is estimated that the munitions of war belonging to the United States in this arsenal are worth half a million of dollars.

JAMES BUCHANAN. To Honorable Robert W. Barnwell, James H. Adams, James L. Orr. January 1st, 1861. The "Commissioners" replied at length, alleging, with reference to the President's declaration, that he could not withdraw the troops from Charleston harbor, that he had in conversation left a different impression upon their minds and the minds of others who had approached him on that subject, and generally reflecting upon the motives of the President. This paper, Mr. BUCHANAN "declined to receive." In the State Convention of South Carolina, December 19th, 1860, upon a proposition of Mr. MAGRATH to appoint a committee to consider the relations of the State to the forts, Mr. W. PORCHER MILES alluded to the interview between the President and the South Carolina representatives in Congress relative to the forts, and "expressed his solemn opinion that the President was not going to attempt to reinforce those forts." Subsequently Mr. MILES and Mr. KEITT made to the Convention a written statement sustaining the offensive allegations of the Commissioners as to the President's good faith to them. These papers are too long for insertion, and have but limited importance.

Further demand of South Carolina for Fort Sumter.

January 11th, 1861. F. W. Pickens, Governor of South Carolina, demanded of Major Anderson the surrender of Fort Sumter to the authorities of the State of South Carolina, to prevent a "waste of life." Same day Major Anderson replied, announcing his refusal, but suggesting that if at any time prior to a resort to arms, the Governor should deem fit to "refer this matter to Washington," he could with much pleasure depute one of his officers to accompany the Governor's messenger. Same day, Governor Pickens deputed Hon. Isaac W. Hayne, Attorney-General of the State, to proceed to Washington, end demand from the President the delivery of Fort Sumter to the constituted anthorities of South Carolina, adding:

"The demand I have made of Major An derson, and which I now make of you, is suggested because of my earnest desire to avoid the bloodshed which a persistence in

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In relation to the public property of the United States within Fort Sumter the Hon. I. W. HAYNE, who will hand you this communication, is authorized to give you the pledge of the State that the valuation of such property will be accounted for by this State, upon the adjustment of its relations with the United States, of which it was a part. "F. W. PICKENS.

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"To the President of the United States." Upon Colonel Hayne's arrival, ten U. S. Senators from States which have already seceded from the United States, or will have done so before the first of February next,"* requested that he should not present his demand until these States should have formed a Confederacy. Meanwhile, they offered to propose to the President, that Fort Sumter should not be reinforced in the meantime. To this Colonel Hayne consented, and the Senators proposed this arrangement, which the President declined through Hon. JOSEPH HOLT, Secretary of War, as follows:

To the Honorable Benjamin Fitzpatrick, War Department, January 22d, 1861. S. R. Mallory and John Slidell. GENTLEMEN: The President has received your communication of the 19th instant, with the copy of a correspondence between yourselves and others, "representing States which have already seceded from the United States, or will have done so before the first of February next," and Colonel Isaac W. Hayne, of South Carolina, in behalf of the Government of that State, in relation to Fort Sumter; and you ask the President "to take into consideration the subject of that correspondence." With this request he has complied, and has directed me to communicate his answer.

instant, you propose to him to defer the deIn your letter to Col. Hayne of the 15th livery of a message from the Governor of South Carolina to the President, with which he has been entrusted for a few days, or until the President and Col. Hayne shall have considered the suggestions which you submit. It is unnecessary to refer specially to these suggestions, because the letter addressed to you by Col. Hayne, of the 17th instant, presents a clear and specific answer to them. In this he says: "I am not clothed with power to make the arrangement you suggest; but provided you can

