32D CONG.....2D SESS. and illustrated and printed, and bound in a style worthy of the subject and of the nation. It would doubtless be attended with a large expense, but it could readily be paid out of the patent fund without encroaching on the national Treasury, and I can conceive of no purpose to which that fund could be applied which would be more acceptable to inventors, and in all respects so appropriate, as in perpetuating and diffusing the knowledge of their labors, and presenting to the public a full description of the existing condition of the mechanic arts and the kindred branches of science in our country. The report of Mr. Stansbury on the London Industrial Exhibition of 1851, to which allusion was made in my last annual report, has been delayed by causes beyond his control. It will be ready to be laid before Congress in the course of a few weeks, and will doubtless be a valuable and interesting document. MEXICAN BOUNDARY. The latest advices from the Commissioner contain the gratifying intelligence that the survey of the river Gila, from its confluence with the Colorado to the point where it strikes the western boundary of New Mexico, has been completed. Much progress has also been made in the survey of the Rio Grande. When last heard from the parties under the immediate command of Major Emory had finished the work, from the point agreed on by the Commissioners as the beginning point on the river, to Eagle Pass; and it is presumed that by this time the survey has been completed at least two thirds of the distance down the course of the river. I am not aware that any further progress has been made in the survey of those portions of the line which lie between the Rio Grande and the Gila, and which constitute the southern and western boundaries of New Mexico. A party had been organized, however, for that purpose; and it is possible that it may have been employed in that service before the Commissioner was advised of the action of Congress on the subject at its last session, and ordered to discontinue his operations. If such should prove to be the fact, I will avail myself of the earliest opportunity to communicate to you all that has been done, to enable you to lay it before Congress. Report of the Secretary of the Interior. the United States and Mexico, under the treaty of Guadalupe After mature deliberation, I came to the con- A copy of that report and indorsement are appended to this communication. On the 15th October I addressed a letter to the Commissioner, inclosing a copy of the report and of your indorsement, and informing him that it would not be proper for him to make any further drafts upon the Department, as the available funds had been exhausted. But as I knew that large amounts of provisions had been sent to Presidio del Norte, Eagle Pass, and Fort Brown opposite Matamoros, for the use of the surveying parties along the course of the Rio Grande, and as the Commissioner and Major Emory were in possession of funds raised upon drafts previously drawn upon the Department, I left it to their discretion whether it would be best to disband the Commission at once, or to continue their operations on the river as long as the means at their disposal would enable them to maintain their respective parties in the field. On this point it was impossible for the Department to form at satisfactory opinion with the limited information in its possession. But, as there could be no controversy in relation to that part of the line, I considered it very desirable not to arrest the survey of it. Peremptory instructions were, however, given to the Commissioner to discontinue all further operations on the southern and western lines of New Mexico, which constitute the disputed portion of the boundary, until further action should be taken by Congress. A copy of that letter also accompanies this report. SENATE & HO. OF REPS. ments shall each appoint a Commissioner and a Surveyor, who, before the expiration of one year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty, shall meet at the port of San Diego, and proceed to run and mark the said boundary in its whole course to the mouth of the Rio Bravo del Norte. They shall keep journals and make out plans of their operations, and the result agreed upon by them shall be deemed a part of this treaty, and shall have the same force as if it were inserted therein. The two Governments will amicably agree regarding what may be necessary to these persons, and also as to their respective escorts, should such be necessary. The boundary line established by this article shall be religiously respected by each of the two Republics, and no change shall ever be made therein, except by the express and free consent of both nations, lawfully given by the General Government of each, in conformity with its own Constitution." In pursuance of these stipulations, after having completed the survey of the line from the Pacific coast to the junction of the Gila and the Colorado rivers, the Joint Commission reassembled at El Paso in December, 1850. So far as this Department is advised, the southern boundary of New Mexico was, at the date of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, a mere imaginary geographical line, which had never been surveyed or marked under the authority of the Mexi can Government. The point where this line strikes the Rio Grande had never been designated with precision, and it could therefore be ascertained only by determining its relative position to other points which were known and determined. Much prehensions were at one time entertained whether controversy arose on this subject, and serious apthe Commissioners could come to any satisfactory agreement. Finally, however, they agreed that it should be established in latitude north 320 22', and on the 24th of April, 1851, the Commissioners, and other persons attached to the Commission, assembled on the ground, and it was publicly proclaimed that that should be the initial point of boundary on the Rio Grande, and a monument was erected to mark the spot. A written convention to that effect was also drawn up and signed by the two Commissioners and by the Surveyor on the part of Mexico, and by Lieutenant A. W. Whipple, the Acting Surveyor on the part of the United States. At the date of this convention, Mr. A. B. Gray, who had been appointed Surveyor on behalf of the United States, had not arrived at El Paso, and, to avoid awaiting his arrival, it was agreed by the two Comthe delay and inconvenience that would ensue from missioners that Lieutenant Whipple, who was the Acting Surveyor, should officiate in his place. When Mr. Gray joined the Commissioners, about. the 19th of July, 1851, he was requested by Com the line thence, westward, which constitutes the As there has been some misunderstanding in regard to the course of the Department on the subBefore proceeding to present more in detail theject of the initial point on the Rio Grande, and views of the Department in reference to the various questions arising out of the survey of the boundary, I feel it to be due alike to myself and the public to correct an inaccuracy which accidentally occurred in my last report, in regard to the latitude of certain points referred to, which was occasioned by an error of the clerk who was requested to fill two blanks in the original draft of the report. But, although the error was too palpable to mislead any one, and susceptible of ready correction by reference to the map, I avail myself of the earliest opportunity to put the matter right upon the record. The mistake occurs in the following paragraph: "Difficulties also existed in regard to the point where the Rio Grande strikes the southern line of New Mexico. By the map it