation of fuch treaties, they have made all the requifite provifions for carrying them into effect.

There is alfo reafon to believe that this conftruction agrees with the opinions entertained by the ftate conventions, when they were deliberating on the conftitution, efpecially by those who objected to it, because there was not required in commercial treaties the confent of two-thirds of the whole fenate, inftead of two-thirds of the fenators prefent; and becaufe in treaties refpecting territorial and certain other rights and claims, the concurrence of three-fourths of the whole number of the members of both houfes refpectively was not made neceflary.

ceffion. And it is well known' that under this influence the smaller ftates were admitted to an equal reprefentation in the fenate with the larger ftates, and that this branch of the government was invefted with great powers, for on the equal participation of those powers the fovereignty and politi cal fafety of the smaller states were deemed effentially to depend.

If other proofs than thefe, and the plain letter of the conftitution itself, be neceffary to afcertain the point under confideration, they may be found in the journals of the general convention, which I have depofited in the office of the department of state. In those journals it will appear that a propofition was made, that no treaty

fhould be binding on the United States which was not ratified by a law," and that the propofition was explicitly rejected.

As, therefore, it is perfectly clear to my understanding, that the affent of the house of represen tatives is not neceffary to the validity of a treaty, as a treaty with Great Britain exhibits in itself all the objects requiring legislative provifion, and on which these papers called for can throw no light; and as it is effential to the due adminiftration of the government, that the boundaries fixed by the conftitution between the different departments fhould be preferved— a juft regard to the conftitution, and to the duty of my office, under all the circumftances of this cafe forbid a compliance with your requeft.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

Addrefs

Addrefs of General Washington en bis retiring from the Office of Prefident of the United States of America.

TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED

STATES.

Friends and Fellow Citizens, THE period for a new election of a citizen to adminifter the executive government of the United States being not far diftant, and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be employed in defignating the perfon who is to be clothed with that important truft, it appears to me proper, efpecially as it may conduce to a more diftinct expreffion of the public voice, that I thould now apprife you of the refolution I have formed to decline being confidered among the number of thofe out of whom a choice is to be made.

I beg you, at the fame time, to do me the juftice to be affured, that this refolution has not been taken without a strict regard to all the confiderations appertaining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his country, and that, in withdrawing the tender of fervice, which filence in my fituation might imply, I am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your future intereft; no deficiency of grateful refpect for your patt kindnefs; but am fupported by a full conviction that the ftep is compatible with both.

The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in the office to which your fuffrages, have twice called me, have been an uniform facrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty, and to a deference for what appeared to be your defire. I contantly hoped that it would have been much earlier in my power,

confiftently with motives which I was not at liberty to difregard, to return to that retirement from which I had been reluctantly drawn. The ftrength of my inclination to do this, previous to my last election, had even led to the preparation of an addrefs to declare it to you; but mature reflection on the then perplexed and critical pofture of our affairs with foreign nations, and the unanimous advice of perfons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon the idea.

I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as well as internal, no longer renders the pufuit of inclination incompatible with the fentiment of duty or propriety; and am perfuaded, whatever partiality may be retained for my fervices, that in the present circumftances of our country, you will not disapprove my determination to retire.

The impreffions with which I firft undertook the arduous trust were explained on the proper occafion. In the difcharge of this truft I will only fay, that I have, with good intentions, contributed towards the organization and adminiftration of the government, the beft exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconfcious in the outfet of the inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps ftill more in the eyes of others, has ftrengthened the motives to diffidence of myfelf; and every day the increafing weight of years admonishes me more and more that the fhade of retirement is as neceffary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that if any circumfiances have given pec liar value to my fervices, they were temporary; I

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