Title: A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents - Volume 8, part 2: Chester A. Arthur
Author: Richardson, James D. (James Daniel), 1843-1914
Language: English
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A COMPILATION OF THE MESSAGES AND PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS

BY JAMES D. RICHARDSON


       *       *       *       *       *

Chester A. Arthur

September 19, 1881, to March 4, 1885

       *       *       *       *       *



Chester A. Arthur

Chester Alan Arthur was born in Fairfield, Franklin County, Vt., October
5, 1830. He was the eldest son of Rev. William Arthur and Malvina Stone.
His father, a Baptist minister, was born in Ireland and emigrated to
the United States. Chester prepared for college at Union Village in
Greenwich and at Schenectady, N.Y., and in 1845 entered the sophomore
class of Union College. While in his sophomore year taught school for a
term at Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County, and a second term at the same
place during his last year in college. Joined the Psi Upsilon Society,
and was one of six in a class of one hundred who were elected members
of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the condition of admission being high
scholarship. After his graduation in 1848, at the age of 18, attended a
law school at Ballston Spa, N.Y.; returned to Lansingburg, N.Y., where
his father then resided, and continued his legal studies. Was principal
of an academy at North Pownal, Bennington County, Vt., in 1851. In
1853 entered the law office of Erastus D. Culver in New York City as
a student; was admitted to the bar during the same year, and at once
became a member of the firm of Culver, Parker & Arthur. Having formed
from early associations sentiments of hostility to slavery, as a law
student and after his admission to the bar became an earnest advocate
for the slaves. Became a Henry Clay Whig, and cast his first vote
in 1852 for Winfield Scott for President. Participated in the first
Republican State convention, at Saratoga, and took an active part
in the Fremont campaign of 1856. October 29, 1859, married Ellen Lewis
Herndon, of Fredericksburg, Va. January 1, 1861, was appointed on
Governor Edwin D. Morgan's staff as engineer in chief, with the rank
of brigadier-general. Had previously taken part in the organization
of the State militia, and had been judge-advocate of the Second
Brigade. When the civil war began, in April, 1861, he became acting
quartermaster-general, and as such began in New York City the work of
preparing and forwarding the State's quota of troops. Was called to
Albany in December for consultation concerning the defenses of New York
Harbor. Summoned a board of engineers on December 24, of which he became
a member, and on January 18, 1862, submitted an elaborate report on the
condition of the national forts both on the seacoast and on the inland
border of the State. Was appointed inspector-general February 10, 1862,
with the rank of brigadier-general, and in May inspected the New York
troops at Fredericksburg and on the Chickahominy. In June, 1862,
Governor Morgan ordered his return from the Army of the Potomac, and he
acted as secretary of the meeting of the governors of the loyal States
which was held June 28 in New York City. At Governor Morgan's request,
General Arthur resumed his former work, resigned as inspector-general,
and on July 10 was appointed quartermaster-general. Retired from the
office December 31, 1862, when Horatio Seymour succeeded Governor
Morgan. Between 1862 and 1872 was engaged in continuous and active law
practice--in partnership with Henry G. Gardner from 1862 till 1867, then
for five years alone, and on January 1, 1872, formed the firm of Arthur,
Phelps & Knevals. Was for a short time counsel for the department of
assessments and taxes, but resigned the place. Continued during all this
period to take an active part in politics. Was chairman in 1868 of the
Central Grant Club of New York, and became chairman of the executive
committee of the Republican State committee in 1879. Was appointed
collector of the port of New York by President Grant on November 20,
1871; was reappointed on December 17, 1875, and confirmed by the Senate
on the same day without reference to a committee, a courtesy never
before extended to an appointee who had not been a Senator; retained the
office until July 11, 1878, when he was suspended by President Hayes. On
retiring from the office of collector resumed the practice of law with
the firm of Arthur, Phelps, Knevals & Ransom. Advocated in 1880 the
nomination of General Grant to succeed President Hayes. Was a delegate
at large to the Chicago convention, which met June 2, 1880. After the
nomination of General Garfield for the Presidency a general desire arose
in the convention to nominate for Vice-President some advocate of
General Grant and a resident of New York State. The New York delegation
indicated their preference for General Arthur, and he was nominated on
the first ballot. Was elected Vice-President November 2, 1880; took the
oath of office March 4, 1881, and presided over the extraordinary
session of the Senate that then began, which was very exciting. That
body being equally divided, he was frequently called upon to exercise
the right of casting the controlling vote. President Garfield was shot
July 2, 1881, and died September 19. His Cabinet announced his death to
the Vice-President, then in New York, and at their suggestion he took
the oath as President on the 20th at his residence in New York City
before Judge John R. Brady, of the New York supreme court. On the 22d
the oath was formally administered again in the Vice-President's room
in the Capitol at Washington by Chief Justice Waite. President Arthur's
name was presented to the Republican Presidential convention which met
at Chicago June 3, 1884. On the first ballot he received 278 votes
against 540 for all others, 276 on the second, 274 on the third, and 207
on the fourth, which resulted in the nomination of James G. Blaine. In
the canvass which ensued Mr. Arthur rendered all possible assistance to
the Republican cause and candidates. Died suddenly at his residence in
New York City November 18, 1886, and was buried in Rural Cemetery at
Albany.



INAUGURAL ADDRESS.


For the fourth time in the history of the Republic its Chief Magistrate
has been removed by death. All hearts are filled with grief and horror
at the hideous crime which has darkened our land, and the memory of the
murdered President, his protracted sufferings, his unyielding fortitude,
the example and achievements of his life, and the pathos of his death
will forever illumine the pages of our history.

For the fourth time the officer elected by the people and ordained by
the Constitution to fill a vacancy so created is called to assume the
Executive chair. The wisdom of our fathers, foreseeing even the most
dire possibilities, made sure that the Government should never be
imperiled because of the uncertainty of human life. Men may die, but
the fabrics of our free institutions remain unshaken. No higher or more
assuring proof could exist of the strength and permanence of popular
government than the fact that though the chosen of the people be struck
down his constitutional successor is peacefully installed without shock
or strain except the sorrow which mourns the bereavement. All the noble
aspirations of my lamented predecessor which found expression in his
life, the measures devised and suggested during his brief Administration
to correct abuses, to enforce economy, to advance prosperity, and to
promote the general welfare, to insure domestic security and maintain
friendly and honorable relations with the nations of the earth, will be
garnered in the hearts of the people; and it will be my earnest endeavor
to profit, and to see that the nation shall profit, by his example and
experience.

Prosperity blesses our country. Our fiscal policy is fixed by law,
is well grounded and generally approved. No threatening issue mars
our foreign intercourse, and the wisdom, integrity, and thrift of our
people may be trusted to continue undisturbed the present assured
career of peace, tranquillity, and welfare. The gloom and anxiety which
have enshrouded the country must make repose especially welcome now.
No demand for speedy legislation has been heard; no adequate occasion
is apparent for an unusual session of Congress. The Constitution defines
the functions and powers of the executive as clearly as those of either
of the other two departments of the Government, and he must answer for
the just exercise of the discretion it permits and the performance of the
duties it imposes. Summoned to these high duties and responsibilities
and profoundly conscious of their magnitude and gravity, I assume the
trust imposed by the Constitution, relying for aid on divine guidance
and the virtue, patriotism, and intelligence of the American people.

SEPTEMBER 22, 1881.



PROCLAMATIONS.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas in His inscrutable wisdom it has pleased God to remove from us
the illustrious head of the nation, James A. Garfield, late President of
the United States; and

Whereas it is fitting that the deep grief which fills all hearts should
manifest itself with one accord toward the throne of infinite grace,
and that we should bow before the Almighty and seek from Him that
consolation in our affliction and that sanctification of our loss which
He is able and willing to vouchsafe:

Now, therefore, in obedience to sacred duty and in accordance with the
desire of the people, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United
States of America, do hereby appoint Monday next, the 26th day of
September--on which day the remains of our honored and beloved dead
will be consigned to their last resting place on earth--to be observed
throughout the United States as a day of humiliation and mourning; and
I earnestly recommend all the people to assemble on that day in their
respective places of divine worship, there to render alike their tribute
of sorrowful submission to the will of Almighty God and of reverence and
love for the memory and character of our late Chief Magistrate.


In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed,

[SEAL.]

Done at the city of Washington, the 22d day of September, A.D. 1881, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and
sixth.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  JAMES G. BLAINE,
    _Secretary of State._



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas objects of interest to the United States require that the Senate
should be convened at an early day to receive and act upon such
communications as may be made to it on the part of the Executive:

Now, therefore, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States,
have considered it to be my duty to issue this my proclamation,
declaring that an extraordinary occasion requires the Senate of the
United States to convene for the transaction of business at the Capitol,
in the city of Washington, on Monday, the 10th day of October next, at
12 o'clock noon on that day, of which all who shall at that time be
entitled to act as members of that body are hereby required to take
notice.

[SEAL.]

Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, at Washington,
the 23d day of September, A.D. 1881, and of the Independence of the
United States the one hundred and sixth.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  JAMES G. BLAINE,
    _Secretary of State._



SPECIAL MESSAGES.


WASHINGTON, _October 26, 1881_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate a communication from the Secretary of
State, submitting the text, in the English and French languages, of the
proceedings of the International Sanitary Conference, provided for by
the joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America, held at Washington in the early part of 1881.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



_To the Senate_.

I transmit herewith the report of the Secretary of State in answer to
the resolution of the Senate of October 14, with accompanying
document.[1]

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

OCTOBER 24, 1881.

[Footnote 1: letter of instruction to United States ministers in Europe
relative to protecting the rights and interests of the United States in
the projected interoceanic canal at Panama.]



WASHINGTON, _October 26, 1881_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:


I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a convention between the United States and His Majesty the
King of Roumania, defining the rights, immunities, and privileges of
consular officers, signed on the 17th day of June, 1881.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



PROCLAMATION.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.


It has long been the pious custom of our people, with the closing of the
year, to look back upon the blessings brought to them in the changing
course of the seasons and to return solemn thanks to the all-giving
source from whom they flow. And although at this period, when the
falling leaf admonishes us that the time of our sacred duty is at hand,
our nation still lies in the shadow of a great bereavement, and the
mourning which has filled our hearts still finds its sorrowful
expression toward the God before whom we but lately bowed in grief and
supplication, yet the countless benefits which have showered upon us
during the past twelvemonth call for our fervent gratitude and make it
fitting that we should rejoice with thankfulness that the Lord in His
infinite mercy has most signally favored our country and our people.
Peace without and prosperity within have been vouchsafed to us, no
pestilence has visited our shores, the abundant privileges of freedom
which our fathers left us in their wisdom are still our increasing
heritage; and if in parts of our vast domain sore affliction has visited
our brethren in their forest homes, yet even this calamity has been
tempered and in a manner sanctified by the generous compassion for the
sufferers which has been called forth throughout our land. For all these
things it is meet that the voice of the nation should go up to God in
devout homage.

Wherefore I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States, do
recommend that all the people observe Thursday, the 24th day of November
instant, as a day of national thanksgiving and prayer, by ceasing, so
far as may be, from their secular labors and meeting in their several
places of worship, there to join in ascribing honor and praise to
Almighty God, whose goodness has been so manifest in our history and in
our lives, and offering earnest prayers that His bounties may continue
to us and to our children.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.

[SEAL.]

Done at the city of Washington, this 4th day of November, A.D. 1881, and
of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and sixth.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  JAMES G. BLAINE,
    _Secretary of State_.



EXECUTIVE ORDER.[2]

[Footnote 2: Read by the Secretary of State before the people assembled
to celebrate the Yorktown Centennial.]

YORKTOWN, VA., _October 19, 1881_.

In recognition of the friendly relations so long and so happily
subsisting between Great Britain and the United States, in the trust and
confidence of peace and good will between the two countries for all the
centuries to come, and especially as a mark of the profound respect
entertained by the American people for the illustrious sovereign and
gracious lady who sits upon the British throne

_It is hereby ordered_, That at the close of the ceremonies
commemorative of the valor and success of our forefathers in their
patriotic struggle for independence the British flag shall be saluted by
the forces of the Army and Navy of the United States now at Yorktown.

The Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy will give orders
accordingly.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  JAMES G. BLAINE,
    _Secretary of State_.



FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE.

WASHINGTON, _December 6, 1881_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

An appalling calamity has befallen the American people since their
chosen representatives last met in the halls where you are now
assembled. We might else recall with unalloyed content the rare
prosperity with which throughout the year the nation has been blessed.
Its harvests have been plenteous; its varied industries have thriven;
the health of its people has been preserved; it has maintained with
foreign governments the undisturbed relations of amity and peace. For
these manifestations of His favor we owe to Him who holds our destiny
in His hands the tribute of our grateful devotion.

To that mysterious exercise of His will which has taken from us the
loved and illustrious citizen who was but lately the head of the nation
we bow in sorrow and submission.

The memory of his exalted character, of his noble achievements, and of
his patriotic life will be treasured forever as a sacred possession of
the whole people.

The announcement of his death drew from foreign governments and peoples
tributes of sympathy and sorrow which history will record as signal
tokens of the kinship of nations and the federation of mankind.

The feeling of good will between our own Government and that of Great
Britain was never more marked than at present. In recognition of this
pleasing fact I directed, on the occasion of the late centennial
celebration at Yorktown, that a salute be given to the British flag.

Save for the correspondence to which I shall refer hereafter in relation
to the proposed canal across the Isthmus of Panama, little has occurred
worthy of mention in the diplomatic relations of the two countries.

Early in the year the Fortune Bay claims were satisfactorily settled by
the British Government paying in full the sum of £15,000, most of which
has been already distributed. As the terms of the settlement included
compensation for injuries suffered by our fishermen at Aspee Bay, there
has been retained from the gross award a sum which is deemed adequate
for those claims.

The participation of Americans in the exhibitions at Melbourne and
Sydney will be approvingly mentioned in the reports of the two
exhibitions, soon to be presented to Congress. They will disclose the
readiness of our countrymen to make successful competition in distant
fields of enterprise.

Negotiations for an international copyright convention are in hopeful
progress.

The surrender of Sitting Bull and his forces upon the Canadian frontier
has allayed apprehension, although bodies of British Indians still cross
the border in quest of sustenance. Upon this subject a correspondence
has been opened which promises an adequate understanding. Our troops
have orders to avoid meanwhile all collisions with alien Indians.

The presence at the Yorktown celebration of representatives of the
French Republic and descendants of Lafayette and of his gallant
compatriots who were our allies in the Revolution has served to
strengthen the spirit of good will which has always existed between
the two nations.

You will be furnished with the proceedings of the Bimetallic Conference
held during the summer at the city of Paris. No accord was reached, but
a valuable interchange of views was had, and the conference will next
year be renewed.

At the Electrical Exhibition and Congress, also held at Paris, this
country was creditably represented by eminent specialists, who, in the
absence of an appropriation, generously lent their efficient aid at the
instance of the State Department. While our exhibitors in this almost
distinctively American field of achievement have won several valuable
awards, I recommend that Congress provide for the repayment of the
personal expenses incurred in the public interest by the honorary
commissioners and delegates.

No new questions respecting the status of our naturalized citizens
in Germany have arisen during the year, and the causes of complaint,
especially in Alsace and Lorraine, have practically ceased through
the liberal action of the Imperial Government in accepting our
often-expressed views on the subject. The application of the treaty of
1868 to the lately acquired Rhenish provinces has received very earnest
attention, and a definite and lasting agreement on this point is
confidently expected. The participation of the descendants of Baron von
Steuben in the Yorktown festivities, and their subsequent reception by
their American kinsmen, strikingly evinced the ties of good will which
unite the German people and our own.

Our intercourse with Spain has been friendly. An agreement concluded in
February last fixes a term for the labors of the Spanish and American
Claims Commission. The Spanish Government has been requested to pay the
late awards of that Commission, and will, it is believed, accede to the
request as promptly and courteously as on former occasions.

By recent legislation onerous fines have been imposed upon American
shipping in Spanish and colonial ports for slight irregularities in
manifests. One case of hardship is specially worthy of attention. The
bark _Masonic_, bound for Japan, entered Manila in distress, and is
there sought to be confiscated under Spanish revenue laws for an alleged
shortage in her transshipped cargo. Though efforts for her relief have
thus far proved unavailing, it is expected that the whole matter will be
adjusted in a friendly spirit.

The Senate resolutions of condolence on the assassination of the Czar
Alexander II were appropriately communicated to the Russian Government,
which in turn has expressed its sympathy in our late national
bereavement. It is desirable that our cordial relations with Russia
should be strengthened by proper engagements assuring to peaceable
Americans who visit the Empire the consideration which is due to them as
citizens of a friendly state. This is especially needful with respect to
American Israelites, whose classification with the native Hebrews has
evoked energetic remonstrances from this Government.

A supplementary consular agreement with Italy has been sanctioned and
proclaimed, which puts at rest conflicts of jurisdiction in the case of
crimes on shipboard.

Several important international conferences have been held in Italy
during the year. At the Geographical Congress of Venice, the Beneficence
Congress of Milan, and the Hygienic Congress of Turin this country was
represented by delegates from branches of the public service or by
private citizens duly accredited in an honorary capacity. It is hoped
that Congress will give such prominence to the results of their
participation as they may seem to deserve.

The abolition of all discriminating duties against such colonial
productions of the Dutch East Indies as are imported hither from Holland
has been already considered by Congress. I trust that at the present
session the matter may be favorably concluded.

The insecurity of life and property in many parts of Turkey has given
rise to correspondence with the Porte looking particularly to the better
protection of American missionaries in the Empire. The condemned
murderer of the eminent missionary Dr. Justin W. Parsons has not yet
been executed, although this Government has repeatedly demanded that
exemplary justice be done.

The Swiss Government has again solicited the good offices of our
diplomatic and consular agents for the protection of its citizens in
countries where it is not itself represented. This request has, within
proper limits, been granted.

Our agents in Switzerland have been instructed to protest against the
conduct of the authorities of certain communes in permitting the
emigration to this country of criminals and other objectionable persons.
Several such persons, through the cooperation of the commissioners of
emigration at New York, have been sent back by the steamers which
brought them. A continuance of this course may prove a more effectual
remedy than diplomatic remonstrance.

Treaties of commerce and navigation and for the regulation of consular
privileges have been concluded with Roumania and Servia since their
admission into the family of European States.

As is natural with contiguous states having like institutions and
like aims of advancement and development, the friendship of the United
States and Mexico has been constantly maintained. This Government has
lost no occasion of encouraging the Mexican Government to a beneficial
realization of the mutual advantages which will result from more
intimate commercial intercourse and from the opening of the rich
interior of Mexico to railway enterprise. I deem it important that means
be provided to restrain the lawlessness unfortunately so common on the
frontier and to suppress the forays of the reservation Indians on either
side of the Rio Grande.

The neighboring States of Central America have preserved internal peace,
and their outward relations toward us have been those of intimate
friendship. There are encouraging signs of their growing disposition to
subordinate their local interests to those which are common to them by
reason of their geographical relations.

The boundary dispute between Guatemala and Mexico has afforded this
Government an opportunity to exercise its good offices for preventing a
rupture between those States and for procuring a peaceable solution of
the question. I cherish strong hope that in view of our relations of
amity with both countries our friendly counsels may prevail.

A special envoy of Guatemala has brought to me the condolences of his
Government and people on the death of President Garfield.

The Costa Rican Government lately framed an engagement with Colombia for
settling boy arbitration the boundary question between those countries,
providing that the post of arbitrator should be offered successively to
the King of the Belgians, the King of Spain, and the President of the
Argentine Confederation. The King of the Belgians has declined to act,
but I am not as yet advised of the action of the King of Spain. As we
have certain interests in the disputed territory which are protected by
our treaty engagements with one of the parties, it is important that the
arbitration should not without our consent affect our rights, and this
Government has accordingly thought proper to make its views known to the
parties to the agreement, as well as to intimate them to the Belgian and
Spanish Governments.

The questions growing out of the proposed interoceanic waterway across
the Isthmus of Panama are of grave national importance. This Government
has not been unmindful of the solemn obligations imposed upon it by its
compact of 1846 with Colombia, as the independent and sovereign mistress
of the territory crossed by the canal, and has sought to render them
effective by fresh engagements with the Colombian Republic looking to
their practical execution. The negotiations to this end, after they had
reached what appeared to be a mutually satisfactory solution here, were
met in Colombia by a disavowal of the powers which its envoy had assumed
and by a proposal for renewed negotiation on a modified basis.

Meanwhile this Government learned that Colombia had proposed to the
European powers to join in a guaranty of the neutrality of the proposed
Panama canal--a guaranty which would be in direct contravention of our
obligation as the sole guarantor of the integrity of Colombian territory
and of the neutrality of the canal itself. My lamented predecessor felt
it his duty to place before the European powers the reasons which make
the prior guaranty of the United States indispensable, and for which the
interjection of any foreign guaranty might be regarded as a superfluous
and unfriendly act.

Foreseeing the probable reliance of the British Government on the
provisions of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty of 1850 as affording room for a
share in the guaranties which the United States covenanted with Colombia
four years before, I have not hesitated to supplement the action of my
predecessor by proposing to Her Majesty's Government the modification of
that instrument and the abrogation of such clauses thereof as do not
comport with the obligations of the United States toward Colombia or
with the vital needs of the two friendly parties to the compact.

This Government sees with great concern the continuance of the hostile
relations between Chile, Bolivia, and Peru. An early peace between these
Republics is much to be desired, not only that they may themselves be
spared further misery and bloodshed, but because their continued
antagonism threatens consequences which are, in my judgment, dangerous
to the interests of republican government on this continent and
calculated to destroy the best elements of our free and peaceful
civilization.

As in the present excited condition of popular feeling in these
countries there has been serious misapprehension of the position of the
United States, and as separate diplomatic intercourse with each through
independent ministers is sometimes subject, owing to the want of prompt
reciprocal communication, to temporary misunderstanding, I have deemed
it judicious at the present time to send a special envoy accredited to
all and each of them, and furnished with general instructions which
will, I trust, enable him to bring these powers into friendly relations.

The Government of Venezuela maintains its attitude of warm friendship
and continues with great regularity its payment of the monthly quota of
the diplomatic debt. Without suggesting the direction in which Congress
should act, I ask its attention to the pending questions affecting the
distribution of the sums thus far received.

The relations between Venezuela and France growing out of the same
debt have been for some time past in an unsatisfactory state, and
this Government, as the neighbor and one of the largest creditors of
Venezuela, has interposed its influence with the French Government with
the view of producing a friendly and honorable adjustment.

I regret that the commercial interests between the United States and
Brazil, from which great advantages were hoped a year ago, have suffered
from the withdrawal of the American lines of communication between the
Brazilian ports and our own.

Through the efforts of our minister resident at Buenos Ayres and the
United States minister at Santiago, a treaty has been concluded between
the Argentine Republic and Chile, disposing of the long-pending
Patagonian boundary question. It is a matter of congratulation that our
Government has been afforded the opportunity of successfully exerting
its good influence for the prevention of disagreements between these
Republics of the American continent.

I am glad to inform you that the treaties lately negotiated with China
have been duly ratified on both sides and the exchange made at Peking.
Legislation is necessary to carry their provisions into effect. The
prompt and friendly spirit with which the Chinese Government, at the
request of the United States, conceded the modification of existing
treaties should secure careful regard for the interests and
susceptibilities of that Government in the enactment of any laws
relating to Chinese immigration.

Those clauses of the treaties which forbid the participation of citizens
or vessels of the United States in the opium trade will doubtless
receive your approval. They will attest the sincere interest which our
people and Government feel in the commendable efforts of the Chinese
Government to put a stop to this demoralizing and destructive traffic.

In relation both to China and Japan some changes are desirable in our
present system of consular jurisdiction. I hope at some future time to
lay before you a scheme for its improvement in the entire East.

The intimacy between our own country and Japan, the most advanced of the
Eastern nations, continues to be cordial. I am advised that the Emperor
contemplates the establishment of full constitutional government, and
that he has already summoned a parliamentary congress for the purpose
of effecting the change. Such a remarkable step toward complete
assimilation with the Western system can not fail to bring Japan into
closer and more beneficial relationship with ourselves as the chief
Pacific power.

A question has arisen in relation to the exercise in that country of
the judicial functions conferred upon our ministers and consuls. The
indictment, trial, and conviction in the consular court at Yokohama of
John Ross, a merchant seaman on board an American vessel, have made it
necessary for the Government to institute a careful examination into
the nature and methods of this jurisdiction.

It appeared that Ross was regularly shipped under the flag of the United
States, but was by birth a British subject. My predecessor felt it his
duty to maintain the position that during his service as a regularly
shipped seaman on board an American merchant vessel Ross was subject to
the laws of that service and to the jurisdiction of the United States
consular authorities.

I renew the recommendation which has been heretofore urged by the
Executive upon the attention of Congress, that after the deduction of
such amount as may be found due to American citizens the balance of the
indemnity funds heretofore obtained from China and Japan, and which are
now in the hands of the State Department, be returned to the Governments
of those countries.

The King of Hawaii, in the course of his homeward return after a journey
around the world, has lately visited this country. While our relations
with that Kingdom are friendly, this Government has viewed with concern
the efforts to seek replenishment of the diminishing population of the
islands from outward sources, to a degree which may impair the native
sovereignty and independence, in which the United States was among the
first to testify a lively interest.

Relations of unimpaired amity have been maintained throughout the year
with the respective Governments of Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark,
Hayti, Paraguay and Uruguay, Portugal, and Sweden and Norway. This may
also be said of Greece and Ecuador, although our relations with those
States have for some years been severed by the withdrawal of
appropriations for diplomatic representatives at Athens and Quito. It
seems expedient to restore those missions, even on a reduced scale, and
I decidedly recommend such a course with respect to Ecuador, which is
likely within the near future to play an important part among the
nations of the Southern Pacific.

At its last extra session the Senate called for the text of the Geneva
convention for the relief of the wounded in war. I trust that this
action foreshadows such interest in the subject as will result in the
adhesion of the United States to that humane and commendable engagement.

I invite your attention to the propriety of adopting the new code of
international rules for the prevention of collisions on the high seas
and of conforming the domestic legislation of the United States thereto,
so that no confusion may arise from the application of conflicting rules
in the case of vessels of different nationalities meeting in tidal
waters. These international rules differ but slightly from our own. They
have been adopted by the Navy Department for the governance of the war
ships of the United States on the high seas and in foreign waters, and,
through the action of the State Department in disseminating the rules
and in acquainting shipmasters with the option of conforming to them
without the jurisdictional waters of the United States, they are now
very generally known and obeyed.

The State Department still continues to publish to the country the trade
and manufacturing reports received from its officers abroad. The success
of this course warrants its continuance and such appropriation as may be
required to meet the rapidly increasing demand for these publications.
With special reference to the Atlanta Cotton Exposition, the October
number of the reports was devoted to a valuable collection of papers on
the cotton-goods trade of the world.

The International Sanitary Conference for which, in 1879, Congress made
provision assembled in this city early in January last, and its sessions
were prolonged until March. Although it reached no specific conclusions
affecting the future action of the participant powers, the interchange
of views proved to be most valuable. The full protocols of the sessions
have been already presented to the Senate.

As pertinent to this general subject, I call your attention to the
operations of the National Board of Health. Established by act of
Congress approved March 3, 1879, its sphere of duty was enlarged by the
act of June 2 in the same year. By the last-named act the board was
required to institute such measures as might be deemed necessary for
preventing the introduction of contagious or infectious diseases from
foreign countries into the United States or from one State into another.

The execution of the rules and regulations prepared by the board and
approved by my predecessor has done much to arrest the progress of
epidemic disease, and has thus rendered substantial service to the
nation.

The International Sanitary Conference, to which I have referred, adopted
a form of a bill of health to be used by all vessels seeking to enter
the ports of the countries whose representatives participated in its
deliberations. This form has since been prescribed by the National Board
of Health and incorporated with its rules and regulations, which have
been approved by me in pursuance of law.

The health of the people is of supreme importance. All measures looking
to their protection against the spread of contagious diseases and to the
increase of our sanitary knowledge for such purposes deserve attention
of Congress.

The report of the Secretary of the Treasury presents in detail a highly
satisfactory exhibit of the state of the finances and the condition of
the various branches of the public service administered by that
Department.


