This state of things has produced uniformity in the value of all the productions of the Farmers, and in the wages of the Mechanics of the country, thereby securing to all a fair relative reward for their exertions in whatever pursuit they may be engaged.

At the last session of Congress an act was passed by that body, having for its object, the final settlement of the northern boundary line of this State, a certified copy of which will be found among the documents accompanying this communication. By a provision of that act it becomes necessary for this State to give its assent to the settlement of the line in dispute in the manner therein proposed.

The act contemplates that one commissioner be appointed on the part of this State, and one commissioner on the part of the United States; that these commissioners shall appoint a third; that they shall employ a suitable surveyor; make survey of the disputed line, and make report to the offices of the Secretary of the United States, of the State of Missouri, and of the Territory of Iowa; and the line so ascertained, surveyed, marked out and returned as aforesaid by any two of said commissioners, shall be the northern boundary line of the State of Missouri.

As it is highly important that this question should be speedily and peaceably adjusted, I recommend that the Legislature pass an act, agreeing to the establishment of the line in the manner indicated by the act of Congress.

By this means there will be removed a difficulty which, at one time, occasioned serious collision between the people of this State and of the Territory of Iowa, and the adjustment of which, it is hoped, will tend to produce perpetual harmony and friendship, between the citizens of the two Governments, residing in the neighborhood of the line.

By an act of the Legislature of the State, approved on the eleventh day of February, 1841, entitled, "An act to survey and mark out the southern boundary line of this State," provision was made for the survey of that line by means of commissioners and a survey or, appointed jointly by them.

In accordance with the provisions of said act, the Hon. Daniel Dunklin, (ExGovernor of this State) was appointed a commissioner on the part of this State, and proceeded to the discharge of the duties imposed on him by law, in connection with the commissioners on the part of the State of Arkansas.

From all the information received, it is believed that nearly sixty miles of the line between the two States have been run, and the balance remains yet to be completed.

I regret to inform you, that on the twenty-fifth day of July last, Governor Dunklin departed this life at his residence in Jefferson county. In the death of this most estimable man, the State has lost one of its most valuable citizens, and one too, on whom, on various occasions, the people of the State have been pleased to bestow h gh offices of both honor and trust, the duties of which he discharged with great ability, and with the entire satisfaction of those whose interests were committed to his charge.

In consequence of his death, a vacancy was occasioned in the board of commissioners, and being desirous that the survey should be completed in time for the report to be laid before you, during your present session, I appointed George Penn, of Saline reunty, his successor. Upon his making application at the proper department for means to prosecute the survey, it was found that the amount which had been appropriated by law to defray the contingent expenses of the survey, was entirely insufficient, and that the amount which this State was authorised to advance for that purpose had been exhausted and that consequently the survey had been suspended awaiting another appropriation.

It is supposed that if the Legislature should take early action on this subject, that it is possible, that the survey might be completed and the necessary report made, before its adjournment. I therefore respectfully recommend an appropriation, at as early a period as practicable, of such an amount as the General Assembly may think sufficient to carry into effect the provisions of the act.

At the last session of the Legislature the late Hon. Lewis F. Linn, was clected to the United States Senate, for six years from and after the fourth day of March, 1843; but before Le entered on the discharge of the duties imposed on him, he was called to pay the debt of nature which we all owe. He died at his residence in Ste. Genevieve county, on the third day of October, 1843.

In the death of Doctor Linn, the State lost one among its highly valued public servants, and one too, who has been taken from us when he seemed to promise a continuation of his usefulness to the people who had repeatedly given evidence of their great confidence in his integrity and talents.

• In consequence of the death of Doctor Linn, a vacancy was occasioned in the representation of the State in the Senate of the United States, which was filled by the appointment of the Hon. David R. Atchison, by the late Executive of the State. This appointment expires on the meeting of the present Legislature, and it will be for you to fill the vacancy thus created.

In reference to our late distinguished Senator, and the late Ex-Governor of this State, the Hon. Daniel Dunklin, I take this occasion to express my hope that the General Assembly will, by its public action, express its sense of the fidelity with which they have discharged the various public duties which have been confided to them.

From the result of the late election in this State, it is now certain that it is the will and pleasure of a majority of the people, that a convention to amend, alter or make a new constitution, shall be held in November next. That the constitution, which will be presented by that convention to the people for their ratification may be such as to merit their approbation, and that it may prove highly beneficial to the best interests of the people of the State is most devoutly to be desired.

The amendments to the constitution of the State, which were submitted for the consideration of the people by the last Legislature, will be a subject that will claim your serious attention. By the provisions of one of the amendments proposed, all the Supreme and Circuit Judges of the State, retire from office on the first day of January next.

