United States for which punishment is provided by law, will be rigorously prosecuted therefor, and, upon conviction and sentence to punishment, will not be entitled to expect or receive the clemency of the Executive to save them from the consequences of their guilt; and I enjoin upon every officer of this Government, civil or military or naval, to use all efforts in his power to arrest fortriakand punishment every such offender against the laws providing for the performance of our sacred obligations to friendly Powers.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 12th

day of October, in the year of our r 1 ^ord 1870, and of the Independnce

*- '-' of the United States of America the

ninety-fifth.

U/S. Grant. By the President:

Hamilton Fish,

Secretary of State.

Commanding dispersion of Armed Men in

South Ouroltaa, March *2-A, ibU.

Whereas, it is provided in the Constitution of the United States that the United States shall protect every State, in this Union, on ap plication of the Legislature Or of the Executive, (when the Legislature cannot be convened,) against domestic violence: and

Whereas it is provided in the laws of the United States that in all cases of insurrection in any State, or of obstruction to the laws thereof, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, on application of the Legislature of such State, or of the Executive, (when the Legislature cannot be convened,) to call forth the militia of any other State or States, or to employ such part of the land and naval force as shall be judged necessary for the purpose of suppressing such insurrection, Or of causing the laws to be duly executed; and

Whereas I have received information that combinations of armed men, unauthorized by law, are now disturbing the peace and safety of the citizens of the Scateof South Carolina, and committing acts of violence in said State of a character and to an extent which render the power of the State and its'officers unequal to the task of protecting life and property, and securing public order therein ; and

Whereas the Legislature of said State is not now in session and cannot be convened in time to meet the present emergency, and the Executive of said State has therefore made application to me for such p'art of the military force or the United States as may be necessary and adequate to protect said State and the citizens thereof against the domestic violence hereinbefore mentioned, and to en-force the due execution of the laws; and

Whereas the laws of the United States require that, whenever it may be necessary, in the judgment of the President, to use the military force for the purpose aforesaid, he

shall forthwith, by proclamation, command such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably-to their respective abodes within a limited ti me:

Now, therefore, T, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United Stares, do hereby command the persons composing the unlawful combinations aforesaid to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within twenty days from this date.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 24th day of March, in the year of our Lord [seal.] 1871, and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-fifth.

U. S. Grant. By.the President:

Hamilton Fish,

Secretary of Stale.

Tne act of Congress, entitled "An act to enforce the provisions of tire f mrteemh amendment to the Constitution of the Uni'ed States, and for other purposes," approved April 20, A. D'. 1871, being a law of extraordinary public importance, 1 consider it my duty taissue this myiprociamation calling the attention of the people of the United States thereto; enjoining upon all good citizens, and especially upon all public officers, to be zealous in the enforcement thereof, and warning all persons to abstain Irorn committing any of itie acts thereby prohibited.

This law of Congress applies to all parts of the United States, and wiil be enforced everywhere, to the extent of the powers vested in the Executive. But inasmuch as the necessity therefor is well known to have been caused chiefly by persistent violations of the ri-.rhts of citizens of the United States by combinations of lawless and disaffected persons in certain localities lately the theater of insurrection and military conflict, 1 do particularly exhort the people of those parts of the country to suppress all such combinations by their own voluntary efforts through the agency of local laws, and to maintain the rights of all citizens of the United States, and to secure to ail such. citizens the equal protection or the laws.

Fully sensible of the responsibility imposed upon the Executive by the act of Congress to which public attention is now called", and reluctant to call into exercise any of the extraordinary powers thereby conferred upon me, except in cases of imperative necessity. I do, nevertheless, deem ix my duty to make known that 1 will not hesitate to exhaust the powers thus vested in the Executive, whenever and wherever it shall -become necessary to do so for the purpose of securing to all ci izens of the United States the peaceful enjoyment of ! the rights guarantied to them by the Constitu| tion and laws. I It'is my earnest wish that peace and elieerful obedience to law may prevail throughout the land, and that all traces of our late unhappy civil strife may be speedily removed. These ends can be easily reached by acquiescence in the results of the conflict, now written in our Constitution, and by the due and proper enforcement of equal, just, and impartial laws in every part of our country.

The failure of local communities to furnish such means for the attainment of results so earnestly desired imposes upon the national Government the duty of putting forth all its energies for the protection of its citizens of every race and color, and for the restoration of peace and order throughout the entire country.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of May, in the year of our Lord 1871, [seal.] and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-fifth.

U. S. Grant.

By the President:

Hamilton Fish,

Secretary of State.

Commanding the Dispersion of Persons Composing unlawful Combinations and

Conspiracies in certain Counties in the State of South Carolina, October 1% 1871.