The ordinary revenues from all sources for the fiscal year ending June
30, 1881, were:

  From customs                                            $198,159,676.02
  From internal revenue                                    135,264,385.51
  From sales of public lands                                 2,201,863.17
  From tax on circulation and deposits of national banks     8,116,115.72
  From repayment of interest by Pacific Railway companies      810,833.80
  From sinking fund for Pacific Railway companies              805,180.54
  From customs fees, fines, penalties, etc.                  1,225,514.86
  From fees--consular, letters patent, and lands             2,244,983.98
  From proceeds of sales of Government property                262,174.00
  From profits on coinage                                    3,468,485.61
  From revenues of the District of Columbia                  2,016,199.23
  From miscellaneous sources                                 6,206,880.13
                                                           ______________
  Total ordinary receipts                                  360,782,292.57


The ordinary expenditures for the same period were:


  For civil expenses                                       $17,941,177.19
  For foreign intercourse                                    1,093,954.92
  For Indians                                                6,514,161.09
  For pensions                                              50,059,279.62
  For the military establishment, including river
    and harbor improvements and arsenals                    40,466,460.55
  For the naval establishment, including vessels,
    machinery, and improvements at navy-yards               15,686,671.66
  For miscellaneous expenditures, including public
    buildings, light-houses, and collecting the revenue     41,837,280.57
  For expenditures on account of the District of Columbia    3,543,912.03
  For interest on the public debt                           82,508,741.18
  For premium on bonds purchased                             1,061,248.78
                                                           ______________
  Total ordinary expenditures                              260,712,887.59


Leaving a surplus revenue of $100,069,404.98, which was applied as
follows:

  To the redemption of--

  Bonds for the sinking fund                               $74,371,200.00
  Fractional currency for the sinking fund                     109,001.05
  Loan of February, 1861                                     7,418,000.00
  Ten-forties of 1864                                        2,016,150.00
  Five-twenties of 1862                                         18,300.00
  Five-twenties of 1864                                          3,400.00
  Five-twenties of 1865                                         37,300.00
  Consols of 1865                                              143,150.00
  Consols of 1867                                              959,150.00
  Consols of 1868                                              337,400.00
  Texan indemnity stock                                          1,000.00
  Old demand, compound-interest, and other notes                18,330.00
  And to the increase of cash in the Treasury               14,637,023.93
                                                           ______________
                                                           100,069,404.98

The requirements of the sinking fund for the year amounted to
$90,786,064.02, which sum included a balance of $49,817,128.78, not
provided for during the previous fiscal year. The sum of $74,480,201.05
was applied to this fund, which left a deficit of $16,305,873.47. The
increase of the revenues for 1881 over those of the previous year was
$29,352,901.10. It is estimated that the receipts during the present
fiscal year will reach $400,000,000 and the expenditures $270,000,000,
leaving a surplus of $130,000,000 applicable to the sinking fund and the
redemption of the public debt.

I approve the recommendation of the Secretary of the Treasury that
provision be made for the early retirement of silver certificates and
that the act requiring their issue be repealed. They were issued in
pursuance of the policy of the Government to maintain silver at or near
the gold standard, and were accordingly made receivable for all customs,
taxes, and public dues. About sixty-six millions of them are now
outstanding. They form an unnecessary addition to the paper currency,
a sufficient amount of which may be readily supplied by the national
banks.

In accordance with the act of February 28, 1878, the Treasury Department
has monthly caused at least two millions in value of silver bullion to
be coined into standard silver dollars. One hundred and two millions of
these dollars have been already coined, while only about thirty-four
millions are in circulation.

For the reasons which he specifies, I concur in the Secretary's
recommendation that the provision for coinage of a fixed amount each
month be repealed, and that hereafter only so much be coined as shall be
necessary to supply the demand.

The Secretary advises that the issue of gold certificates should not
for the present be resumed, and suggests that the national banks may
properly be forbidden by law to retire their currency except upon
reasonable notice of their intention so to do. Such legislation would
seem to be justified by the recent action of certain banks on the
occasion referred to in the Secretary's report.

Of the fifteen millions of fractional currency still outstanding, only
about eighty thousand has been redeemed the past year. The suggestion
that this amount may properly be dropped from future statements of the
public debt seems worthy of approval.

So also does the suggestion of the Secretary as to the advisability of
relieving the calendar of the United States courts in the southern
district of New York by the transfer to another tribunal of the numerous
suits there pending against collectors.

The revenue from customs for the past fiscal year was $198,159,676.02,
an increase of $11,637,611.42 over that of the year preceding. One
hundred and thirty-eight million ninety-eight thousand five hundred and
sixty-two dollars and thirty-nine cents of this amount was collected at
the port of New York, leaving $50,251,113.63 as the amount collected
at all the other ports of the country. Of this sum $47,977,137.63 was
collected on sugar, melado, and molasses; $27,285,624.78 on wool and its
manufactures; $21,462,534.34 on iron and steel and manufactures thereof;
$19,038,665.81 on manufactures of silk; $10,825,115.21 on manufactures
of cotton, and $6,469,643.04 on wines and spirits, making a total
revenue from these sources of $133,058,720.81.

The expenses of collection for the past year were $6,419,345.20, an
increase over the preceding year of $387,410.04. Notwithstanding the
increase in the revenue from customs over the preceding year, the gross
value of the imports, including free goods, decreased over $25,000,000.
The most marked decrease was in the value of unmanufactured wool,
$14,023,682, and in that of scrap and pig iron, $12,810,671. The value
of imported sugar, on the other hand, showed an increase of $7,457,474;
of steel rails, $4,345,521; of barley, $2,154,204, and of steel in bars,
ingots, etc., $1,620,046.

Contrasted with the imports during the last fiscal year, the exports
were as follows:


  Domestic merchandise                               $883,925,947
  Foreign merchandise                                  18,451,399
                                                    _____________
       Total                                          902,377,346

  Imports of merchandise                              642,664,628
                                                    _____________
  Excess of exports over imports of merchandise       259,712,718

  Aggregate of exports and imports                  1,545,041,974


Compared with the previous year, there was an increase of $66,738,688
in the value of exports of merchandise and a decrease of $25,290,118
in the value of imports. The annual average of the excess of imports
of merchandise over exports thereof for ten years previous to June
30, 1873, was $104,706,922, but for the last six years there has
been an excess of exports over imports of merchandise amounting to
$1,180,668,105, an annual average of $196,778,017. The specie value
of the exports of domestic merchandise was $376,616,473 in 1870 and
$883,925,947 in 1881, an increase of $507,309,474, or 135 per cent.
The value of imports was $435,958,408 in 1870 and $642,664,628 in 1881,
an increase of $206,706,220, or 47 per cent.

During each year from 1862 to 1879, inclusive, the exports of specie
exceeded the imports. The largest excess of such exports over imports
was reached during the year 1864, when it amounted to $92,280,929. But
during the year ended June 30, 1880, the imports of coin and bullion
exceeded the exports by $75,891,391, and during the last fiscal year
the excess of imports over exports was $91,168,650.

In the last annual report of the Secretary of the Treasury the attention
of Congress was called to the fact that $469,651,050 in 5 per cent bonds
and $203,573,750 in 6 per cent bonds would become redeemable during the
year, and Congress was asked to authorize the refunding of these bonds
at a lower rate of interest. The bill for such refunding having failed
to become a law, the Secretary of the Treasury in April last notified
the holders of the $195,690,400 6 per cent bonds then outstanding that
the bonds would be paid at par on the 1st day of July following, or that
they might be "continued" at the pleasure of the Government, to bear
interest at the rate of 3-1/2 per cent per annum.

Under this notice $178,055,150 of the 6 per cent bonds were continued at
the lower rate and $17,635,250 were redeemed.

In the month of May a like notice was given respecting the redemption
or continuance of the $439,841,350 of 5 per cent bonds then outstanding,
and of these $401,504,900 were continued at 3-1/3 per cent per annum and
$38,336,450 redeemed.

The 6 per cent bonds of the loan of February 8, 1861, and of the Oregon
war debt, amounting together to $14,125,800, having matured during the
year, the Secretary of the Treasury gave notice of his intention to
redeem the same, and such as have been presented have been paid from the
surplus revenues. There have also been redeemed at par $16,179,100 of
the 3-1/2 per cent "continued" bonds, making a total of bonds redeemed
or which have ceased to bear interest during the year of $123,969,650.

The reduction of the annual interest on the public debt through these
transactions is as follows:


  By reduction of interest to 3-1/2 per cent.          $10,473,952.25
  By redemption of bonds                                 6,352,340.00
                                                        _____________
    Total                                               16,826,292.25


The 3-1/2 per cent bonds, being payable at the pleasure of the
Government, are available for the investment of surplus revenues without
the payment of premiums.

Unless these bonds can be funded at a much lower rate of interest than
they now bear, I agree with the Secretary of the Treasury that no
legislation respecting them is desirable.

It is a matter for congratulation that the business of the country
has been so prosperous during the past year as to yield by taxation
a large surplus of income to the Government. If the revenue laws remain
unchanged, this surplus must year by year increase, on account of the
reduction of the public debt and its burden of interest and because
of the rapid increase of our population. In 1860, just prior to the
institution of our internal-revenue system, our population but slightly
exceeded 30,000,000; by the census of 1880 it is now found to exceed
50,000,000. It is estimated that even if the annual receipts and
expenditures should continue as at present the entire debt could be
paid in ten years.

In view, however, of the heavy load of taxation which our people have
already borne, we may well consider whether it is not the part of wisdom
to reduce the revenues, even if we delay a little the payment of the
debt.

It seems to me that the time has arrived when the people may justly
demand some relief from their present onerous burden, and that by due
economy in the various branches of the public service this may readily
be afforded.

I therefore concur with the Secretary in recommending the abolition
of all internal-revenue taxes except those upon tobacco in its various
forms and upon distilled spirits and fermented liquors, and except also
the special tax upon the manufacturers of and dealers in such articles.
The retention of the latter tax is desirable as affording the officers
of the Government a proper supervision of these articles for the
prevention of fraud. I agree with the Secretary of the Treasury that the
law imposing a stamp tax upon matches, proprietary articles, playing
cards, checks, and drafts may with propriety be repealed, and the law
also by which banks and bankers are assessed upon their capital and
deposits. There seems to be a general sentiment in favor of this course.

In the present condition of our revenues the tax upon deposits is
especially unjust. It was never imposed in this country until it was
demanded by the necessities of war, and was never exacted, I believe, in
any other country even in its greatest exigencies. Banks are required to
secure their circulation by pledging with the Treasurer of the United
States bonds of the General Government. The interest upon these bonds,
which at the time when the tax was imposed was 6 per cent, is now in
most instances 3-1/2 per cent. Besides, the entire circulation was
originally limited by law and no increase was allowable. When the
existing banks had practically a monopoly of the business, there was
force in the suggestion that for the franchise to the favored grantees
the Government might very properly exact a tax on circulation; but for
years the system has been free and the amount of circulation regulated
by the public demand.

The retention of this tax has been suggested as a means of reimbursing
the Government for the expense of printing and furnishing the
circulating notes. If the tax should be repealed, it would certainly
seem proper to require the national banks to pay the amount of such
expense to the Comptroller of the Currency.

It is perhaps doubtful whether the immediate reduction of the rate of
taxation upon liquors and tobacco is advisable, especially in view of
the drain upon the Treasury which must attend the payment of arrears of
pensions. A comparison, however, of the amount of taxes collected under
the varying rates of taxation which have at different times prevailed
suggests the intimation that some reduction may soon be made without
material diminution of the revenue.

The tariff laws also need revision; but, that a due regard may be paid
to the conflicting interests of our citizens, important changes should
be made with caution. If a careful revision can not be made at this
session, a commission such as was lately approved by the Senate and is
now recommended by the Secretary of the Treasury would doubtless lighten
the labors of Congress whenever this subject shall be brought to its
consideration.

The accompanying report of the Secretary of War will make known to you
the operations of that Department for the past year.

He suggests measures for promoting the efficiency of the Army without
adding to the number of its officers, and recommends the legislation
necessary to increase the number of enlisted men to 30,000, the maximum
allowed by law.

This he deems necessary to maintain quietude on our ever-shifting
frontier; to preserve peace and suppress disorder and marauding in new
settlements; to protect settlers and their property against Indians, and
Indians against the encroachments of intruders; and to enable peaceable
immigrants to establish homes in the most remote parts of our country.

The Army is now necessarily scattered over such a vast extent of
territory that whenever an outbreak occurs reenforcements must be
hurried from many quarters, over great distances, and always at heavy
cost for transportation of men, horses, wagons, and supplies.

I concur in the recommendations of the Secretary for increasing the Army
to the strength of 30,000 enlisted men.

It appears by the Secretary's report that in the absence of disturbances
on the frontier the troops have been actively employed in collecting the
Indians hitherto hostile and locating them on their proper reservations;
that Sitting Bull and his adherents are now prisoners at Fort Randall;
that the Utes have been moved to their new reservation in Utah; that
during the recent outbreak of the Apaches it was necessary to reenforce
the garrisons in Arizona by troops withdrawn from New Mexico; and that
some of the Apaches are now held prisoners for trial, while some have
escaped, and the majority of the tribe are now on their reservation.

There is need of legislation to prevent intrusion upon the lands set
apart for the Indians. A large military force, at great expense, is
now required to patrol the boundary line between Kansas and the Indian
Territory. The only punishment that can at present be inflicted is the
forcible removal of the intruder and the imposition of a pecuniary fine,
which in most cases it is impossible to collect. There should be a
penalty by imprisonment in such cases.

The separate organization of the Signal Service is urged by the
Secretary of War, and a full statement of the advantages of such
permanent organization is presented in the report of the Chief Signal
Officer. A detailed account of the useful work performed by the Signal
Corps and the Weather Bureau is also given in that report.

I ask attention to the statements of the Secretary of War regarding the
requisitions frequently made by the Indian Bureau upon the Subsistence
Department of the Army for the casual support of bands and tribes of
Indians whose appropriations are exhausted. The War Department should
not be left, by reason of inadequate provision for the Indian Bureau,
to contribute for the maintenance of Indians.

The report of the Chief of Engineers furnishes a detailed account of the
operations for the improvement of rivers and harbors.

I commend to your attention the suggestions contained in this report in
regard to the condition of our fortifications, especially our coast
defenses, and recommend an increase of the strength of the Engineer
Battalion, by which the efficiency of our torpedo system would be
improved.

I also call your attention to the remarks upon the improvement of the
South Pass of the Mississippi River, the proposed free bridge over the
Potomac River at Georgetown, the importance of completing at an early
day the north wing of the War Department building, and other
recommendations of the Secretary of War which appear in his report.

The actual expenditures of that Department for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1881, were $42,122,201.39. The appropriations for the year 1882
were $44,889,725.42. The estimates for 1883 are $44,541,276.91.

The report of the Secretary of the Navy exhibits the condition of
that branch of the service and presents valuable suggestions for its
improvement. I call your especial attention also to the appended report
of the Advisory Board which he convened to devise suitable measures for
increasing the efficiency of the Navy, and particularly to report as to
the character and number of vessels necessary to place it upon a footing
commensurate with the necessities of the Government.

I can not too strongly urge upon you my conviction that every
consideration of national safety, economy, and honor imperatively
demands a thorough rehabilitation of our Navy.

With a full appreciation of the fact that compliance with the
suggestions of the head of that Department and of the Advisory Board
must involve a large expenditure of the public moneys, I earnestly
recommend such appropriations as will accomplish an end which seems to
me so desirable.

Nothing can be more inconsistent with true public economy than
withholding the means necessary to accomplish the objects intrusted by
the Constitution to the National Legislature. One of those objects, and
one which is of paramount importance, is declared by our fundamental law
to be the provision for the "common defense." Surely nothing is more
essential to the defense of the United States and of all our people
than the efficiency of our Navy.

We have for many years maintained with foreign governments the relations
of honorable peace, and that such relations may be permanent is desired
by every patriotic citizen of the Republic. But if we heed the teachings
of history we shall not forget that in the life of every nation
emergencies may arise when a resort to arms can alone save it from
dishonor.

No danger from abroad now threatens this people, nor have we any cause
to distrust the friendly professions of other governments. But for
avoiding as well as for repelling dangers that may threaten us in the
future we must be prepared to enforce any policy which we think wise to
adopt.

We must be ready to defend our harbors against aggression; to protect,
by the distribution of our ships of war over the highways of commerce,
the varied interests of our foreign trade and the persons and property
of our citizens abroad; to maintain everywhere the honor of our flag and
the distinguished position which we may rightfully claim among the
nations of the world.

The report of the Postmaster-General is a gratifying exhibit of the
growth and efficiency of the postal service.

The receipts from postage and other ordinary sources during the past
fiscal year were $36,489,816.58. The receipts from the money-order
business were $295,581.39, making a total of $36,785,397.97. The
expenditure for the fiscal year was $39,251,736.46. The deficit supplied
out of the general Treasury was $2,481,129.35, or 6.3 per cent of the
amount expended. The receipts were $3,469,918.63 in excess of those of
the previous year, and $4,575,397.97 in excess of the estimate made two
years ago, before the present period of business prosperity had fairly
begun.

The whole number of letters mailed in this country in the last fiscal
year exceeded 1,000,000,000.

The registry system is reported to be in excellent condition, having
been remodeled during the past four years with good results. The amount
of registration fees collected during the last fiscal year was
$712,882.20, an increase over the fiscal year ending June 30, 1877, of
$345,443.40.

The entire number of letters and packages registered during the year was
8,338,919, of which only 2,061 were lost or destroyed in transit.

The operations of the money-order system are multiplying yearly under
the impulse of immigration, of the rapid development of the newer States
and Territories, and the consequent demand for additional means of
intercommunication and exchange.

During the past year 338 additional money-order offices have been
established, making a total of 5,499 in operation at the date of this
report.

During the year the domestic money orders aggregated in value
$105,075,769.35

A modification of the system is suggested, reducing the fees for money
orders not exceeding $5 from 10 cents to 5 cents and making the maximum
limit $100 in place of $50.

Legislation for the disposition of unclaimed money orders in the
possession of the Post-Office Department is recommended, in view of the
fact that their total value now exceeds $1,000,000.

The attention of Congress is again invited to the subject of
establishing a system of savings depositories in connection with the
Post-Office Department.

The statistics of mail transportation show that during the past year
railroad routes have been increased in length 6,249 miles and in cost
$1,114,382, while steamboat routes have been decreased in length 2,182
miles and in cost $134,054. The so-called star routes have been
decreased in length 3,949 miles and in cost $364,144.

Nearly all of the more expensive routes have been superseded by railroad
service. The cost of the star service must therefore rapidly decrease in
the Western States and Territories.

The Postmaster-General, however, calls attention to the constantly
increasing cost of the railway mail service as a serious difficulty in
the way of making the Department self-sustaining.

Our postal intercourse with foreign countries has kept pace with the
growth of the domestic service. Within the past year several countries
and colonies have declared their adhesion to the Postal Union. It now
includes all those which have an organized postal service except
Bolivia, Costa Rica, New Zealand, and the British colonies in Australia.

As has been already stated, great reductions have recently been made
in the expense of the star-route service. The investigations of the
Department of Justice and the Post-Office Department have resulted in
the presentation of indictments against persons formerly connected with
that service, accusing them of offenses against the United States. I
have enjoined upon the officials who are charged with the conduct of the
cases on the part of the Government, and upon the eminent counsel who
before my accession to the Presidency were called to their assistance,
the duty of prosecuting with the utmost vigor of the law all persons who
may be found chargeable with frauds upon the postal service.

The Acting Attorney-General calls attention to the necessity of
modifying the present system of the courts of the United States--a
necessity due to the large increase of business, especially in the
Supreme Court. Litigation in our Federal tribunals became greatly
expanded after the close of the late war. So long as that expansion
might be attributable to the abnormal condition in which the community
found itself immediately after the return of peace, prudence required
that no change be made in the constitution of our judicial tribunals.
But it has now become apparent that an immense increase of litigation
has directly resulted from the wonderful growth and development of the
country. There is no ground for belief that the business of the United
States courts will ever be less in volume than at present. Indeed, that
it is likely to be much greater is generally recognized by the bench and
bar.

In view of the fact that Congress has already given much consideration
to this subject, I make no suggestion as to detail, but express the hope
that your deliberations may result in such legislation as will give
early relief to our overburdened courts.

The Acting Attorney-General also calls attention to the disturbance
of the public tranquillity during the past year in the Territory of
Arizona. A band of armed desperadoes known as "Cowboys," probably
numbering from fifty to one hundred men, have been engaged for months in
committing acts of lawlessness and brutality which the local authorities
have been unable to repress. The depredations of these "Cowboys" have
also extended into Mexico, which the marauders reach from the Arizona
frontier. With every disposition to meet the exigencies of the case,
I am embarrassed by lack of authority to deal with them effectually.
The punishment of crimes committed within Arizona should ordinarily,
of course, be left to the Territorial authorities; but it is worthy
consideration whether acts which necessarily tend to embroil the United
States with neighboring governments should not be declared crimes
against the United States. Some of the incursions alluded to may perhaps
be within the scope of the law (U.S. Revised Statutes, sec. 5286)
forbidding "military expeditions or enterprises" against friendly
states; but in view of the speedy assembling of your body I have
preferred to await such legislation as in your wisdom the occasion may
seem to demand.

It may perhaps be thought proper to provide that the setting on foot
within our own territory of brigandage and armed marauding expeditions
against friendly nations and their citizens shall be punishable as an
offense against the United States.

I will add that in the event of a request from the Territorial
government for protection by the United States against "domestic
violence" this Government would be powerless to render assistance.

The act of 1795, chapter 36, passed at a time when Territorial
governments received little attention from Congress, enforced this duty
of the United States only as to the State governments. But the act of
1807, chapter 39, applied also to Territories. This law seems to have
remained in force until the revision of the statutes, when the provision
for the Territories was dropped. I am not advised whether this
alteration was intentional or accidental; but as it seems to me that the
Territories should be offered the protection which is accorded to the
States by the Constitution, I suggest legislation to that end.

It seems to me, too, that whatever views may prevail as to the policy
of recent legislation by which the Army has ceased to be a part of the
_posse comitatus_, an exception might well be made for permitting
the military to assist the civil Territorial authorities in enforcing
the laws of the United States. This use of the Army would not seem to
be within the alleged evil against which that legislation was aimed.
From sparseness of population and other circumstances it is often quite
impracticable to summon a civil posse in places where officers of
justice require assistance and where a military force is within easy
reach.

The report of the Secretary of the Interior, with accompanying
documents, presents an elaborate account of the business of that
Department. A summary of it would be too extended for this place. I ask
your careful attention to the report itself.

Prominent among the matters which challenge the attention of Congress at
its present session is the management of our Indian affairs. While this
question has been a cause of trouble and embarrassment from the infancy
of the Government, it is but recently that any effort has been made for
its solution at once serious, determined, consistent, and promising
success.

It has been easier to resort to convenient makeshifts for tiding over
temporary difficulties than to grapple with the great permanent problem,
and accordingly the easier course has almost invariably been pursued.

It was natural, at a time when the national territory seemed almost
illimitable and contained many millions of acres far outside the bounds
of civilized settlements, that a policy should have been initiated which
more than aught else has been the fruitful source of our Indian
complications.

I refer, of course, to the policy of dealing with the various Indian
tribes as separate nationalities, of relegating them by treaty
stipulations to the occupancy of immense reservations in the West, and
of encouraging them to live a savage life, undisturbed by any earnest
and well-directed efforts to bring them under the influences of
civilization.

The unsatisfactory results which have sprung from this policy are
becoming apparent to all.

As the white settlements have crowded the borders of the reservations,
the Indians, sometimes contentedly and sometimes against their will,
have been transferred to other hunting grounds, from which they have
again been dislodged whenever their new-found homes have Keen desired
by the adventurous settlers.

These removals and the frontier collisions by which they have often been
preceded have led to frequent and disastrous conflicts between the
races.

It is profitless to discuss here which of them has been chiefly
responsible for the disturbances whose recital occupies so large a space
upon the pages of our history.

We have to deal with the appalling fact that though thousands of lives
have been sacrificed and hundreds of millions of dollars expended in the
attempt to solve the Indian problem, it has until within the past few
years seemed scarcely nearer a solution than it was half a century ago.
But the Government has of late been cautiously but steadily feeling its
way to the adoption of a policy which has already produced gratifying
results, and which, in my judgment, is likely, if Congress and the
Executive accord in its support, to relieve us ere long from the
difficulties which have hitherto beset us.

For the success of the efforts now making to introduce among the Indians
the customs and pursuits of civilized life and gradually to absorb them
into the mass of our citizens, sharing their rights and holden to their
responsibilities, there is imperative need for legislative action.

My suggestions in that regard will be chiefly such as have been already
called to the attention of Congress and have received to some extent its
consideration.

First. I recommend the passage of an act making the laws of the various
States and Territories applicable to the Indian reservations within
their borders and extending the laws of the State of Arkansas to the
portion of the Indian Territory not occupied by the Five Civilized
Tribes.

The Indian should receive the protection of the law. He should be
allowed to maintain in court his rights of person and property. He has
repeatedly begged for this privilege. Its exercise would be very
valuable to him in his progress toward civilization.

Second. Of even greater importance is a measure which has been
frequently recommended by my predecessors in office, and in furtherance
of which several bills have been from time to time introduced in both
Houses of Congress. The enactment of a general law permitting the
allotment in severalty, to such Indians, at least, as desire it, of a
reasonable quantity of land secured to them by patent, and for their own
protection made inalienable for twenty or twenty-five years, is demanded
for their present welfare and their permanent advancement.

In return for such considerate action on the part of the Government,
there is reason to believe that the Indians in large numbers would be
persuaded to sever they tribal relations and to engage at once in
agricultural pursuits. Many of them realize the fact that their hunting
days are over and that it is now for their best interests to conform
their manner of life to the new order of things. By no greater
inducement than the assurance of permanent title to the soil can they
be led to engage in the occupation of tilling it.

The well-attested reports of their increasing interest in husbandry
justify the hope and belief that the enactment of such a statute as I
recommend would be at once attended with gratifying results. A resort
to the allotment system would have a direct and powerful influence in
dissolving the tribal bond, which is so prominent a feature of savage
life, and which tends so strongly to perpetuate it.

Third. I advise a liberal appropriation for the support of Indian
schools, because of my confident belief that such a course is consistent
with the wisest economy.

Even among the most uncultivated Indian tribes there is reported to be
a general and urgent desire on the part of the chiefs and older members
for the education of their children. It is unfortunate, in view of this
fact, that during the past year the means which have been at the command
of the Interior Department for the purpose of Indian instruction have
proved to be utterly inadequate.

The success of the schools which are in operation at Hampton, Carlisle,
and Forest Grove should not only encourage a more generous provision for
the support of those institutions, but should prompt the establishment
of others of a similar character.

They are doubtless much more potent for good than the day schools upon
the reservation, as the pupils are altogether separated from the
surroundings of savage life and brought into constant contact with
civilization.

There are many other phases of this subject which are of great interest,
but which can not be included within the becoming limits of this
communication. They are discussed ably in the reports of the Secretary
of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

For many years the Executive, in his annual message to Congress, has
urged the necessity of stringent legislation for the suppression of
polygamy in the Territories, and especially in the Territory of Utah.
The existing statute for the punishment of this odious crime, so
revolting to the moral and religious sense of Christendom, has been
persistently and contemptuously violated ever since its enactment.
Indeed, in spite of commendable efforts on the part of the authorities
who represent the United States in that Territory, the law has in very
rare instances been enforced, and, for a cause to which reference will
presently be made, is practically a dead letter.

The fact that adherents of the Mormon Church, which rests upon polygamy
as its corner stone, have recently been peopling in large numbers Idaho,
Arizona, and other of our Western Territories is well calculated to
excite the liveliest interest and apprehension. It imposes upon Congress
and the Executive the duty of arraying against this barbarous system all
the power which under the Constitution and the law they can wield for
its destruction.

Reference has been already made to the obstacles which the United States
officers have encountered in their efforts to punish violations of law.
Prominent among these obstacles is the difficulty of procuring legal
evidence sufficient to warrant a conviction even in the case of the most
notorious offenders.

Your attention is called to a recent opinion of the Supreme Court of the
United States, explaining its judgment of reversal in the case of Miles,
who had been convicted of bigamy in Utah. The court refers to the fact
that the secrecy attending the celebration of marriages in that
Territory makes the proof of polygamy very difficult, and the propriety
is suggested of modifying the law of evidence which now makes a wife
incompetent to testify against her husband.

This suggestion is approved. I recommend also the passage of an act
providing that in the Territories of the United States the fact that
a woman has been married to a person charged with bigamy shall not
disqualify her as a witness upon his trial for that offense. I further
recommend legislation by which any person solemnizing a marriage in any
of the Territories shall be required, under stringent penalties for
neglect or refusal, to file a certificate of such marriage in the
supreme court of the Territory.

Doubtless Congress may devise other practicable measures for obviating
the difficulties which have hitherto attended the efforts to suppress
this iniquity. I assure you of my determined purpose to cooperate with
you in any lawful and discreet measures which may be proposed to that
end.

Although our system of government does not contemplate that the nation
should provide or support a system for the education of our people, no
measures calculated to promote that general intelligence and virtue upon
which the perpetuity of our institutions so greatly depends have ever
been regarded with indifference by Congress or the Executive.

A large portion of the public domain has been from time to time devoted
to the promotion of education.

There is now a special reason why, by setting apart the proceeds of its
sales of public lands or by some other course, the Government should aid
the work of education. Many who now exercise the right of suffrage are
unable to read the ballot which they cast. Upon many who had just
emerged from a condition of slavery were suddenly devolved the
responsibilities of citizenship in that portion of the country most
impoverished by war. I have been pleased to learn from the report of the
Commissioner of Education that there has lately been a commendable
increase of interest and effort for their instruction; but all that can
be done by local legislation and private generosity should be
supplemented by such aid as can be constitutionally afforded by the
National Government.

I would suggest that if any fund be dedicated to this purpose it may be
wisely distributed in the different States according to the ratio of
illiteracy, as by this means those localities which are most in need of
such assistance will reap its special benefits.

