Waiving the question as to the constitutional validity of the
proceedings of Congress upon the joint resolution proposing the
amendment or as to the merits of the article which it submits through
the executive department to the legislatures of the States, I deem it
proper to observe that the steps taken by the Secretary of State, as
detailed in the accompanying report, are to be considered as purely
ministerial, and in no sense whatever committing the Executive to an
approval or a recommendation of the amendment to the State legislatures
or to the people. On the contrary, a proper appreciation of the letter
and spirit of the Constitution, as well as of the interests of national
order, harmony, and union, and a due deference for an enlightened public
judgment may at this time well suggest a doubt whether any amendment to
the Constitution ought to be proposed by Congress and pressed upon the
legislatures of the several States for final decision until after the
admission of such loyal Senators and Representatives of the now
unrepresented States as have been or as may hereafter be chosen in
conformity with the Constitution and laws of the United States.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 22, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

In further answer to recent resolutions of the Senate and House of
Representatives, requesting information in regard to the employment of
European troops in Mexico, I transmit to Congress a copy of a dispatch
of the 4th of this month addressed to the Secretary of State by the
minister of the United States at Paris.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, _June 22, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
18th instant, calling for information in regard to the arrest and
imprisonment in Ireland of American citizens, I transmit herewith
a report from the Secretary of State on the subject.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON CITY, _June 23, 1866_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of the Interior,
communicating in part the information requested by a resolution of the
House of Representatives of the 23d of April last, in relation to
appropriations and expenditures connected with the Indian service.

ANDREW JOHNSON.

WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 28, 1866_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the