Whereas unlawful combinations and conspiracies have long existed and do still exist in the State of South Carolina, for the pur- j pose of depriving certain portions and classes of the people of that State of the rights, privileges, immunities, and protection named in the Constitution of the United States, and secured by the act of Congress approved April 20, 1871, entitled "An act to enforce the provisions of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States;"

And whereas in certain parts of said State, to wit, in the counties of Spartansburg, York, Marion, Chester, Laurens, Newberry, Fairfield, Lancaster, and Chesterfield, such combinations and conspiracies do so obstruct and hinder the execution of the laws of said State and of the United States as to deprive the people aforesaid of the rights, privileges, immunities, and protection aforesaid, and do oppose and obstruct the laws of the United States and their due execution, and impede and obstruct the due course of justice under the same;

And whereas the constituted authorities of said State are unable to protect the people aforesaid in such rights within the said counties;

And whereas the combinations and conspiracies aforesaid, within the counties aforesaid, are organized and armed, and are so numerous and powerful as to be able to defy the constituted authorities of said State and of the United States within the said State, and by reason of said causes the conviction of such offenders a::3 the preservation of the public

peace and safety have become impracticable in said counties:

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of America, do hereby command all persons composing the unlawful combinations and conspiracies aforesaid to disperse and to retire peaceably to their homes within live days of the date hereof, and to deliver, either to the marshal of the United States for the district of South Carolina, or to any of his deputies, or to any military officer of the United States within said counties, all arms, ammunition, uniforms* disguises, and other means and implements, used, kept, possessed, or controlled, by them, for carrying out the unlawful purposes for which the combinations and conspiracies are organized.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 12th day of October, in the year of our Lord 1871, and of the Independence of the United States of America the ninety-sixth.

U. S. Grant, By the President:

Hamilton Fish,

Secretary of State.

Suspending the writ- of Habeas Corpus in certain counties in tae State of South Carolina, October 17,1871.

Whereas by an act of Congress entitled "An act to enforce the provisions of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes," approved the 20th day of April, anno Domini 1871, power is given to the President of the United States, wiien, in his judgment, the public safety shall require it, to suspend the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus in any State or part of a State whenever combinations and conspiracies exist in such State or part of a State, for the purpose of depriving any portion or class of the people of such State of the rights, privileges, immunities, and protection named in the Constitution of the United States, and secured by the act of Congress aforesaid; and whenever such combinations and conspiracies do so obstruct and hinder the execution of the laws of any such State, and of the United States, as to deprive the people aforesaid of the rights, privileges, immunities, and protection aforesaid, and do oppose and obstruct the laws of the United States in their due execution, and impede and obstruct the due course of justice under the same; and whenever such combinations shall be organized and armed, and so numerous and powerful as to be able by violence either to overthrow or set at defiance the constituted authorities of said State and of the United States within such State; and whenever, by reason of said causes, the conviction of such offenders, and the preservation of the public peace shall become in such State or part of a State impracticable;

And whereas such unlawful combinations and conspiracies for the purposes aforesaid are declared by the act of Congress aforesaid to be rebellion against the Government of.the United States;

And whereas by said act of Congress it is provided that before the President shall suspend the privileges of the writ pf habeas corpus he shall first have made .proclamation commanding such insurgents to disperse;

And whereas on the 12th day of the present month of October, the President of the United States did issue his proclamation, reciting therein, among other things, that such combinations and conspiracies did then exist in the counties' of Spartansburg, York, Marion, Chester, Laurens, Newberry, Fairfield, Lancaster, and Chesterfield, in the §tate of South Carolina, and commanding thereby all persons composing such unlawful combinations and conspiracies to disperse and retire peaceably to their homes within five days from the date thereof, and to deliver either to the marshal of the United States for the district of South Carolina, or to any of his; deputies, or to any 'military officer of the United States within said counties, all arms, ammunition, uniforms, disguises, and other means and implements, used, kept, possessed, or controlled by them for carrying out the unlawful purposes for which the said combinations and conspiracies are organized;

And whereas the insurgents engaged in such unlawful combinations and conspiracies within the counties aforesaid have not dispersed and retired peaceably to their respective homesj and have not delivered to the marshal of the United States, or to any of his deputies, or to any military officer of the United States within said counties, all arms^; ammunition, uniforms, disguises, and other means and implements used, kept, possessed, or controlled by them, for carrying out the unlawful purposes for which the combinations and conspiracies are organized, as commanded by said proclamation, but do still persist in the unlawful combinations and conspiracies aforesaid:

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution of the United States and the act of Congress aforesaid, do hereby declare that, in my* judgment, the public safety especially requires that the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus be suspended, to the end that such rebellion may be overthrown, and do hereby suspend the privileges of the writ.of habeas corpus within the counties of Spartans'burg, York, Marion, Chester, Laurens, ,;Newberry,, Fairfield, Lancaster* and Chesterfield, irisajd State of South Carolina, in respect to all,persons arrested by the marshal of the United States for the said district-of South Carolina,, or by any of,his deputies, or by any military officer'of the United States, or by'.any, soldier or citizen acting under the orders of said marshal, deputy, or such military; officer within any one- of said counties, charged; rwith any violation of the act: of Congress aforesaid during the continuance of such rebellion;. > In witness whereof I have hereunto pet my

hand,.and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 17th

day ipf October, in the year of our

[seal,] Lord, 1871, and of the Independence

of the United States of America the

ninety-sixth.