appears to be at latitude 31° 45', whereas the true position is latitude 32° 22′," The facts of the case are as follows: The southern line of New Mexico is laid down on the map of Disturnell, as nearly as can be ascertained by measurement, in latitude north 320 22', and the town of El Paso appears, by similar measurement, to be in latitude north 320 15', and longitude 270 35' west of Washington. This would make the line, according to the map, about seven minutes (or seven geographical miles) north of El Paso, or a fraction of a minute north of 320 22', as agreed on by the Commissioners. By actual observation, however, it was ascertained that El Paso is erroneously placed on the map, both in respect to latitude and longitude; its true position being in latitude north 310 45', or a fraction more than half a degree south of its position as marked by Disturnell, and in longitude 290 40', instead of 270 35' west of Washington, or two degrees and five minutes west of its position according to the map. The law of the last session of Congress, making the appropriation for the continuation of the survey, is in the following words: "For running and marking the boundary line between "The boundary line between the two Republics shall commence in the Gulf of Mexico, three leagues from land, opposite the mouth of the Rio Grande, otherwise called the Rio Bravo del Norte, or opposite the mouth of its deepest branch, if it should have more than one branch, emptying directly into the sea; from thence up the middle of that river, following the deepest channel, where it has more than one, to the point where it strikes the southern boundary of New Mexico; thence westwardly, along the whole southern boundary of New Mexico (which runs north of the town called Paso) to its western termination; thence northward along the western line of New Mexico, until it intersects the first branch of the river Gila; (or, if it should not intersect any branch of that river, then to the point on the said line nearest to such branch, and thence in a direct line to the same;) thenee down the middle of the said branch and of the said river, until it empties into the Rio Colorado; thence across the Rio Colorado, following the division line between Upper and Lower California, to the Pacific ocean. "The southern and western limits of New Mexico mentioned in this article are those laid down in the map entitled Map of the United Mexican States, as organized and defined by various acts of the Congress of said Republic, and con'structed according to the best authorities, revised edition, 'published at New York in 1847, by J. Disturnell;' of which map a copy is added to this treaty, bearing the signatures and seals of the undersigned plenipotentiaries; and, in order to preclude all difficulty in tracing upon the ground the limit separating Upper from Lower California, it is agreed that the said limit shall consist of a straight line drawn from the middle of the Rio Gila, where it unites with the Colorado, to a point on the coast of the Pacific ocean distant one marine league due south of the southernmost point of the port of San Diego, according to the plan of said port made in the year 1782, by Don Juan Pantoga, second sailing master of the Spanish fleet, and published at Madrid in the year 1802, in the atlas to the voyage of the schooners Sutil and Mexicana, of which plan a copy is hereunto added, signed and sealed by the respective plenipotentiaries. "In order to designate the boundary line with due pre cision upon authoritative maps, and to establish upon the attach his signature to the convention, so as to remove all possible objection which might be raised to the agreement, on the ground that it had not been authenticated in exact conformity with the words of the treaty. Mr. Gray, however, refused to sign the agreement, and that fact was communicated to this Department by a dispatch from the Commissioner. As I foresaw that any difficulty which might arise on this point would necessarily affect our relations with Mexico, I felt it to be my duty to bring the subject to the attention of the late Secretary of State, (Mr. Webster,) and to ask his advice as to what course it was proper for me to pursue. We examined the provisions of the treaty together, and concurred in the opinion that the Commissioners alone were empowered to decide upon all disputes which might arise in regard to the boundary, and that the Surveyors were mere ministerial agents to carry into effect the decisions of the Commissioners, and to authenticate them by their signatures. We regarded the relative functions of the Commissioners and Surveyors as bearing a strong analogy to the duties of a commissioner and surveyor appointed under an order of court, to make partition of a tract of land between two joint owners. It is the province of the commissioner to decide where the dividing line shall run, and of the surveyor to run and mark. it in conformity with his decision. The signatures of both, however, are very properly required to authenticate the report, and to show that it correctly sets forth the action of both. In conformity with this view of the subject, the Secretary of State advised me to request Mr. Gray to sign the agreement fixing the initial 32D Cong.....2d Sess. point, and a letter to that effect was accordingly addressed by me to Mr. Gray, on the 31st day of October, 1851. As the object of this letter seems to have been misunderstood by many persons whose opinions are entitled to respect, I deem the present a suitable occasion to remove all doubts on the subject. In my judgment, neither the Department of the Interior, nor the Executive, nor Congress, have any power to regulate or control the action of the officers designated by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to perform the duty of ascertaining and marking on the surface of the earth the line between the two countries. These officers derive their authority from the treaty itself, which is the joint act of the two contracting parties, and not from their respective Governments. Their functions are those of arbitrators, and their decision is in the nature of an award, which neither party can set aside; and accordingly by the terms of the treaty, it is expressly stipulated that "the result agreed on by them shall be deemed a part of this treaty, and shall have the same force as if it were inserted therein." In view of this clear and distinct provision, for the observance of which the national faith has been solemnly pledged, the Department of the Interior has not claimed or exercised any right to interfere with the action of the Commissioners. It has expressed no official opinion as to the correctness or incorrectness of the point agreed upon by the Commissioners as to the beginning point on the Rio Grande of the southern line of New Mexico; and if I had been satisfied that their decision was clearly erroneous, I did not conceive that it was competent for me to alter or modify, in any particular, what had been done by them. With the distinct declaration of the treaty before me, that "the result agreed upon by them shall be deemed a part of this treaty, and shall have the same force as if it were inserted therein," it would have been strange if I had asserted any such right. But it has been contended that the letter to Mr. Gray necessarily involves such a pretension. I certainly had no such purpose in writing that letter; on the contrary, my object was clearly to intimate to Mr. Gray that he had neither coequal powers with the Commissioners, nor supervisory control over their action, and that, although his signature might be necessary for the formal authentication of the convention between the two Commissioners, it