CONGRESS. (TnE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.) 



201 



Stafford, mnl voluntary speakers. "The 

 in its Relation In tin- Churches" was 

 .l.ject of a paper by the |{cv. Dr. Arthur 

 ,,f Don-heMcr, Ma>s. ; "Sacerdotalism anil 

 i I'libi-lief." that of one l>y tin- Kcv. Dr. 

 Bnuiil, of Olicrlin. Ohio; and " Congrc- 

 ilisin and tin- Church Catholic." of OIK- by 

 \. l>r. Kairbairn, of Oxford. On the last 

 . "The Claims of Congregational 

 unities throughout the World on the Sym- 

 .ui<l Aid of the Congregational Churches 

 j-land and America" were ]irc.-ented l-y S. 

 :>-on, M. I).. of Kingston, Ontario, for Cana- 

 i i-. .lo-iali Mull ins, of Sydney, N. S. W., 

 ,-tralia; the Rev. W. Alann, of D'Urban, 

 for Africa: and the Kcv. Henry A. Stim- 

 st. Louis, for churches on the American 

 front HT and for the African missions. Pastor 

 . of Dordrecht, spoke in behalf of the Con- 

 lonalists of the Netherlands; the Rev. A. 

 ,rk. of Prague, for those of Bohemia; and 

 Mr. Deacon Holmes, of Montclair, N. J., repre- 

 . the American Missionary Association. 

 The Kev. R. Wardlaw Thompson spoke of the 

 method of dealing with communities that have 

 : out of heathenism, but have not yet ac- 

 quired a steadfast Christian moral sense and 

 purpose and power. Dr. N. G. Clark, Secretary 

 of toe American Board, introduced the subject 

 of "Congregationalism and the Great Commis- 

 sion." and was followed by representatives of the 

 missionary societies. A valedictory address was 

 delivered by the Rev. Dr. Joseph Parker. Pro- 

 vision was made for holding a second meeting of 

 the Council in the United States, for which 

 urpose the National Congregational Council of 

 Tinted States was requested to issue a call 

 s meeting in 1892, naming such year for the 

 ting as it might decide upon. Besides me- 

 morial excursions to Scrooby and Plymouth, 

 associated with the history of the Ameri- 

 can Pilgrims, the American delegates to the 

 Council, with some of the others, visited Leyden, 

 Holland, where a tablet erected to the memory 

 of the liev. John Robinson, pastor of the Church 

 the Pilgrims. was unveiled. The tablet, which 

 'f bronze, bears the following inscription: 

 'he May tli 'wer, 1620. In memory of Kev. John 

 ibinson, M. A.. pa-tor of the Englfsh church wor- 

 sliipiii:,' over airaiiist this spot, A. i>. luo'.i -IHL'".. whence 

 iit hi.- promjitiiii; went forth the Pilgrim Fathers to 

 N'-W KiiLfland in li'i-jn. Hurled under this house 

 of w'nrship. I .Mar. 1' ;_'. "it aet. XLIX years. In mc- 

 iiinria a-terna erit Justus. Erected by the National 

 ('iiiieil ..I' the Congregational Chun-lies oi "the I'nited 



i America. A. II. 1891. 



A presentation address committing the tablet 



to the rare of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners 



of Levden was made by the Rev. Charles Ray 



Palmer. The charge was accepted by the burgo- 



r in behalf of the commissioners, and i.n 



address was made by Prof. Kuenen, who called 



attention to the fact that Mr. Robinson had 



a member of the University of Lcyden. 



< ONUKKSS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

 The si (oi id .-rssion of the Fifty-first Congress 

 tx-u'an on Dec. 1, 1800. The animal message of 

 the President was sent in, and read as follow.- : 



' ill,'! 



Tlie reports Hi' the several executive department! 



which will he laid before Congress in the usual course 

 11 exhibit iu detail the operations of the Govern- 



ment fi.rtln- last fiscal year. Only the more impor- 



tllllt incident* and rentlltn. III!' I ehietU Mich H limy fM: 

 tlie tiilllidntiiili of the reeomiiiclidatloii!. I hhall nub- 

 mit, will he referred to in this iiiinuul HH-MU^C. 



