December 10, 1884
To the Senate and House of Representatives:
With reference to the recommendations on the subject in my recent annual message, I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State of the 9th instant, showing the necessity for immediate legislation for the purpose of bringing the statutes of the United States into conformity with the international regulations for preventing collisions at sea, which have now been adopted by all the leading maritime powers of the world except this country.
CHESTER A. ARTHUR
Chester A. Arthur, Special Message Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/204718