In  leaving  the  care  of  other  branches  of  this  in-
teresting subject  to  the  State  authorities,  to  whom
they  properly  belong,  it  is  nevertheless  proper  for
Congress  to  take  such  measures  as  will  prevent  the
Post  Office  Department,  which  was  designed  to
foster  an  amicable  interoourse  and  correspondence
between  all  the  members  of  the  Confederacy,  from
being  used  as  an  instrument  of  an  opposite  charac-
ter. The  General  Government,  to  which  the  great-
est trust  is  confided,  of  preserving  inviokte  the
relations  created  among  the  States  by  the  consti-
tution, is  especially  bound  to  avoid,  in  its  own
action,  any  thing  that  mav  disturb  them.  I  would,
therefore,  call  the  special  attention  of  Congress  to
the  subject,  and  respectfully  suggest  the  propriety
of  passing  such  a  law  as  will  prohibit,  under  severe
penalties,  the  cireulation  in  the  Southern  States,
through  the  mail,  of  incendiary  publications  in-
tended to  instigate  the  slaves  to  insurrection.
I  felt  it  to  be  my  duty,  in  the  first  message  which


/


700


ABRIDGMENT  OF  THE


Senate.^


Death  of  Mr.  Snuih,


[Degexbsb,  1S33.
I  communicated  to  Congress,  to  urge  upon  its  at-
tention the  propriety  of  amending  wat  i>art  of  the
constitution  which  provides  for  the  election  of
President  and  Vice  President  of  the  United  States.