The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture exhibits the results of
the experiments in which that Department has been engaged during the
past year and makes important suggestions in reference to the
agricultural development of the country.

The steady increase of our population and the consequent addition to
the number of those engaging in the pursuit of husbandry are giving
to this Department a growing dignity and importance. The Commissioner's
suggestions touching its capacity for greater usefulness deserve
attention, as it more and more commends itself to the interests which
it was created to promote.

It appears from the report of the Commissioner of Pensions that since
1860 789,063 original pension claims have been filed; 450,949 of these
have been allowed and inscribed on the pension roll; 72,539 have been
rejected and abandoned, being 13+ per cent of the whole number of claims
settled.

There are now pending for settlement 265,575 original pension claims,
227,040 of which were filed prior to July 1, 1880. These, when allowed,
will involve the payment of arrears from the date of discharge in case
of an invalid and from date of death or termination of a prior right in
all other cases.

From all the data obtainable it is estimated that 15 per cent of the
number of claims now pending will be rejected or abandoned. This would
show the probable rejection of 34,040 cases and the probable admission
of about 193,000 claims, all of which involve the payment of arrears of
pension.

With the present force employed, the number of adjudications remaining
the same and no new business intervening, this number of claims
(193,000) could be acted upon in a period of six years; and taking
January 1, 1884, as a near period from which to estimate in each case
an average amount of arrears, it is found that every case allowed would
require for the first payment upon it the sum of $1,350. Multiplying
this amount by the whole number of probable admissions gives
$250,000,000 as the sum required for first payment. This represents the
sum which must be paid upon claims which were filed before July 1, 1880,
and are now pending and entitled to the benefits of the arrears act.
From this amount ($250,000,000) may be deducted from ten to fifteen
millions for cases where, the claimant dying, there is no person who
under the law would be entitled to succeed to the pension, leaving
$235,000,000 as the probable amount to be paid.

In these estimates no account has been taken of the 38,500 cases filed
since June 30, 1880, and now pending, which must receive attention as
current business, but which do not involve the payment of any arrears
beyond the date of filing the claim. Of this number it is estimated that
86 per cent will be allowed.

As has been stated, with the present force of the Pension Bureau (675
clerks) it is estimated that it will take six years to dispose of the
claims now pending.

It is stated by the Commissioner of Pensions that by an addition of 250
clerks (increasing the adjudicating force rather than the mechanical)
double the amount of work could be accomplished, so that these cases
could be acted upon within three years.

Aside from the considerations of justice which, may be urged for a
speedy settlement of the claims now on the files of the Pension Office,
it is no less important on the score of economy, inasmuch as fully
one-third of the clerical force of the office is now wholly occupied in
giving attention to correspondence with the thousands of claimants whose
cases have been on the files for the past eighteen years. The fact that
a sum so enormous must be expended by the Government to meet demands for
arrears of pensions is an admonition to Congress and the Executive to
give cautious consideration to any similar project in the future. The
great temptation to the presentation of fictitious claims afforded by
the fact that the average sum obtained upon each application is $1,300
leads me to suggest the propriety of making some special appropriation
for the prevention of fraud.

I advise appropriations for such internal improvements as the wisdom of
Congress may deem to be of public importance. The necessity of improving
the navigation of the Mississippi River justifies a special allusion to
that subject. I suggest the adoption of some measure for the removal of
obstructions which now impede the navigation of that great channel of
commerce.

In my letter accepting the nomination for the Vice-Presidency I stated
that in my judgment--


  No man should be the incumbent of an office the duties of which he is
  for any cause unfit to perform; who is lacking in the ability, fidelity,
  or integrity which a proper administration of such office demands. This
  sentiment would doubtless meet with general acquiescence, but opinion
  has been widely divided upon the wisdom and practicability of the
  various reformatory schemes which have been suggested and of certain
  proposed regulations governing appointments to public office.

  The efficiency of such regulations has been distrusted mainly because
  they have seemed to exalt mere educational and abstract tests above
  general business capacity and even special fitness for the particular
  work in hand. It seems to me that the rules which should be applied to
  the management of the public service may properly conform in the main
  to such as regulate the conduct of successful private business:

  Original appointments should be based upon ascertained fitness.

  The tenure of office should be stable.

  Positions of responsibility should, so far as practicable, be filled by
  the promotion of worthy and efficient officers.

  The investigation of all complaints and the punishment of all official
  misconduct should be prompt and thorough.


The views expressed in the foregoing letter are those which will govern
my administration of the executive office. They are doubtless shared by
all intelligent and patriotic citizens, however divergent in their
opinions as to the best methods of putting them into practical
operation.

For example, the assertion that "original appointments should be based
upon ascertained fitness" is not open to dispute.

But the question how in practice such fitness can be most effectually
ascertained is one which has for years excited interest and discussion.
The measure which, with slight variations in its details, has lately
been urged upon the attention of Congress and the Executive has as
its principal feature the scheme of competitive examination. Save for
certain exceptions, which need not here be specified, this plan would
allow admission to the service only in its lowest grade, and would
accordingly demand that all vacancies in higher positions should be
filled by promotion alone. In these particulars it is in conformity
with the existing civil-service system of Great Britain; and indeed the
success which has attended that system in the country of its birth is
the strongest argument which has been urged for its adoption here.

The fact should not, however, be overlooked that there are certain
features of the English system which have not generally been received
with favor in this country, even among the foremost advocates of
civil-service reform.

Among them are:

1. A tenure of office which is substantially a life tenure.

2. A limitation of the maximum age at which an applicant can enter
the service, whereby all men in middle life or older are, with some
exceptions, rigidly excluded.

3. A retiring allowance upon going out of office.

These three elements are as important factors of the problem as any of
the others. To eliminate them from the English system would effect a
most radical change in its theory and practice.

The avowed purpose of that system is to induce the educated young men of
the country to devote their lives to public employment by an assurance
that having once entered upon it they need never leave it, and that
after voluntary retirement they shall be the recipients of an annual
pension. That this system as an entirety has proved very successful in
Great Britain seems to be generally conceded even by those who once
opposed its adoption.

To a statute which should incorporate all its essential features I
should feel bound to give my approval; but whether it would be for the
best interests of the public to fix upon an expedient for immediate and
extensive application which embraces certain features of the English
system, but excludes or ignores others of equal importance, may be
seriously doubted, even by those who are impressed, as I am myself, with
the grave importance of correcting the evils which inhere in the present
methods of appointment.

If, for example, the English rule which shuts out persons above the age
of 25 years from a large number of public employments is not to be made
an essential part of our own system, it is questionable whether the
attainment of the highest number of marks at a competitive examination
should be the criterion by which all applications for appointment should
be put to test. And under similar conditions it may also be questioned
whether admission to the service should be strictly limited to its
lowest ranks.

There are very many characteristics which go to make a model civil
servant. Prominent among them are probity, industry, good sense, good
habits, good temper, patience, order, courtesy, tact, self-reliance,
manly deference to superior officers, and manly consideration for
inferiors. The absence of these traits is not supplied by wide knowledge
of books, or by promptitude in answering questions, or by any other
quality likely to be brought to light by competitive examination.

To make success in such a contest, therefore, an indispensable condition
of public employment would very likely result in the practical exclusion
of the older applicants, even though they might possess qualifications
far superior to their younger and more brilliant competitors.

These suggestions must not be regarded as evincing any spirit of
opposition to the competitive plan, which has been to some extent
successfully employed already, and which may hereafter vindicate the
claim of its most earnest supporters; but it ought to be seriously
considered whether the application of the same educational standard to
persons of mature years and to young men fresh from school and college
would not be likely to exalt mere intellectual proficiency above other
qualities of equal or greater importance.

Another feature of the proposed system is the selection by promotion of
all officers of the Government above the lowest grade, except such as
would fairly be regarded as exponents of the policy of the Executive
and the principles of the dominant party.

To afford encouragement to faithful public servants by exciting in their
minds the hope of promotion if they are found to merit it is much to be
desired.

But would it be wise to adopt a rule so rigid as to permit no other mode
of supplying the intermediate walks of the service?

There are many persons who fill subordinate positions with great credit,
but lack those qualities which are requisite for higher posts of duty;
and, besides, the modes of thought and action of one whose service in
a governmental bureau has been long continued are often so cramped by
routine procedure as almost to disqualify him from instituting changes
required by the public interests. An infusion of new blood from time to
time into the middle ranks of the service might be very beneficial in
its results.

The subject under discussion is one of grave importance. The evils which
are complained of can not be eradicated at once; the work must be
gradual.

The present English system is a growth of years, and was not created by
a single stroke of executive or legislative action.

Its beginnings are found in an order in council promulgated in 1855, and
it was after patient and cautious scrutiny of its workings that fifteen
years later it took its present shape.

Five years after the issuance of the order in council, and at a time
when resort had been had to competitive examinations as an experiment
much more extensively than has yet been the case in this country, a
select committee of the House of Commons made a report to that House
which, declaring its approval of the competitive plan, deprecated,
nevertheless, any precipitancy in its general adoption as likely to
endanger its ultimate success.

During this tentative period the results of the two methods of pass
examination and competitive examination were closely watched and
compared. It may be that before we confine ourselves upon this important
question within the stringent bounds of statutory enactment we may
profitably await the result of further inquiry and experiment.

The submission of a portion of the nominations to a central board of
examiners selected solely for testing the qualifications of applicants
may perhaps, without resort to the competitive test, put an end to the
mischiefs which attend the present system of appointment, and it may be
feasible to vest in such a board a wide discretion to ascertain the
characteristics and attainments of candidates in those particulars which
I have already referred to as being no less important than mere
intellectual attainment.

If Congress should deem it advisable at the present session to establish
competitive tests for admission to the service, no doubts such as have
been suggested shall deter me from giving the measure my earnest
support.

And I urgently recommend, should there be a failure to pass any other
act upon this subject, that an appropriation of $25,000 per year may be
made for the enforcement of section 1753 of the Revised Statutes.

With the aid thus afforded me I shall strive to execute the provisions
of that law according to its letter and spirit.

I am unwilling, in justice to the present civil servants of the
Government, to dismiss this subject without declaring my dissent from
the severe and almost indiscriminate censure with which they have been
recently assailed. That they are as a class indolent, inefficient, and
corrupt is a statement which has been often made and widely credited;
but when the extent, variety, delicacy, and importance of their duties
are considered the great majority of the employees of the Government
are, in my judgment, deserving of high commendation.

The continuing decline of the merchant marine of the United States is
greatly to be deplored. In view of the fact that we furnish so large
a proportion of the freights of the commercial world and that our
shipments are steadily and rapidly increasing, it is cause of surprise
that not only is our navigation interest diminishing, but it is less
than when our exports and imports were not half so large as now,
either in bulk or value. There must be some peculiar hindrance to the
development of this interest, or the enterprise and energy of American
mechanics and capitalists would have kept this country at least abreast
of our rivals in the friendly contest for ocean supremacy.

The substitution of iron for wood and of steam for sail have wrought
great revolutions in the carrying trade of the world; but these changes
could not have been adverse to America if we had given to our navigation
interests a portion of the aid and protection which have been so wisely
bestowed upon our manufactures. I commend the whole subject to the
wisdom of Congress, with the suggestion that no question of greater
magnitude or farther reaching importance can engage their attention.

In 1875 the Supreme Court of the United States declared unconstitutional
the statutes of certain States which imposed upon shipowners or
consignees a tax of $1.50 for each passenger arriving from a foreign
country, or in lieu thereof required a bond to indemnify the State and
local authorities against expense for the future relief or support of
such passenger. Since this decision the expense attending the care and
supervision of immigrants has fallen on the States at whose ports they
have landed. As a large majority of such immigrants, immediately upon
their arrival, proceed to the inland States and the Territories to seek
permanent homes, it is manifestly unjust to impose upon the State whose
shores they first reach, the burden which it now bears. For this reason,
and because of the national importance of the subject, I recommend
legislation regarding the supervision and transitory care of immigrants
at the ports of debarkation.

I regret to state that the people of Alaska have reason to complain
that they are as yet unprovided with any form of government by which
life or property can be protected. While the extent of its population
does not justify the application of the costly machinery of Territorial
administration, there is immediate necessity for constituting such a
form of government as will promote the education of the people and
secure the administration of justice.

The Senate at its last session passed a bill providing for the
construction of a building for the Library of Congress, but it failed
to become a law. The provision of suitable protection for this great
collection of books and for the copyright department connected with it
has become a subject of national importance and should receive prompt
attention.

The report of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia herewith
transmitted will inform you fully of the condition of the affairs of
the District.

They urge the vital importance of legislation for the reclamation and
improvement of the marshes and for the establishment of the harbor lines
along the Potomac River front.

It is represented that in their present condition these marshes
seriously affect the health of the residents of the adjacent parts of
the city, and that they greatly mar the general aspect of the park in
which stands the Washington Monument. This improvement would add to
that park and to the park south of the Executive Mansion a large area
of valuable land, and would transform what is now believed to be a
dangerous nuisance into an attractive landscape extending to the river
front.

They recommend the removal of the steam railway lines from the surface
of the streets of the city and the location of the necessary depots in
such places as may be convenient for the public accommodation, and they
call attention to the deficiency of the water supply, which seriously
affects the material prosperity of the city and the health and comfort
of its inhabitants.

I commend these subjects to your favorable consideration.

The importance of timely legislation with respect to the ascertainment
and declaration of the vote for Presidential electors was sharply called
to the attention of the people more than four years ago.

It is to be hoped that some well-defined measure may be devised before
another national election which will render unnecessary a resort to any
expedient of a temporary character for the determination of questions
upon contested returns.

Questions which concern the very existence of the Government and the
liberties of the people were suggested by the prolonged illness of the
late President and his consequent incapacity to perform the functions
of his office.

It is provided by the second article of the Constitution, in the fifth
clause of its first section, that "in case of the removal of the
President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to
discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall
devolve on the Vice-President,"

What is the intendment of the Constitution in its specification of
"inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office" as one
of the contingencies which calls the Vice-President to the exercise of
Presidential functions?

Is the inability limited in its nature to long-continued intellectual
incapacity, or has it a broader import?

What must be its extent and duration?

How must its existence be established?

Has the President whose inability is the subject of inquiry any voice
in determining whether or not it exists, or is the decision of that
momentous and delicate question confided to the Vice-President, or is
it contemplated by the Constitution that Congress should provide by law
precisely what should constitute inability and how and by what tribunal
or authority it should be ascertained?

If the inability proves to be temporary in its nature, and during its
continuance the Vice-President lawfully exercises the functions of the
Executive, by what tenure does he hold his office?

Does he continue as President for the remainder of the four years' term?

Or would the elected President, if his inability should cease in the
interval, be empowered to resume his office?

And if, having such lawful authority, he should exercise it, would the
Vice-President be thereupon empowered to resume his powers and duties
as such?

I can not doubt that these important questions will receive your early
and thoughtful consideration.

Deeply impressed with the gravity of the responsibilities which have so
unexpectedly devolved upon me, it will be my constant purpose to
cooperate with you in such measures as will promote the glory of the
country and the prosperity of its people.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



SPECIAL MESSAGES.


EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington, December 12, 1881_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith, in response to the resolution of the Senate of the
17th of May last, a report of the Secretary of State, with accompanying
papers, touching the Geneva convention for the relief of the wounded in
war.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 15, 1881_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with accompanying papers, in reference to the applications of the
Chicago, Texas and Mexican Central and the St. Louis and San Francisco
Railway companies for a right of way across the lands of the Choctaw
Nation in the Indian Territory for the building of a proposed railroad
and telegraph line.

The matter is commended to the careful attention of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 15, 1881_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in response to a resolution of the Senate of the
12th instant, a report from the Secretary of State, with an accompanying
paper, touching the proposed modification of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty
of April 19, 1850, between the United States and Great Britain.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _December 15, 1881_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a treaty of peace, friendship, and commerce between the
United States of America and the Kingdom of Madagascar, signed on the
13th day of May, 1881, together with certain correspondence relating
thereto.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _December 19, 1881_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate a report from the Secretary of State,
in response to its resolution of the 13th of October last, calling for
the transmission to the Senate of papers on file in the Department of
State relating to the seizure of one Vicenzo Rebello, an Italian, in the
city of New Orleans, in June, 1881, by one James Mooney, under a warrant
of arrest issued by John A. Osborn, United States commissioner in and
for the city of New York.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _December 19, 1881_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate a report of the Secretary of State,
in relation to the necessity of modifying the present system of consular
jurisdiction of the United States in the countries of the East. I regard
this subject, to which I have adverted in my general message to
Congress, as one deserving the earnest attention of the National
Legislature.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[A similar message was sent to the House of Representatives.]



WASHINGTON, _December 19, 1881_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith to the House of Representatives, for the
consideration of Congress, a communication from the Secretary of State,
setting forth the expediency of organizing a class of supernumerary
secretaries of legation to meet the needs of our diplomatic service
abroad.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _December 19, 1881_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in reply to the resolution of the Senate of the
19th of May last, a report from the Secretary of State, with an
accompanying paper.[3]

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 3: List of officers, clerks, etc., in the Department of State.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 21, 1881_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of the Interior, with an accompanying paper, in which
he recommends a further appropriation for the payment of the expenses
of the Tenth Census; also an appropriation of $2,000 to recompense the
disbursing clerk of the Department of the Interior for his services in
disbursing the appropriations for the Tenth Census.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 21, 1881_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in response to a resolution of the Senate of
the 6th instant, a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury and its
accompanying papers.[4]

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 4: Instructions to, and reports of certain examiners of
national banks.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 6, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit a communication[5] I received this day from the late
Postmaster-General, to which I invite your careful attention.

Though the period limited for the reception of bids under the existing
advertisement expires on the 7th instant, several weeks must necessarily
elapse before they can be classified and examined and the actual letting
take place.

If, therefore, Congress shall be of the opinion that a change in the law
is needed, it may, I presume, be made immediately applicable.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 5: Relating to fraudulent bonds accompanying certain bids and
contracts for carrying United States mail.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 9, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with accompanying papers, in reference to the bill of the Choctaw
Council approved November 10, 1881, granting a right of way through the
Choctaw Nation to the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway Company, a
bill (S. No. 60) for the ratification of which is now understood to be
pending before your honorable body.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 11, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with draft of a bill and accompanying papers, in reference to an
agreement by the Shoshone and Bannock Indians with the United States
for the disposal of certain of their lands in the Fort Hall Indian
Reservation, in Idaho, for the use of the Utah and Northern Railway.

The matter is commended to the careful consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 18, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with draft of a bill to appropriate money to meet a deficiency in the
Indian service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882.

A copy of report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated 13th
instant, in regard to the bill is also inclosed.

The subject is commended to the attention of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 18, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with draft of a bill and accompanying papers, amendatory of the act of
March 3, 1880, for the sale of the Otoe and Missouria Indian
Reservation, in the States of Nebraska and Kansas.

The subject is presented to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington, January 18, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Interior,
forwarding copy of a letter addressed to him by the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs, inclosing draft of a bill to create the office of
medical inspector for the United States Indian service.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 18, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with draft of bill and accompanying papers, providing for the
improvement of the condition of Indians occupying reservations, and for
other purposes.

The matter is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 18, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
and accompanying letter from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
recommending a renewal of the appropriation of $10,000 heretofore made
for defraying the expenses of the Board of Indian Commissioners.

The subject is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 18, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with draft of a bill and accompanying papers, in reference to the
settlement of the estate of deceased Kickapoo Indians in the State of
Kansas, and for other purposes.

The matter is commended to the attention of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 18, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with a draft of a bill and accompanying papers, to accept and ratify
an agreement with the Crow Indians for the sale of a portion of their
reservation in the Territory of Montana, required for the Northern
Pacific Railroad, and to make the necessary appropriation for carrying
the same into effect.

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 19, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, with accompanying papers, recommending an
appropriation for the purchase of a site and the erection of a fireproof
building to contain the records, library, and museum of the
Surgeon-General's Office.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

_Washington, January 19, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War, inclosing a copy of one from the Chief Signal
Officer of the Army, dated the 11th instant, setting forth the necessity
for additional room for the Signal Office and recommending that Congress
provide that of the amount estimated ($350,000) for "observation and
report of storms, 1883," the sum of $10,000 may be expended for the hire
of a safe and suitable building in Washington City for the office of the
Chief Signal Officer.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

_January 19, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated the 14th instant, and accompanying
letter from the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, recommending the
passage of a joint resolution, in accordance with the inclosed draft,
authorizing the printing and binding of 10,000 additional copies of the
latter's annual report for the year 1881.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _January 23, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a treaty of commerce and navigation between the United
States of America and His Majesty the King of Roumania, signed on the
11th day of April last.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _January 24, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a treaty of commerce between the United States and the
Prince of Serbia, signed on the 14th of October last.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _January 24, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a convention defining the rights, immunities, and
privileges of consular officers, between the United States and the
Prince of Serbia, signed on the 14th of October last.

       *       *       *       *       *

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 24, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with draft of a bill to increase the salary of the Commissioner of the
General Land Office and to create the offices of Assistant Commissioner
of the General Land Office and inspectors of surveyors-general and
district land officers.

The matter is commended to the attention of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 24, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with draft of a bill for the per capita distribution of the sum of
$2,000 to the band of Eastern Shawnee Indians at Quapaw Agency, Ind.
T., with accompanying papers noted in said communication.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 24, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with draft of a bill to increase the salary of the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs and to create the office of Assistant Commissioner of
Indian Affairs.

The matter is commended to the attention of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 24, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with draft of a bill and accompanying papers, in reference to the
proposition of the Creek Nation of Indians for the cession of certain of
their lands in the Indian Territory occupied by the Seminole Indians.

The subject is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 24, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with draft of a bill authorizing the sale of certain pine timber cut
upon the Menomonee Reservation in Wisconsin, together with the
accompanying papers noted in said communication.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated the 23d instant, and accompanying
copies of letters from the Adjutant-General, Inspector-General, and
Quartermaster-General of the Army, recommending the amendment of section
3 of the act approved May 15, 1872, entitled "An act to establish the pay
of the enlisted men of the Army," so as to require a settlement of the
clothing accounts of enlisted men at every bimonthly muster for pay.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, with plan and estimate of the cost of
constructing five dining-rooms and kitchens at Jefferson Barracks, Mo.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with draft of a bill for the per capita distribution of the sum of
$5,000 to the band of Western Miami Indians at the Quapaw Agency, Ind.
T., with accompanying papers noted in said communication.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, reporting a list of reservations which are no
longer needed for military purposes and setting forth the necessity for
such legislation as will provide for their disposal.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with draft of an amendment to be inserted in the annual Indian
appropriation bill now pending, providing for the disposal of certain
bonds and funds held by the Treasurer of the United States as custodian
in the name of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, together with
accompanying papers noted in said communication.

The matter is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War and its accompanying papers, setting forth
the necessity for the erection of a new embankment wall on the creek
bordering the grounds of the Frankford Arsenal, Pa., and recommending
that an appropriation be made for that purpose.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of the Interior, concerning an appropriation for the
improvement of the Hot Springs Reservation, in Garland County, Ark.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for your consideration, a communication from
the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 18th instant, touching the
necessity for additional room for the clerical force of the Department
of the Interior.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the information of Congress, the annual report
of the Government directors of the Union Pacific Railway to the
Secretary of the Interior for the year 1881.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with draft of amendment to be inserted in the Indian appropriation bill,
to carry into effect the provisions of the fifth section of the act of
March 3, 1873, providing for the consolidation of funds belonging to the
Miami Indians of Kansas.

The matter is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, January 26, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State, with
accompanying papers, furnished in response to a resolution of the House
of Representatives of the 24th instant, calling for correspondence
touching the efforts of this Government to bring about peace between
Chile and Peru and Bolivia, and touching claims against or contracts
respecting either of the belligerent Governments.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, January 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State and accompanying
papers, furnished in response to the resolution of the Senate of the
13th ultimo, calling for correspondence touching affairs in or between
Peru and Chile.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 27, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in further response to the Senate resolution of the
13th December, 1881, a report of the Secretary of State, embodying the
purport of a recent telegram from the special envoy of the United States
setting forth the conditions of peace presented by Chile.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[A similar message was sent to the House of Representatives, in answer
to a resolution of that body of January 24, 1882.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 28, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

In further answer to the resolution of the Senate of December 12, 1881,
I herewith transmit the remainder of the correspondence touching the
desired modification of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty. The dispatch of the
Secretary of State of November 29, 1881, was not sent to the Senate with
the former dispatches, because at that time no advice had been received
that its contents had been communicated to the British Government.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 1, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
inclosing a letter from the Commissioner of Pensions, giving, in
compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives passed
on the 26th of January, 1882, estimates of the amounts which will be
required annually to pay pensions for the next twenty-five years, based
on the presumed conditions stated in the resolution.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 2, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Interior, with
accompanying papers, relative to lawlessness which prevails in parts of
Arizona, and in connection therewith call attention to that portion of
my message of the 6th of December last in which suggestions were made
as to legislation which seems to be required to enable the General
Government to assist the local authorities of the Territory in restoring
and maintaining order.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 2, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with a draft of a bill authorizing the disposal of dead and damaged
timber upon Indian reservations under the direction of the Interior
Department, and correspondence noted by the Secretary.

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 2, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Interior,
inclosing copy of a letter addressed to him by the Commissioner of the
General Land Office, asking, for reasons stated therein, that Congress
may be requested to make a special appropriation for a temporary
increase of the clerical force of the General Land Office.

A draft of a bill for that purpose is herewith inclosed, and the subject
is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 2, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith, in further response to the resolution of the Senate
of the 18th of March, 1881, a report of the Secretary of State, with its
accompaniment, touching the capitulations of the Ottoman Empire.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 2, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated the 27th of January, 1882, and
accompanying estimates for new buildings for the general recruiting
service at Davids Island, New York Harbor, and Columbus Barracks, Ohio.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 2, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with the draft of a bill to authorize the settlement of certain accounts
for advertising the sale of Kansas Indian lands, with accompanying
papers referred to in said communication.

The subject is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 2, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with a draft of a bill for the payment of certain settlers in the State
of Nevada for improvements on lands in Duck Valley, in said State, taken
for the use and occupancy of the Shoshone Indians.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 2, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of the Interior, dated January 31, 1882, upon the
subject of additional legislation for the expenses of the Tenth Census,
and inclose draft of an act supplemental to the act approved January 28,
1882.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 3, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
of the Secretary of the Interior of the 27th ultimo, with accompanying
papers, on the subject of the confirmation of the homestead entries of
certain lands in Marquette district, Michigan, made by Hugh Foster and
John Waishkey, jr.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 3, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with a draft of a bill to prevent timber depredations on Indian
reservations, and correspondence noted by the Secretary.

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.


EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 3, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State of this date,
with accompanying papers, furnished in obedience to a resolution of the
Senate of the 12th ultimo, calling for certain correspondence in the
case of claim of Antonio Pelletier against the Government of Hayti.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[A similar message was sent to the House of Representatives.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 8, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication of 1st instant from the Secretary of
the Interior, covering information respecting the lands granted to the
State of Oregon for the Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Wagon
Road Company.

The subject is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 8, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, inclosing copies of papers relating to the
site of Fort Bliss, at El Paso, Tex., with special reference to certain
errors contained in the deeds conveying the land to the United States,
and recommending the passage by Congress of an act, a draft of which is
also inclosed, to rectify and establish the title of the United States
to the site in question.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 8, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War of the 6th instant, together with plans and
estimates for barracks and quarters in the Military Division of the
Pacific and at Fort Monroe, Va., for the fiscal year ending June 30,
1883; also the correspondence accompanying the same.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 15, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War, dated the 11th instant, covering plans and
estimates for completing the new barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kans.,
and for the erection of additional quarters for officers thereat, in
connection with the School of Cavalry and Infantry; also the
correspondence accompanying the same.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 15, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the information of Congress, the report of the
Board of Indian Commissioners for the year 1881, accompanied by a letter
from the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 9th instant, suggesting
legislation regarding reports from said board. The report is sent with
the message to the House of Representatives.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 15, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy,
dated the 8th instant, and accompanying copies of letters from
Rear-Admiral John Rodgers, Superintendent of the Naval Observatory,
Professor J. E. Nourse, United States Navy, and Hon. John Eaton,
Commissioner of Education, suggesting the publication of a second
edition of the Second Arctic Expedition made by Captain C. F. Hall.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 15, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of the Interior, inclosing a letter from the Commissioner
of Education, in which the recommendation is made that an appropriation
of $50,000 be made for the purpose of education in Alaska.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 15, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith the response of the Secretary of State to your
resolution of the 30th ultimo, calling for certain information relative
to the amount of fees collected by consuls of the United States from
American vessels.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 17, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 6th instant, requesting a further compliance with its call for
correspondence respecting the war on the Pacific, I transmit herewith
a report of the Secretary of State and its accompanying papers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 17, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 12th of December, 1881,
respecting the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, I transmit herewith a further
report by the Secretary of State, accompanied by copies of papers on the
subject.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 17, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 31st of January last,
calling for the correspondence touching the relations of the United
States with Guatemala and Mexico and their relations with each other,
I transmit a report of the Secretary of State, which is accompanied by
a copy of the papers called for by the resolution.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 21, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I submit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of the Interior, and accompanying papers, in which he
recommends that authority be given for the payment of certain damages
which unexpectedly occurred to the property of private persons on the
Government reservation at Hot Springs, Ark., in consequence of work
performed under the direction of the superintendent in the performance
of his duty.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 21, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of the Interior, inclosing a copy of a communication
from the Commissioner of Pensions, in which he recommends that more
adequate provision be made for the payment of the expenses of obtaining
evidence of the extent of the disability of those pensioners of the
United States and applicants for pension who reside in foreign
countries.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 21, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of the Navy, with accompanying papers, asking, for
reasons stated by him, that Congress may be requested to make a special
appropriation for the payment of the claim of Isaac A. Sylvester against
the Navy Department.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 21, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication of the Secretary of the Interior,
dated the 16th instant, relative to the necessity for a deficiency
appropriation for the payment of salaries of clerks and laborers in
the Patent Office during the present fiscal year.