get assurances, with which you are entirely satisfied, that no reinforcements will be sent to Fort Sumter in the interval, and that the public peace will not be disturbed by any act of hostility towards South Carolina, I will refer your communication to the authorities of South Carolina, and, withholding the communication with which I am at present charged, will await further instructions." From the beginning of the present unhappy troubles, the President has endeavored to perform his Executive duties in such a manner as to preserve the peace of the country and to prevent bloodshed. This is still his fixed purpose. You, therefore, do him no more than justice in stating that you have assurances (from his public messages, I presume) that "notwithstanding the circumstances under which Major Anderson left Fort Moultrie and entered Fort Sumter with the forces under his command, it was not taken and is not held with any hostile or anfriendly purpose towards your State, but merely as property of the United States, which the President deems it his duty to protect and preserve," you have correctly stated what the President deems to be his duty. His whole object now is and has been, to act strictly on the defensive, and to authorize no movement against the people of South Carolina, unless clearly justified by a hostile movement on their part. He could not have given a better proof of his desire to prevent the effusion of blood than y forbearing to resort to the use of force inder the strong provocation of an attack happily without a fatal result) on an unarmed vessel bearing the flag of the United States.

I am happy to observe that, in your letter to Col. Hayne, you express the opinion that it is "especially due from South Carolina to our States, to say nothing of other slaveholding States, that she should, as far as she can consistently with her honor, avoid initiating hostilities between her and the United States, or any other Power." To initiate such hositilities against Fort Sumter would, beyond question, be an act of war against the United States.

In regard to the proposition of Col. Hayne,that no reinforcements will be sent to Fort Sumter in the interval, and that the public peace will not be disturbed by any act of hostility towards South Carolina," it is impossible for me to give you any such assurances. The President has no authority to enter into such an agreement or understanding. As an executive officer, he is simply bound to protect the public property, so far as this may be practicable; and it would be a manifest violation of his duty to place himself under engagements that he would not perform this duty either for an indefinite or a limited period. At the present moment, it is not deemed necessary to reinforce Major Anderson, because he makes no such request, and feels quite secure in his posi

tion. Should his safety, however, require reinforcements, every effort will be made to supply them.

In regard to an assurance from the President "that the public peace will not be disturbed by any act of hostility towards South Carolina,' the answer will readily occur to yourselves. To Congress, and to Congress alone, belongs the power to make war, and it would be an act of usurpation for the Executive to give any assurance that Congress would not exercise this power, however strongly it may be convinced that no such intention exists.

I am glad to be assured from the letter of Col. Hayne, that "Major Anderson and his command do now obtain all necessary supplies, including fresh meat and vegetables, and, I believe, fuel and water, from the city of Charleston, and do now enjoy cominunication, by post and special messenger, with the President, and will continue to do so. certainly until the door to negotiation has been closed." I trust that these facilities may still be afforded to Major Anderson. This is as it should be. Major Anderson is not menacing Charleston; and I am convinced that the happiest result which can be attained is, that he and the authorities of South Carolina shall remain on their present amicable footing, neither party being bound by any obligation whatever except the high Christian and moral duty to keep the peace and to avoid all causes of mutual irritation.

Very respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

J. HOLT, Secretary of War. January 31st, 1861. Col. Hayne, having received additional instructions from Governor Pickens, reciting the correspondence between the President and the ten Senators, and expressing his dissatisfaction with the terms of the latter's reply, demanded possession of Fort Sumter as the legal officer of the State, asserting its undoubted right of eminent domain."

February 6th. The President replied, through Secretary Holt, asserting the title of the United States to Fort Sumter as complete and incontrovertible, and declining the demand, as, “whatever may be the claim of South Carolina to this fort, he has no constitutional power to cede or surrender it." The closing paragraph of the President's reply is as follows:

If the announcement so repeatedly made of the President's pacific purpose in continuing the occupation of Fort Sumter until the question shall be settled by competent authority, has failed to impress the Government of South Carolina, the forbearing conduct of the Administration for the last few months should be received as conclusive evidence of his sincerity. And if this forbearance, in view of the circumstances which have so severely tried it, be not accepted as

ready for their armament, or that the guns were needed at either of said points.