No doubt is entertained but that the great object, proposed to be attained in the adoption of these amendments, was to render the judiciary more immedi ately responsible to the people for the faithful discharge of their duties, and to elevate the character of the Bench by enabling the appointing power to bring into the service of the State, at different periods, the highest grade of legal ability. But as the meeting of the convention and the formation of a new constitu tion may be considered as certain, the question arises, whether or not, it would be advisable, that these amendments should now be ratified. The judicial department of the Government will be a grave subject for the consideration of that convention, and will, in all probability, undergo important modifications. The public mind has been kept excited on this subject by the press, and a reasonable expectation may be entertained, that the most important, as well as the most desired, feature of the new constitution will be that affecting the tenure of the judicial offices of the State.

In this event would it be advisable for the Legislature to ratify these amendments, when the probability exists that the same alterations, proposed by the amendments, will constitute a portion of the new constitution. The Judges who would be appointed under the contemplated change in the present constitution would hold their offices only until the adoption of the new constitution, and this brief intervening period would have the effect of keeping from the Bench those, who perhaps well qualified, would still be indisposed to resign their practice at the bar for the short and uncertain duration of their office.

At the last session of Congress a proposition was submitted to the House of Representatives, having for its object the election of the electors of President and Vice President of the United States, on the same day in all the States of the Union. Under the law of Congress as at present existing, it is believed that

many frauds are committed on this most important of our elections, by means of votes imported from neighboring States. In this manner the will of the peo ple of a particular State may be set aside by this unjustifiable operation of for-eign influence.

As a

This result could not be effected if this proposition had become a law. majority of the States have thought proper to hold their elections on one day, no good reason is known why it would not be gooi policy, on the part of the General Government to provide by law for holding the election of President and Vice President in all the States on the same day, and to this end it is respectfully recommended that our delegation in Congress be requested to use their best exertions to obtain the passage of a law to that effect.

In connection with the election of President and Vice President of the United States, it is submitted whether it would not be well to cause other State officers thar. Circuit Attorneys to be elected on the same day. It is certainly very desirable to obtain, at such an important election, a vote of the people as full as possible; and if certain State or county officers were to be chosen on the day of the Presidential election, would it not have a tendency to induce more persous to attend the polls?

At the last session of the Legislature, the subject of laying off the State into districts, for the purpose of electing the members of Congress to which this State was entitled, by single districts, occupied a considerable portion of the time and attention of the General Assembly, and it is confidently believed that a majority of the members of that session was in favor of this system of election by dis tricts. And if it had not been for the extraordinary legislation of Congress on this subject at the extra session of that body, in which they indirectly commanded the States to district themselves in order to elect their members to Congress, no doubt is entertained but that the State would have been districted by the last General Assembly.

Since the passage of that act, which was deemed invalid by the last General Assemply, two elections have been held in this State, for members of Congress, each of which was held under the law of this State by general ticket. The House of Representatives of the United States viewed the act of the previous Congress in the same light in which it was viewed by the General Assembly of this State, and our members to Congress were declared duly elected. This may be considered as settling the question, and no reasonable doubt can now be entertained but that the members to Congress, elected at the last August election, are entitled to their seats. Indeed, all parties in this State have acquiesced in the decision of the House of Representatives, by voting for members to the next Congress, which many of our citizens refused to do, previous to the adjustment of the question by the House of Representatives. Even if this decision. should be reversed by the next House of Representatives, of which there is little or no probability, it could not be made to have a retrospective effect, without violating every principle of law and justice.

But the time has come when an opportunity is again offered to the people of this State, through the Legislature, to act on this subject, and in as much as the command of Congress has been set aside, there is no reason why the present system of election should be continued, especially, as it is believed that there is a decided majority of the people of the State in favor of the district system of electing our members to Congress.

In 'view, therefore, of all the facts connected with this subject, I presume you will consider it to be your duty to lay off the State into five equal districts, as nearly as may be, for the purpose of electing, in future, our Representatives in Congress.

The subject of the annexation of the republic of Texas to the United States, has for some time excited a deep interest among the people of this State, and it is believed that an overwhelming majority desires to see that object accomplisheds

The State of Missouri is peculiarly interested in the successful result of this measure. If Texas be admitted into the Union, it becomes at once to us a border State, and our relations assume, in consequence, an intimate and friendly character. Our connection with it too, is rendered still more close, by its numbering among its inhabitants, many who were once the citizens of our State. In a commercial point of view, in the great and increasing market it would afford for the agricultural and mechanical products of our labor, and in the exchange of commodities that would result from this trade, it is highly desirable that Texas should become a part of our Union. If, on the other hand its admis sion into the confederacy should not take place, the consequence to us would be perilous, perhpas disastrous. The General Government has located on our borders, and those of Arkansas, immense hordes of Indians; whose warriors, at this time amount to nearly forty thousand, and in the limits of Texas they are computed to be about twenty thousand more.

In the event of a war with Texas, either as a principal or an ally, it would be an easy thing to precipitate on our territory a fearful number of these savages. A servile war too could easily be excited among us, and, when is added to these, the blockade of the mouth of the Mississippi, whereby all our products reach their destination, the evil would be intolerable. And as a field too, whereby an invasion of our soil, by a foreign enemy, could be rendered so easy, as to be used at discretion, the acquisition of Texas becomes to us a matter of the first

moment.

