A COMPILATION
OF THE
MESSAGES AND PAPERS
OF THE
PRESIDENTS


By JAMES D. RICHARDSON

A Representative from the State of Tennessee



VOLUME VIII

1897




Prefatory Note

This volume comprises the Garfield-Arthur term of four years and the
first term of Cleveland. The period covered is from March 4, 1881, to
March 4, 1889. The death of President Garfield at the hand of an
assassin early in his Administration created a vacancy in the office of
the Chief Executive, and for the fourth time in our history the
Vice-President succeeded to that office. The intense excitement
throughout the land brought about by the tragic death of the President,
and the succession of the Vice-President, caused no dangerous strain