was not essential to its validity, in like manner as the signature of the clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States may be necessary to a formal certificate of a judgment of the court to an inferior tribunal; and yet the absence of that signature does not in anywise affect the validity of the judgment itself. The objection to the action of the Department proceeds upon the idea that the Commission contemplated by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo consisted of four members, viz: two Commissioners and two Surveyors, all possessing equal powIf such be the true construction of the treaty, then I acknowledge I have, in common with the late Secretary of State and his predecessor, (Mr. Buchanan,) misunderstood its provisions. ers. It will be recollected that the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which was proclaimed on the 4th day of July, 1848, was negotiated and concluded under instructions issued by Mr. Buchanan. The Commission to run and mark the boundary line was organized under his immediate supervision, by the appointment of Mr. Weller as Commissioner, and Mr. Gray as Surveyor. That Mr. Buchanan did not regard the Surveyor as possessing equal powers with the Commissioner, or as being an associate Commissioner, is obvious from the fact that all his instructions as to the mode of performing that duty were addressed to the Commissioner alone, and not to the Commissioner and Surveyor jointly. The language of the instructions tends also strongly to repel such a presumption. In his letter to the Commissioner, under date of February 13, 1849, he says: "As you will be held responsible for the able and faithful execution of the important trust confided to you by this article of the treaty, the President deems it proper to leave to you the organization of the Commission." Again he says, in the same letter: "In organizing the Commission, you are referred for any Report of the Secretary of the Interior. information which you may deem necessary to Andrew B. Gray, Esq., who has been appointed Surveyor." After the transfer of this service from the State Department to the Department of the Interior, my predecessor, Mr. Ewing, following the interpretation which had been given to the treaty by the Department of State, directed all his instructions to the Commissioner alone, and not to the Commissioner and Surveyor jointly; and I have continued to pursue the same course. The records of the Department contain nothing to show that while Mr. Weller held the office of Commissioner there was any claim set up by the Surveyor to be an associate Commissioner, or to have power to revise and annul the official acts of the Commissioner by withholding his signature from the record of them. The records show that the Surveyors did not participate in the deliberations of the Joint Commission. They performed none of the functions of commissioners, and gave no votes upon any controverted questions. The Commissioners alone decided upon every question involving the exercise of judgment, and the Surveyors were the operative agents to run and mark the line, in conformity with the principles established by the Commissioners. The Surveyors did not even attend the sessions of the Commission, except when their presence was required to give information to the Commissioners, or to authenticate the necessary records, as required by the treaty. In confirmation of this view of the relative duties of the Commissioner and Surveyor, it is proper to remark that the clause in the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which provides for a Commission to run and mark the dividing line between the two countries is a literal transcript, except as to names, of the convention for marking the boundary be tween the United States and Texas, concluded on the 25th of April, 1838. The provisions of that treaty are as follows: "Art. 1. Each of the contracting parties shall appoint a Commissioner and Surveyor, who shall meet before the termination of twelve months from the exchange of the ratifications of this convention at New Orleans, and proceed to run and mark that portion of the said boundary which extends from the mouth of the Sabine, where that river enters the Gulf of Mexico, to the Red river. They shall make out plans and keep journals of their proceedings, and the result agreed upon by them shall be considered as part of this convention, and shall have the same force as if it were inserted therein. "The two Governments will amicably agree respecting the necessary articles to be furnished to those persons, and also as to their respective escorts, should sucli be deemed necessary." Under this convention John H. Overton was appointed Commissioner, and John K. Conway Surveyor on the part of the United States; and Memucan Hunt Commissioner, and G. W. Smyth (and subsequently Andrew B. Gray) Surveyor on the part of Texas. The following extracts from the instructions given by Mr. Forsyth, then Secretary of State of the United States, to "John H. Overton, Esq., Commissioner for marking the boundary line between Texas and the United States," will show what the Department then understood to be the nature and extent of the powers of the Commissioner and Surveyor: "Upon yourself, jointly with the Texan Commissioner, will devolve the duties of conducting the proceedings of the Commission, of instructing the Surveyors on both sides as to their actual operations in the field, and of assigning to the clerks the duties properly appertaining to their offices. If any question should arise from conflicting views between yourself and the Texan Commissioner, the duty will be yours carefully to investigate the grounds of your own opinions, and when fully convinced of their correctness, and of the fairness of the claims which they will induce you to set up on the part of the United States, to advocate their adoption by every proper argument, drawn from the letter and spirit of the provisions of the treaties. As it would not be consistent with the established principles of the Government to advance any pretensions on the part of the United States not founded in strict fairness and justice, it will be equally essential not to admit on the part of Texas any claim not founded in the same principle." Again: "The President confidently relies upon your prudence and judgment, as upon the hearty cooperation of the United States Surveyor, whom in turn you are expected personally to attend, direct, and assist in the performance of his duties, for the proper advocacy of the rights and interests of your country as secured by the treaties. He is obliged the more to confide in your discretion, scrutiny, and patriotic zeal, from the impossibility of foreseeing whether any, and if any, what questions may arise, and from the consequent necessity of leaving you, in a great degree, to exercise your judgment in the discussion and solution of them." SENATE & HO. OF REPS. From these quotations, it is obvious that the treaty of 1838 was construed by Mr. Forsyth, precisely as its counterpart has been by Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Ewing, and myself. That the Mexican Government has also understood it in the same way, is manifest from the fact that it has devolved the duties of Commissioner and Surveyor upon the same individual, General Salazar. If Mexico had regarded the Surveyor as an associate Commissioner, it is hardly to be supposed that she would have been willing to dispense with his services, and to confide her interests to a single Commissioner, while the United States had two on the ground. Understanding the claim set up by Mr. Gray to invalidate the action of the Commissioner by withholding his signature from