The subject is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 28, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy, with
a copy of a letter from the Superintendent of the United States Naval
Observatory, accompanied by a draft of a bill, with estimates for an
observation of the transit of Venus on the 6th of December, 1882.

The matter is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 28, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Interior,
inclosing a memorial and papers from the Seneca Nation of New York
Indians embodying a resolution and remonstrance against the passage of
Senate bill No. 19, "to provide for the allotment of lands in severalty
to Indians on the various reservations," etc., together with a report
thereon of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, recommending an amendment
to the seventh section thereof excluding the lands of said Indians.

The accompanying papers are transmitted with the message to the Senate.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 28, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I submit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from the
Secretary of the Interior, inclosing a petition of Mr. P.W. Norris for
compensation for services rendered and expenses incurred by him as
superintendent of the Yellowstone National Park from the 18th of April,
1877, to the 1st of July, 1878.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 28, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the Secretary of the Interior of
the 23d instant, with accompanying papers, furnished in obedience to a
resolution of the Senate of the 30th ultimo, calling for certain
information in relation to the Malheur Indian Reservation, in the State
of Oregon.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 28, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In reply to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 24th
ultimo, I transmit herewith copies of letters from the Secretary of the
Treasury and the chairman of the Civil Service Commission, dated the
3d and 13th instant, respectively, from which it will be seen that the
appropriation of $15,000 made at the last session of Congress for the
promotion of efficiency in the different branches of the civil service
is still unexpended, and that in order to execute the provisions of
section 1753 of the Revised Statutes an annual appropriation of $25,000
would be necessary.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _March 1, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in response to a resolution of the Senate of May
19, 1881, a communication, with accompanying papers, from the Secretary
of State, respecting the collection by consular officers of certain
official fees in connection with the authentication of invoices, and
the compensation of such officers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 1, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication, dated the 28th of February,
1882, from the Secretary of the Interior, with accompanying papers, in
relation to the request of the Cherokee Indians of the Indian Territory
for payment for lands belonging to them in said Territory ceded to the
United States by the sixteenth article of their treaty of July 19, 1866,
for the settlement of friendly Indians.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 2, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated the 18th ultimo, inclosing plans and
estimates for the construction of the post of Fort Thornburg, in Utah
Territory, and recommending an appropriation of $84,000 for that purpose
and that the same be made available for immediate use.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 3, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, transmitting plans and estimates for the
large military post proposed to be constructed at Fort Selden, N. Mex.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit to the Senate, for its action thereon, the accession of the
United States to the convention concluded at Geneva on the 22d August,
1864, between various powers, for the amelioration of the wounded of
armies in the field, and to the additional articles thereto, signed at
Geneva on the 20th October, 1868.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 3, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
dated the 2d instant, with accompanying papers, submitting an estimate
of appropriations for the payment of expenses of removal of certain
Eastern Cherokee Indians to the Indian Territory.

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 7, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Navy, with a copy
of a letter from the Chief of the Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting and
a draft of a bill recommending an increase of 500 enlisted men for the
naval service.

The matter is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 8, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
dated the 6th instant, with accompanying papers[6] from the Commissioner
of Indian Affairs and draft of a bill to amend section 2135, Revised
Statutes.

The subject is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 6: Relating to the selling and trading of annuity goods by
Lower Brulé Indians.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 10, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of the Navy, with accompanying papers, asking, for
reasons stated by him, that Congress may be requested to make a special
appropriation for paving a portion of the roadway of Hanover street and
curbing and paving the sidewalk of that street on the side next the
Government property at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 10, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 9th instant, submitting, with accompanying papers, an estimate
of appropriation for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the Ute
Commission, appointed under section 2 of the act of June 15, 1880.

The matter is commended to the early action of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 10, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War of the 6th instant, and accompanying papers,
recommending the passage of an act making certain debts incurred by
soldiers a lien against their pay.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 10, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I herewith transmit, in response to a resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 7th ultimo, a report of the Secretary of State,
touching the arrest and imprisonment in Mexico of Thomas Shields and
two other American citizens, to which that resolution relates.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 10, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, in answer to the resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 30th of January last, a report from the Secretary
of State, with accompanying paper.[7]

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 7: List of promotions, removals, and appointments in the
consular service since March 4, 1877.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 13, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the president of the National
Board of Health, calling attention to the necessity for additional
legislation to prevent the introduction of contagious and infectious
diseases into the United States from foreign countries.

The subject is commended to the careful consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 11, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I inclose herewith an amended estimate for an increase in the clerical
force of the office of the Commissioner of Pensions, which I recommend
to your consideration.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[The same message was sent to the Senate.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 16, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State and an
accompanying paper, in further response to the resolution of the Senate
of the 13th of December last, calling for correspondence touching
affairs in or between Peru and Chile.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 11, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with accompanying papers, covering the action of the Osage Indians
declining to accede to the terms of the act of March 3, 1881, reducing
the price of their lands in Kansas.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 18, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In response to the resolution of the House of Representatives adopted
March 16, 1882, in which the President is requested, if not incompatible
with the public interests, to furnish to the House all the facts before
him at the time he authorized the sending or employment of troops or
military forces of the United States in the State of Nebraska during the
present month, together with his reasons therefor, I have the honor to
state that the employment of military forces of the United States as
to which it is understood that information is desired by the House
of Representatives was authorized on the 10th instant, and that
all the facts before me at that time are set forth in telegraphic
communications, dated the 9th and 10th instant, from the governor of the
State of Nebraska and Brigadier-General Crook, commanding the Department
of the Platte, of which copies are herewith submitted.

For the further information of the House of Representatives,
I transmit copies of telegraphic correspondence had on the 9th,
10th, and 11th instant between the Secretary of War and the governor
of Nebraska and the Secretary of War and the Lieutenant-General of
the Army, of which the instructions issued by my direction for the
employment of the military forces upon the application of the governor
of Nebraska are a part.

From these papers it will be seen that the authority to employ troops
was given upon the application of the governor of Nebraska in order to
protect the State against domestic violence. The instructions were given
in compliance with the requirements of that part of section 4 of Article
IV of the Constitution which provides that the United States shall,
on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the
legislature can not be convened), protect each of the States against
domestic violence.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 20, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 9th instant,
instructing the Secretary of State to ascertain and report to the Senate
the cause for the alleged imprisonment by the British Government of
Daniel McSweeney, a citizen of the United States, I transmit herewith a
report on the subject from the Secretary of State, with its accompanying
papers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 21, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated the 18th instant, inclosing plans and
estimates for a brick building for the post of Fort Leavenworth, Kans.,
to contain quarters for two companies of troops, to replace the one
destroyed by fire on the 1st February last, and recommending an
appropriation of $18,745.77, in accordance with the estimates.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 21, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of the Interior, dated the 6th instant, with
accompanying paper, submitting draft of a bill "to authorize payment for
Government transportation on certain railroads."

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 21, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy,
calling attention to the necessity of appropriating the sum of $12,000
under the head of "Contingent equipment and recruiting," for immediate
use, to defray accruing expenses during the remainder of the current
fiscal year.

The matter is commended to the favorable consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _March 22, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

In compliance with section 4119 of the Revised Statutes (act of June
22, 1860), I transmit to Congress a copy of two additional regulations
issued in accordance with the fifth section of that act by the envoy
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States
accredited to the Government of China, and assented to by the several
United States consular officers in that country, for the service of
summonses on absent defendants in causes before the consular courts of
the United States of America in China. These regulations, which are
accompanied by a copy of the minister's dispatch on the subject, are
commended to the consideration of Congress, with a view to their
approval.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 23, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated March 23, 1882, with accompanying
reports and estimates, recommending an increase in the clerical
force in his office and in the offices of the Adjutant-General and
Surgeon-General of the Army, in order that prompt replies may be made
to the calls for information by the Commissioner of Pensions in pension
cases under a proposed plan to accomplish the settlement of all such
claims within a limited number of years; also an increased appropriation
for contingent expenses for each of the offices mentioned.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 23, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a copy of a law[8] passed at the recent session
of the legislature of the Territory of New Mexico, for the action of
Congress under section 1850 of the Revised Statutes.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 8: Providing a time for the commencement of the sessions of
the legislative assembly of the Territory of New Mexico.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 27, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
dated the 24th instant, and the accompanying letter of the Commissioner
of Patents, submitting a supplemental estimate for an appropriation of
$52,500 for the employment of twenty-five assistant principal examiners
of patents, at an annual salary of $2,100 each.

The matter is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 28, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy, with
accompanying papers, on the subject of purchasing from the American Wood
Preserving Company the machinery which was erected by that company at
the navy-yard, Boston, under contract with the Navy Department, for the
purpose of fully testing the company's process of preserving timber for
use in the Navy.

The attention of Congress is invited to the subject.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 28, 1882_.

_To the House of, Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, in response to the resolution of the House of
Representatives of yesterday, the 27th instant, a report of the
Secretary of State, with accompanying papers, touching the negotiations
for the restoration of peace in South America.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _March 28, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a convention for the protection of trade-marks, concluded
between the United States and His Majesty the King of Roumania on the
7th of October, 1881.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 29, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
dated 24th instant, in relation to the urgent necessity for action on
the part of Congress for the prevention of trespasses upon Indian lands,
with copy of report from Commissioner of Indian Affairs upon the subject
and draft of bill for the object indicated.

The subject is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 29, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated March 25, 1882, with accompanying
correspondence, plans, and estimates, in which he recommends an
appropriation of $40,000 for the completion of the new post at Fort
Lewis, Colo.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 30, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the
Interior, dated the 28th instant, and the accompanying letter of the
Superintendent of the Government Hospital for the Insane, submitting an
estimate for a deficiency appropriation of $20,792.51 for the support of
that institution for the remaining portion of the present fiscal year.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 30, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Interior,
inclosing draft of a bill to amend section 2056 of the Revised Statutes
of the United States, relating to the term of office of Indian
inspectors and Indian agents.

The subject is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 30, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
dated the 29th of March, and the accompanying letter of the Commissioner
of the General Land Office, submitting an estimate for the additions of
$34,200 and $20,000, respectively, to the appropriations for salaries,
fees, and commissions of registers and receivers, and for contingent
expenses, land offices, for the next fiscal year.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 30, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State and accompanying
documents, in response to a resolution of the House of Representatives
of February 13, 1882, touching the protection of American citizens in
Persia and the establishment of diplomatic relations with that country.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 3, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter
from the Secretary of the Interior, in which he sets forth the
necessity which will exist for an appropriation for the payment of the
commissioners to be appointed under the recent act of Congress entitled
"An act to amend section 5352 of the Revised Statutes of the United
States in reference to bigamy, and for other purposes," and also for the
payment of the election officers to be appointed by said commissioners.

In this connection I submit to Congress that, in view of the important
and responsible duties devolved upon the commissioners under this act,
their compensation at $3,000 per annum, as provided therein, should be
increased to a sum not less than $5,000 per annum.

Such increased compensation, in my judgment, would secure a higher order
of ability in the persons to be selected and tend more effectually to
carry out the objects of the act.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 3, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I forward herewith, in compliance with a resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 6th of February ultimo, calling for information
in reference to the arrest and imprisonment in Mexico of certain
American citizens, a further report from the Secretary of State and its
accompanying paper, concerning the cases of Thomas Shields and Charles
Weber, to which that resolution refers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 4, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In partial response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 31st of January last, on the subject of American citizens imprisoned
in Ireland, I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 4, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War, dated March 31, 1882, and accompanying report
from the Chief of Engineers, with its inclosures, relative to the
construction of a bridge across the Potomac River at or near Georgetown,
in the District of Columbia, under the provisions of the act approved
February 23, 1881, in which he requests that an additional appropriation
of $80,000 be made to give practical effect to the act referred to in
accordance with the recommendations of the Chief of Engineers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 5, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
setting forth the necessity for an increased number of law clerks in
the office of the Assistant Attorney-General in the Department of the
Interior, because of the growing amount of business in that office.

The matter is commended to the attention and favorable action of
Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 5, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of this date, with draft of bill for the relief of Pierre Garrieaux and
correspondence in relation thereto.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 5, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, in reply to the resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 31st of January last, a report from the Secretary
of State, with accompanying papers.[9]

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _April 5, 1882_.

_To the Senate_:

I transmit herewith, in reply to the resolution of the Senate of the 29th
of March last, the report of the Secretary of State, with accompanying
papers.[9]

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 9: Correspondence, etc., relative to American citizens
imprisoned in Ireland.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 6, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War, dated the 4th instant, inclosing plans and
estimates for the completion of the post of Fort McKinney, Wyoming
Territory, and recommending an appropriation of $50,000 for the purpose
in accordance with the estimates.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 6, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated the 4th instant, inclosing estimates
for deficiency in the appropriation for the transportation of the Army
and its supplies for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882, and
recommending an appropriation in accordance therewith.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 11, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War, dated the 6th instant, in which he recommends
a reappropriation of the unexpended balances of two appropriations of
$50,000 each, made in 1880 and 1881, "for continuing the improvement
of the water-power pool" at the Rock Island Arsenal, and that the
additional sum of $30,000 be granted for the same purpose; also the
additional sum of $70,000 "for deepening the canal and for opening
six waterways in connection with the water power."

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 12, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with the accompanying report from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs,
dated 29th ultimo, recommending an increase of item for "transportation
of Indian supplies for the fiscal year 1882" (deficiency), as designated
in Senate Executive Document 57, Forty-seventh Congress, first session.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 12, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
inclosing draft of bill prepared in the Office of Indian Affairs,
submitted with Commissioner's report of 27th ultimo, confirming to the
Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians the lands in the Indian Territory set
apart for their occupancy by an Executive order dated August 10, 1869,
which lands are in lieu of those set apart for their use and occupancy
by the second article of the treaty with said Indians concluded October
28, 1867.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 12, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War, dated the 6th instant, inclosing one from the
acting chief clerk of the War Department on the subject, recommending an
additional appropriation of $2,000 for contingent expenses of the War
Department for 1882; also that appropriation provided for the purpose
for the next fiscal year be increased $10,000.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

_Washington, April 14, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, the inclosed
letter and accompanying statement from the Secretary of the Navy,
in relation to the necessity of building a new boiler shop at the
navy-yard, New York, and repairing the caisson gate of the dry dock
at that station, in which it is requested that an appropriation of
$147,243.04 be made for these objects.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[The same message was sent to the House of Representatives.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 14, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, with commendation to the attention of Congress, a
report of the Secretary of State and its accompanying papers, concerning
the proposed establishment of an international bureau of exchanges.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 14, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with correspondence, relative to right of way of the Republican Valley
Railroad across the Otoe and Missouria Reservation in the State of
Nebraska, and draft of an amendment to S. No. 930, "A bill to amend an
act entitled 'An act to provide for the sale of the remainder of the
reservation of the confederated Otoe and Missouria tribes of Indians
in the States of Nebraska and Kansas, and for other purposes,' approved
March 3, 1881."

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 17, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a letter, dated the 29th ultimo, from the Secretary
of War, inclosing copy of a communication from the Mississippi River
Commission, in which the commission recommends that an appropriation may
be made of $1,010,000 for "closing existing gaps in levees," in addition
to the like sum for which an estimate has already been submitted.

The subject is one of such importance that I deem it proper to recommend
early and favorable consideration of the recommendations of the
commission. Having possession of and jurisdiction over the river,
Congress, with a view of improving its navigation and protecting the
people of the valley from floods, has for years caused surveys of the
river to be made for the purpose of acquiring knowledge of the laws that
control it and of its phenomena. By act approved June 28, 1879, the
Mississippi River Commission was created, composed of able engineers.
Section 4 of the act provides that--

It shall be the duty of said commission to take into consideration and
mature such plan or plans and estimates as will correct, permanently
locate, and deepen the channel and protect the banks of the Mississippi
River; improve and give safety and ease to the navigation thereof;
prevent destructive floods; promote and facilitate commerce, trade, and
the postal service.

The constitutionality of a law making appropriations in aid of these
objects can not be questioned. While the report of the commission
submitted and the plans proposed for the river's improvement seem
justified as well on scientific principles as by experience and the
approval of the people most interested, I desire to leave it to the
judgment of Congress to decide upon the best plan for the permanent and
complete improvement of the navigation of the river and for the
protection of the valley.

The immense losses and widespread suffering of the people dwelling near
the river induce me to urge upon Congress the propriety of not only
making an appropriation to close the gaps in the levees occasioned by
the recent floods, as recommended by the commission, but that Congress
should inaugurate measures for the permanent improvement of the
navigation of the river and security of the valley. It may be that such
a system of improvement would as it progressed require the appropriation
of twenty or thirty millions of dollars. Even such an expenditure,
extending, as it must, over several years, can not be regarded as
extravagant in view of the immense interest involved. The safe and
convenient navigation of the Mississippi is a matter of concern to
all sections of the country, but to the Northwest, with its immense
harvests, needing cheap transportation to the sea, and to the
inhabitants of the river valley, whose lives and property depend upon
the proper construction of the safeguards which protect them from the
floods, it is of vital importance that a well-matured and comprehensive
plan for improvement should be put into operation with as little delay
as possible. The cotton product of the region subject to the devastating
floods is a source of wealth to the nation and of great importance to
keeping the balances of trade in our favor.

It may not be inopportune to mention that this Government has imposed
and collected some $70,000,000 by a tax on cotton, in the production of
which the population of the Lower Mississippi is largely engaged, and it
does not seem inequitable to return a portion of this tax to those who
contributed it, particularly as such an action will also result in an
important gain to the country at large, and especially so to the great
and rich States of the Northwest and the Mississippi Valley.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 17, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication, dated the 14th instant, from the
Secretary of the Interior, with draft of bill, and accompanying papers,
for the establishment of an Indian training school on the site of the
old Fort Ripley Military Reservation, in the State of Minnesota.

The subject is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 17, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 12th instant, with accompanying papers, in relation to coal lands
upon the San Carlos Reservation, in the Territory of Arizona.

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 17, 1882_.

_To the Senate_:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State and its
accompanying papers, concerning the international regulations for
preventing collisions at sea, and I earnestly commend this important
subject to the early and favorable consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[The same message was sent to the House of Representatives.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 18, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I send herewith a copy of the circular invitation extended to all the
independent countries of North and South America to participate in a
general congress to be held in the city of Washington on the 22d of
November next for the purpose of considering and discussing the methods
of preventing war between the nations of America.

In giving this invitation I was not unaware that there existed
differences between several of the Republics of South America which
would militate against the happy results which might otherwise be
expected from such an assemblage. The differences indicated are such as
exist between Chile and Peru, between Mexico and Guatemala, and between
the States of Central America.

It was hoped that these differences would disappear before the time
fixed for the meeting of the congress. This hope has not been realized.

Having observed that the authority of the President to convene such a
congress has been questioned, I beg leave to state that the Constitution
confers upon the President the power, by and with the advice and consent
of the Senate, to make treaties, and that this provision confers the
power to take all requisite measures to initiate them, and to this end
the President may freely confer with one or several commissioners or
delegates from other nations.. The congress contemplated by the
invitation could only effect any valuable results by its conclusions
eventually taking the form of a treaty of peace between the States
represented; and, besides, the invitation to the States of North and
South America is merely a preliminary act, of which constitutionality
or the want of it can hardly be affirmed.

It has been suggested that while the international congress would have
no power to affect the rights of nationalities there represented, still
Congress might be unwilling to subject the existing treaty rights of
the United States on the Isthmus and elsewhere on the continent to be
clouded and rendered uncertain by the expression of the opinions of
a congress composed largely of interested parties.

I am glad to have it in my power to refer to the Congress of the
United States, as I now do, the propriety of convening the suggested
international congress, that I may thus be informed of its views, which
it will be my pleasure to carry out.

Inquiry having been made by some of the Republics invited whether it is
intended that this international congress shall convene, it is important
that Congress should at as early a day as is convenient inform me by
resolution or otherwise of its opinion in the premises. My action will
be in harmony with such expression.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



DEPARTMENT OF STATE, _Washington, November 29, 1881_.

SIR:[10] The attitude of the United States with respect to the question
of general peace on the American continent is well known through its
persistent efforts for years past to avert the evils of warfare, or,
these efforts failing, to bring positive conflicts to an end through
pacific counsels or the advocacy of impartial arbitration. This attitude
has been consistently maintained, and always with such fairness as to
leave no room for imputing to our Government any motive except the
humane and disinterested one of saving the kindred States of the
American continent from the burdens of war. The position of the United
States as the leading power of the New World might well give to its
Government a claim to authoritative utterance for the purpose of
quieting discord among its neighbors, with all of whom the most friendly
relations exist. Nevertheless, the good offices of this Government are
not and have not at any time been tendered with a show of dictation or
compulsion, but only as exhibiting the solicitous good will of a common
friend.

For some years past a growing disposition has been manifested by certain
States of Central and South America to refer disputes affecting grave
questions of international relationship and boundaries to arbitration
rather than to the sword. It has been on several such occasions a source
of profound satisfaction to the Government of the United States to see
that this country is in a large measure looked to by all the American
powers as their friend and mediator.

The just and impartial counsel of the President in such cases has never
been withheld, and his efforts have been rewarded by the prevention of
sanguinary strife or angry contentions between peoples whom we regard as
brethren.

The existence of this growing tendency convinces the President that the
time is ripe for a proposal that shall enlist the good will and active
cooperation of all the States of the Western Hemisphere, both north and
south, in the interest of humanity and for the common weal of nations.

He conceives that none of the Governments of America can be less
alive than our own to the dangers and horrors of a state of war, and
especially of war between kinsmen. He is sure that none of the chiefs
of Governments on the continent can be less sensitive than he is to the
sacred duty of making every endeavor to do away with the chances of
fratricidal strife. And he looks with hopeful confidence to such active
assistance from them as will serve to show the broadness of our common
humanity and the strength of the ties which bind us all together as a
great and harmonious system of American Commonwealths.

Impressed by these views, the President extends to all the independent
countries of North and South America an earnest invitation to
participate in a general congress to be held in the city of Washington
on the 24th day of November, 1882, for the purpose of considering and
discussing the methods of preventing war between the nations of America.
He desires that the attention of the congress shall be strictly confined
to this one great object; that its sole aim shall be to seek a way of
permanently, averting the horrors of cruel and bloody combat between
countries, oftenest of one blood and speech, or the even worse calamity
of internal commotion and civil strife; that it shall regard the
burdensome and far-reaching consequences of such struggles, the legacies
of exhausted finances, of oppressive debt, of onerous taxation, of
ruined cities, of paralyzed industries, of devastated fields, of
ruthless conscription, of the slaughter of men, of the grief of the
widow and the orphan, of imbittered resentments that long survive those
who provoked them and heavily afflict the innocent generations that come
after.

The President is especially desirous to have it understood that in
putting forth this invitation the United States does not assume the
position of counseling, or attempting through the voice of the congress
to counsel, any determinate solution of existing questions which may now
divide any of the countries of America. Such questions can not properly
come before the congress. Its mission is higher. It is to provide for
the interests of all in the future, not to settle the individual
differences of the present. For this reason especially the President has
indicated a day for the assembling of the congress so far in the future
as to leave good ground for hope that by the time named the present
situation on the South Pacific coast will be happily terminated, and
that those engaged in the contest may take peaceable part in the
discussion and solution of the general question affecting in an equal
degree the well-being of all.

It seems also desirable to disclaim in advance any purpose on the
part of the United States to prejudge the issues to be presented to the
congress. It is far from the intent of this Government to appear before
the congress as in any sense the protector of its neighbors or the
predestined and necessary arbitrator of their disputes. The United
States will enter into the deliberations of the congress on the
same footing as the other powers represented, and with the loyal
determination to approach any proposed solution not merely in its own
interest or with a view to asserting its own power, but as a single
member among many coordinate and coequal States. So far as the influence
of this Government may be potential, it will be exerted in the direction
of conciliating whatever conflicting interests of blood or government or
historical tradition may necessarily come together in response to a call
embracing such vast and diverse elements.

You will present these views to the minister of foreign relations of
Mexico, enlarging, if need be, in such terms as will readily occur to
you, upon the great mission which it is within the power of the proposed
congress to accomplish in the interest of humanity, and upon the firm
purpose of the United States to maintain a position of the most absolute
and impartial friendship toward all. You will thereupon, in the name
of the President of the United States, tender to His Excellency the
President of the Mexican Republic a formal invitation to send two
commissioners to the congress, provided with such powers and
instructions on behalf of their Government as will enable them to
consider the questions brought before that body within the limit of
submission contemplated by this invitation.

The United States as well as the other powers will in like manner be
represented by two commissioners, so that equality and impartiality will
be amply secured in the proceedings of the congress.

In delivering this invitation through the minister of foreign affairs
you will read this dispatch to him and leave with him a copy, intimating
that an answer is desired by this Government as promptly as the just
consideration of so important a proposition will permit.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

JAMES G. BLAINE.

[Footnote 10: Sent under the same date, _mutatis mutandis_, to the
United States ministers in the Argentine Republic, Bolivia, Brazil,
Central America, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay, Peru,
and Venezuela: also directly to the minister of foreign relations of
Ecuador, in which country the United States had no diplomatic
representative.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 18, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a note addressed
by the minister plenipotentiary of Mexico to the Secretary of State,
proposing the conclusion of a convention between the two countries for
defining the boundary between the United States and Mexico from the
Rio Grande westward to the Pacific Ocean by the erection of durable
monuments. I also lay before Congress a letter on the same subject, with
its accompaniment, from the Secretary of War, to whom the proposition
was referred by the Secretary of State for the expression of his views
thereon.

I deem it important that the boundary line between the two countries,
as defined by existing treaties and already once surveyed, should
be run anew and defined by suitable permanent monuments. By so doing
uncertainty will be prevented as to jurisdiction in criminal and
municipal affairs, and questions be averted which may at any time in
the near future arise with the growth of population on the border.

Moreover, I conceive that the willing and speedy assent of the
Government of the United States to the proposal thus to determine the
existing stipulated boundary with permanence and precision will be in
some sense an assurance to Mexico that the unauthorized suspicion which
of late years seems to have gained some credence in that Republic that
the United States covets and seeks to annex neighboring territory is
without foundation. That which the United States seeks, and which the
definite settlement of the boundary in the proposed manner will promote,
is a confiding and friendly feeling between the two nations, leading to
advantageous commerce and closer commercial relations.

I have to suggest that in accepting this proposal suitable provision
be made for an adequate military force on the frontier to protect the
surveying parties from hostile Indians. The troops so employed will at
the same time protect the settlers on the border and help to prevent
marauding on both sides by the nomadic Indians.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 20, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War of the 18th instant, inclosing plans and estimates
for the completion of the post of Fort Maginnis, Montana Territory, and
recommending an appropriation for the purpose of $25,000, as called for
by the estimates.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 21, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication, dated the 15th instant, from the
Secretary of the Interior, with draft of bill and accompanying papers,
touching the amendment of section 2142 of the Revised Statutes of the
United States.

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

_Washington, April 21, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith a communication addressed to me by the Secretary of
the Navy, with accompanying papers, in which an appropriation is asked
for the purpose of observing the transit of Venus in 1882.

The matter is commended to the favorable action of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[The same message was sent to the House of Representatives.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 25, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State, presented
in compliance with the request of the House of Representatives in a
resolution of the 10th instant, asking for information touching the
existing restrictions on the importation of American neat cattle into
Great Britain.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 25, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of the House of
Representatives, a report from the Secretary of State, in relation to
the International Fisheries Exhibition which is to be held at London in
May, 1883. Fully approving of the suggestions contained in the report,
I would earnestly recommend that favorable action be taken upon the
subject at the present session of Congress, in order that there may be
ample time for making the appropriations necessary to enable this
country to participate in the exhibition.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

By recent information received from official and other sources I am
advised that an alarming state of disorder continues to exist within the
Territory of Arizona, and that lawlessness has already gained such head
there as to require a resort to extraordinary means to repress it.

The governor of the Territory, under date of the 31st ultimo, reports
that violence and anarchy prevail, particularly in Cochise County and
along the Mexican border; that robbery, murder, and resistance to law
have become so common as to cease causing surprise, and that the people
are greatly intimidated and losing confidence in the protection of the
law. I transmit his communication herewith and call especial attention
thereto.