U. S. Grant. By the President:

J. C. Bancroft Davis,

Acting Secretary, of State.

Revoking the Suspension, of Habeas Corpus as^to Marion County, State of Soutli Carolina, November 8, 1871.

Whereas, in my proclamation of the 12th day of October, in the year 3,871, it was recited thaj& certain unlawful combinations and conspiracies existed in certain counties inthe State of South Carolina for the purpose of depriving certain portions and ciasses of the people of that-State of the rights,, privileges, and immunities and protection; named in the Constitution of the United States, and secured by the act of Congress, approved April the 20th, 1871, entitled "An act to enforce the. provisions of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States," and the persons composing such combinations and conspiracies were commanded to disperse and to retire peaceably to their homes within five days from said date;

And whereas by my proclamation of the 17th day of October, in the year 1871, the privileges of,the writ of habeas corpus were suspended in the counties named in said proclamation; . :.

•And whereas the county of Marion was named in. said proclamations as one of the counties in which said unlawful combinations and conspiracies for the purposes aforesaid existed, and in which the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus were suspended;

And whereas it has been ascertained that in said county of Marion said combinations and conspiracies do not exist to the extent recited in said proclamations;

And whereas it has been ascertained that unlawful combinations and conspiracies of the character and to the extent and for the purposes described in said proclamations do exist in the county of Union in said Slate:

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of America, d@ hereby revoke, as to the said county of Marion, the, suspension of the privileges of the writ of habeas, corpus directed in my said proclamation of the 17th day of October, 1871.

And 1 do hereby, command ^11 persons in the said county of Uniqn, composing the..unlawful cpmbinations and, conspiracies aforesaid, to disperse and .to retire peaceably to their homes:within five days of the date hereof and ,to deliver either to the marshaUof the Unjted States for the district of South Carolina, or to any of his deputies, or to any miliitary officer of the United States within said county, all arms, ammunition, uniforms, disguises, and other means and implements used, kept, possessed, or controlled by, them for carrying out the unlawful purposes for which the combinations and conspiracies are organized.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set ray hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day

of November, in the year of our

Lord, 1871, and of the Independence

[seal.] of the United States of America the

ninety-sixth.

U. S. Grant. . By the President:

Hamilton Fish,

Secretary of State.

Suspending the writ of Habeas Corpus in the county of Union, State of South Carolina, November 10,-1871.

Whereas by an act of Congress, entitled "An act to enforce the provisions of the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes," approved the 20th day of April, A. D. 1871, power is given to the President of the United States, when, in his judgment, the public safety shall, require it, to suspend the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus in any State or part of a State, whenever combinations and conspiracies exist in such State or part of a State for the purpose of depriving any portion or class of the people of such State of the rights, privileges, immunities, and protection named in the Constitution of the United States, and secured by the act of Congress aforesaid; and whenever such combinations and conspiracies do so obstruct and hinder the execution of the laws of any such State, and of the United States, as to deprive the people aforesaid of the rights, privileges, immunities, and protection aforesaid, and do oppose and obstruct the laws of the United States and their due execution, and impede and obstrucUhe due course of justice under the same; and whenever such combinations shall be organized and armed, and so numerous and powerful as to be able by violence either to overthrow or to set at defiance the constituted authorities of said State and of the United States within such State ; and whenever, by reason of said causes, the conviction of such offenders and the preservation of the public peace shall become in such State or part of a State impracticable;

fnd whereas such unlawful combinations conspiracies for the purposes aforesaid are declared by the act of Congress aforesaid to;be rebellion against the Government of the United States;

(And whereas, by said act of Congress, it is provided that, before the President shall .suspend the privileges of the writ of, habeas corpus, he shall first have made proclamation commanding such insurgents to disperse;

And whereas.;on the 3d,,dayr of the present month of November the President of the United States did issue his proclam.ati on,reciting, therein, among other things, that such combinations and conspiracies did then exist in the county. of Union, in the State of South Carolina, and

commanding thereby all persons composing such unlawful combinations and conspiracies to disperse and retire peaceably to their homes within five days from the date thereof, and to deliver either to the marshal of the United States for the district of South Carolina, or to any of his deputies, or to any military officer of the United States within said county, all arms, ammunition, uniforms, disguises, and other means and implements used, kept, ]30ssessed, or controlled by them for carrying out the unlawful purposes for which the said combinations and conspiracies are organized;

