Among the papers which accompany the treaty is a communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, containing a recommendation, concurred in by the Secretary of the Interior, that the treaty be ratified with an amendment which is therein explained.

FRANKLIN PIERCE.

WASHINGTON, January 19, 1857.

To the Senate and House of Representatives: 

Soon after the close of the last session of Congress I directed steps to be taken to carry into effect the joint resolution of August 28, 1856 relative to the restoration of the ship Resolute to Her Britannic Majesty’s service.  The ship was purchased of the salvors at the sum appropriated for the purchase, and “after being fully repaired and equipped” was sent to England under control of the Secretary of the Navy, The letter from Her Majesty’s minister for foreign affairs, now communicated to Congress in conformity with his request, and copies of correspondence from the files of the Departments of State and of the Navy, also transmitted herewith, will apprise you of the manner in which the joint resolution has been fully executed and show how agreeable the proceeding has been to Her Majesty’s Government.

FRANKLIN PIERCE.

WASHINGTON, January, 1857.

To the Senate and House of Representatives: 

I transmit to Congress copies of a communication from His Excellency Andrew Johnson, governor of the State of Tennessee, tendering to the Government of the United States “500 acres of the late residence of Andrew Jackson, deceased, including the mansion, tomb, and other improvements, known as the Hermitage,” upon the terms and conditions of an act of the legislature of said State, a copy of which is also herewith communicated.

FRANKLIN PIERCE.

WASHINGTON, January 20, 1857.

To the House of Representatives: 

In response to a resolution of January 5, 1857, requesting the President to inform the House of Representatives “by what authority a Government architect is employed and paid for designing and erecting all public buildings, and also for placing said buildings under the supervision of military engineers,” I submit the accompanying reports from the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of War.

FRANKLIN PIERCE.

WASHINGTON, January 21, 1857.

To the House of Representatives: 

In further compliance with resolution of the House of Representatives of the 22d ultimo, calling upon me for “statements of the amounts of money paid and liabilities incurred for the pay, support, and other expenses of persons called into the service of the United States in the Territory of Kansas, either under the designation of the militia of Kansas or of posses summoned by the civil officers in that Territory, since the date of its establishment; also statements of the amounts paid to marshals, sheriffs, and other deputies, and to witnesses and for other expenses in the arrest, detention, and trial of persons charged in said Territory with treason against the United States or with violations of the alleged laws of said Territory,” I transmit a report from the Secretary of the Treasury, with accompanying documents.