In a telegram from the General of the Army dated at Tucson, Ariz., on
the 11th instant, herewith transmitted, that officer states that he
hears of lawlessness and disorders which seem well attested, and that
the civil officers have not sufficient force to make arrests and hold
the prisoners for trial or punish them when convicted.

Much of this disorder is caused by armed bands of desperadoes known
as "Cowboys," by whom depredations are not only committed within the
Territory, but it is alleged predatory incursions are made therefrom
into Mexico. In my message to Congress at the beginning of the present
session I called attention to the existence of these bands and suggested
that the setting on foot within our own territory of brigandage and
armed marauding expeditions against friendly nations and their citizens
be made punishable as an offense against the United States. I renew this
suggestion.

To effectually repress the lawlessness prevailing within the Territory a
prompt execution of the process of the courts and vigorous enforcement
of the laws against offenders are needed. This the civil authorities
there are unable to do without the aid of other means and forces than
they can now avail themselves of. To meet the present exigencies the
governor asks that provision be made by Congress to enable him to employ
and maintain temporarily a volunteer militia force to aid the civil
authorities, the members of which force to be invested with the same
powers and authority as are conferred by the laws of the Territory upon
peace officers thereof.

On the ground of economy as well as effectiveness, however, it appears
to me to be more advisable to permit the cooperation with the civil
authorities of a part of the Army as a _posse comitatus_. Believing
that this, in addition to such use of the Army as may be made under the
powers already conferred by section 5298, Revised Statutes, would be
adequate to secure the accomplishment of the ends in view, I again call
the attention of Congress to the expediency of so amending section 15
of the act of June 18, 1878, chapter 263, as to allow the military
forces to be employed as a _posse comitatus_ to assist the civil
authorities within a Territory to execute the laws therein. This use of
the Army, as I have in my former message observed, would not seem to be
within the alleged evil against which that legislation was aimed.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 2, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 30th
of January last, calling for correspondence respecting the condition of
Israelites in Russia, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of
State and its accompanying papers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 2, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of the Interior, in which he requests that an appropriation
of $108,000 be made for constructing a fireproof roof over the south and
east wings of the building occupied by the Department of the Interior.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 2, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in response to the resolution of the Senate of the
18th ultimo, a report of the Secretary of State, with copies of certain
diplomatic correspondence[11] with Spain in 1876, called for by that
resolution.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 11: Relating to United States citizens condemned to death in
Cuba, etc.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 5, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 3d instant, with accompanying papers, in relation to a proposed
amendment of the act of the 15th December, 1880, providing for the
disposal of the Fort Dodge Military Reservation, Kans.

The subject is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 9, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of the Interior, inclosing a letter from the
Superintendent of Census, submitting an estimate for an appropriation of
$80,000 to defray the expenses of the Census Office during the remainder
of the present fiscal year.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 9, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of the Interior, inclosing a letter from the
Commissioner of the General Land Office, submitting an estimate for a
special appropriation of $3,200 for completing an exhibit of all the
private land claims in the State of Louisiana.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 11, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I submit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of the Interior, inclosing a copy of a letter from the
governor of Arizona, in which he requests that an appropriation of
$2,000 be made for the contingent expenses of the Territory for the
next fiscal year.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 15, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
submitting a copy of a letter from the Commissioner of Pensions inviting
attention to the fact that the "deficiency" appropriation of $16,000,000
to meet the June payment of army pensions should be available as early
as the 25th instant if practicable, in order to avoid any delay in
payment.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 15, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication, dated the 11th instant, from the
Secretary of the Interior, together with estimate of appropriation and
accompanying papers, to provide, in accordance with treaty stipulations
and existing laws, for the payment of certain interest due the Osage
Indians.

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 15, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State, with
accompanying papers, submitted in response to the Senate resolution
of the 21st of March last, requesting a copy of instructions given
to Mr. George F. Seward, when minister to China, concerning Chinese
immigration, etc., and Mr. Seward's dispatches on that subject.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 18, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a concluding report from the Secretary of State
of the 17th instant, and its accompanying papers, relative to Thomas
Shields and Charles Weber, who were imprisoned at Apan, Mexico, and
whose cases formed the subject of the resolution of the House of
Representatives of February 6, 1882.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 18, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of State, accompanied
by a copy of the correspondence referred to in Senate resolution of the
26th ultimo, in relation to the Japanese indemnity.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 22, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
dated 18th instant, and accompanying report from the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs, relative to the necessity for buildings at the Mescalero
Agency, N. Mex., and for an appropriation for the support, civilization,
etc., of the Apaches at the Mescalero and Jicarilla agencies, together
with an estimate for the same, in the form of a proposed clause for
insertion in the sundry civil bill now pending for consideration in
committee.

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 22, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 18th instant, with accompanying papers, submitting the draft of a
proposed clause for insertion in one of the pending appropriation bills,
to provide for the payment for improvements made by certain settlers on
the Round Valley Indian Reservation, in California, as appraised under
the act approved March 3, 1873.

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 22, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of State and
accompanying documents, submitted in compliance with resolution of the
House of Representatives of the 20th ultimo, calling for additional
information respecting cases of American citizens under arrest in
Ireland.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 22, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of War, dated the 18th
instant, and accompanying papers from the Acting Chief Signal Officer,
representing the necessity of a special appropriation being made not
later than the 1st of June proximo for the purpose of dispatching a
vessel, with men and supplies, for the relief of the expedition which
was last year sent to Lady Franklin Bay, Grinnell Land.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 24, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 1st of March last,
I transmit a communication from the Secretary of the Navy, accompanied
by the report (with the exception of such parts thereof as it is deemed
incompatible with the public interests to furnish) of Commodore R.W.
Shufeldt, United States Navy, of his cruise around the world in the
United States steamer _Ticonderoga_.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 25, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of State, concerning
the awards made against Venezuela by the mixed commission under the
convention of April 25, 1866. I earnestly invite the attention of
Congress to this communication and the accompanying inclosures. In case
neither House takes action upon it during the present Congress I shall
feel it my duty to direct that this prolonged discussion be definitely
terminated by recognizing the absolute validity of all the awards.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 26, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th
of April ultimo, calling upon the Secretary of State for information in
regard to the restrictions imposed by the French Government upon pork
exported from the United States, I transmit herewith a report of that
officer and its accompanying papers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 5, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 24th ultimo, with accompanying papers, submitting the draft of a
proposed clause for insertion in one of the pending appropriation bills,
to provide for the payment of certain legal services rendered to the
Cherokee Indians in North Carolina in 1881, amounting to $150.

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 5, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In further answer to the Senate's resolution of the 12th of December
last, I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State and its
accompanying paper, in regard to the modification of the Clayton-Bulwer
treaty.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 14, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Interior,
respecting the Louisiana private land claim of Antonio Vaca, deceased,
to which, with the accompanying papers, I invite the attention of
Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 14, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I transmit herewith, in response to the resolution of the Senate of the
5th instant, a report from the Secretary of State, submitting copies of
the full correspondence between the Department of State and Hon. William
Henry Trescot, special envoy extraordinary to the Republics of Peru,
Chile, and Bolivia, and Walker Elaine, Third Assistant Secretary of
State.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 16, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I submit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of the Interior, in which he recommends that the
sum of $245,000, the amount which the Superintendent estimates will be
required to complete the work of the Tenth Census, be appropriated for
the purpose.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 16, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter
from the Secretary of War, dated the 14th instant, covering plans and
estimates for repairs, additions, and alterations to public buildings at
the depot of the mounted recruiting service, Jefferson Barracks, Mo.,
and in which he recommends that the sum of $24,938.44 be appropriated
for the purpose, in accordance with the estimates, during the present
session of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 16, 1882_.

_To the Senate:_

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State and its
accompanying papers, concerning the Smoke Abatement Exhibition which was
held at South Kensington, London, last winter.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _June 16, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a convention between the United States and His Majesty the
King of the Belgians, touching the reciprocal surrender of fugitives
from justice, signed on the 13th day of June, 1882, and intended to
supersede the convention for extradition of criminals between both
countries which was concluded on the 19th day of March, 1874.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 19, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication, dated the 16th instant, from
the Secretary of the Interior, inclosing, with accompanying papers,
a draft of a bill "to enlarge the Pawnee Indian Reservation in Indian
Territory."

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 19, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of State, referring a
communication from the Mexican minister at this capital touching the
arrest and imprisonment in Mexico of Thomas Shields and two other
American citizens, to which the resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 6th day of February last relates.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _June 23, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate, with a view to ratification, a
convention between the United States and His Majesty the King of Spain,
for securing reciprocal protection for the trade-marks and manufactured
articles of their respective citizens and subjects within the dominions
or territories of the other country, signed on the 19th day of June,
1882.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, dated the
9th instant, and its accompanying copy of the telegram from the general
commanding the Military Division of the Pacific and Department of
California, relative to the construction of additional quarters,
barracks, storehouses, etc., within the limits of the Military
Department of Arizona.

The Secretary of War recommends that for the purpose of constructing
the additional buildings referred to the sum of their estimated cost,
$205,000, be appropriated during the present session of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 28, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 22d instant, with accompanying papers, submitting the draft of a
proposed clause for insertion in one of the pending appropriation bills,
to provide for the payment for improvements made by certain settlers on
the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation, in New Mexico.

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 3, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 25th
of April last, calling for information in regard to the reassembling of
the Paris Monetary Conference during the current year and other matters
connected therewith, I transmit herewith a report on the subject and its
accompanying papers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, July 20, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State and accompanying
papers, furnished in response to the resolution of the Senate of
December 21, 1881, calling for the correspondence with the Mexican
Government in regard to the claims of Benjamin Weil and La Abra Silver
Mining Company against Mexico.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, July 20, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate, for its consideration with a view
to ratification, a convention between the United States and Mexico,
providing for the reopening and retrying of the claims of Benjamin Weil
and La Abra Silver Mining Company against Mexico, which was signed on
the 13th instant.

A report of the Secretary of State, with its accompanying
correspondence, transmitted to the Senate this day in response to the
resolution of December 21, 1881, will show the antecedents of the
negotiation which resulted in the accompanying convention. In view of
the accumulation of testimony presented by Mexico relative to these two
claims, I have deemed it proper to avail myself of the authority given
to the Executive by the Constitution, and of which authority the act of
Congress of June 18, 1878, is declarative, to effect a rehearing of
these cases. I therefore empowered the Secretary of State to negotiate
with the minister of Mexico a convention to that end.

The more important correspondence preliminary to the treaty is herewith
transmitted.

It will be seen by the stipulations of the treaty that the rehearing
will have no retroactive effect as to payments already distributed, that
the _bona fide_ interests of third parties are amply secured, and
that the Government of the United States is fully guarded against any
liability resulting from the rehearing.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, July 26, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate, for consideration with a view to
ratification, a supplementary convention between the United States and
the French Republic, signed at Washington on the 19th instant, extending
the term of duration of the commission organized under the convention of
January 15, 1880, between the two countries.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, July 29, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in response to the Senate resolution of the 15th
instant, a report of the Secretary of State and accompanying papers,
relating to the Clayton-Bulwer treaty.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, July 29, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate, for consideration with a view to
ratification, a treaty between the United States and the Kingdom of
Korea, or Chosen, concluded on the 22d May last. For the information of
the Senate the accompanying letter of the Secretary of State is also
transmitted.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, August 1, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate, for consideration with a view to
ratification, a convention concluded on the 29th of July, 1882, between
the United States and Mexico, providing for an international boundary
survey to relocate the existing frontier line between the two countries
west of the Rio Grande.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

_Washington, August 4, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

In reply to a resolution of the Senate passed April 25, 1882, I transmit
herewith a communication, with accompanying papers, from the Secretary
of the Navy, in relation to the title by which the United States holds
the land now occupied as a navy-yard at Boston, Mass.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _August 5, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State, submitted in
compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
28th of June, calling for additional information respecting the case of
American citizens under arrest in Ireland.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, August 7, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate, with a view to ratification, a
convention concluded this day between the United States of America
and His Majesty the King of Spain, supplementary to the extradition
convention concluded between said countries on the 5th day of
January, 1877.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



VETO MESSAGES.


EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 4, 1882_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

After careful consideration of Senate bill No. 71, entitled "An act to
execute certain treaty stipulations relating to Chinese," I herewith
return it to the Senate, in which it originated, with my objections to
its passage.

A nation is justified in repudiating its treaty obligations only when
they are in conflict with great paramount interests. Even then all
possible reasonable means for modifying or changing those obligations
by mutual agreement should be exhausted before resorting to the supreme
right of refusal to comply with them.

These rules have governed the United States in their past intercourse
with other powers as one of the family of nations. I am persuaded that
if Congress can feel that this act violates the faith of the nation as
pledged to China it will concur with me in rejecting this particular
mode of regulating Chinese immigration, and will endeavor to find
another which shall meet the expectations of the people of the United
States without coming in conflict with the rights of China.

The present treaty relations between that power and the United States
spring from an antagonism which arose between our paramount domestic
interests and our previous relations.

The treaty commonly known as the Burlingame treaty conferred upon
Chinese subjects the right of voluntary emigration to the United States
for the purposes of curiosity or trade or as permanent residents, and
was in all respects reciprocal as to citizens of the United States in
China. It gave to the voluntary emigrant coming to the United States
the right to travel there or to reside there, with all the privileges,
immunities, or exemptions enjoyed by the citizens or subjects of the
most favored nation.

Under the operation of this treaty it was found that the institutions
of the United States and the character of its people and their means of
obtaining a livelihood might be seriously affected by the unrestricted
introduction of Chinese labor. Congress attempted to alleviate this
condition by legislation, but the act which it passed proved to be
in violation of our treaty obligations, and, being returned by the
President with his objections, failed to become a law.

Diplomatic relief was then sought. A new treaty was concluded with
China. Without abrogating the Burlingame treaty, it was agreed to modify
it so far that the Government of the United States might regulate,
limit, or suspend the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States
or their residence therein, but that it should not absolutely prohibit
them, and that the limitation or suspension should be reasonable and
should apply only to Chinese who might go to the United States as
laborers, other classes not being included in the limitations. This
treaty is unilateral, not reciprocal. It is a concession from China to
the United States in limitation of the rights which she was enjoying
under the Burlingame treaty. It leaves us by our own act to determine
when and how we will enforce those limitations. China may therefore
fairly have a right to expect that in enforcing them we will take good
care not to overstep the grant and take more than has been conceded
to us.

It is but a year since this new treaty, under the operation of the
Constitution, became part of the supreme law of the land, and the
present act is the first attempt to exercise the more enlarged powers
which it relinquishes to the United States.

In its first article the United States is empowered to decide whether
the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States or their residence
therein affects or threatens to affect our interests or to endanger good
order, either within the whole country or in any part of it. The act
recites that "in the opinion of the Government of the United States the
coming of Chinese laborers to this country endangers the good order of
certain localities thereof." But the act itself is much broader than
the recital. It acts upon residence as well as immigration, and its
provisions are effective throughout the United States. I think it may
fairly be accepted as an expression of the opinion of Congress that the
coming of such laborers to the United States or their residence here
affects our interests and endangers good order throughout the country.
On this point I should feel it my duty to accept the views of Congress.

The first article further confers the power upon this Government to
regulate, limit, or suspend, but not actually to prohibit, the coming
of such laborers to or their residence in the United States. The
negotiators of the treaty have recorded with unusual fullness their
understanding of the sense and meaning with which these words were used.

As to the class of persons to be affected by the treaty, the Americans
inserted in their draft a provision that the words "Chinese laborers"
signify all immigration other than that for "teaching, trade, travel,
study, and curiosity." The Chinese objected to this that it operated to
include artisans in the class of laborers whose immigration might be
forbidden. The Americans replied that they "could" not consent that
artisans shall be excluded from the class of Chinese laborers, for it is
this very competition of skilled labor in the cities where the Chinese
labor immigration concentrates which has caused the embarrassment and
popular discontent. In the subsequent negotiations this definition
dropped out, and does not appear in the treaty. Article II of the treaty
confers the rights, privileges, immunities, and exemptions which are
accorded to citizens and subjects of the most favored nation upon
Chinese subjects proceeding to the United States as teachers, students,
merchants, or from curiosity. The American commissioners report that the
Chinese Government claimed that in this article they did by exclusion
provide that nobody should be entitled to claim the benefit of the
general provisions of the Burlingame treaty but those who might go to
the United States in those capacities or for those purposes. I accept
this as the definition of the word "laborers" as used in the treaty.

As to the power of legislating respecting this class of persons, the new
treaty provides that we "may not absolutely prohibit" their coming or
their residence. The Chinese commissioners gave notice in the outset
that they would never agree to a prohibition of voluntary emigration.
Notwithstanding this the United States commissioners submitted a draft,
in which it was provided that the United States might "regulate, limit,
suspend, or prohibit" it. The Chinese refused to accept this. The
Americans replied that they were "willing to consult the wishes of the
Chinese Government in preserving the principle of free intercourse
between the people of the two countries, as established by existing
treaties, provided that the right of the United States Government to use
its discretion in guarding against any possible evils of immigration of
Chinese laborers is distinctly recognized. Therefore if such concession
removes all difficulty on the part of the Chinese commissioners (but
only in that case) the United States commissioners will agree to remove
the word 'prohibit' from their article and to use the words 'regulate,
limit, or suspend.'" The Chinese reply to this can only be inferred from
the fact that in the place of an agreement, as proposed by our
commissioners, that we might prohibit the coming or residence of Chinese
laborers, there was inserted in the treaty an agreement that we might
not do it.

The remaining words, "regulate, limit, and suspend," first appear in the
American draft. When it was submitted to the Chinese, they said:

  We infer that of the phrases regulate, limit, suspend, or prohibit,
  the first is a general expression referring to the others. * * * We
  are entirely ready to negotiate with your excellencies to the end that
  a limitation either in point of time or of numbers may be fixed upon
  the emigration of Chinese laborers to the United States.


At a subsequent interview they said that "by limitation in number they
meant, for example, that the United States, having, as they supposed,
a record of the number of immigrants in each year, as well as the total
number of Chinese now there, that no more should be allowed to go in any
one year in future than either the greatest number which had gone in any
year in the past, or that the total number should never be allowed to
exceed the number now there. As to limitation of time they meant, for
example, that Chinese should be allowed to go in alternate years, or
every third year, or, for example, that they should not be allowed to
go for two, three, or five years."

At a subsequent conference the Americans said:

  The Chinese commissioners have in their project explicitly recognized
  the right of the United States to use some discretion, and have
  proposed a limitation as to time and number. This _is_ the right to
  regulate, limit, or suspend.


In one of the conferences the Chinese asked the Americans whether they
could give them any idea of the laws which would be passed to carry the
powers into execution. The Americans answered that this could hardly be
done; that the United States Government might never deem it necessary
to exercise this power. It would depend upon circumstances. If Chinese
immigration concentrated in cities where it threatened public order,
or if it confined itself to localities where it was an injury to the
interests of the American people, the Government of the United States
would undoubtedly take steps to prevent such accumulations of Chinese.
If, on the contrary, there was no large immigration, or if there were
sections of the country where such immigration was clearly beneficial,
then the legislation of the United States under this power would be
adapted to such circumstances. For example, there might be a demand for
Chinese labor in the South and a surplus of such labor in California,
and Congress might legislate in accordance with these facts. In general
the legislation would be in view of and depend upon the circumstances
of the situation at the moment such legislation became necessary. The
Chinese commissioners said this explanation was satisfactory; that they
had not intended to ask for a draft of any special act, but for some
general idea how the power would be exercised. What had just been said
gave them the explanation which they wanted.

With this entire accord as to the meaning of the words they were about
to employ and the object of the legislation which might be had in
consequence, the parties signed the treaty, in Article I of which--

  The Government of China agrees that the Government of the United
  States may regulate, limit, or suspend such coming or residence, but
  may not absolutely prohibit it. The limitation or suspension shall
  be reasonable, and shall apply only to Chinese who may go to the
  United States as laborers, other classes not being included in the
  limitations. Legislation taken in regard to Chinese laborers will be
  of such a character only as is necessary to enforce the regulation,
  limitation, or suspension of immigration.


The first section of the act provides that--

  From and after the expiration of sixty days next after the passage
  of this act, and until the expiration of twenty years next after the
  passage of this act, the coming of Chinese laborers be, and the same
  is hereby, suspended; and during such suspension it shall not be
  lawful for any Chinese laborer to come, or, having so come after the
  expiration of said sixty days, to remain within the United States.


The examination which I have made of the treaty and of the declarations
which its negotiators have left on record of the meaning of its language
leaves no doubt in my mind that neither contracting party in concluding
the treaty of 1880 contemplated the passage of an act prohibiting
immigration for twenty years, which is nearly a generation, or thought
that such a period would be a reasonable suspension or limitation, or
intended to change the provisions of the Burlingame treaty to that
extent. I regard this provision of the act as a breach of our national
faith, and being unable to bring myself in harmony with the views of
Congress on this vital point the honor of the country constrains me to
return the act with this objection to its passage.

Deeply convinced of the necessity of some legislation on this subject,
and concurring fully with Congress in many of the objects which are
sought to be accomplished, I avail myself of the opportunity to point
out some other features of the present act which, in my opinion, can be
modified to advantage.

The classes of Chinese who still enjoy the protection of the Burlingame
treaty are entitled to the privileges, immunities, and exemptions
accorded to citizens and subjects of the most favored nation. We have
treaties with many powers which permit their citizens and subjects to
reside within the United States and carry on business under the same
laws and regulations which are enforced against citizens of the United
States. I think it may be doubted whether provisions requiring personal
registration and the taking out of passports which are not imposed upon
natives can be required of Chinese. Without expressing an opinion on
that point, I may invite the attention of Congress to the fact that
the system of personal registration and passports is undemocratic and
hostile to the spirit of our institutions. I doubt the wisdom of
putting an entering wedge of this kind into our laws. A nation like
the United States, jealous of the liberties of its citizens, may well
hesitate before it incorporates into its polity a system which is fast
disappearing in Europe before the progress of liberal institutions.
A wide experience has shown how futile such precautions are, and how
easily passports may be borrowed, exchanged, or even forged by persons
interested to do so.

If it is, nevertheless, thought that a passport is the most convenient
way for identifying the Chinese entitled to the protection of the
Burlingame treaty, it may still be doubted whether they ought to be
required to register. It is certainly our duty under the Burlingame
treaty to make their stay in the United States, in the operation of
general laws upon them, as nearly like that of our own citizens as we
can consistently with our right to shut out the laborers. No good
purpose is served in requiring them to register.

My attention has been called by the Chinese minister to the fact that
the bill as it stands makes no provision for the transit across the
United States of Chinese subjects now residing in foreign countries.
I think that this point may well claim the attention of Congress in
legislating on this subject.

I have said that good faith requires us to suspend the immigration of
Chinese laborers for a less period than twenty years; I now add that
good policy points in the same direction.

Our intercourse with China is of recent date. Our first treaty with
that power is not yet forty years old. It is only since we acquired
California and established a great seat of commerce on the Pacific that
we may be said to have broken down the barriers which fenced in that
ancient Monarchy. The Burlingame treaty naturally followed. Under the
spirit which inspired it many thousand Chinese laborers came to the
United States. No one can say that the country has not profited by their
work. They were largely instrumental in constructing the railways which
connect the Atlantic with the Pacific. The States of the Pacific Slope
are full of evidences of their industry. Enterprises profitable alike to
the capitalist and to the laborer of Caucasian origin would have lain
dormant but for them. A time has now come when it is supposed that they
are not needed, and when it is thought by Congress and by those most
acquainted with the subject that it is best to try to get along without
them. There may, however, be other sections of the country where this
species of labor may be advantageously employed without interfering with
the laborers of our own race. In making the proposed experiment it may
be the part of wisdom as well as of good faith to fix the length of the
experimental period with reference to this fact.

Experience has shown that the trade of the East is the key to national
wealth and influence. The opening of China to the commerce of the whole
world has benefited no section of it more than the States of our own
Pacific Slope. The State of California, and its great maritime port
especially, have reaped enormous advantages from this source. Blessed
with an exceptional climate, enjoying an unrivaled harbor, with the
riches of a great agricultural and mining State in its rear and the
wealth of the whole Union pouring into it over its lines of railway,
San Francisco has before it an incalculable future if our friendly and
amicable relations with Asia remain undisturbed. It needs no argument to
show that the policy which we now propose to adopt must have a direct
tendency to repel Oriental nations from us and to drive their trade
and commerce into more friendly lands. It may be that the great and
paramount interest of protecting our labor from Asiatic competition may
justify us in a permanent adoption of this policy; but it is wiser in
the first place to make a shorter experiment, with a view hereafter of
maintaining permanently only such features as time and experience may
commend.

I transmit herewith copies of the papers relating to the recent treaty
with China, which accompanied the confidential message of President
Hayes to the Senate of the 10th January, 1881, and also a copy of a
memorandum respecting the act herewith returned, which was handed to
the Secretary of State by the Chinese minister in Washington.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 1, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States:_

Herewith I return House bill No. 2744, entitled "An act to regulate the
carriage of passengers by sea," without my approval. In doing this I
regret that I am not able to give my assent to an act which has received
the sanction of the majority of both Houses of Congress.

The object proposed to be secured by the act is meritorious and
philanthropic. Some correct and accurate legislation upon this subject
is undoubtedly necessary. Steamships that bring large bodies of
emigrants must be subjected to strict legal enactments, so as to prevent
the passengers from being exposed to hardship and suffering; and such
legislation should be made as will give them abundance of space and air
and light, protecting their health by affording all reasonable comforts
and conveniences and by providing for the quantity and quality of the
food to be furnished and all of the other essentials of roomy, safe, and
healthful accommodations in their passage across the sea.

A statute providing for all this is absolutely needed, and in the spirit
of humane legislation must be enacted. The present act, by most of its
provisions, will obtain and secure this protection for such passengers,
and were it not for some serious errors contained in it it would be most
willingly approved by me.

My objections are these: In the first section, in lines from 13 to 24,
inclusive, it is provided "that the compartments or spaces," etc.,
"shall be of sufficient dimensions to allow for each and any passenger,"
etc., "100 cubic feet, if the compartment or space is located on the
first deck next below the uppermost deck of the vessel," etc., "or 120
cubic feet for each passenger," etc., "if the compartment or space is
located on the second deck below the uppermost deck of the vessel," etc.
"It shall not be lawful to carry or bring passengers on any deck other
than the two decks mentioned," etc.

Nearly all of the new and most of the improved ocean steamers have
a spar deck, which is above the main deck. The main deck was in
the old style of steamers the only uppermost deck. The spar deck is a
comparatively new feature of the large and costly steamships, and is now
practically the uppermost deck. Below this spar deck is the main deck.
Because of the misuse of the words "uppermost deck" instead of the use
of the words "main deck" by this act, the result will be to exclude
nearly all of the large steamships from carrying passengers anywhere
but on the main deck and on the deck below, which is the steerage deck,
and to leave the orlop, or lower deck, heretofore used for passengers,
useless and unoccupied by passengers. This objection, which is now
presented in connection with others that will be presently explained,
will, if this act is enforced as it is now phrased, render useless for
passenger traffic and expose to heavy loss all of the great ocean steam
lines; and it will also hinder emigration, as there will not be ships
enough that could accept these conditions to carry all who may now wish
to come.

The use of the new and the hitherto unknown term "uppermost deck"
creates this difficulty, and I can not consent to have an abuse of terms
like this to operate thus injuriously to these large fleets of ships.
The passengers will not be benefited by such a statute, but emigration
will be hindered, if not for a while almost prevented for many.

Again, the act in the first section, from line 31 to line 35, inclusive,
provides: "And such passengers shall not be carried or brought in any
between-decks, nor in any compartment," etc., "the clear height of which
is less than 7 feet." Between the decks of all ships are the beams; they
are about a foot in width. The legal method of ascertaining tonnage for
the purpose of taxation is to measure between the beams from the floor
to the ceiling. If this becomes a law the space required would be 8 feet
from floor to ceiling, and this is impracticable, for in all ships the
spaces between decks are adjusted in proportion to the dimensions of
the ship; and if these spaces between decks are changed so as not to
correspond in their proportions with the dimensions of the vessel,
the ship will not work well in the sea, her sailing qualities will
be injured, and she will be rendered unfit for service.

It is only in great ships of vast tonnage that the height between
decks can be increased. All the ordinary-sized ships are necessarily
constructed with 7 feet space in the interval between the beams from the
floor to the ceiling. To adopt this act, with this provision, would be
to drive out of the service of transporting passengers most all of the
steamships now in such trade, and no practical good obtained by it, for
really, with the exception of the narrow beam, the space between the
decks is now 7 feet. The purpose of the space commanded by the act is to
obtain sufficient air and ventilation, and that is actually now given to
the passenger by the 7 feet that exists in all of these vessels between
floor and ceiling.