the agreement entered into between them, as necessarily involving a right on his part to exercise a supervisory and controlling power over the Commissioner, I deemed it my duty, in conformity with what appeared to be the true interpretation of the treaty and the unbroken chain of precedents under various Administrations, to express my dissent from his pretensions. With regard to the question, whether the point at which the Rio Grande "strikes the southern boundary of New Mexico" has been correctly established or not, I have not felt myself called on to express an opinion. The treaty has conferred upon me no jurisdiction over the subject. If an error has been committed, I have no power to correct it; or if, on the other hand, it has been correctly ascertained, no expression of opinion by me to that effect could add anything to its validity. Having done all that I conceived I had the power to do, officially, on the subject, it must be referred to other departments of the Government to devise and adopt such further measures in regard to it as the interests of the country may require. I deem it my duty, however, to request you to recommend to Congress a modification of the proviso to the last appropriation at an early day, so as to relieve the persons attached to the Commission from the embarrassment to which they have been subjected by the want of money to pay them, and also to relieve the Government from the discredit which has been brought upon it by the protest of the drafts of its accredited agents. Five months have elapsed since the close of the last fiscal year, during all which time the officers and employés of the Commission have been diligently engaged in the discharge of their respective duties, in the full confidence that Congress would make the necessary appropriations to defray their expenses and compensate them for their services. This just expectation has been disappointed. No part of the appropriation for the current fiscal year can be applied to their payment. They are left in the wilderness, many of them two thousand miles from home, without any provision having been made by law for their support where they are now stationed, and with no means furnished to enable them to return to their families. They are now subsisting on funds borrowed on their individual credit, or raised on drafts drawn by the Commissioner and Surveyor before notice of the proviso to the appropriation, several of which have been presented to the Department and protested for non-payment. This is a case which calls for prompt action on the part of Congress, and 1 cannot permit myself to doubt that your recommendation to that effect will be responded to without delay. It will also be necessary to make further provision by law for running and marking the residue of the line between the two countries, in accordance with the terms of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. 1 THE EXTENSION OF THE CAPITOL AND RECONSTRUCTION OF THE LIBRARY. The work upon the extension of the Capitol has advanced with as much rapidity as was consistent with its proper execution. The massive foundations have been completed; the arches between the inside walls of the sub-basement have all been turned and the spandrels filled with cement and brick, and the whole overlaid by a pavement upon which the tiling will rest. A large part of the granite work has also been done, and portions of the walls of the principal basement have been built of the beautiful marble which was selected 1 32D CONG.....2D SESS. as the material for the exterior surface of the edifice. The arrangements for the new library room are also nearly completed, with the exception of the painting and gilding. The galleries, piers, alcoves, colunins, doors, stairways, shelving, ceiling, consoles, and indeed all of the new fixtures, are of iron. The trusses of the roof are also of iron, covered with copper; so that no combustible material is used in any part of it. The plan of this work was designed, and the drawings and specifications in detail were prepared, by Mr. Thomas U. Walter, the architect of the extension of the Capitol, and the execution of them was intrusted to Messrs. Beebe & Co., of New York. When completed, it will present the first specimen of a room constructed entirely of iron, and I think I may add that, for convenience and beauty of arrangement, it will be without a rival. The workmanship is of the most admirable quality; and when we look at it as it now stands, and reflect that it consists of more than ten thousand separate pieces, of an aggregate weight of four hundred tons, and that it was planned in Washington and executed in New York, more than two hundred miles from the hall in which it was to be placed; and when we see that every part of it fits together with the precision of cabinet work, we are at a loss whether to ascribe most honor and praise to the genius and taste of the architect who conceived and marked out the design, or to the skill and fidelity of the contractors who performed the work. The damage done to the outside of the western front of the Capitol by the fire of December, 1851, which was more extensive than was at first supposed, has been repaired, and the building rendered as permanent and free from blemish as before the accident occurred. HOUSES FOR THE VICE PRESIDENT AND CABINET. Before closing this my last annual report, I feel impelled by a sense of public duty to invite your attention to another subject, to which, under different circumstances, I would not have alluded. I refer to the propriety of an appropriation by Congress of a sum sufficient to erect and furnish suitable houses for the accommodation of the Vice President of the United States and the members of the Cabinet. At the time our Government went into operation and the salaries of those officers were fixed by law, they were adequate for their comfortable support. But in consequence of the great increase of the supply of the precious metals and the expansion of the currency by means of banks, the relative value of money has been so much reduced that six thousand dollars now is not worth much more than three thousand was at that time. The cost of house-rent, provisions, fuel, and indeed of all the necessaries of life in Washington, has risen to such a degree as to require the most rigid economy to enable the members of the Cabinet and the Vice President to live within their incomes. As far as my observation has extended, few, if any of them, have been able to do so. This evil is increasing every year, and if measures are not adopted to arrest it, the day is not far distant when men of moderate means, but in all respects fitted to serve the public in high and responsible places, will be deterred from accepting them by the heavy pecuniary loss to which they must inevitably be subjected. I am far from wishing to see extravagant salaries paid to public officers. But I think the laborer is worthy of his hire; and I am sure the American people would not desire to see the public functionaries impoverished in their service. They are willing that they shall receive such compensation as will enable them to live in a style becoming their position, without invading their private resources. The high offices of the country should be open to the poor as well as the rich; but the practical effect of the present rate of compensation will soon be to exclude from the Executive councils all who have not ample resources independently of their official salaries. After much reflection, I have come to the conclusion that the best means of remedying the evil will be to erect suitable houses for the Vice President and the members of the Cabinet, and provide them with the necessary furniture, fuel, and