Special Message

To the Senate of the United States:

I herewith transmit to the Senate reports of the several heads of Departments, to whom were referred the resolutions of the Senate of the 9th instant, "requesting the President of the United States to furnish to the Senate copies of all correspondence between any of the Executive Departments and General Persifor F. Smith and Brigadier-General B. Riley, or either of them, relative to affairs in California, which had not been communicated to the Senate; and also all information existing in any of the Executive Departments respecting the transactions of the convention in California by which the project of a State government was prepared, and particularly a copy of the journals of said convention and of such of the ordinances adopted by it as may in any way have been communicated to any of the said Departments; and likewise to inform the Senate if the surrender of General Riley to the jurisdiction and civil authority of the government made by the aforesaid convention was by order of the Executive of the United States, and, if not, whether the proclamation of General Riley recognizing the said State government and submitting to its jurisdiction has received the sanction of the Executive; and also that he furnish to the Senate whatever intelligence may have been received in the executive department respecting the condition of civil affairs in the Oregon Territory."

The reports, with the official correspondence accompanying them, it is believed, embrace all the information in the Departments called for by the resolutions.

Z. TAYLOR.