And whereas the insurgents engaged in such unlawful combinations and conspiracies within the county aforesaid have not dispersed and retired peaceably to their respective homes, and have not delivered to the marshal of the United States, or to any of his deputies, or to any military officer of the United States within said county, all arms, ammunition, uniforms, disguises, and other means and implements used, kept, possessed, or controlled by them for carrying out the unlawful purposes for which the combinations and conspiracies are organized, as commanded by said proclamation, but do still persist in the unlawful combinations and conspiracies aforesaid: . Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution of the United States and the act of Congress aforesaid, do hereby declare that, in my judgment, the public safety especially requires that the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus be suspended, to the end that such rebellion may be overthrown, and do hereby suspend the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus within the county of Union in said State of South Carolina, in respect to all persons arrested by the marshal of the United States for the said district of South Carolina, or by any of his deputies, or by any militpa-y officer of the United States, or by any soldier or citizen acting under the orders of said marshal, deputy, or such military officer within said county, charged with any violation of the act of Congress aforesaid, during the continuance of such rebellion.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 10th

day of November, in the year of our

r -j Lord 1871, and of the independence

L ' '-I of the United States of America the

ninety-sixth.

U. S. Grant. By the President:

Hamilton Fish,

Secretary of State.

Discontinuing'Discriminating Duties on.

Merchandise, • Imported in to t lie United.

States in Spanish. Vessels, December .19,

1871,

Whereas satisfactory information has been received by me through Don Mauricio Lopez Roberts, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of His Majesty the king of Spain, that the Government of that country has abolished discriminating duties heretofore imposed on merchandise imported from all other countries, excepting the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico, into Spain and the adjacent islands, in vessels of the United States, said abolition to take effect from and after the 1st day of January next:

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by an act of Congress of the 7th day of January, 1824, and by an act in addition thereto, of the 24th day of May, 1828, do hereby declare and proclaim that on an<l after the said 1st day of January next, so long as merchandise imported from any other country, excepting the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico, into the ports of Spain

[For his First Annual Message, see McPherson's History of Reconstruction, pages 533540.]

President Grant's Second Annual Message.

December 5, 1870. To the Senate and House of Representatives:

A year *of peace and general prosperity to this nation has passed since the last assembling of Congress. We have, through a kind Providence, been blessed with abundant crops. and have been spared from complications and war with foreign nations. In our midst com parative harmony has been restored. It is to be regretted, however, that a free exercise of the elective franchise has, by violence and intimidation, been denied to citizens in except tional cases in several of the States lately in rebellion, and the verdict of the people has thereby been reversed. The States of Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas have been restored to representation in our national councils, Georgia, the only State now without representation, may confidently be expected to take her place there also at the beginning of the new year; and then, let us hope, will be completed the work of reconstruction. With an acquiescence on the part of the whole people in the national obligation to pay the public debt, created as the price of our Union; the pensions to our disabled soldiers and sailors, and their widows and orphans; and in the changes to the Constitution which have been .made necessary by a great rebellion, there is no reason why we should not advance in material prosperity and happiness, as no other nation ever did, after so protracted and devastating a war. * * * *

It is not understood that the condition of the insurrection in Cuba has materially changed since the close of the last session of Congress. In an early stage of the contest the authorities of Spain inaugurated a system of arbitrary arrests, of close confinenreut, and of military trial and execution of persons suspected of complicity with the insurgents, and of summary embargo of their properties, and sequestration of their revenues by executive warrant. Such proceedings, so far as they affected the persons or property of citizens of the United States, were in violation of the provisions of the treaty of 1795 between the United States and Spain. Representations of injuries resulting to several persons claiming to be citizens of the United States, by reason of such violations, were made to the Spanish Government. From April 1869 to June last the Spanish minister at Washington had been clothed with a limited power to aid in redressing such wrongs. That power was found to be withdrawn, "in view," as it was said, "of the favorable situation in which the island df Cuba" then " was;" which, however, did not lead to a revocation or suspension of the extraordinary and arbitrary functions exercised by the executive power in Cuba, and we were obliged to make our complaints at Madrid. In the negotiations thus opened, and stilt pending there, the United States only claimed that, for the future, the rights secured to their citizens by treaty should be respected in Cuba, and that, as to the past, a joint tribunal should be established in the United States, with full jurisdiction over all such claims. Before such an impartial tribunal each claimant would be required to prove his case. On the other hand, Spain would be at liberty to traverse