The vast and iiiiTcaxitig busineau of the Govern- 

 ment ha* lieeii transacted by tin- i-c\eral department* 

 during the year with faithfulness, energy, and HIIC- 



Tlie Te\ elilles, amounting t'i abo\ e X (.'".IMMMMIO^ 



have been collected and disbursed without rcvealm/, 

 so far as I can ascertain, a Millie en.se of defaleatii'll 

 or embezzlement. An earnest etlnrt has tieeli made 

 t<> stimulate a HI-IIM- of retpOOtibUitj und imblie duty 

 in all olHcere and eni|.lo\ e- of ese'ry u'rade. and the 

 work done liy them has almont wholly e.>ea]M-d unfa- 

 voraMe criticism. I sjieak of HICM- matters with 

 freedom IM-CUUHO the cre<lit of this gmMl work is not 

 mine, Imt is shared hy the heads or the Bovernl de- 

 ]iartnient.s with tlie great body of faithful o'tieew and 

 employe's who serve under them. The closest scru- 

 tiny of ('oiii. r re>s is invited to all tlie methods of ad- 

 ministration and to every item of expenditure. 



The friendly relations* of our country with tlie na- 

 tions of Europe and of the East have been undis- 

 turbed, while the tics of good will und common inter- 

 est that bind us to the states of the Western Hemi- 

 sphere have been notably strengthened by tlie con- 

 ference held in this capital to consider im-a.-u 

 the general welfare. Pursuant to the invitation au- 

 thorized by Congress, the representatives of every 

 independent state of the American continent and of 

 Hayti met in conference in this capital in October, 

 1889, and continued in session until the I'.tth of last 

 April. This important convocation marks a most 

 interesting and influential epoch in the history of the 

 Western Hemisphere. It is noteworthy that Brazil, 

 invited while under an imperial form of government, 

 shared as a republic in the deliberations and results 

 of the conference. The recommendations of this con- 

 ference \yere all transmitted to Congress at tlie last 

 session. 



The International Marine Conference, which sat at 

 Washington last winter, reached a very gratifying re- 

 sults. The regulations suirj-'cstcd have been Imiutrht 

 to the attention of all the governments represented, 

 and their general adoption is confidently expected. 

 The legislation of Congress at the last session is in 

 conformity with tlie projiositions of the conference, 

 and the proclamation therein provided for will be 

 iu<-d when the other j>owcrs nave given notice i>f 

 their adhesion. 



The conference of Brussels, to devise means for 

 suppressing the slave trade in Africa, afforded an op- 

 portunity For a new expression of the interest the 

 American people feel in that irreat work. It soon 

 became evident that the measure propOMd would tax 

 the resources of the Congo Basin beyond the reve- 

 nues available under the general act of Merlin of 1>-M. 

 The United States, not heinir a party to that act, 

 could not share in its revision. Init by a separate act 

 the independent state of the ('<>ni.'o was freed from 

 the restrictions upon a customs revenue. Thedemor- 

 aliziiu.' and destructive traffic in ardent spirits among 

 the tribes also claimed the earnest attention of the 

 c.nit'crence, and the delegates of the 1'nited States 

 were foremost in advocating measures for its repres- 

 sion. An accord was reached, the influence of which 

 will be very helpful and extend over a wide re-rioii. 

 m as 'these metsiires shall receive the sanction 

 of the Netherlands, for a time withheld, the general 

 acts will be submitted for ratification by the Senate. 

 Meanwhile IH-Lrotiations have been ojn-lled tor a new 



and complete treaty of friendship, coinincrve, and 

 naviiration between 'the I'nited States and the inde- 

 pendent State of the Coniro. 



Toward the end of the past year the only Independ- 

 ent monarchical government on the western conti- 

 nent, that of Brazil, cca.-cd ti. exist, and was MI. 

 by a republic. Diplomatic relations were at once es- 

 tablished with the new Government, but it was not 

 completely recognized until an OpporHmitJ had been 

 afforded to ascertain that it had ]K>{>ulr approval and 