There is also another objection that I must suggest. In section 12,
from line 14 to line 24, it is provided: "Before such vessel shall be
cleared or may lawfully depart," etc., "the master of said vessel shall
furnish," etc., "a correct list of all passengers who have been or are
intended to be taken on board the vessel, and shall specify," etc. This
provision would prevent the clearing of the vessel. Steam vessels start
at an appointed hour and with punctuality. Down almost to the very hour
of their departure new passengers, other than those who have engaged
their passage, constantly come on board. If this provision is to be the
law; they must be rejected, for the ship can not, without incurring
heavy penalties, take passengers whose names are not set forth on the
list required before such vessel shall be cleared. They should be
allowed to take such new passengers upon condition that they would
furnish an additional list containing such persons' names. There are
other points of objection of a minor character that might be presented
for consideration if the bill could be reconsidered and amended, but the
three that I have recited are conspicuous defects in a bill that ought
to be a code for such a purpose, clear and explicit, free from all such
objections. The practical result of this law would be to subject all of
the competing lines of large ocean steamers to great losses. By
restricting their carrying accommodations it would also stay the current
of emigration that it is our policy to encourage as well as to protect.
A good bill, correctly phrased, and expressing and naming in plain,
well-known technical terms the proper and usual places and decks where
passengers are and ought to be placed and carried, will receive my
prompt and immediate assent as a public necessity and blessing.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _August 1, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

Having watched with much interest the progress of House bill No. 6242,
entitled "An act making appropriations for the construction, repair,
and preservation of certain works on rivers and harbors, and for other
purposes," and having since it was received carefully examined it, after
mature consideration I am constrained to return it herewith to the House
of Representatives, in which it originated, without my signature and
with my objections to its passage.

Many of the appropriations in the bill are clearly for the general
welfare and most beneficent in their character. Two of the objects for
which provision is made were by me considered so important that I felt
it my duty to direct to them the attention of Congress. In my annual
message in December last I urged the vital importance of legislation for
the reclamation of the marshes and for the establishment of the harbor
lines along the Potomac front. In April last, by special message,
I recommended an appropriation for the improvement of the Mississippi
River. It is not necessary that I say that when my signature would make
the bill appropriating for these and other valuable national objects
a law it is with great reluctance and only under a sense of duty that
I withhold it.

My principal objection to the bill is that it contains appropriations
for purposes not for the common defense or general welfare, and which
do not promote commerce among the States. These provisions, on the
contrary, are entirely for the benefit of the particular localities
in which it is proposed to make the improvements. I regard such
appropriation of the public money as beyond the powers given by the
Constitution to Congress and the President.

I feel the more bound to withhold my signature from the bill because
of the peculiar evils which manifestly result from this infraction of
the Constitution. Appropriations of this nature, to be devoted purely
to local objects, tend to an increase in number and in amount. As the
citizens of one State find that money, to raise which they in common
with the whole country are taxed, is to be expended for local
improvements in another State, they demand similar benefits for
themselves, and it is not unnatural that they should seek to indemnify
themselves for such use of the public funds by securing appropriations
for similar improvements in their own neighborhood. Thus as the bill
becomes more objectionable it secures more support. This result is
invariable and necessarily follows a neglect to observe the
constitutional limitations imposed upon the lawmaking power.

The appropriations for river and harbor improvements have, under the
influences to which I have alluded, increased year by year out of
proportion to the progress of the country, great as that has been.
In 1870 the aggregate appropriation was $3,975,900; in 1875,
$6,648,517.50; in 1880, $8,976,500; and in 1881, $11,451,000; while
by the present act there is appropriated $18,743,875.

While feeling every disposition to leave to the Legislature the
responsibility of determining what amount should be appropriated for
the purposes of the bill, so long as the appropriations are confined to
objects indicated by the grant of power, I can not escape the conclusion
that, as a part of the lawmaking power of the Government, the duty
devolves upon me to withhold my signature from a bill containing
appropriations which in my opinion greatly exceed in amount the needs of
the country for the present fiscal year. It being the usage to provide
money for these purposes by annual appropriation bills, the President
is in effect directed to expend so large an amount of money within so
brief a period that the expenditure can not be made economically and
advantageously.

The extravagant expenditure of public money is an evil not to be
measured by the value of that money to the people who are taxed for it.
They sustain a greater injury in the demoralizing effect produced upon
those who are intrusted with official duty through all the ramifications
of government.

These objections could be removed and every constitutional purpose
readily attained should Congress enact that one-half only of the
aggregate amount provided for in the bill be appropriated for
expenditure during the fiscal year, and that the sum so appropriated be
expended only for such objects named in the bill as the Secretary of
War, under the direction of the President, shall determine; provided
that in no case shall the expenditure for any one purpose exceed the
sum now designated by the bill for that purpose.

I feel authorized to make this suggestion because of the duty
imposed upon the President by the Constitution "to recommend to the
consideration of Congress such measures as he shall judge necessary and
expedient," and because it is my earnest desire that the public works
which are in progress shall suffer no injury. Congress will also convene
again in four months, when this whole subject will be open for their
consideration.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



PROCLAMATIONS.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.


Whereas it is provided in the laws of the United States that--

  Whenever, by reason of unlawful obstructions, combinations, or
  assemblages of persons or rebellion against the authority of the
  Government of the United States, it shall become impracticable, in
  the judgment of the President, to enforce by the ordinary course of
  judicial proceedings the laws of the United States within any State
  or Territory, it shall be lawful for the President to call forth the
  militia of any or all the States and to employ such parts of the land
  and naval forces of the United States as he may deem necessary to
  enforce the faithful execution of the laws of the United States or to
  suppress such rebellion, in whatever State or Territory thereof the
  laws of the United States may be forcibly opposed or the execution
  thereof forcibly obstructed.


And whereas it has been made to appear satisfactorily to me, by
information received from the governor of the Territory of Arizona and
from the General of the Army of the United States and other reliable
sources, that in consequence of unlawful combinations of evil-disposed
persons who are banded together to oppose and obstruct the execution of
the laws it has become impracticable to enforce by the ordinary course
of judicial proceedings the laws of the United States within that
Territory, and that the laws of the United States have been therein
forcibly opposed and the execution thereof forcibly resisted; and

Whereas the laws of the United States require that whenever it may be
necessary, in the judgment of the President, to use the military forces
for the purpose of enforcing the faithful execution of the laws of the
United States, he shall forthwith, by proclamation, command such
insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes
within a limited time:

Now, therefore, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States, do
hereby admonish all good citizens of the United States, and especially
of the Territory of Arizona, against aiding, countenancing, abetting, or
taking part in any such unlawful proceedings; and I do hereby warn all
persons engaged in or connected with said obstruction of the laws to
disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes on or before
noon of the 15th day of May.

[SEAL.]

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of May, A.D. 1882, and
of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and sixth.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

In conformity with a custom the annual observance of which is justly
held in honor by this people, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the
United States, do hereby set apart Thursday, the 30th day of November
next, as a day of public thanksgiving.

The blessings demanding our gratitude are numerous and varied. For the
peace and amity which subsist between this Republic and all the nations
of the world; for the freedom from internal discord and violence; for
the increasing friendship between the different sections of the land;
for liberty, justice, and constitutional government; for the devotion
of the people to our free institutions and their cheerful obedience to
mild laws; for the constantly increasing strength of the Republic while
extending its privileges to fellow-men who come to us; for the improved
means of internal communication and the increased facilities of
intercourse with other nations; for the general prevailing health of the
year; for the prosperity of all our industries, the liberal return for
the mechanic's toil affording a market for the abundant harvests of
the husbandman; for the preservation of the national faith and credit;
for wise and generous provision to effect the intellectual and moral
education of our youth; for the influence upon the conscience of a
restraining and transforming religion, and for the joys of home--for
these and for many other blessings we should give thanks.

Wherefore I do recommend that the day above designated be observed
throughout the country as a day of national thanksgiving and prayer,
and that the people, ceasing from their daily labors and meeting in
accordance with their several forms of worship, draw near to the throne
of Almighty God, offering to Him praise and gratitude for the manifold
goodness which He has vouchsafed to us and praying that His blessings
and His mercies may continue.

And I do further recommend that the day thus appointed be made a special
occasion for deeds of kindness and charity to the suffering and the
needy, so that all who dwell within the land may rejoice and be glad in
this season of national thanksgiving.

[SEAL.]

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 25th day of October, A.D. 1882, and
of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and seventh.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



EXECUTIVE ORDERS.


TREASURY DEPARTMENT, _March 30, 1882_.

_To Collectors of Customs_:

Under the provisions of section 1955, Revised Statutes, so much of
Department instructions of July 3, 1875,[12] approved by the President,
as prohibits the importation and use of breech-loading rifles and
suitable ammunition therefor into and within the limits of the Territory
of Alaska is hereby amended and modified so as to permit emigrants who
intend to become actual _bona fide_ settlers upon the mainland to
ship to the care of the collector of customs at Sitka, for their own
personal protection and for the hunting of game, not exceeding one such
rifle and suitable ammunition therefor to each male adult; also to
permit actual _bona fide_ residents of the mainland of Alaska (not
including Indians or traders), upon application to the collector and
with his approval, to order and ship for personal use such arms and
ammunition to his care, not exceeding one rifle for each such person,
and proper ammunition.

The sale of such arms and ammunition is prohibited except by persons
about to leave the Territory, and then only to _bona fide_
residents (excluding Indians and traders) upon application to and with
the approval of the collector.

H.F. FRENCH, _Acting Secretary_.

Approved:

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 12: See Vol. VII, p. 328.]



CHESTER A. ARTHUR, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

_To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting_:

Whereas on the 10th day of January, 1863, Fitz John Porter, then
major-general of volunteers in the military service of the United
States, and also colonel of the Fifteenth Regiment of Infantry and
brevet brigadier-general in the United States Army, was by a general
court-martial, for certain offenses of which he had been thereby
convicted, sentenced "to be cashiered and to be forever disqualified
from holding any office of trust or profit under the Government of the
United States;" and

Whereas on the 21st day of January 1863, that sentence was duly
confirmed by the President of the United States, and by his order of the
same date carried into execution; and

Whereas so much of that sentence as forever disqualified the said Fitz
John Porter from holding office imposed upon him a continuing penalty
and is still being executed; and

Whereas doubts have since arisen concerning the guilt of the said Fitz
John Porter of the offenses whereof he was convicted by the said
court-martial, founded upon the result of an investigation ordered on
the 12th day of April, 1878, by the President of the United States,
which are deemed by me to be of sufficient gravity to warrant the
remission of that part of said sentence which has not yet been
completely executed:

Now, therefore, know ye that I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the
United States, by virtue of the power vested in me by the Constitution
of the United States and in consideration of the premises, do hereby
grant to the said Fitz John Porter full remission of the
hereinbeforementioned continuing penalty.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 4th day of May, A.D. 1882, and
of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and sixth.

[SEAL.]

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 26, 1882_.

SIR:[13] I am directed by the President to inform you that the several
Departments of the Government will be closed on Tuesday, the 30th
instant, to enable the employees to participate in the decoration of
the graves of the soldiers who fell during the rebellion.

Very respectfully,

FRED. J. PHILLIPS, _Private Secretary_.

[Footnote 13: Addressed to the heads of the Executive Departments, etc.]



WAR DEPARTMENT, _Washington, July 13, 1882_.

I. By direction of the President, the Military Department of West Point
will be discontinued September 1, 1882.

II. By direction of the President, sections 1 and 2 of Article I of the
general regulations for the United States Military Academy are hereby
amended to read as follows:

1. The General of the Army, under the War Department, shall have
supervision and charge of the United States Military Academy. He will
watch over its administration and discipline and the instruction of the
Corps of Cadets, and will make reports thereof to the Secretary of War.

2. The Superintendent, and in his absence the next in rank, shall have
the immediate government and military command of the Academy, and shall
be commandant of the military post of West Point. The Superintendent
will render, through the Adjutant-General, to the General of the Army,
for submission to the Secretary of War, all required reports, returns,
and estimates concerning the Academy.

ROBERT T. LINCOLN,

_Secretary of War_.



SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE.


WASHINGTON, _December 4, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_:

It is provided by the Constitution that the President shall from time
to time give to the Congress information of the state of the Union and
recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge
necessary and expedient.

In reviewing the events of the year which has elapsed since the
commencement of your sessions, I first call your attention to the
gratifying condition of our foreign affairs. Our intercourse with other
powers has continued to be of the most friendly character.

Such slight differences as have arisen during the year have been
already settled or are likely to reach an early adjustment. The arrest
of citizens of the United States in Ireland under recent laws which owe
their origin to the disturbed condition of that country has led to a
somewhat extended correspondence with the Government of Great Britain.
A disposition to respect our rights has been practically manifested by
the release of the arrested parties.

The claim of this nation in regard to the supervision and control of any
interoceanic canal across the American Isthmus has continued to be the
subject of conference.

It is likely that time will be more powerful than discussion in removing
the divergence between the two nations whose friendship is so closely
cemented by the intimacy of their relations and the community of their
interests.

Our long-established friendliness with Russia has remained unshaken. It
has prompted me to proffer the earnest counsels of this Government that
measures be adopted for suppressing the proscription which the Hebrew
race in that country has lately suffered. It has not transpired that
any American citizen has been subjected to arrest or injury, but our
courteous remonstrance has nevertheless been courteously received. There
is reason to believe that the time is not far distant when Russia will
be able to secure toleration to all faiths within her borders.

At an international convention held at Paris in 1880, and attended
by representatives of the United States, an agreement was reached in
respect to the protection of trade-marks, patented articles, and the
rights of manufacturing firms and corporations. The formulating into
treaties of the recommendations thus adopted is receiving the attention
which it merits.

The protection of submarine cables is a subject now under consideration
by an international conference at Paris. Believing that it is clearly
the true policy of this Government to favor the neutralization of this
means of intercourse, I requested our minister to France to attend the
convention as a delegate. I also designated two of our eminent
scientists to attend as our representatives at the meeting of an
international committee at Paris for considering the adoption of a
common unit to measure electric force.

In view of the frequent occurrence of conferences for the consideration
of important matters of common interest to civilized nations, I
respectfully suggest that the Executive be invested by Congress with
discretionary powers to send delegates to such conventions, and that
provision be made to defray the expenses incident thereto.

The difference between the United States and Spain as to the effect of
a judgment and certificate of naturalization has not yet been adjusted,
but it is hoped and believed that negotiations now in progress will
result in the establishment of the position which seems to this
Government so reasonable and just.

I have already called the attention of Congress to the fact that in the
ports of Spain and its colonies onerous fines have lately been imposed
upon vessels of the United States for trivial technical offenses against
local regulations. Efforts for the abatement of these exactions have
thus far proved unsuccessful.

I regret to inform you also that the fees demanded by Spanish consuls in
American ports are in some cases so large, when compared with the value
of the cargo, as to amount in effect to a considerable export duty, and
that our remonstrances in this regard have not as yet received the
attention which they seem to deserve.

The German Government has invited the United States to participate in
an international exhibition of domestic cattle to be held at Hamburg in
July, 1883. If this country is to be represented, it is important that
in the early days of this session Congress should make a suitable
appropriation for that purpose.

The death of Mr. Marsh, our late minister to Italy, has evoked from that
Government expressions of profound respect for his exalted character
and for his honorable career in the diplomatic service of his country.
The Italian Government has raised a question as to the propriety of
recognizing in his dual capacity the representative of this country
recently accredited both as secretary of legation and as consul-general
at Rome. He has been received as secretary, but his exequatur as
consul-general has thus far been withheld.

The extradition convention with Belgium, which has been in operation
since 1874, has been lately supplanted by another. The Senate has
signified its approval, and ratifications have been duly exchanged
between the contracting countries. To the list of extraditable crimes
has been added that of the assassination or attempted assassination of
the chief of the State.

Negotiations have been opened with Switzerland looking to a settlement
by treaty of the question whether its citizens can renounce their
allegiance and become citizens of the United States without obtaining
the consent of the Swiss Government.

I am glad to inform you that the immigration of paupers and criminals
from certain of the Cantons of Switzerland has substantially ceased and
is no longer sanctioned by the authorities.

The consideration of this subject prompts the suggestion that the act of
August 3, 1882, which has for its object the return of foreign convicts
to their own country, should be so modified as not to be open to the
interpretation that it affects the extradition of criminals on preferred
charges of crime.

The Ottoman Porte has not yet assented to the interpretation which
this Government has put upon the treaty of 1830 relative to its
jurisdictional rights in Turkey. It may well be, however, that this
difference will be adjusted by a general revision of the system of
jurisdiction of the United States in the countries of the East, a
subject to which your attention has been already called by the Secretary
of State.

In the interest of justice toward China and Japan, I trust that the
question of the return of the indemnity fund to the Governments of those
countries will reach at the present session the satisfactory solution
which I have already recommended, and which has recently been
foreshadowed by Congressional discussion.

The treaty lately concluded with Korea awaits the action of the Senate.

During the late disturbance in Egypt the timely presence of American
vessels served as a protection to the persons and property of many of
our own citizens and of citizens of other countries, whose governments
have expressed their thanks for this assistance.

The recent legislation restricting immigration of laborers from China
has given rise to the question whether Chinese proceeding to or from
another country may lawfully pass through our own.

Construing the act of May 6, 1882, in connection with the treaty of
November 7, 1880, the restriction would seem to be limited to Chinese
immigrants coming to the United States as laborers, and would not forbid
a mere transit across our territory. I ask the attention of Congress to
the subject, for such action, if any, as may be deemed advisable.

This Government has recently had occasion to manifest its interest in
the Republic of Liberia by seeking to aid the amicable settlement of the
boundary dispute now pending between that Republic and the British
possession of Sierra Leone.

The reciprocity treaty with Hawaii will become terminable after
September 9, 1883, on twelve months' notice by either party. While
certain provisions of that compact may have proved onerous, its
existence has fostered commercial relations which it is important to
preserve. I suggest, therefore, that early consideration be given to
such modifications of the treaty as seem to be demanded by the interests
of our people.

In view of our increasing trade with both Hayti and Santo Domingo,
I advise that provision be made for diplomatic intercourse with the
latter by enlarging the scope of the mission at Port an Prince.

I regret that certain claims of American citizens against the Government
of Hayti have thus far been urged unavailingly.

A recent agreement with Mexico provides for the crossing of the frontier
by the armed forces of either country in pursuit of hostile Indians. In
my message of last year I called attention to the prevalent lawlessness
upon the borders and to the necessity of legislation for its
suppression. I again invite the attention of Congress to the subject.

A partial relief from these mischiefs has been sought in a convention,
which now awaits the approval of the Senate, as does also another
touching the establishment of the international boundary between the
United States and Mexico. If the latter is ratified, the action of
Congress will be required for establishing suitable commissions of
survey. The boundary dispute between Mexico and Guatemala, which led
this Government to proffer its friendly counsels to both parties, has
been amicably settled.

No change has occurred in our relations with Venezuela. I again invoke
your action in the matter of the pending awards against that Republic,
to which reference was made by a special message from the Executive at
your last session.

An invitation has been received from the Government of Venezuela to
send representatives in July, 1883, to Caracas for participating in the
centennial celebration of the birth of Bolivar, the founder of South
American independence. In connection with this event it is designed
to commence the erection at Caracas of a statue of Washington and
to conduct an industrial exhibition which will be open to American
products. I recommend that the United States be represented and that
suitable provision be made therefor.

The elevation of the grade of our mission in Central America to the
plenipotentiary rank, which was authorized by Congress at its late
session, has been since effected.

The war between Peru and Bolivia on the one side and Chile on the other
began more than three years ago. On the occupation by Chile in 1880 of
all the littoral territory of Bolivia, negotiations for peace were
conducted under the direction of the United States. The allies refused
to concede any territory, but Chile has since become master of the whole
coast of both countries and of the capital of Peru. A year since, as
you have already been advised by correspondence transmitted to you in
January last, this Government sent a special mission to the belligerent
powers to express the hope that Chile would be disposed to accept a
money indemnity for the expenses of the war and to relinquish her demand
for a portion of the territory of her antagonist.

This recommendation, which Chile declined to follow, this Government did
not assume to enforce; nor can it be enforced without resort to measures
which would be in keeping neither with the temper of our people nor with
the spirit of our institutions.

The power of Peru no longer extends over its whole territory, and in the
event of our interference to dictate peace would need to be supplemented
by the armies and navies of the United States. Such interference would
almost inevitably lead to the establishment of a protectorate--a result
utterly at odds with our past policy, injurious to our present
interests, and full of embarrassments for the future.

For effecting the termination of hostilities upon terms at once just to
the victorious nation and generous to its adversaries, this Government
has spared no efforts save such as might involve the complications which
I have indicated.

It is greatly to be deplored that Chile seems resolved to exact such
rigorous conditions of peace and indisposed to submit to arbitration the
terms of an amicable settlement. No peace is likely to be lasting that
is not sufficiently equitable and just to command the approval of other
nations.

About a year since invitations were extended to the nations of this
continent to send representatives to a peace congress to assemble at
Washington in November, 1882. The time of meeting was fixed at a period
then remote, in the hope, as the invitation itself declared, that in the
meantime the disturbances between the South American Republics would be
adjusted. As that expectation seemed unlikely to be realized, I asked in
April last for an expression of opinion from the two Houses of Congress
as to the advisability of holding the proposed convention at the time
appointed. This action was prompted in part by doubts which mature
reflection had suggested whether the diplomatic usage and traditions of
the Government did not make it fitting that the Executive should consult
the representatives of the people before pursuing a line of policy
somewhat novel in its character and far reaching in its possible
consequences. In view of the fact that no action was taken by Congress
in the premises and that no provision had been made for necessary
expenses, I subsequently decided to postpone the convocation, and so
notified the several Governments which had been invited to attend.

I am unwilling to dismiss this subject without assuring you of my
support of any measures the wisdom of Congress may devise for the
promotion of peace on this continent and throughout the world, and I
trust that the time is nigh when, with the universal assent of civilized
peoples, all international differences shall be determined without
resort to arms by the benignant processes of arbitration.

Changes have occurred in the diplomatic representation of several
foreign powers during the past year. New ministers from the Argentine
Republic, Austria-Hungary, Brazil, Chile, China, France, Japan, Mexico,
the Netherlands, and Russia have presented their credentials. The
missions of Denmark and Venezuela at this capital have been raised
in grade. Switzerland has created a plenipotentiary mission to this
Government, and an embassy from Madagascar and a minister from Siam
will shortly arrive.

Our diplomatic intercourse has been enlarged by the establishment of
relations with the new Kingdom of Servia, by the creation of a mission
to Siam, and by the restoration of the mission to Greece. The Shah of
Persia has expressed his gratification that a chargé d'affaires will
shortly be sent to that country, where the rights of our citizens have
been hitherto courteously guarded by the representatives of Great
Britain.

I renew my recommendation of such legislation as will place the United
States in harmony with other maritime powers with respect to the
international rules for the prevention of collisions at sea.

In conformity with your joint resolution of the 3d of August last,
I have directed the Secretary of State to address foreign governments
in respect to a proposed conference for considering the subject of
the universal adoption of a common prime meridian to be used in the
reckoning of longitude and in the regulation of time throughout the
civilized world. Their replies will in due time be laid before you.

An agreement was reached at Paris in 1875 between the principal powers
for the interchange of official publications through the medium of their
respective foreign departments.

The admirable system which has been built up by the enterprise of the
Smithsonian Institution affords a practical basis for our cooperation
in this scheme, and an arrangement has been effected by which that
institution will perform the necessary labor, under the direction of
the Department of State. A reasonable compensation therefor should be
provided by law.

A clause in the act making appropriations for the diplomatic and
consular service contemplates the reorganization of both branches of
such service on a salaried basis, leaving fees to inure to the benefit
of the Treasury. I cordially favor such a project, as likely to correct
abuses in the present system. The Secretary of State will present to you
at an early day a plan for such reorganization.

A full and interesting exhibit of the operations of the Treasury
Department is afforded by the report of the Secretary.

It appears that the ordinary revenues from all sources for the fiscal
year ended June 30, 1882, were as follows:


  From customs                                          $220,410,730.25
  From internal revenue                                  146,497,595.45
  From sales of public lands                               4,753,140.37
  From tax on circulation and deposits of national banks   8,956,794.45
  From repayment of interest by Pacific Railway companies    840,554.37
  From sinking fund for Pacific Railway companies            796,271.42
  From customs fees, fines, penalties, etc.                1,343,348.00
  From fees--consular, letters patent, and lands           2,638,990.97
  From proceeds of sales of Government property              314,959.85
  From profits on coinage, bullion deposits, and assays    4,116,693.73
  From Indian trust funds                                  5,705,243.22
  From deposits by individuals for surveying public lands  2,052,306.36
  From revenues of the District of Columbia                1,715,176.41
  From miscellaneous sources                               3,383,445.43
                                                         ______________
  Total ordinary receipts                                403,525,250.28


The ordinary expenditures for the same period were--


  For civil expenses                                     $18,042,386.42
  For foreign intercourse                                  1,307,583.19
  For Indians                                              9,736,747.40
  For pensions                                            61,345,193.95
  For the military establishment, including river and
    harbor improvements, and arsenals                     43,570,494.19
  For the naval establishment, including vessels,
    machinery, and improvements at navy-yards             15,032,046.26
  For miscellaneous expenditures, including public
    buildings, light-houses, and collecting the revenue   34,539,237.50
  For expenditures on account of the District of Columbia  3,330,543.87
  For interest on the public debt                         71,077,206.79
                                                         ______________
  Total ordinary expenditures                            257,981,439.57


Leaving a surplus revenue of $145,543,810.71, which, with an amount
drawn from the cash balance in the Treasury of $20,737,694.84, making
$166,281,505.55, was applied to the redemption--


  Of bonds for the sinking fund                          $60,079,150.00
  Of fractional currency for the sinking fund                 58,705.55
  Of loan of July and August, 1861                        62,572,050.00
  Of loan of March, 1863                                   4,472,900.00
  Of funded loan of 1881                                  37,194,450.00
  Of loan of 1858                                              1,000.00
  Of loan of February, 1861                                  303,000.00
  Of five-twenties of 1862                                     2,100.00
  Of five-twenties of 1864                                     7,400.00
  Of five-twenties of 1865                                     6,500.00
  Of ten-forties of 1864                                     254,550.00
  Of consols of 1865                                          86,450.00
  Of consols of 1867                                         408,250.00
  Of consols of 1868                                         141,400.00
  Of Oregon War debt                                         675,250.00
  Of old demand, compound-interest, and other notes           18,350 00
                                                         ______________
                                                         166,281,505 55


The foreign commerce of the United States during the last fiscal
year, including imports and exports of merchandise and specie, was as
follows:


  Exports:
    Merchandise                                            $750,542,257
    Specie                                                   49,417,479
                                                            ___________
      Total                                                 799,959,736
  Imports:
    Merchandise                                             724,639,574
    Specie                                                   42,472,390
                                                            ___________
      Total                                                 767,111,964
                                                            ===========
  Excess of exports over imports of merchandise              25,902,683


This excess is less than it has been before for any of the previous six
years, as appears by the following table:


  ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  Year ended June 30--    Excess of exports over imports of merchandise
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  1876                                                      $79,643,481
  1877                                                      151,152,094
  1878                                                      257,814,234
  1879                                                      264,661,666
  1880                                                      167,683,912
  1881                                                      259,712,718
  1882                                                       25,902,683
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------


During the year there have been organized 171 national banks, and of
those institutions there are now in operation 2,269, a larger number
than ever before. The value of their notes in active circulation on
July 1, 1882, was $324,656,458.

I commend to your attention the Secretary's views in respect to the
likelihood of a serious contraction of this circulation, and to the
modes by which that result may, in his judgment, be averted.

In respect to the coinage of silver dollars and the retirement of silver
certificates, I have seen nothing to alter but much to confirm the
sentiments to which I gave expression last year.

A comparison between the respective amounts of silver-dollar circulation
on November 1, 1881, and on November 1, 1882, shows a slight increase of
a million and a half of dollars; but during the interval there had been
in the whole number coined an increase of twenty-six millions. Of the
one hundred and twenty-eight millions thus far minted, little more than
thirty-five millions are in circulation. The mass of accumulated coin
has grown so great that the vault room at present available for storage
is scarcely sufficient to contain it. It is not apparent why it is
desirable to continue this coinage, now so enormously in excess of the
public demand.

As to the silver certificates, in addition to the grounds which seemed
last year to justify their retirement may be mentioned the effect which
is likely to ensue from the supply of gold certificates for whose
issuance Congress recently made provision, and which are now in active
circulation.

You can not fail to note with interest the discussion by the Secretary
as to the necessity of providing by legislation some mode of freeing
the Treasury of an excess of assets in the event that Congress fails
to reach an early agreement for the reduction of taxation.

I heartily approve the Secretary's recommendation of immediate and
extensive reductions in the annual revenues of the Government.

It will be remembered that I urged upon the attention of Congress at its
last session the importance of relieving the industry and enterprise of
the country from the pressure of unnecessary taxation. It is one of the
tritest maxims of political economy that all taxes are burdensome,
however wisely and prudently imposed; and though there have always been
among our people wide differences of sentiment as to the best methods of
raising the national revenues, and, indeed, as to the principles upon
which taxation should be based, there has been substantial accord in the
doctrine that only such taxes ought to be levied as are necessary for a
wise and economical administration of the Government. Of late the public
revenues have far exceeded that limit, and unless checked by appropriate
legislation such excess will continue to increase from year to year.
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1881, the surplus revenue amounted
to $100,000,000; for the fiscal year ended on the 30th of June last the
surplus was more than one hundred and forty-five millions.

