consequence, not one of these individuals shall be molested or prosecuted, either in his person or his goods, on account of his past conduct, and every one of them, recovering the property which he possessed before, shall enjoy it peaceably under the protection of the laws, or shall be at liberty to dispose of it within the space of eighteen months, to transport himself, with his family, his goods, his furniture, &c. into any country which he may please to choose, without experiencing any vexations or impediments what ever. There shall be granted besides to the respective subjects of the two powers established in the territories restored to the Sublime Porte, or ceded to the imperial court of Russia, the same term of eighteen months, to commence from the exchange of the ratification of the present treaty of peace, to dispose, if they think proper, of their property, acquired either before or since the war, and to retire with their capital, their goods, furniture, &c. from the states of one of the contracting powers into those of the other, and reciprocally. Art. XIV. All prisoners of war, of whatever nation, condition, or sex they may be, which are in the two empires, must immediately, after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty of peace be set free, and restored without the least ransom or payment; with the exception of the Christians who, of their own free-will, have embraced the Mahomedan religion in the states of the Sublime Porte, or the Mahomedans who, also of their own free-will, have embraced the Christian religion in the territories of the Russian empire. The same conduct shall be adopted towards the Russian subjects, who, after the signature of the present treaty of peace, in any manner whatever, have fallen into captivity, and be found in the states of the Sublime Porte. The imperial court of Russia promises, on its part, to act in the same way towards the subjects of the Sublime Porte. No repayment shall be required for the sums which have been applied by the two high contracting parties to the support of prisoners. Each of them shall provide the prisoners with all that may be necessary for their journey as far as the frontiers, where they shall be exchanged by commissaries appointed on both sides. Art. XV.All the treaties, conventions, and stipulations, settled and concluded at different periods between the imperial court of Russia and the Ottoman Porte, with the exception of those which have been annulled by the present treaty of peace, are confirmed in all their force and effect, and the two high contracting parties engage to observe them religiously and inviolably. Art. XVI. The present treaty of peace shall be ratified by the two high contracting courts, and the exchange of the ratifications between the respective plenipotentiaries shall take place within the space of six weeks, or earlier, if possible. In faith of which, (Signed) Count ALEXIS ORLOFF, Count J. PAHLEN. In virtue, &c. (Signed) DIEBITSCH ZABALKANSKY. "SEPARATE ACT, (Relating to the Principalities of "The Hospodars are to administer the internal government of their provinces, with the assistance of their Divan, according to their own pleasure, but without permitting themselves any infraction of the rights guaranteed to the two countries by treaties or hattischerifs, nor shall their administration be disturbed by any command tending to the violation of those rights. "The Sublime Porte obliges it self conscientiously to keep watch that the privileges granted to Moldavia and Wallachia shall in no way be violated by the neighbouring governors, and that these shall in no way be allowed to interfere in the affairs of those two provinces; also to prevent the inhabitants of the right bank of the Danube from making excursions VOL. LXXI. upon the territory of Moldavia and Wallachia. All isles situated nearest to the left bank of the Danube are to be considered as part of the territory of those provinces, and to the point where it enters the Ottoman territory to the point of its confluence with the Pruth, the channel of the Danube is to form the boundaries of the two principalities. "To provide the more securely for the inviolability of the Moldavian and Wallachian territory, the Sublime Porte engages to retain no fortified point upon the left bank of the Danube, nor to permit any settlement there of its Mahometan subjects. It is accordingly irrevocably fixed, that no Mahometan shall ever be allowed to have his residence in Moldavia or Wallachia, and that only merchants provided with firmans shall be admitted, for the purpose of buying, on their own account, such articles as may be required for the consumption of Constantinople. "The Turkish cities situated on the left bank of the Danube are to be restored to Wallachia, to remain incorporated with that principality; and the fortifications previously existing on that bank are never to be repaired. Mahometans possessing landed property, either in those cities, or upon any point left of the Danube, provided they have not unfairly become possessed thereof (non usurpés sur des particuliers), shall be bound to sell such property to natives within eighteen months. "The government of the principalities being entitled to all the privileges of independence in their internal administration, it shall be lawful for the same to draw sanatory cordons, and to establish quarantine stations, along the line of 2 I nor the Danube, and wherever else it may be deemed necessary; shall any strangers, be they Christians or Mahometans, have a right to consider themselves above an exact compliance with such quaranține regulations. For the execution of the quarantine duty, the protection of the frontiers, the maintenance of order in the cities and in the open country, and for the purpose of obedience to their decrees, the government of each principality shall be permitted to maintain a sufficient military force. The numerical force of these troops is to be determined by the Hospodars and their respective Divans, upon the bases of former examples. "The Sublime Porte, animated by an earnest wish to secure to the two principalities every species of prosperity which they are capable of enjoying, and being aware of the abuses and oppression occasioned by the contributions for the supply of Constantinople, and the victualling of the fortresses of the Danube, renounces in the most complete and unconditional manner, its rights in this respect. Moldavia and Wallachia are accordingly for ever relieved of all those contributions of corn, provisions, cattle, and timber, which they were formerly bound to furnish. Nor shall, in any case, labourers be demanded from these provinces for any forced service (corvée). In order, however, in some degree to indemnify the grand seignorial treasury for the losses which may be sustained by this renunciation of rights, Moldavia and Wallachia are hound, independently of the yearly tribute paid under the denominations of Kadradsh Idiye, and Rakiabiye, by virtue of the hatti-scherif of 1822, to pay to the Sublime Porte yearly a pecu niary indemnity, the amount of