It will be seen by the testimony of Captain Wright, of the Engineer department, that the fort at Galveston cannot be ready for its entire armament in less than about five years, nor for any part of it in less than two; and that the fort at Ship Island will require an appropriation of $85,000 and one year's time before it can be ready for any part of its armament. This last named fort has been taken possession of by the State authorities of Mississippi.

The order of the late Secretary of War (Floyd) was countermanded by the present Secretary (Holt) before it had been fully executed by the shipment of said guns from Pittsburg.*

It will be seen by a communication from the Ordnance office of the 21st of January last, that by the last returns there were remaining in the United States arsenals and armories the following small arms, viz: Percussion muskets and muskets altered to percussion of calibre 69, 499,554 Percussion rifles, calibre 54..... 42,011

Total.... 541,565 Of these 60,878 were deposited in the arsenals of South Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana, and are in the possession of the authorities of those States, reducing the number in possession of the United States to 450,687.

Since the date of said communication, the following additional forts and military posts have been taken possession of by parties acting under the authority of the States in which they are respectively situated, viz: Fort Moultrie, South Carolina. Fort Morgan, Alabama.

Baton Rouge Barracks, Louisiana.
Fort Jackson, Louisiana.

ties of Florida.

To what further extent the small arms in possession of the United States may have been reduced by these figures, your committee have not been advised.

The whole number of the sea-board forts in the United States is fifty-seven; their appropriate garrison in war would require 26,420 inen; their actual garrison at this

The attempted removal of these heavy guns from Allegheny Arsenal, late in December, 1860, created in tease excitement. A monster mass meeting assembled at the call of the Mayor of the city, and citizens of all

parties aided in the effort to prevent the shipment. Through the interposition of Hon. J. K. Moorhead, Hon. R. McKnight, Judge Shaler, Judge Wilkins, Judge Shannon, and others, inquiry was instituted, and a revocation of the order obtained. The Secessionists in Con

gress bitterly complained of the "mob law" which thus interfered with the routine of governmental affairs.

time is 1,334 men, 1,308 of whom are in the forts at Governor's Island, New York; Fort McHenry, Maryland; Fort Monroe, Virginia, and at Alcatraz Island, California, in the harbor of San Francisco.

From the facts elicited, it is certain that the regular military force of the United States is wholly inadequate to the protection of the forts, arsenals, dock-yards, and other property of the United States in the present disturbed condition of the country. The regular army numbers only 18,000 men when recruited to its maximum strength, and the whole of this force is required for the protection of the border settlements against Indian depredations. Unless it is the intention of Congress that the forts, arsenals, dock-yards, and other public property, shall be exposed to capture and spoliation, the President must be armed with additional force for their protection.

In the opinion of the Committee the law of February 28th, 1795, confers upon the President ample power to call out the militia to execute the laws and protect the public property. But as the late AttorneyGeneral has given a different opinion, the Committee, to remove all doubt upon the subject, report the accompanying bill, etc.

The arms were all flint-lock muskets altered to percussion, and were all sold at $2.50 each, except those purchased by Captam G. Barry and by the Phillips county volunteers, for which $2 each were paid.

The Mobile Advertiser says: “During the past year 135,430 muskets have been quietly transferred from the Northern arsenal at Springfield alone, to those in the Southern States. We are much obliged to Secretary Floyd for the foresight he has thus displayed in disarming the North and equipping the South for this emergency. There is no telling the quantity of arms and munitions which were sent South from other Northern arsenals. There is no doubt but that every man in the South who can carry a gun can now be supplied from private or public sources. The Springfield contribu tion alone would arn all the militiamen of Alabama and Mississippi."

General Scott, in his letter of December 2d, 1862, on the early history of the Rebellion, states that "Rhode Island, Delaware and Texas had not drawn, at the end of 1860, their annual quotas of arms for that year, and Massachusetts, Tennessee, and