lights. There are many reasons which might be urged in favor of this measure; but it will answer my purpose barely to allude to a few of them Report of the Postmaster General. Upon every change of Administration, or in cases of the death or resignation of members of the Cabinet, their successors, often from remote parts of the country, find themselves embarrassed in obtaining, even at an exorbitant price, a suitable residence for themselves and their families. They are then compelled to expend at least one year's salary in furnishing their establishment, and are consequently obliged to draw upon their private resources for the means of subsistence. Much of their time and attention is occupied by these domestic concerns, which might be more profitably devoted to the public interests. At the close of their terms they are forced to dispose of their household effects at a ruinous sacrifice, and return to their homes impoverished in fortune, and with the ungracious reflection that while they have devoted their time and talents to the public service, their country has refused them even the means of support. It may be said in reply that there is no obligation on any one to accept these positions; and if they do so, they must abide by the consequences of their own acts. In one sense this is true. There is no legal obligation on any one to accept an official position. But there is a high moral and patriotic obligation on every citizen to contribute his service to his country when it may be required, and there is a reciprocal obligation on the country not to allow him to suffer in his private fortune by that service. By furnishing the heads of Departments and Vice President with houses, their present salaries will be adequate for their support. They will be freed from the cares and cost of fitting up an establishment for a mere temporary use, and be enabled to devote their whole time to the duties of their offices. They will be placed in a condition of comparative independence, by being relieved from the prospect of a heavy sacrifice by the sale of their effects upon the termination of their official connection with the Government. The heads of Department, instead of being scattered over the city, will be brought nearer to each other and to the President, and be enabled to confer together without inconvenience. And at the close of their terms they will leave the seat of Government with the knowledge that if they have not added to, they have at least not been obliged to substract from their private resources. SENATE & HO. OF REPS. I deem it my duty also to call your attention to the urgent necessity which exists for the erection of suitable bridges across the Potomac to supply the place of those which were destroyed by the floods in the early part of the present year. The interruption of the travel and commercial intercourse with the opposite side of the river has proved a serious evil to the residents of the District and public generally. And during the winter, when navigation may be obstructed by ice, the inconvenience will be greatly augmented. I therefore recommend that an appropriation be asked for to make the necessary surveys and prepare suitable plans and estimates for the construction of one or more permanent bridges, which may be adapted not only for the accommodation of the ordinary travel and trade, but also for the safe and convenient passage of railway trains. The rapid extension of the system of railways throughout the whole country forbids the idea that the intercourse by mail between the North and the South should continue longer to be delayed and interrupted as it has hitherto been, at particular seasons of the year, by the difficulty of crossing the Potomac. The Commissioner of Public Lands, in his report, has suggested the propriety of a grant by Congress of a portion of the public lands in aid of public schools in the District of Columbia. This proposition commands my cordial approbation; and I would be happy to see it adopted, with an amendment extending its benefits to the charitable institutions of the District. The population of the District is composed of citizens of every State in this Union. This fact creates a general interest in its prosperity and welfare; and I know of no disposition of a portion of the public domain which would be more strictly in accordance with the spirit of the trusts reposed in Congress, or more useful in itself, than an appropriation of a reasonable portion to instruct the ignorant, reform the vicious, and relieve the distressed inhabitants of the metropolis of the nation. In former reports I have brought to your notice many other subjects which I regarded as of public interest. Among these were the establishment of an Agricultural and Statistical Bureau; a revision of the laws relating to the fees of marshals, attorneys, and clerks of the circuit and district courts of the United States; an increase of the salaries of the judges of the district courts of the United States; the enlargement of the functions of the Atfur-torney General, so as to make him the head of the department of justice; and the transfer to that department of all matters connected with the administration of justice; the construction of a national highway through our own territory to the Pacific; the more precise definition of the duties of the several executive departments; and that provision be made for the appointment of a Solicitor to the Department of the Interior. From estimates which I have caused to be made, I am satisfied that lots could be bought, and eight substantial, plain, and tasteful houses erected, nished, and fitted up for occupation, for the sum of $300,000. And as the near approach of the close of my own official term relieves me from all suspicion of being influenced by personal or party considerations in presenting the subject to your notice, I earnestly recommend it to your favorable regard. THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. In former reports I have earnestly invited your attention to the interests of the District of Columbia, and endeavored to explain the peculiar claims which it has to the fostering care of Congress. Without repeating the reasons heretofore urged, I beg leave again to present the subject to your favorable notice, and to specify some of the particular objects in regard to which legislation is required. The introduction of an ample supply of pure water into the city of Washington and Georgetown is a measure of great public interest. At the last session of Congress an appropriation was made to defray the cost of the necessary surveys, &c., to determine the best mode of accomplishing this object. An officer of the Engineer Corps was detailed for this duty, and some progress has already been made in the work, but not enough to enable me to express an opinion as to the plan which should be adopted. A full report will, however, be made and submitted to Congress in time for its action during the approaching session; and I hope the necessary appropriations will be made to commence the work without delay. If|| additional arguments to those heretofore submitted were deemed necessary, I might refer to the recent conflagration in the Library of the Capitol as an emphatic admonition of the insecurity of the public buildings and archives in the absence of a copious supply of water. On all these subjects my opinions remain unchanged, and, without repeating the reasons by which they were sustained, I beg leave again to commend them to your favorable consideration. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, ALEX. H. H. STUART, Secretary. TO THE PRESident of the UNITED STATES. Report of the Postmaster General. POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, SIR: In discharge of a duty devolving on me, I have the honor to report that the whole number of post offices in the United States, at the close of the fiscal year ended June 30, 1852, was 20,901. The number of postmasters appointed during that year was 6,255. Of these, 3,726 were appointed to fill vacancies occasioned by resignation; 255 to fill vacancies occasioned by death; 246 on changing the sites of offices; 309 on the removal of prior incumbents; and 1,719 on the establishment of new offices. There were 1,719 post offices established, and 614 discontinued during the year. From the end of the fiscal year to November 1, 1852, 526 post offices have been established, and 236 discontinued, so that the whole number in operation at the latter date was 21,191. At its close there were in operation in the United States 6,711 mail routes; their aggregate length being 32D CONG....2D SESS. 214,234 miles, and employing 5,206 contractors. The annual transportation of the mails on these routes was 58,985,728 miles, at an annual cost of $3,939,971, being about 6 7-10 cents per mile. Of these 58,985,728 miles of annual transportation, 11,082,768 miles were required to be performed on railroads, at a cost of $1,275,520, being about 111 cents per mile; 6,353,409 miles in steamboats, at a cost of $505,815, being about 8 cents per mile; 20,698,930 miles in coaches, at a cost of $1,128,986, being about 5 cents per mile; and 20,850,621 miles in modes not specified, at a cost of $1,029,650, being about 4 9-10 cents per mile. The inland service when compared with such service at the close of the preceding year, as stated in the last annual report from this Department, shows an increase of 17,994 miles in the length of mail routes; of 5,713,476 in the miles of annual transportation; and of $518,217 in the annual cost of transportation. Of such increase of transportation the railroad service amounts to 2,514,061 miles, at an increased cost of $290,501 being an increase of about 29 per cent. both in the service and in its aggregate cost; the steamboat service to 898,427 miles, at an increased cost of $50,923, being an increase of about 16 per cent. in service and 11 per cent. in cost; the coach service to 972,342 miles, at an increased cost of $81,827, being an increase of about 5 per cent. in service and 8 per cent. in the aggregate cost; and in modes of service not specified to 1,328,646 miles, at an increased cost of $94,967, being an increase of about 7 per cent. in service and 10 per cent. in cost. Compared with the transportation and its cost at the close of the fiscal year ended 30th June, 1842, it shows that the railroad and steamboat service had increased in the ten years 13,011,915 miles, at an increased cost of $1,131,654, being about 294 per cent. increase in service and 174 per cent. on cost; the coach service 1,931,894 miles, at a decreased cost of $571,524, being about 10 per cent. increase in service and 33 per cent. decrease in cost; the service in modes not specified 9,205,928 miles, at an increased cost of $292,045, being about 79 per cent. increase in service and 40 per cent. in cost. It may be proper in this connection to remark, that the actual increase in coach service performed is greater, and that of service performed on horseback or in other modes not specified is less, than above stated, for the reason that since the act of 1845, much coach service is performed under contracts not specifically requiring that grade of service; but only that the mails be carried with due "celerity, certainty, and security." The service under such contracts is now reported as in modes not specified, although coach service is performed under them for a larger portion of or the entire year.. There were in operation on the 30th day of June last six foreign mail routes, of the estimated aggregate length of 18,349 miles; the number of miles of annual transportation thereon is estimated at 652,406. The service on three of those routes is under contract with this Department; the annual transportation thereon is estimated at 200,592 miles, at a cost of $400,000, being about $1 99 per mile. The service on the other three routes is under contract with the Navy Department; the annual transportation thereon is estimated at 458,934 miles, at an annual cost of $1,496,250 (including the additional compensation voted to the Collins line at the last session of Congress,) being $3 26 per mile. The annual cost of conveying the mails across the Isthmus of Panama is uncertain, as it depends on their weight; the cost for the last year, at twenty-two cents per pound-the price paid-was $48,039. It is estimated that for a large portion of the contents of these mails (being printed matter) the amount received in postages under the act of August 31st, 1852, does not exceed five cents a pound in payment of the whole transportation from the point of mailing to that of delivery. As that act did not go into effect until the 30th of September last, no reliable estimate can now be made of the increased cost of mail service across the Isthmus under its operation, but there can be no doubt that such increase will be large. The temporary arrangement for this service, which went into effect on the 1st of December last with the Panama Railroad Company, is still in force, and is found to be a great improvement on the previous arrangement, Report of the Postmaster General. though not yet entirely satisfactory. The completion of the railroad is looked forward to as the remedy for most of the existing delays and defects in the service between New York and San Francisco. Under the general head of " transportation of the mails" is chargeable the compensation of route and local agents and mail messengers. The amount payable on this account at the close of the last fiscal year was $196,936 per annum. The extent and annual cost of the entire mail service under the control of this Department at the close of the fiscal year ended on the 30th June last, as well as its division among the States and Territories, and the mode of its performance required by the then existing contracts, will more fully appear by the annexed table, furnished by the Second Assistant Postmaster General, and marked A. As the railroad service is daily becoming more important and expensive, a table showing the extent and annual cost of that service in each of the States, as in operation on the 30th day of June in each year, from 1848 to 1852, inclusive, has been prepared, and is hereto annexed, marked B. Our ocean steamer service commenced in June, 1847. Its great and rapid increase is shown by the following tabular statement of its cost for each fiscal year, as follows: The cost of this service for 1848 was... $100,500 474,710 721,570 1,023,250 1,896,250 The gross receipts of the Department for the year ending June 30th, 1852, were $6,925,971.28, derived from the following sources, viz: Letter postage, including foreign postage and Postage on newspapers, periodicals, &c.... ors. Receipts on account of excess of emoluments of postmasters... Damages collected from failing contractors.. Receipts on account of dead letters.... Receipts from letter-carriers..... Stamps in hands of postmasters 30th June, 1851, being such as remained of the old issue, and which were charged to them on that day... Miscellaneous receipts.. From appropriation authorized by the twelfth section of the act of 3d March, 1847, viz: from 3d March, 1847, to 30th June, 1852.... From appropriation authorized by eighth section of the act of March, 1851... From appropriation for census mails authorized by seventeenth section of the act of 23d May, 1850.. From this sum must be deducted the amount payable to the British Post Office under the postal convention of December, 1848, as now estimated from statement of the Auditor.......... .