The report of the Secretary shows what disposition has been made of
these moneys. They have not only answered the requirements of the
sinking fund, but have afforded a large balance applicable to other
reductions of the public debt.

But I renew the expression of my conviction that such rapid
extinguishment of the national indebtedness as is now taking place is by
no means a cause for congratulation; it is a cause rather for serious
apprehension.

If it continues, it must speedily be followed by one of the evil results
so clearly set forth in the report of the Secretary.

Either the surplus must lie idle in the Treasury or the Government
will be forced to buy at market rates its bonds not then redeemable,
and which under such circumstances can not fail to command an enormous
premium, or the swollen revenues will be devoted to extravagant
expenditure, which, as experience has taught, is ever the bane of an
overflowing treasury.

It was made apparent in the course of the animated discussions which
this question aroused at the last session of Congress that the policy
of diminishing the revenue by reducing taxation commanded the general
approval of the members of both Houses.

I regret that because of conflicting views as to the best methods by
which that policy should be made operative none of its benefits have
as yet been reaped.

In fulfillment of what I deem my constitutional duty, but with little
hope that I can make valuable contribution to this vexed question,
I shall proceed to intimate briefly my own views in relation to it.

Upon the showing of our financial condition at the close of the last
fiscal year, I felt justified in recommending to Congress the abolition
of all internal revenue taxes except those upon tobacco in its various
forms and upon distilled spirits and fermented liquors, and except also
the special tax upon the manufacturers of and dealers in such articles.

I venture now to suggest that unless it shall be ascertained that the
probable expenditures of the Government for the coming year have been
underestimated all internal taxes save those which relate to distilled
spirits can be prudently abrogated.

Such a course, if accompanied by a simplification of the machinery of
collection, which would then be easy of accomplishment, might reasonably
be expected to result in diminishing the cost of such collection by at
least $2,500,000 and in the retirement from office of from 1,500 to
2,000 persons.

The system of excise duties has never commended itself to the favor of
the American people, and has never been resorted to except for supplying
deficiencies in the Treasury when, by reason of special exigencies,
the duties on imports have proved inadequate for the needs of the
Government. The sentiment of the country doubtless demands that the
present excise tax shall be abolished as soon as such a course can be
safely pursued.

It seems to me, however, that, for various reasons, so sweeping a
measure as the total abolition of internal taxes would for the present
be an unwise step.

Two of these reasons are deserving of special mention:

First. It is by no means clear that even if the existing system of
duties on imports is continued without modification those duties alone
will yield sufficient revenue for all the needs of the Government.
It is estimated that $100,000,000 will be required for pensions during
the coming year, and it may well be doubted whether the maximum annual
demand for that object has yet been reached. Uncertainty upon this
question would alone justify, in my judgment, the retention for the
present of that portion of the system of internal revenue which is
least objectionable to the people.

Second. A total abolition of excise taxes would almost inevitably prove
a serious if not an insurmountable obstacle to a thorough revision of
the tariff and to any considerable reduction in import duties.

The present tariff system is in many respects unjust. It makes unequal
distributions both of its burdens and its benefits. This fact was
practically recognized by a majority of each House of Congress in the
passage of the act creating the Tariff Commission. The report of that
commission will be placed before you at the beginning of this session,
and will, I trust, afford you such information as to the condition and
prospects of the various commercial, agricultural, manufacturing,
mining, and other interests of the country and contain such suggestions
for statutory revision as will practically aid your action upon this
important subject.

The revenue from customs for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1879,
amounted to $137,000,000.

It has in the three succeeding years reached, first, $186,000,000, then
$198,000,000, and finally, as has been already stated, $220,000,000.

The income from this source for the fiscal year which will end on June
30, 1883, will doubtless be considerably in excess of the sum last
mentioned.

If the tax on domestic spirits is to be retained, it is plain,
therefore, that large reductions from the customs revenue are entirely
feasible. While recommending this reduction, I am far from advising the
abandonment of the policy of so discriminating in the adjustment of
details as to afford aid and protection to domestic labor. But the
present system should be so revised as to equalize the public burden
among all classes and occupations and bring it into closer harmony with
the present needs of industry.

Without entering into minute detail, which under present circumstances
is quite unnecessary, I recommend an enlargement of the free list so as
to include within it the numerous articles which yield inconsiderable
revenue, a simplification of the complex and inconsistent schedule of
duties upon certain manufactures, particularly those of cotton, iron,
and steel, and a substantial reduction of the duties upon those articles
and upon sugar, molasses, silk, wool, and woolen goods.

If a general revision of the tariff shall be found to be impracticable
at this session, I express the hope that at least some of the more
conspicuous inequalities of the present law may be corrected before
your final adjournment. One of them is specially referred to by the
Secretary. In view of a recent decision of the Supreme Court, the
necessity of amending the law by which the Dutch standard of color is
adopted as the test of the saccharine strength of sugars is too obvious
to require comment.

From the report of the Secretary of War it appears that the only
outbreaks of Indians during the past year occurred in Arizona and in
the southwestern part of New Mexico. They were promptly quelled, and
the quiet which has prevailed in all other parts of the country has
permitted such an addition to be made to the military force in the
region endangered by the Apaches that there is little reason to
apprehend trouble in the future.

Those parts of the Secretary's report which relate to our seacoast
defenses and their armament suggest the gravest reflections. Our
existing fortifications are notoriously inadequate to the defense of
the great harbors and cities for whose protection they were built.

The question of providing an armament suited to our present necessities
has been the subject of consideration by a board, whose report was
transmitted to Congress at the last session. Pending the consideration
of that report, the War Department has taken no steps for the
manufacture or conversion of any heavy cannon, but the Secretary
expresses the hope that authority and means to begin that important
work will be soon provided. I invite the attention of Congress to the
propriety of making more adequate provision for arming and equipping
the militia than is afforded by the act of 1808, which is still upon
the statute book. The matter has already been the subject of discussion
in the Senate, and a bill which seeks to supply the deficiencies of
existing laws is now upon its calendar.

The Secretary of War calls attention to an embarrassment growing out of
the recent act of Congress making the retirement of officers of the Army
compulsory at the age of 64. The act of 1878 is still in force, which
limits to 400 the number of those who can be retired for disability or
upon their own application. The two acts, when construed together, seem
to forbid the relieving, even for absolute incapacity, of officers who
do not fall within the purview of the later statute, save at such times
as there chance to be less than 400 names on the retired list. There are
now 420. It is not likely that Congress intended this result, and I
concur with the Secretary that the law ought to be amended.

The grounds that impelled me to withhold my signature from the bill
entitled "An act making appropriations for the construction, repair,
and preservation of certain works on rivers and harbors," which became
a law near the close of your last session, prompt me to express the hope
that no similar measure will be deemed necessary during the present
session of Congress. Indeed, such a measure would now be open to a
serious objection in addition to that which was lately urged upon your
attention. I am informed by the Secretary of War that the greater
portion of the sum appropriated for the various items specified in that
act remains unexpended.

Of the new works which it authorized, expenses have been incurred upon
two only, for which the total appropriation was $210,000. The present
available balance is disclosed by the following table:


  Amount of appropriation by act of August 2, 1882          $18,738,875
  Amount of appropriation by act of June 19, 1882                10,000
  Amount of appropriation for payments to J.B. Eads             304,000
  Unexpended balance of former appropriations                 4,738,263
                                                             __________
                                                             23,791,138
  Less amount drawn from Treasury between July 1, 1882,
  and November 30, 1882                                       6,056,194
                                                             __________
                                                             17,734,944


It is apparent by this exhibit that so far as concerns most of the items
to which the act of August 2, 1882, relates there can be no need of
further appropriations until after the close of the present session.
If, however, any action should seem to be necessary in respect to
particular objects, it will be entirely feasible to provide for those
objects by appropriate legislation. It is possible, for example, that
a delay until the assembling of the next Congress to make additional
provision for the Mississippi River improvements might be attended with
serious consequences. If such should appear to be the case, a just bill
relating to that subject would command my approval.

This leads me to offer a suggestion which I trust will commend itself to
the wisdom of Congress. Is it not advisable that grants of considerable
sums of money for diverse and independent schemes of internal improvement
should be made the subjects of separate and distinct legislative
enactments? It will scarcely be gainsaid, even by those who favor
the most liberal expenditures for such purposes as are sought to be
accomplished by what is commonly called the river and harbor bill, that
the practice of grouping in such a bill appropriations for a great
diversity of objects, widely separated either in their nature or in the
locality with which they are concerned, or in both, is one which is
much to be deprecated unless it is irremediable. It inevitably tends to
secure the success of the bill as a whole, though many of the items, if
separately considered, could scarcely fail of rejection. By the adoption
of the course I have recommended every member of Congress, whenever
opportunity should arise for giving his influence and vote for
meritorious appropriations, would be enabled so to do without being
called upon to sanction others undeserving his approval. So also would
the Executive be afforded thereby full opportunity to exercise his
constitutional prerogative of opposing whatever appropriations seemed
to him objectionable without imperiling the success of others which
commended themselves to his judgment.

It may be urged in opposition to these suggestions that the number of
works of internal improvement which are justly entitled to governmental
aid is so great as to render impracticable separate appropriation
bills therefor, or even for such comparatively limited number as make
disposition of large sums of money. This objection may be well founded,
and, whether it be or not, the advantages which would be likely to ensue
from the adoption of the course I have recommended may perhaps be more
effectually attained by another, which I respectfully submit to Congress
as an alternative proposition.

It is provided by the constitutions of fourteen of our States that
the executive may disapprove any item or items of a bill appropriating
money, whereupon the part of the bill approved shall be law and the part
disapproved shall fail to become law unless repassed according to the
provisions prescribed, for the passage of bills over the veto of the
executive. The States wherein some such provision as the foregoing is a
part of the fundamental law are Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida,
Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia. I commend to your
careful consideration the question whether an amendment of the Federal
Constitution in the particular indicated would not afford the best
remedy for what is often a grave embarrassment both to members of
Congress and to the Executive, and is sometimes a serious public
mischief.

The report of the Secretary of the Navy states the movements of the
various squadrons during the year, in home and foreign waters, where our
officers and seamen, with such ships as we possess, have continued to
illustrate the high character and excellent discipline of the naval
organization.

On the 21st of December, 1881, information was received that the
exploring steamer _Jeannette_ had been crushed and abandoned in
the Arctic Ocean. The officers and crew, after a journey over the ice,
embarked in three boats for the coast of Siberia. One of the parties,
under the command of Chief Engineer George W. Melville, reached the
land, and, falling in with the natives, was saved. Another, under
Lieutenant-Commander De Long, landed in a barren region near the mouth
of the Lena River. After six weeks had elapsed all but two of the number
had died from fatigue and starvation. No tidings have been received from
the party in the third boat, under the command of Lieutenant Chipp, but
a long and fruitless investigation leaves little doubt that all its
members perished at sea. As a slight tribute to their heroism I give
in this communication the names of the gallant men who sacrificed their
lives on this expedition: Lieutenant-Commander George W. De Long,
Surgeon James M. Ambler, Jerome J. Collins, Hans Halmer Erichsen,
Heinrich H. Kaacke, George W. Boyd, Walter Lee, Adolph Dressier,
Carl A. Görtz, Nelse Iverson, the cook Ah Sam, and the Indian Alexy.
The officers and men in the missing boat were Lieutenant Charles W.
Chipp, commanding; William Dunbar, Alfred Sweetman, Walter Sharvell,
Albert C. Kuehne, Edward Star, Henry D. Warren, and Peter E. Johnson.

Lieutenant Giles B. Harber and Master William H. Scheutze are now,
bringing home the remains of Lieutenant De Long and his comrades, in
pursuance of the directions of Congress.

The _Rodgers_, fitted out for the relief of the _Jeannette_ in
accordance with the act of Congress of March 3, 1881, sailed from San
Francisco June 16 under the command of Lieutenant Robert M. Berry. On
November 30 she was accidentally destroyed by fire while in winter
quarters in St. Lawrence Bay, but the officers and crew succeeded in
escaping to the shore. Lieutenant Berry and one of his officers, after
making a search for the _Jeannette_ along the coast of Siberia,
fell in with Chief Engineer Melville's party and returned home by way of
Europe. The other officers and the crew of the _Rodgers_ were
brought from St. Lawrence Bay by the whaling steamer _North Star_.
Master Charles F. Putnam, who had been placed in charge of a depot of
supplies at Cape Serdze, returning to his post from St. Lawrence Bay
across the ice in a blinding snowstorm, was carried out to sea and lost,
notwithstanding all efforts to rescue him.

It appears by the Secretary's report that the available naval force of
the United States consists of 37 cruisers, 14 single-turreted monitors,
built during the rebellion, a large number of smoothbore guns and
Parrott rifles, and 87 rifled cannon.

The cruising vessels should be gradually replaced by iron or steel
ships, the monitors by modern armored vessels, and the armament by
high-power rifled guns.

The reconstruction of our Navy, which was recommended in my last
message, was begun by Congress authorizing, in its recent act, the
construction of two large unarmored steel vessels of the character
recommended by the late Naval Advisory Board, and subject to the final
approval of a new advisory board to be organized as provided by that
act. I call your attention to the recommendation of the Secretary
and the board that authority be given to construct two more cruisers
of smaller dimensions and one fleet dispatch vessel, and that
appropriations be made for high-power rifled cannon for the torpedo
service and for other harbor defenses.

Pending the consideration by Congress of the policy to be hereafter
adopted in conducting the eight large navy-yards and their expensive
establishments, the Secretary advocates the reduction of expenditures
therefor to the lowest possible amounts.

For the purpose of affording the officers and seamen of the Navy
opportunities for exercise and discipline in their profession, under
appropriate control and direction, the Secretary advises that the
Light-House Service and Coast Survey be transferred, as now organized,
from the Treasury to the Navy Department; and he also suggests, for the
reasons which he assigns, that a similar transfer may wisely be made of
the cruising revenue vessels.

The Secretary forcibly depicts the intimate connection and
interdependence of the Navy and the commercial marine, and invites
attention to the continued decadence of the latter and the corresponding
transfer of our growing commerce to foreign bottoms.

This subject is one of the utmost importance to the national welfare.
Methods of reviving American shipbuilding and of restoring the United
States flag in the ocean carrying trade should receive the immediate
attention of Congress. We have mechanical skill and abundant material
for the manufacture of modern iron steamships in fair competition
with our commercial rivals. Our disadvantage in building ships is the
greater cost of labor, and in sailing them, higher taxes, and greater
interest on capital, while the ocean highways are already monopolized
by our formidable competitors. These obstacles should in some way be
overcome, and for our rapid communication with foreign lands we should
not continue to depend wholly upon vessels built in the yards of other
countries and sailing under foreign flags. With no United States
steamers on the principal ocean lines or in any foreign ports, our
facilities for extending our commerce are greatly restricted, while
the nations which build and sail the ships and carry the mails and
passengers obtain thereby conspicuous advantages in increasing their
trade.

The report of the Postmaster-General gives evidence of the satisfactory
condition of that Department and contains many valuable data and
accompanying suggestions which can not fail to be of interest.

The information which it affords that the receipts for the fiscal year
have exceeded the expenditures must be very gratifying to Congress and
to the people of the country.

As matters which may fairly claim particular attention, I refer you
to his observations in reference to the advisability of changing the
present basis for fixing salaries and allowances, of extending the
money-order system, and of enlarging the functions of the postal
establishment so as to put under its control the telegraph system of
the country, though from this last and most important recommendation
I must withhold my concurrence.

At the last session of Congress several bills were introduced into the
House of Representatives for the reduction of letter postage to the rate
of 2 cents per half ounce.

I have given much study and reflection to this subject, and am
thoroughly persuaded that such a reduction would be for the best
interests of the public.

It has been the policy of the Government from its foundation to defray
as far as possible the expenses of carrying the mails by a direct tax
in the form of postage. It has never been claimed, however, that this
service ought to be productive of a net revenue.

As has been stated already, the report of the Postmaster-General shows
that there is now a very considerable surplus in his Department and that
henceforth the receipts are likely to increase at a much greater ratio
than the necessary expenditures. Unless some change is made in the
existing laws, the profits of the postal service will in a very few
years swell the revenues of the Government many millions of dollars.
The time seems auspicious, therefore, for some reduction in the rates
of postage. In what shall that reduction consist?

A review of the legislation which has been had upon this subject during
the last thirty years discloses that domestic letters constitute the
only class of mail matter which has never been favored by a substantial
reduction of rates. I am convinced that the burden of maintaining the
service falls most unequally upon that class, and that more than any
other it is entitled to present relief.

That such relief may be extended without detriment to other public
interests will be discovered upon reviewing the results of former
reductions.

Immediately prior to the act of 1845 the postage upon a letter composed
of a single sheet was as follows:


  If conveyed--                                               Cents.

    30 miles or less                                              6
    Between 30 and 80 miles                                      10
    Between 80 and 150 miles                                     12-1/2
    Between 150 and 400 miles                                    18-3/4
    Over 400 miles                                               25


By the act of 1845 the postage upon a single letter conveyed for any
distance under 300 miles was fixed at 5 cents and for any greater
distance at 10 cents.

By the act of 1851 it was provided that a single letter, if prepaid,
should be carried any distance not exceeding 3,000 miles for 3 cents
and any greater distance for 6 cents.

It will be noticed that both of these reductions were of a radical
character and relatively quite as important as that which is now
proposed.

In each case there ensued a temporary loss of revenue, but a sudden and
large influx of business, which substantially repaired that loss within
three years.

Unless the experience of past legislation in this country and elsewhere
goes for naught, it may be safely predicted that the stimulus of 33-1/3
per cent reduction in the tax for carriage would at once increase the
number of letters consigned to the mails.

The advantages of secrecy would lead to a very general substitution of
sealed packets for postal cards and open circulars, and in divers other
ways the volume of first-class matter would be enormously augmented.
Such increase amounted in England, in the first year after the adoption
of penny postage, to more than 125 per cent.

As a result of careful estimates, the details of which can not be here
set out, I have become convinced that the deficiency for the first year
after the proposed reduction would not exceed 7 per cent of the
expenditures, or $3,000,000, while the deficiency after the reduction of
1845 was more than 14 per cent, and after that of 1851 was 27 per cent.

Another interesting comparison is afforded by statistics furnished me by
the Post-Office Department.

The act of 1845 was passed in face of the fact that there existed a
deficiency of more than $30,000. That of 1851 was encouraged by the
slight surplus of $132,000. The excess of revenue in the next fiscal
year is likely to be $3,500,000.

If Congress should approve these suggestions, it may be deemed desirable
to supply to some extent the deficiency which must for a time result by
increasing the charge for carrying merchandise, which is now only 16
cents per pound; but even without such an increase I am confident that
the receipts under the diminished rates would equal the expenditures
after the lapse of three or four years.

The report of the Department of Justice brings anew to your notice the
necessity of enlarging the present system of Federal jurisprudence so as
effectually to answer the requirements of the ever-increasing litigation
with which it is called upon to deal.

The Attorney-General renews the suggestions of his predecessor that in
the interests of justice better provision than the existing laws afford
should be made in certain judicial districts for fixing the fees of
witnesses and jurors.

In my message of December last I referred to pending criminal
proceedings growing out of alleged frauds in what is known as the
star-route service of the Post-Office Department, and advised you that
I had enjoined upon the Attorney-General and associate counsel, to whom
the interests of the Government were intrusted, the duty of prosecuting
with the utmost vigor of the law all persons who might be found
chargeable with those offenses. A trial of one of these cases has since
occurred. It occupied for many weeks the attention of the supreme court
of this District and was conducted with great zeal and ability. It
resulted in a disagreement of the jury, but the cause has been again
placed upon the calendar and will shortly be retried. If any guilty
persons shall finally escape punishment for their offenses, it will
not be for lack of diligent and earnest efforts on the part of the
prosecution.

I trust that some agreement may be reached which will speedily enable
Congress, with the concurrence of the Executive, to afford the
commercial community the benefits of a national bankrupt law.

The report of the Secretary of the Interior, with its accompanying
documents, presents a full statement of the varied operations of that
Department. In respect to Indian affairs nothing has occurred which has
changed or seriously modified the views to which I devoted much space in
a former communication to Congress. I renew the recommendations therein
contained as to extending to the Indian the protection of the law,
allotting land in severalty to such as desire it, and making suitable
provision for the education of youth. Such provision, as the Secretary
forcibly maintains, will prove unavailing unless it is broad enough to
include all those who are able and willing to make use of it, and should
not solely relate to intellectual training, but also to instruction in
such manual labor and simple industrial arts as can be made practically
available.

Among other important subjects which are included within the Secretary's
report, and which will doubtless furnish occasion for Congressional
action, may be mentioned the neglect of the railroad companies to which
large grants of land were made by the acts of 1862 and 1864 to take
title thereto, and their consequent inequitable exemption from local
taxation.

No survey of our material condition can fail to suggest inquiries as to
the moral and intellectual progress of the people.

The census returns disclose an alarming state of illiteracy in certain
portions of the country, where the provision for schools is grossly
inadequate. It is a momentous question for the decision of Congress
whether immediate and substantial aid should not be extended by the
General Government for supplementing the efforts of private beneficence
and of State and Territorial legislation in behalf of education.

The regulation of interstate commerce has already been the subject of
your deliberations. One of the incidents of the marvelous extension of
the railway system of the country has been the adoption of such measures
by the corporations which own or control the roads as have tended to
impair the advantages of healthful competition and to make hurtful
discriminations in the adjustment of freightage.

These inequalities have been corrected in several of the States by
appropriate legislation, the effect of which is necessarily restricted
to the limits of their own territory.

So far as such mischiefs affect commerce between the States or between
any one of the States and a foreign country, they are subjects of
national concern, and Congress alone can afford relief.

The results which have thus far attended the enforcement of the recent
statute for the suppression of polygamy in the Territories are reported
by the Secretary of the Interior. It is not probable that any additional
legislation in this regard will be deemed desirable until the effect of
existing laws shall be more closely observed and studied.

I congratulate you that the commissioners under whose supervision those
laws have been put in operation are encouraged to believe that the evil
at which they are aimed may be suppressed without resort to such radical
measures as in some quarters have been thought indispensable for
success.

The close relation of the General Government to the Territories
preparing to be great States may well engage your special attention.
It is there that the Indian disturbances mainly occur and that polygamy
has found room for its growth. I can not doubt that a careful survey
of Territorial legislation would be of the highest utility. Life and
property would become more secure. The liability of outbreaks between
Indians and whites would be lessened. The public domain would be more
securely guarded and better progress be made in the instruction of the
young.

Alaska is still without any form of civil government. If means were
provided for the education of its people and for the protection of their
lives and property, the immense resources of the region would invite
permanent settlements and open new fields for industry and enterprise.

The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture presents an account of the
labors of that Department during the past year and includes information
of much interest to the general public.

The condition of the forests of the country and the wasteful manner
in which their destruction is taking place give cause for serious
apprehension. Their action in protecting the earth's surface, in
modifying the extremes of climate, and in regulating and sustaining the
flow of springs and streams is now well understood, and their importance
in relation to the growth and prosperity of the country can not be
safely disregarded. They are fast disappearing before destructive fires
and the legitimate requirements of our increasing population, and their
total extinction can not be long delayed unless better methods than
now prevail shall be adopted for their protection and cultivation.
The attention of Congress is invited to the necessity of additional
legislation to secure the preservation of the valuable forests still
remaining on the public domain, especially in the extreme Western States
and Territories, where the necessity for their preservation is greater
than in less mountainous regions, and where the prevailing dryness of
the climate renders their restoration, if they are once destroyed,
well-nigh impossible.

The communication which I made to Congress at its first session, in
December last, contained a somewhat full statement of my sentiments in
relation to the principles and rules which ought to govern appointments
to public service.

Referring to the various plans which had theretofore been the subject
of discussion in the National Legislature (plans which in the main were
modeled upon the system which obtains in Great Britain, but which lacked
certain of the prominent features whereby that system is distinguished),
I felt bound to intimate my doubts whether they, or any of them, would
afford adequate remedy for the evils which they aimed to correct.

I declared, nevertheless, that if the proposed measures should prove
acceptable to Congress they would receive the unhesitating support of
the Executive.

Since these suggestions were submitted for your consideration there has
been no legislation upon the subject to which they relate, but there has
meanwhile been an increase in the public interest in that subject, and
the people of the country, apparently without distinction of party, have
in various ways and upon frequent occasions given expression to their
earnest wish for prompt and definite action. In my judgment such action
should no longer be postponed.

I may add that my own sense of its pressing importance has been
quickened by observation of a practical phase of the matter, to which
attention has more than once been called by my predecessors.

The civil list now comprises about 100,000 persons, far the larger part
of whom must, under the terms of the Constitution, be selected by the
President either directly or through his own appointees.

In the early years of the administration of the Government the personal
direction of appointments to the civil service may not have been an
irksome task for the Executive, but now that the burden has increased
fully a hundredfold it has become greater than he ought to bear, and it
necessarily diverts his time and attention from the proper discharge of
other duties no less delicate and responsible, and which in the very
nature of things can not be delegated to other hands.

In the judgment of not a few who have given study and reflection to this
matter, the nation has outgrown the provisions which the Constitution
has established for filling the minor offices in the public service.

But whatever may be thought of the wisdom or expediency of changing the
fundamental law in this regard, it is certain that much relief may be
afforded, not only to the President and to the heads of the Departments,
but to Senators and Representatives in Congress, by discreet
legislation. They would be protected in a great measure by the bill now
pending before the Senate, or by any other which should embody its
important features, from the pressure of personal importunity and from
the labor of examining conflicting claims and pretensions of candidates.

I trust that before the close of the present session some decisive
action may be taken for the correction of the evils which inhere
in the present methods of appointment, and I assure you of my hearty
cooperation in any measures which are likely to conduce to that end.

As to the most appropriate term and tenure of the official life of the
subordinate employees of the Government, it seems to be generally agreed
that, whatever their extent or character, the one should be definite and
the other stable, and that neither should be regulated by zeal in the
service of party or fidelity to the fortunes of an individual.

It matters little to the people at large what competent person is at
the head of this department or of that bureau if they feel assured that
the removal of one and the accession of another will not involve the
retirement of honest and faithful subordinates whose duties are purely
administrative and have no legitimate connection with the triumph of any
political principles or the success of any political party or faction.
It is to this latter class of officers that the Senate bill, to which
I have already referred, exclusively applies.

While neither that bill nor any other prominent scheme for improving the
civil service concerns the higher grade of officials, who are appointed
by the President and confirmed by the Senate, I feel bound to correct
a prevalent misapprehension as to the frequency with which the present
Executive has displaced the incumbent of an office and appointed another
in his stead.

It has been repeatedly alleged that he has in this particular signally
departed from the course which has been pursued under recent
Administrations of the Government. The facts are as follows:

The whole number of Executive appointments during the four years
immediately preceding Mr. Garfield's accession to the Presidency was
2,696. Of this number 244, or 9 per cent, involved the removal of
previous incumbents.

The ratio of removals to the whole number of appointments was much the
same during each of those four years.

In the first year, with 790 appointments, there were 74 removals, or 9.3
per cent; in the second, with 917 appointments, there were 85 removals,
or 8.5 per cent; in the third, with 480 appointments, there were 48
removals, or 10 per cent; in the fourth, with 429 appointments, there
were 37 removals, or 8.6 per cent. In the four months of President
Garfield's Administration there were 390 appointments and 89 removals,
or 22.7 per cent. Precisely the same number of removals (89) has taken
place in the fourteen months which have since elapsed, but they
constitute only 7.8 per cent of the whole number of appointments (1,118)
within that period and less than 2.6 of the entire list of officials
(3,459), exclusive of the Army and Navy, which is filled by Presidential
appointment.

I declare my approval of such legislation as may be found necessary for
supplementing the existing provisions of law in relation to political
assessments.

In July last I authorized a public announcement that employees of the
Government should regard themselves as at liberty to exercise their
pleasure in making or refusing to make political contributions, and that
their action in that regard would in no manner affect their official
status.

In this announcement I acted upon the view, which I had always maintained
and still maintain, that a public officer should be as absolutely free
as any other citizen to give or to withhold a contribution for the aid
of the political party of his choice. It has, however, been urged, and
doubtless not without foundation in fact, that by solicitation of
official superiors and by other modes such contributions have at times
been obtained from persons whose only motive for giving has been the
fear of what might befall them if they refused. It goes without saying
that such contributions are not voluntary, and in my judgment their
collection should be prohibited by law. A bill which will effectually
suppress them will receive my cordial approval.

I hope that, however numerous and urgent may be the demands upon your
attention, the interests of this District will not be forgotten.

The denial to its residents of the great right of suffrage in all its
relations to national, State, and municipal action imposes upon Congress
the duty of affording them the best administration which its wisdom can
devise.

The report of the District Commissioners indicates certain measures
whose adoption would seem to be very desirable. I instance in particular
those which relate to arrears of taxes, to steam railroads, and to
assessments of real property.

