James Buchanan: “A demand for these purposes will be made in a firm but conciliatory spirit.”

The dispatch of Mr. Dallas being in the original, its return to the Department of State is requested.

Before accepting this proposition I have thought it right to take the advice of the Senate.

The peace and order of the city itself and the security of the inauguration of the President elect, were objects of such vast importance to the whole country that I could not hesitate to adopt precautionary defensive measures.

The safety of the immense amount of public property in this city and that of the archives of the Government, in which all the States, and especially the new States in which the public lands are situated, have a deep interest.