$4,226,792 90 789,246 36 27 50 38,478 24 5,213 30 8,265 12 104,355 92 8,849 61 3,297 89 SENATE & HO. OF REPS. In the mean time the appropriations made from the Treasury in aid of the Post Office Establishment may be deemed safe and beneficent investments for the advantage of the whole people, each one of whom, if not engaged in business correspondence, has a deep interest in the diffusion of intelligence and the promotion of social inter course. By the 8th section of the act of 31st August, 1852, the Postmaster General is authorized to provide and furnish to all postmasters and other persons applying and paying therefor, letter-envelopes with one or more postage stamps impressed thereon, to be used in the prepayment of postage. These envelopes are now in course of preparation, and will soon be for sale at the principal post offices. As letters inclosed in them may be legally sent by private express or other private conveyance, there will remain no color of excuse for further violations of the laws in that respect. That the experiment of cheap postage may be fairly tried, it is important that the revenues of the Department be protected against this abuse, not only by the vigilance of its own agents, to whom the law has intrusted the power to search for and seize such letters, but also by public sentiment and by the active exertions of the intelligent and influential portion of the community. It is by thus securing to this Department the receipts which the law has assigned for its support that the period can be hastened when it will again be sustained by its own proper revenues, and the common Treasury of the country relieved from further advances for its ser 663,888 89 Postage stamps redeemed.. 3,809 35 8,229 20 12,000 00 $6,925,971 28 Official letters received by postmasters. Payments to letter carriers.. 582 89 104.355 92 Miscellaneous payments.. 1,065,555 55 101,988 59 The receipts from postage, American and foreign, for the last fiscal year were less by $1,388,334 43 than for the preceding fiscal year, being a decrease of about 22 per cent, If the estimated balances accruing to the British post office for each year are excluded for the purpose of showing the decrease of our own postages, that decrease will amount to $1,431,696 54, or about 22 per cent. This diminution in our postages is attributable to the reduction in the rates of postage made by the act of March 3d, 1851, which reduction took effect at the commencement of the last fiscal year. This diminution of revenue is somewhat greater than was anticipated in this Department at the time it went into effect, and much greater than was expected by the sanguine advocates of cheap postage, many of whom sought the establishment of still lower rates. Although the act referred to has not in its operation during the last year fulfilled the predictions of its friends by increasing the correspondence of the country in proportion to its reduction of postage, I should nevertheless question the expediency of a return to higher rates. All experience warrants the expectation that, as the community becomes accustomed to cheap postage, written correspondence will increase. From this cause, and from the rapid growth of the country in population and business, the receipts of the Department must ultimately exceed its expenses, and enable it to refund to the Treasury the sums advanced. 152,561 00 $7,108,459 04 The new contracts for the middle section, made under the letting in February last, embracing the States of Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, increased the annual transportation in those States, from the first day of July last, 310,959 miles, at an increased annual cost of $148,705 over the transportation and cost under the contracts which expired on the 30th day of June, 1852, being an increase of about 3 per cent. in service and 21 per cent. in annual cost. The expenditures for the present fiscal year are estimated as follows: 148,705 00 93,584 98 The annual cost of transportation, (foreign and inland,) as authorized and under contract at the close of the last fiscal year... .$4,584,946-00 Additional cost in the middle section, under new contracts which went into effect July 1st, 1852.. Increased cost of transportation, under order of the Postmaster General, for the improvement and extension of mail service, and the increased expedition of the mails...... Probable cost of putting into operation for the residue of the fiscal year such new routes established during the last session of Congress as should be put in operation before 1st July next..... Expenses, under the heads of compensation to postmasters, wrapping paper, office furniture, advertising, mail-bags, blanks, mail locks and keys, stamps, mail depredations and special agents, clerks for offices of postmasters, and miscellaneous items, being the expenses of last year and twelve and a half per cent. added; such expenses necessarily increasing with the extension of mail service, and the increase in the number of post 650,000 00 To meet these expenditures of the Department for the present fiscal year, it has, under existing laws, resources which it is estimated will produce the following sums, to wit: 1st. The available balance at the credit of the revenues of the Department on the 1st day of July last, stated by the Auditor to be.... $566,632 57 2d. Receipts from postage, (foreign and inland,) deducting estimated balances due to foreign Governments. The postal arrangements with Canada and New Brunswick have been in successful operation 5,651,158 26 during the year, and have been found convenient and useful. The amount of postage on letters sent from the United States to Canada was 3d. Annual appropriation made by the 12th section of the act of 3d March, 18-47, in compensation for mail service performed for the various departments of the Government... 200,000 00 4th. Annual appropriations made by the 8th section of the act of 3d March, 1851, "in further payment and compensation for mail service performed for the two Houses of Congress and other departments and offices of Government in the transportation of free matter".. 5th. Contingent appropriation made by the 9th section of the act of the 3d of March, 1851. 500,000 00 500,000 00 $7,417,790 83 The above aggregate deducted from the estimated amount of expenses for the current year, leaves a deficit of $1,327,986 37 to be provided for by direct appropriation from the Treasury. A further and larger appropriation will probably be necessary to meet the deficiency in the revenue of the fiscal year commencing on the first of July next. An estimate of this deficiency, and of that of the current fiscal year, as here set forth, will be submitted to Congress. The negotiations for increased expedition on the great mail line between New York and New Orleans, which were in progress at the date of the last annual report from this Department, were brought to a favorable conclusion in time to commence the improved service on the first of March last. By this arrangement the time required for the regular transportation of the mail from New York to New Orleans was reduced twenty-four hours, and from New Orleans to New York thirty; eight hours. Additional trains were so arranged on different parts of the route as to render failures of connection less frequent, and shorten the delay from twenty-four to twelve hours, in cases where the connection was unavoidably broken. Certainty and celerity on this line cannot be relied on while the service on an important link in the chain of routes composing it is performed in steamers, on the stormy