which is hereafter to be determined. Moreover, upon every fresh nomi, nation of a Hospodar, in consequence of death, resignation, or deposition, the principality where that event occurs shall be bound to pay to the Sublime Porte a sum equal to the yearly tribute of the province. With the exception of these sums, no tribute or present of any kind shall, under any pretext whatever, be demanded from the Hospodars. "In consequence of the abolition of the above specified contributions, the inhabitants of the principalities are to enjoy an unlimited freedom of trade for all the productions of their soil and industry (as stipulated by the separate act of the treaty of Akermann) the same not to be liable to any other restraint except such as the Hospodars, with the consent of their Divans, may consider necessary for the due provisioning of the country; they shall be allowed to navigate the Danube with their own vessels, being provided with passports from their own government, and it shall be lawful for them to proceed for the purposes of trade to the other harbours and ports of the Sublime Porte, without suffering any persecution from the collectors of the Kharadsh, and without being exposed to any other act of oppression whatever. "Duly considering, moreover, all the burthens which it has been necessary for Moldavia and Wallachia to support, the Sublime Porte, animated by a proper feeling of humanity, consents to release the inhabitants from the yearly tribute, payable to the treasury, for the space of two years, to be reckoned from the day of the total evacuation of the principalities by the Russian troops. "Finally, the Sublime Porte, animated by the wish to secure in every possible way the future prosperity of the two principalities, binds itself to confirm every administrative measure which, during their occupation by the Russian army, may have been decreed, in conformity to a wish expressed in the assemblies of the principal inhabitants of the country, such decrees serving thenceforward as the basis of the internal administration of those provinces, provided always that such decrees do not in any way infringe upon the rights of sovereignty vested in the Sublime Porte. "On this account we, the undersigned plenipotentiaries of his majesty the emperor and padishah "Count ALEXIS ORLOFF. SPEECH of the PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES. "Fellow Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives. "It affords me pleasure to tender my friendly greetings to you on the occasion of your assembling at the seat of government, to enter upon the important duties to which you have been called by the voice of our countrymen. The task devolves on me, under a provision of the constitution, to present to you, as the Federal Legislature of twenty-four sovereign states, and 12,000,000 of happy people, a view of our affairs; and to propose such measures as, in the discharge of my official functions, have suggested themselves as necessary to promote the objects of our Union. "In communicating with you for the first time, it is to me a source of unfeigned satisfaction, calling for mutual gratulation and devout thanks to a benign Providence, that we are at peace with all mankind, and that our country exhibits the most cheering evidence of general welfare and progressive improvement. Turning our eyes to other nations, our great desire is to see our brethren of the human race secured in the blessings enjoyed by ourselves, and advancing in knowledge, in freedom, and in social happiness. "Our foreign relations, although in their general character pacific and friendly, present subjects of difference between us and other powers, of deep interest, as well to the country at large as to many of our citizens. To effect an adjustment of these shall continue to be the object of my earnest endeavours; and notwithstanding the difficulties of the task, I do not allow myself to apprehend unfavourable results. Blessed as our country is with every thing which constitutes national strength she is fully adequate to the maintenance of all her interests. In discharging the responsible trusts confided to the executive in this respect, it is my settled purpose to ask nothing that is not clearly right, and to submit to nothing that is wrong; and I flatter myself, that, supported by the other branches of the government, and by the intelligence and patriotism of the people, we shall be able, under the protection of Providence, to cause all our just rights to be respected. "Of the unsettled matters between the United States and other powers, the most prominent are those which have for years been the subject of negotiation with England, France, and Spain. The late periods at which our ministers to those governments left the United States render it impossible, at this early day, to inform you of what has been done on the subjects with which they have been respectively charged. Relying upon the justice of our views in relation to the points committed to negotiation, and the reciprocal good feeling which characterizes our intercourse with those nations, we have the best reason to hope for a satisfactory adjustment of existing differences. "With Great Britain, alike distinguished in peace and war, we may look forward to years of peaceful, honourable, and elevated competition. Every thing in the condition and history of the twonations is calculated to inspire sentiments of mutual respect, and to carry conviction to the minds of both, that it is their policy to preserve the most cordial relations. Such are my own views, and it is not to be doubted that such are also the prevailing sentiments of our constituents. Although neither time nor opportunity has been afforded for a full development of the policy which the present cabinet of Great Britain designs to pursue towards this country, I indulge the hope that it will be of a just and pacific character; and if this anticipation be realized, we may look with confidence to a speedy and acceptable adjustment of our affairs. Under the convention for regulating the reference to arbitration of the disputed points of boundary under the 5th article of the treaty of Ghent, the proceedings have hitherto been conducted in that spirit of candour and liberality which ought ever to characterize the acts of sovereign states, seeking to adjust, by the most unexceptionable means, important and delicate subjects of contention. The first statements of the parties have been exchanged, and the final replication on our part is in a course of preparation. This subject has received the attention demanded by its great and peculiar importance to a patriotic member of this confederacy. The exposition of our rights, already made, is such, as, from the high reputation of the commissioners by whom it has been prepared, we had a right to expect. Our interests at the court of the sovereign who has evinced his friendly disposition by assuming the delicate task of arbitration have been committed to a citizen of the state of Maine, whose character, talents, and intimate acquaintance with the subject, eminently |