I have alluded to these points by which the question bears directly on our State, but in consequence of its general agitation throughout the Union. I have not thought proper to bring to your consideration the other bearings of this great question, on our relations as a confederacy.

As no doubt is entertained on the subject of the wishes and feelings of all our members in Congress in relation to this matter, and of their anxious desire to aid in the accomplishment of this great national object, in order therefore, that the wishes of the people in this State may be fully known and understood by the Congress of the United States, I would respectfully suggest that you memorialize Congress in favor of the annexation of Texas at a period as early as practi

cable.

Closely connected with this subject, is the subject of our title to the territory of Oregon. The possession of this country by the United States is not only important in a military and commercial point of view, but it assumes a more im portant aspect when it becomes necessary for us to assert our clear right to it against the pretended claim of the British Government. The studied policy of that Governiment, in availing itself of every possible pretext to extend its territory, whereby protection can be afforded to its great marine, and a market opened for its immense manufactures, is too well known to require explanation or comment here. Shall we tamely submit when our soil is invaded, and a military force planted on it, that will render its recovery, at a future day, a matter of great doubt, perhaps of impossibility.

We owe to ourselves, as a nation, to assert and maintain, at all hazards, the integrity of our territory, and we owe besides, to those who have planted their homes in this new region, that protection which they have the right to claim as American citizens on American soil. As many of our most valuable citizens have emigrated to that territory, it seems to me that an expression of the public feeling on this subject would come with peculiar propriety from the General Assembly of this State, and I cheerfully recommend this course to you.

At the last session of the Legislature an act was passed entitled "An act to provide for the sale of lands for the taxes." Under the operation of this law a very large amount of land has been offered for sale, and no inconsiderable quantity sold, and although the object, intended to be accomplished by this law, was of itself, perfectly just and right, yet it is believed that it has operated very unequally and even unjustly on innocent persons.

In many cases, persons have purchased tracts of land, believing that there title was perfect, and that there was no claim whatever on it, and the first notice they have had to the contrary, was the fact that their lands had been sold for taxes in arrear, by the sheriff of the county, and were now the property of another. This evil should be remedied as far as possible by the Legislature.

In the twenty-second section of said act, it is made the duty of the Register of Lands to give notice of the time and place of any sale to be made by the sheriff, under the provisions of this act, at least six weeks before such sale; said notice shall be once inserted in some newspaper printed in this State.

It is the general opinion that the above notice is entirely insufficient to give the necessary information to those interested. It is therefore recommended that the time of notice should be longer, that the publication should be made in at least two papers, and that two years should be allowed to every person whose lands may hereafter be sold under the provisions of this act, to redeem the same, and that publication should be made annually of the lands that have thus been sold, together with the name of the purchaser, and the amount required to re

deem them.

In the south-eastern part of the State, there is a tract of country known by the name of the "Great Swamp," which is subject to overflow a great part of the year. The whole of this inundated land is now in possession of the General Government, and will perhaps remain so forever, unless some means shall be devised, by which it can be drained. In its present condition, it is dealing out disease, sickness and death upon those who live on the lands contiguous. It does therefore appear to be but just that the General Government should unite with those who feel a deep interest in removing this nuisance from among them, and to this end I invite your attention to the subject, and respectfully recommend a memorial to Congress proposing the donation by the General Government of the whole, or such part of these lands, as may be proper, to the counties in which they are situated, upon condition that these counties will undertake to drain the lands thus donated. Such a measure would greatly increase the value of the adjacent public lands, facilitate the intercourse between the citizens of that region of the State, afford a fund whereby these swamps may be drained, and render healthy a country capable of supporting a dense population.

The last Legislature passed a memorial to Congress on the subject of providing for the defence of the western frontier of our State, by furnishing mounted dragoons as the most efficient force that could be employed against the Indians on our border. I congratulate you on the fact that, at the last session of Congress, an act was passed to remount the second regiment of dragoons, whose services will be the means of affording protection to those who live on our western line.

There has been repeated legislation on the subject of ascertaining the actual strength and condition of the militia of this State, in order that the Adjutant General night report the correct number to the proper authority of the General Government, and our State be thereby entitled to its full share of the public arms. It is believed that all the legislation, heretofore had on this subject, has most signally failed, and that great los has been sustained by the State annually, in consequence. The exposed situation of Missouri, liable to attack at any moment, from the Indians located on our frontier, renders it very important that Sone important measure be adopted that would enable the State to receive its full quota of arms.

In consequence of the imperfect organization of the militia at this time, no certain reliance can be placed on the reports made by the few officers now in commission. I suggest to the General Assembly the propriety of passing an act requiring the assessor of each county, when he is engaged in listing the taxable property, to write down the name of each person subject to militia duty in his county, and to report the number thus found, to the Brigadier General in whose brigade his county may be situated, and that the Briganiers General should con