and unsheltered coast between Wilmington and Charleston. The completion of the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad during the next year will, it is believed, enable the Department to avoid this uncertain portion of the present line. The service between New York and Washington, though much improved by the arrangements referred to, is still defective and unsatisfactory. The endeavors of this Department to improve this service have been rendered abortive by a want of unity among the railroad companies interested in the line, and a spirit of accommodation on the part of the companies running between Philadelphia and New York. There being no competing lines or modes of conveyance by which this Department can secure connections and otherwise facilitate the transportation of the mails between Washington and New York, it is compelled to accept such independent service as each company on the line will consent to render, and is thus made powerless to enforce the demands of the public. I would respectfully suggest that if Congress, in the exercise of its power over the establishment of post roads, can remedy this evil, the subject is worthy of the early attention of that body. A new compilation of laws relating to this Department, and of amended regulations adopted for enforcing them, for the guidance of its officers and the conduct of its business, was in course of preparation at the date of the last annual report from this Department. It has since been perfected, and published by my predecessor, and distributed to the several postmasters, and copies sent to the members of both Houses of Congress. Congress having, by the 2d section of an act approved 21st August, 1852, authorized the Postmaster General, upon certain conditions, to enter into contract for the transportation of the mail by steamers plying between Boston and Halifax, a postal arrangement is now in process of completion with the Province of Nova Scotia, by which the postage on this route will be the same as is now paid by the way of New Brunswick. In pursuance of the requirements of an act approved August 30, 1852, advertisements have been published for proposals for mail service by ocean steamers between New Orleans and Vera Cruz via Tampico, embracing also (for the purpose of obtaining information) an extension of the service proposals are to be opened, and a decision made to Acapulco, and thence to San Francisco. These on such portions of them as are authorized by said act, (that is, for service from New Orleans to Vera Cruz,) on the 3d of January next. The Depart ment will of course await the directions of Congress after the information is obtained as to the remainder of the route. By the 11th section of an act approved August 31, 1852, provision is made for daily mail service, by suitable and safe steamers, between Louisville and Cairo, St. Louis and Cairo, Cairo and Memphis, and Memphis and New Orleans. It is deemed important not only to the cities enumerated, and to the intermediate places on the rivers to be covered by this service, but due also to the great and increasing West that these lines should be so established as fully to secure the object contemplated, to wit, a certain, regular, safe, and reliable daily service on these several routes. The relative position of the western section of our Union, its present importance, and prospective greatness, alike demand that its people should be provided with the best postal facilities that the Department can supply. To accomplish this, it has sought information from various sources as to the requirements of the service, and will soon advertise for such as will, it is believed, fully carry into effect the intention of the act, and meet the just demands of that interesting section of our country. With the last annual report from this Department were published interesting tabular statements of the extent and increase of its business at the several periods of five years from 1790 to 1835, inclusive, and for each year from 1840 to 1851, inclusive. The extent and cost of steamboat and railroad service were not separately given in those statements, nor have they been so contained in any published report from the Department prior to 1848. Since that time, however, in the annual exhibit from the Contract Office of the mail service in operation at the close of each fiscal year, the two kinds of service have been separated. As the annual increase of both kinds in extent and cost strikingly illustrates the steady and rapid growth of our country, I submit the following Total... By the third section of the act approved August 31, 1852, making appropriations for the service of this Department, it is provided that the salaries of all route-agents be increased to one thousand dollars per annum. The effect of this provision is to give the same compensation to each one of these agents, without reference to the amount of service rendered by them respectively, and it takes from the Postmaster General the power of adjusting their pay according to the labor and responsibility of the service performed by them. It operates unequally, and, with the present amount of railroad service, has increased the cost of transporting the mails more than $50,000. I respectfully recommend the repeal of this provision, and that the Postmaster General be authorized to graduate these salaries according to the service performed. The contractor on the route from Salt Lake City to Sacramento, in California, never having performed efficient service on that route, this Department has entered into an arrangement with another contractor, who binds himself not only to perform the service as originally required, but also to establish and maintain a fortified post or station at Carson's Valley, which will, it is expected, increase the security of the mails, and afford protection to the numerous emigrant trains on their journey to California. Since the last annual report from this Department the Collins line of steamers has continued its service between New York and Liverpool, according to an arrangement then existing, by which weekly trips in American steamers were secured between these two countries. The ships of this line have preserved their early reputation for unrivaled speed and sea-worthiness. Their departures have been punctual, and they have performed their voyages with great regularity. The company has kept a spare ship in port ready to replace any one which might be temporarily disabled or withdrawn for repairs, and has in other respects manifested a disposition to perform the service in a creditable manner. By the act of August 31, 1852, this Department was authorized to make an arrangement with the Ocean Steam Navigation Company for one additional trip on the Havre line, and one additional trip on the Bremen line, until the expiration of their existing contract, and also in its discretion to negotiate for the change of the Havre line from Havre to Antwerp. Owing, as is stated by the proprietors of those lines, to the inadequacy of the remuneration received for their present service, they are unwilling to extend it, either by increasing the number of their trips, or adding to the length of their voyages. They complain that while the Collins line receives $33,000 a trip, the Havre line receives only $12,500, and the Bremen line only $16,666, for service, in the latter case, more arduous in its nature, and over a longer route. They ask that such remuneration may be given them as will justify their increasing the number of their ships, and thus enable them not only to meet the requirements of the service by changing the terminus of their route from Havre to Antwerp, but also perform such additional trips as may be desired. |