During the period I have administered the executive department of the Government great and important questions of public policy, foreign and domestic, have arisen, upon which it was my duty to act.  It may, indeed, be truly said that my Administration has fallen upon eventful times.  I have felt most sensibly the weight of the high responsibilities devolved upon me.  With no other object than the public good, the enduring fame, and permanent prosperity of my country, I have pursued the convictions of my own best judgment.  The impartial arbitrament of enlightened public opinion, present and future, will determine how far the public policy I have maintained and the measures I have from time to time recommended may have tended to advance or retard the public prosperity at home and to elevate or depress the estimate of our national character abroad.

Invoking the blessings of the Almighty upon your deliberations at your present important session, my ardent hope is that in a spirit of harmony and concord you may be guided to wise results, and such as may redound to the happiness, the honor, and the glory of our beloved country.

JAMES K. POLK.

SPECIAL MESSAGES.

WASHINGTON, December 12, 1848.

To the Senate of the United States: 

I nominate Second Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant (since promoted first lieutenant), of the Fourth Regiment of Infantry, to be first lieutenant by brevet for gallant and meritorious services in the battle of Chapultepec, September 13, 1847, as proposed in the accompanying communication from the Secretary of War.

JAMES K. POLK.

WAR DEPARTMENT, December 11, 1848.

The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

SIR:  The brevet of captain conferred on Second Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant (since promoted first lieutenant), of the Fourth Regiment of Infantry, and confirmed by the Senate on the 13th of July, 1848, “for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battle of Chapultepec, September 13, 1847,” being the result of a misapprehension as to the grade held by that officer on the 13th of September, 1847 (he being then a second lieutenant), I have to propose that the brevet of captain be canceled and that the brevet of first lieutenant “for gallant and meritorious services in the battle of Chapultepec, September 13, 1847,” be conferred in lieu thereof.

I am, sir, with great respect, your obedient servant,

W.L.  MARCY.

WASHINGTON, December 12, 1848.

To the Senate of the United States: 

I transmit herewith, for the consideration and advice of the Senate with regard to its ratification, a treaty concluded on the 6th of August, 1848, by L.E.  Powell, on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and headmen of the confederated bands of the Pawnee Indians, together with a report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and other papers explanatory of the same.