Among the questions which have been the topic of recent debate in the
halls of Congress none are of greater gravity than those relating to the
ascertainment of the vote for Presidential electors and the intendment
of the Constitution in its provisions for devolving Executive functions
upon the Vice-President when the President suffers from inability to
discharge the powers and duties of his office.

I trust that no embarrassments may result from a failure to determine
these questions before another national election.

The closing year has been replete with blessings, for which we
owe to the Giver of All Good our reverent acknowledgment. For the
uninterrupted harmony of our foreign relations, for the decay of
sectional animosities, for the exuberance of our harvests and the
triumphs of our mining and manufacturing industries, for the prevalence
of health, the spread of intelligence, and the conservation of the
public credit, for the growth of the country in all the elements of
national greatness--for these and countless other blessings we should
rejoice and be glad. I trust that under the inspiration of this great
prosperity our counsels may be harmonious, and that the dictates of
prudence, patriotism, justice, and economy may lead to the adoption of
measures in which the Congress and the Executive may heartily unite.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



SPECIAL MESSAGES.


EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 6, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, dated the
4th instant, and its accompanying papers, in which it is recommended
that section 1216, Revised Statutes, be so amended as to include in its
provisions the enlisted men of the Army, and that section 1285, Revised
Statutes, be modified so as to read:

A certificate of merit granted to an enlisted man for distinguished
service shall entitle him thereafter to additional pay, at the rate of
$2 per month, while he is in the military service, although such service
may not be continuous.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 6, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, dated the
4th instant, setting forth certain facts respecting the title to the
peninsula of Presque Isle, at Erie, Pa., and recommending that the
subject be presented to Congress with the view of legislation by that
body modifying the act of May 27, 1882, entitled "An act to authorize
the Secretary of War to accept the peninsula in Lake Erie opposite the
harbor of Erie, in the State of Pennsylvania" (17 U.S. Statutes at
Large, p. 162), so as to authorize the Secretary of War to accept title
to the said peninsula, proffered by the marine hospital of Pennsylvania
pursuant to an act of the legislature of that State approved by the
governor May 11, 1871.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 6, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, inclosing one from the commanding general
Department of the Missouri, indorsed by the division commander, urging
the advisability of prompt action in the matter of perfecting the title
to the site of Fort Bliss, Tex.

Accompanying also is a copy of Senate Executive Document No. 96,
Forty-seventh Congress, first session, which presents fully the facts
in the case, as well as the character of the legislation necessary to
secure to the United States proper title to the land in question.

The Secretary of War expresses his concurrence in the views of the
military authorities as to the importance of this subject and urges that
the requisite legislation be had by Congress at its present session.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 8, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with a draft of a bill and accompanying papers, to accept and ratify an
agreement made by the Pi-Ute Indians, and granting a right of way to the
Carson and Colorado Railroad Company through the Walker River
Reservation, in Nevada.

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 13, 1882_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the
30th of January, 1882, on the subject of the tariff of consular fees,
I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 15, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of the Interior, inclosing a copy of a letter from the
acting governor of New Mexico, in which he sets forth reasons why
authority should be given and provision made for holding a session of
the Territorial legislature of New Mexico in January, 1883, or soon
thereafter.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 19, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, upon the subject of abandoned military
reservations, and renewing his former recommendation for such
legislation as will provide for the disposal of military sites that are
no longer needed for military purposes.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 21, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 18th instant, with accompanying papers, submitting a draft of
a bill "for the relief of the Nez Piercé Indians in the Territory of
Idaho and of the allied tribes residing upon the Grande Ronde Indian
Reservation, in the State of Oregon."

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 27, 1882_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I submit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Interior, inclosing
a communication from the secretary of the Territory of New Mexico, who
has custody of the public buildings at Santa Fe, in which are set forth
reasons why an appropriation should be made for the completion of the
capitol at Santa Fe, and commend the same to the consideration of
Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 5, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
together with a letter from the Superintendent of the Census, requesting
an additional appropriation of $100,000 to complete the work of the
Tenth Census, and recommend the same to Congress for its favorable
consideration.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 5, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated the 2d instant, and inclosing one from
Lieutenant Robert Craig, Fourth Artillery, indorsed by the Chief Signal
Officer of the Army, recommending that Congress authorize the printing
and binding for the use of the Signal Office of 10,000 copies of the
Annual Report of the Chief Signal Officer for the fiscal year 1882,
and inclosing a draft of a joint resolution for the purpose.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 9, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
submitting a report, with accompanying papers, regarding the condition
of the several libraries of said Department and the consolidation of
the same.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, January 10, 1883_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

The Senate having by executive resolution of the 20th ultimo returned to
me the supplemental convention of extradition signed August 7, 1882, in
order that certain verbal changes therein might be made, as requested by
the Spanish Government, as explained in the letter of the Secretary of
State to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate dated the 15th
ultimo, I now lay the said convention so modified before the Senate,
with a view to its ratification.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 11, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated the 10th instant, inclosing one from
the Chief of Ordnance, together with one from Lieutenant-Colonel D.W.
Flagler, commanding the Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., setting forth the
insufficiency of the sum appropriated by the sundry civil appropriation
act of August 7, 1882, for the deepening of the water-power tail-race
canal at that arsenal, and recommending that a special appropriation of
$20,000 be made for the completion of said work.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 12, 1883_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State and accompanying
papers, furnished in response to the resolution of the House of
Representatives of July 15, 1882, calling for any information in the
possession of the Department of State in reference to any change or
modification of the stipulations which the French Cable Company made
with the Government.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 19, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated the 17th instant, inclosing, with other
papers on the subject, a petition of Thomas Mulvihill, of Pittsburg,
Pa., praying for the repossession of certain shore lands at Pittsburg
erroneously conveyed by him to the United States.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 19, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication, dated the 18th instant, from the
Secretary of the Interior, with accompanying papers, in relation to the
request of the Cherokee Indians in the Indian Territory for payment for
lands in that Territory west of the ninety-sixth degree west longitude,
the cession of which to the United States for the settlement of friendly
Indians thereon is provided for in the sixteenth article of the treaty
of July 19, 1866.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 19, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated the 17th instant, inclosing copies of
letters respectively from the Chief of Engineers and Colonel A.F.
Rockwell, in charge of public buildings and grounds in this city, urging
the importance of an immediate appropriation of $1,000 for removing snow
and ice from the walks and pavements in and around the various public
reservations under his control during the remainder of the present
fiscal year.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 19, 1883_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I have carefully considered the provisions of Senate bill No. 561,
entitled "An act for the relief of Robert Stodart Wyld."

I am of the opinion that the general statute is sufficiently liberal
to provide relief in all proper cases of destroyed United States bonds,
and I believe that the act above referred to constitutes an evil
precedent. It is not, however, so objectionable as to call for my
formal disapproval, and I have allowed it to become a law under the
constitutional provision, contenting myself with communicating to
the Senate, in which the bill originated, my disapproval of special
legislation of this character.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 19, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated the 18th instant, inclosing an extract
copy of a report of the Adjutant-General respecting the military
reservation of Fort Cameron, Utah Territory, and recommending that
authority be granted during the present session of Congress for the
disposal of said reservation, it being no longer needed for military
purposes.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 19, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
with a draft of a bill, and accompanying papers, to accept and ratify an
agreement with the confederated tribes of Flathead, Kootenay, and Upper
Pend d'Oreille Indians for the sale of a portion of their reservation in
the Territory of Montana, required for the Northern Pacific Railroad,
and to make the necessary appropriation for carrying the same into
effect.

The subject is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, January 23, 1883_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

In response to the resolution of the Senate of the United States dated
January 5, 1883, requesting "that the Secretary of State be directed to
transmit to the Senate copies of any letters on file in his Department
from the consular service upon the subject of the shipment and discharge
of seamen or payment of extra wages to seamen," I have to transmit a
report of the Secretary of State on the subject.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 25, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of State,
concerning the character and condition of the library of the Department
of State.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 26, 1883_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

It is hereby announced to the House of Congress in which it originated
that the joint resolution (H. Res. 190) to refer certain claims to
the Court of Claims has been permitted to become a law under the
constitutional provision. Its apparent purpose is to allow certain
bankers to sue in the Court of Claims for the amount of internal-revenue
tax collected from them without lawful authority, upon showing as matter
of excuse for not having brought their suits within the time limited by
law that they had entered into an agreement with the district attorney
which was in substance that they should be relieved of that necessity.
I can not concur in the policy of setting aside the bar of the statute
in those cases on such ground, but I have not deemed it necessary to
return the joint resolution with my objections for reconsideration.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 30, 1883._

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith a copy of a communication to me from the Secretary
of the Treasury.[14]

I have acted in conformity with the recommendations, oral and written,
which are therein set forth, concerning the action suggested to be that
which would best effectuate the purpose of section 1768 of the Revised
Statutes of the United States and be most considerate of the reputation
and interests of the public officer to be affected and most subservient
to the public interest.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 14: Relating to the suspension of William H. Daniels,
collector of customs for the district of Oswegatchie, N.Y.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 3, 1883_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit to the Senate, for consideration with a view to ratification,
the treaty of commerce which was signed in duplicate January 20, 1883,
by commissioners on the part of the United States and Mexico, with
accompanying papers.

The attention of the Senate is called to the statement in the third
protocol as to the insertion of the word "steel" in item No. (35) 66 of
the list appended to article 2 of the treaty. No further information as
to the possible correction therein referred to has yet reached me; but
as the session of the Senate will soon terminate, I deem it advisable to
transmit the treaty as signed, in the hope that its ratification may be
assented to.

While the treaty does not contain all the provisions desired by the
United States, the difficulties in the way of a full and complete
settlement of matters of common interest to the two countries were
such as to make me willing to approve it as an important step toward a
desirable result, not doubting that, as time shall show the advantages
of the system thus inaugurated, the Government will be able by
supplementary agreements to insert the word "steel" and to perfect
what is lacking in the instrument.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 3, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 1st instant, submitting a report made by the commission appointed
under the provisions of the act of August 7, 1882, to treat with me
Sioux Indians for a modification of their existing treaties, together
with a copy of the agreement negotiated by that commission.

The subject is presented for the favorable consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 5, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated the 2d instant, in relation to the
subject of invasion of the Indian Territory, and urging the importance
of amending section 2148 of the Revised Statutes so as to impose a
penalty of imprisonment for unlawful entry upon the Indian lands.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 5, 1883_.

_To the Senate of the 'United States:_

Referring to my message to the Senate of the 3d instant, wherewith was
transmitted, for consideration with a view to ratification, the treaty
of commerce between Mexico and the United States which was signed at
Washington on the 20th ultimo, I have now to inform the Senate that this
Government is officially advised by that of Mexico, through its minister
at this capital, that it assents to the insertion of the word "steel"
in item No. (35) 66 of the list appended to article 2 of that treaty.

It is desired that the treaty be returned to me that the amendment may
be made, after which it will be again sent to the Senate for final
action.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 6, 1883_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I retransmit to the Senate the commercial treaty recently signed in this
city by the commissioners of the United States and Mexico, as amended by
the insertion of the word "steel" in item (35) 66 of the list appended
to article 2 thereof.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 7, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 3d instant, With accompanying
papers, from the Secretary of the Interior, being a partial report upon
the Cherokee Indian matters required under a clause in the sundry civil
appropriation act of August 7, 1882.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 8, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 7th instant, with accompanying papers, setting forth the urgent
necessity of stringent measures for the repression of the rapidly
increasing evasions and violations of the laws relating to public lands,
and of a special appropriation for the purpose both in the current and
approaching fiscal years.

The subject is presented for the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 9, 1883_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a convention between the United States of America and the
French Republic, for extending the term of the French and American
claims convention, concluded at Washington on the 8th day of February,
1883.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 10, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the information of Congress, a copy of the
report of the Board of Indian Commissioners for the year 1882. The
report accompanies the message to the House of Representatives.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 10, 1883_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, in response to a resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 25th ultimo, a report of the Secretary of State,
in relation to export duties levied in foreign countries having
commercial relations with the United States.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 12, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 8th instant, with
accompanying papers, from the Secretary of the Interior, comprising the
further report in relation to matters of difference between the Eastern
and Western bands of Cherokee Indians required by an item in the sundry
civil act approved August 7, 1882 (pamphlet statutes, page 328).

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 15, 1883_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in compliance with the resolution of the Senate of
December 18, 1882, the report of Mr. George Earl Church upon Ecuador,
which I have this day received from the Secretary of State.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 20, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War, dated the 19th instant, inclosing a copy of one
from Major George L. Gillespie, Corps of Engineers, dated the 15th
instant, referring to the insufficiency of the sum ($39,000)
appropriated by the sundry civil bill of August 7, 1882, for building
the sea wall on Governors Island, New York Harbor, together with a copy
of the indorsement of the Chief Engineer, showing the necessity for an
additional appropriation of $15,000 for this purpose. The Secretary of
War recommends that said additional sum of $15,000 be appropriated at
the present session of Congress for the object stated.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 23, 1883_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States of America:_

With reference to my message of the 12th ultimo on the same subject,
I transmit herewith a further report of the Secretary of State,
furnishing additional papers received since the date of his former
report in response to a resolution of the House of Representatives
of July 5, 1882, calling for any information in the possession of the
Department of State in reference to any changes or modifications of the
stipulations which the French Cable Company made with this Government.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 26, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the information of Congress, a copy of the
annual report of the Government directors of the Union Pacific Railway
Company, under date of the 19th instant.

The copy of the report referred to accompanies the message to the House
of Representatives.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 27, 1883_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State, furnished
in response to the resolution of the Senate of February 26, 1883,
requesting information touching an alleged joint agreement between the
ministers of the United States, of Great Britain, of France, and of
Italy now serving in Peru.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 1, 1883_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

Having approved the act recently passed by Congress "to regulate and
improve the civil service of the United States," I deem it my duty to
call your attention to the provision for the employment of a "chief
examiner" contained in the third section of the act, which was the
subject of consideration at the time of its approval.

I am advised by the Attorney-General that there is great doubt whether
such examiner is not properly an officer of the United States because of
the nature of his employment, its duration, emolument, and duties. If he
be such, the provision for his employment (which involves an appointment
by the Commission) is not in conformity with section 2, Article II of
the Constitution. Assuming this to be the case, the result would be that
the appointment of the chief examiner must be deemed to be vested in the
President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, since in
such case the appointment would not be otherwise provided for by law.
Concurring in this opinion, I nominate Silas W. Burt, of New York, to
be chief examiner of the Civil Service Commission.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



PROCLAMATIONS.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas by the eighth section of an act entitled "An act to encourage
the holding of a World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in
the year 1884," approved February 10, 1883, it was enacted as follows:

  That whenever the President shall be informed by the said board of
  management that provision has been made for suitable buildings, or the
  erection of the same, for the purposes of said exposition, the President
  shall, through the Department of State, make proclamation of the same,
  setting forth the time at which the exhibition will open and the place
  at which it will be held; and such board of management shall communicate
  to the diplomatic representatives of all nations copies of the same and
  a copy of this act, together with such regulations as may be adopted by
  said board of management, for publication in their respective countries.


And whereas the duly constituted board of managers of the aforesaid
World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition has informed me that
provision has been made for the erection of suitable buildings for the
purposes of said exposition:

Now, therefore, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States of
America, by authority of and in fulfillment of the requirements of said
act approved February 10, 1883, do hereby declare and make known that
the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition will be opened
on the first Monday in December, 1884, at the city of New Orleans, in
the State of Louisiana, and will there be holden continuously until the
3ist day of May, 1885.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 10th day of September, 1883, and
of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and eighth.

[SEAL.]

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

In furtherance of the custom of this people at the closing of each year
to engage, upon a day set apart for that purpose, in a special festival
of praise to the Giver of All Good, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of
the United States, do hereby designate Thursday, the 29th day of
November next, as a day of national thanksgiving.

The year which is drawing to an end has been replete with evidences of
divine goodness.

The prevalence of health, the fullness of the harvests, the stability
of peace and order, the growth of fraternal feeling, the spread of
intelligence and learning, the continued enjoyment of civil and
religious liberty--all these and countless other blessings are cause
for reverent rejoicing.

I do therefore recommend that on the day above appointed the people rest
from their accustomed labors and, meeting in their several places of
worship, express their devout gratitude to God that He hath dealt so
bountifully with this nation and pray that His grace and favor abide
with it forever.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.

[SEAL.]

Done at the city of Washington, this 26th day of October, A.D. 1883, and
of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and eighth.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



EXECUTIVE ORDERS.


DEPARTMENT OF STATE, _Washington, March 26, 1883_.


SIR:[15] It is my melancholy duty to inform you that the Hon. Timothy
O. Howe, Postmaster-General, and lately a Senator of the United States,
died yesterday at Kenosha, Wis., at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. By
reason of this afflicting event the President directs that the Executive
Departments of the Government and the offices dependent thereon
throughout the country will be careful to manifest by all customary and
appropriate observances due honor to the memory of one so eminent in
successive offices of public esteem and trust and so distinguished and
respected as a citizen.

To this end the President directs that the Post-Office Department and
its dependencies in this capital shall be draped in mourning for a
period of thirty days; that the several Executive Departments shall be
closed on Wednesday next, the day of the funeral of the deceased, and
that on all public buildings of the Government throughout the United
States the national flag shall be draped in mourning and displayed at
half-mast.

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN.

[Footnote 15: Addressed to the heads of the Executive Departments, etc.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 2, 1883_.

Under the provisions of section I of the "act making appropriations
for the naval service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1884, and for
other purposes," approved March 3, 1883, the following-named officers of
the Army and Navy will constitute a board for the purpose of examining
and reporting to Congress which of the navy-yards or arsenals owned by
the Government has the best location and is best adapted for the
establishment of a Government foundry, or what other method, if any,
should be adopted for the manufacture of heavy ordnance adapted to
modern warfare, for the use of the Army and Navy of the United States,
the cost of all buildings, tools, and implements necessary to be used
in the manufacture thereof, including the cost of a steam hammer or
apparatus of sufficient size for the manufacture of the heaviest guns:

Commodore Edward Simpson, United States Navy; Captain Edmund O.
Matthews, United States Navy; Colonel Thomas G. Baylor, Ordnance
Department, United States Army; Lieutenant-Colonel Henry L. Abbot,
Engineer Corps, United States Army; Major Samuel S. Elder, Second
Artillery, United States Army; Lieutenant William H. Jacques, United
States Navy.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 7, 1883_.

In the exercise of the power vested in the President by, the
Constitution, and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third
section of the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved
January 16, 1883, the following rules for the regulation and improvement
of the executive civil service are hereby promulgated:

RULE I.

No person in said service shall use his official authority or influence
either to coerce the political action of any person or body or to
interfere with any election.

RULE II.

No person in the public service shall for that reason be under any
obligations to contribute to any political fund or to render any
political service, and he will not be removed or otherwise prejudiced
for refusing to do so.

RULE III.

It shall be the duty of collectors, postmasters, assistant treasurers,
naval officers, surveyors, appraisers, and custodians of public
buildings at places where examinations are to be held to allow and
arrange for the reasonable use of suitable rooms in the public buildings
in their charge, and for heating, lighting, and furnishing the same for
the purposes of such examinations; and all other executive officers
shall in all legal and proper ways facilitate such examinations and the
execution of these rules.

RULE IV.

1. All officials connected with any office where or for which any
examination is to take place will give the Civil Service Commission and
the chief examiner such information as may be reasonably required to
enable the Commission to select competent and trustworthy examiners; and
the examinations by those selected as examiners, and the work incident
thereto, will be regarded as a part of the public business to be
performed at such office.

2. It shall be the duty of every executive officer promptly to inform
the Commission, in writing, of the removal or discharge from the public
service of any examiner in his office or of the inability or refusal of
any such examiner to act in that capacity.

RULE V.

There shall be three branches of the service classified under the
civil-service act (not including laborers or workmen or officers
required to be confirmed by the Senate), as follows:

1. Those classified in the Departments at Washington shall be designated
"The classified departmental service."

2. Those classified under any collector, naval officer, surveyor, or
appraiser in any customs district shall be designated "The classified
customs service."

3. Those classified under any postmaster at any post-office, including
that at Washington, shall be designated "The classified postal service."

4. The classified customs service shall embrace the several customs
districts where the officials are as many as fifty, now the following:
New York City, N.Y.; Boston, Mass.; Philadelphia, Pa.; San Francisco,
Cal.; Baltimore, Md.; New Orleans, La.; Chicago, Ill.; Burlington, Vt.;
Portland, Me.; Detroit, Mich.; Port Huron, Mich.

5. The classified postal service shall embrace the several post-offices
where the officials are as many as fifty, now the following: Albany,
N.Y.; Baltimore, Md.; Boston, Mass.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Buffalo, N.Y.;
Chicago, Ill.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.;
Indianapolis, Ind.; Kansas City, Mo.; Louisville, Ky.; Milwaukee, Wis.;
Newark, N.J.; New Orleans, La.; New York City, N.Y.; Philadelphia, Pa.;
Pittsburg, Pa.; Providence, R.I.; Rochester, N.Y.; St. Louis, Mo.; San
Francisco, Cal.; Washington, D.C.

RULE VI.

1. There shall be open competitive examinations for testing the fitness
of applicants for admission to the service. Such examinations shall be
practical in their character and, so far as may be, shall relate to
those matters which will fairly test the relative capacity and fitness
of the persons examined to discharge the duties of the branch of the
service which they seek to enter.

2. There shall also be competitive examinations of a suitable character
to test the fitness of persons for promotion in the service.

RULE VII.

1. The general examinations under the first clause of Rule VI for
admission to the service shall be limited to the following subjects:
(1) Orthography, penmanship, and copying; (2) arithmetic--fundamental
rules, fractions, and percentage; (3) interest, discount, and elements
of bookkeeping and of accounts; (4) elements of the English language,
letter writing, and the proper construction of sentences; (5) elements
of the geography, history, and government of the United States.

2. Proficiency in each of these subjects shall be credited in grading
the standing of the persons examined in proportion to the value of a
knowledge of such subjects in the branch or part of the service which
the applicant seeks to enter.

3. No one shall be entitled to be certified for appointment whose
standing upon a just grading in the general examination shall be less
than 65 per cent of complete proficiency in the first three subjects
mentioned in this rule, and that measure of proficiency shall be deemed
adequate.

4. But for places in which a lower degree of education will suffice the
Commission may limit the examinations to, first, penmanship, copying,
and orthography; second, the fundamental rules of arithmetic; but no
person shall be certified under this examination of a less grading than
65 per cent on each subject.

5. The Commission may also order examinations of a higher grade or upon
additional or special subjects, to test the capacity and fitness which
may be needed in any special place or branch of the service.

RULE VIII.

No question in any examination or proceeding by or under the Commission
of examiners shall call for the expression or disclosure of any
political or religious opinion or affiliation, nor shall any
discrimination be made by reason thereof if known; and the Commission
and its examiners shall discountenance all disclosure before either of
them of such opinion by or concerning any applicants for examination or
by or concerning anyone whose name is on any register awaiting
appointment.

RULE  IX.

All regular applications for the competitive examinations for admission
to the classified service must be made on blanks in a form approved by
the Commission. All requests for such blanks and all applications for
examination must be addressed as follows: (1) If for the classified
departmental service, to the United States Civil Service Commission,
Washington, D.C.; (2) if for the classified postal service, to the
postmaster under whom service is sought; (3) if for the classified
customs service, to the head of either customs office in which service
is sought. All officers receiving such applications will indorse thereon
the date of the reception thereof and transmit the same to the proper
examining board of the district or office where service is sought or,
if in Washington, to the Civil Service Commission.

RULE X.

Every examining board shall keep such records and such papers on file
and make such reports as the Commission shall require, and any such
paper or record in the charge of any examining board or any officer
shall at all times be open to examination as the Commission shall
direct, and upon its request shall be forwarded to the Commission for
inspection and revision.

RULE XI.

Every application, in order to entitle the applicant to appear for
examination or to be examined, must state under oath the facts on the
following subjects: (1) Full name, residence, and post-office address;
(2) citizenship; (3) age; (4) place of birth; (5) health and physical
capacity for the public service; (6) right of preference by reason
of military or naval service; (7) previous employment in the public
service; (8) business or employment and residence for the previous five
years; (9) education. Such other information shall be furnished as the
Commission may reasonably require touching the applicant's fitness for
the public service. The applicant must also state the number of members
of his family in the public service and where employed, and must also
assert that he is not disqualified under section 3 of the civil-service
act, which is as follows:

"That no person habitually using intoxicating beverages to excess shall
be appointed to or retained in any office, appointment, or employment
to which the provisions of this act are applicable."

RULE XII.

1. Every regular application must be supported by proper certificates of
good moral character, health, and physical and mental capacity for doing
the public work, the certificates to be in such form and number as the
regulations of the Commission shall provide; but no certificate will be
received which is inconsistent with the tenth section of the
civil-service act.

2. No one shall be entitled to be examined for admission to the
classified postal service if under 16 or over 35 years of age, or to
the classified customs service or to the classified departmental service
if under 18 or over 45 years of age; but no one shall be examined for
appointment to any place in the classified customs service, except
that of clerk or messenger, who is under 21 years of age; but these
limitations of age shall not apply to honorably discharged soldiers
and sailors of the last war who are otherwise duly qualified.

RULE XIII.

1. The date of the reception of all regular applications for the
classified departmental service shall be entered of record by the
Commission, and of all other regular applications by the proper
examining boards of the district or office for which they are made;
and applicants, when in excess of the number that can be examined at
a single examination, shall be notified to appear in their order on
the respective records. But any applicants in the several States and
Territories for appointment in the classified departmental service
may be notified to appear for examination at any place at which an
examination is to be held, whether in any State or Territory or in
Washington, which shall be deemed most convenient for them.

2. The Commission is authorized, in aid of the apportionment among
the States and Territories, to hold examinations at places convenient
for applicants from different States and Territories, or for those
examination districts which it may designate and which the President
shall approve.

RULE XIV.

Those examined shall be graded, and shall have their grade marked
upon a register after those previously thereon, in the order of their
excellence as shown by their examination papers, except that those from
the same State or Territory may be entered upon the register together,
in the order of relative excellence, to facilitate apportionment.
Separate registers may be kept of those seeking to enter any part of
the service in which special qualifications are required.

RULE XV.

The Commission may give a certificate to any person examined, stating
the grade which such person attained and the proficiency in the several
subjects, shown by the markings.

RULE XVI.

1. Whenever any officer having the power of appointment or employment
shall so request, there shall be certified to him by the Commission or
the proper examining board four names for the vacancy specified, to be
taken from those graded highest on the proper register of those in his
branch of the service and remaining eligible, regard being had to the
apportionment of appointments to States and Territories; and from the
said four a selection shall be made for the vacancy.

2. These certifications for the service at Washington shall be made
in such order as to apportion, as nearly as may be practicable, the
original appointments thereto among the States and Territories and the
District of Columbia upon the basis of population as ascertained at the
last preceding census.

3. In case the request for any such certification or any law or
regulation shall call for those of either sex, the four highest of that
sex shall be certified; otherwise sex shall be disregarded in such
certification.

4. No person upon any register shall be certified more than three times
to the same officer in the customs or postal service or more than twice
to any department at Washington, unless upon request of the appointing
officer; nor shall anyone remain eligible more than one year upon any
register. And no person while remaining eligible on any register shall
be admitted to a new examination of the same grade.

RULE XVII.

1. Every original appointment or employment in said classified service
shall be for the probationary period of six months, at the end of which
time, if the conduct and capacity of the person appointed have been
found satisfactory, the probationer shall be absolutely appointed or
employed, but otherwise be deemed out of the service.

2. Every officer under whom any probationer shall serve during any part
of the probation provided for by these rules shall carefully observe the
quality and value of the service rendered by such probationer, and shall
report to the proper appointing officer, in writing, the facts observed
by him, showing the character and qualifications of such probationer and
of the service performed by him; and such reports shall be preserved on
file.

3. Every false statement knowingly made by any person in his application
for examination and every connivance by him at any false statement made
in any certificate which may accompany his application shall be regarded
as good cause for the removal or discharge of such person during his
probation.

RULE XVIII.

Every head of a Department or office shall notify the Commission of the
name of every person appointed to or employed in the classified service
under him (giving the date of the appointment and the designation of the
office or place) from those examined under the Commission, and shall
also inform the Commission of the date of any rejection or final
appointment or employment of any probationer and of the promotion,
removal, discharge, resignation, transfer, or death of any such person
after probation.

RULE XIX.

There are excepted from examination the following: (1) The confidential
clerk or secretary of any head of a Department or office; (2) cashiers
of collectors; (3) cashiers of postmasters; (4) superintendents of
money-order divisions in post-offices; (5) the direct custodians of
money for whose fidelity another officer is under official bond, but
these exceptions shall not extend to any official below the grade of
assistant cashier or teller; (6) persons employed exclusively in the
secret service of the Government, or as translators or interpreters or
stenographers; (7) persons whose employment is exclusively professional;
(8) chief clerks, superintendents, and chiefs of divisions or bureaus.
But no person so excepted shall be either transferred, appointed, or
promoted, unless to some excepted place, without an examination under
the Commission. Promotions may be made without examinations in offices
where examinations for promotion are not now held until rules on the
subject shall be promulgated.

RULE XX.

If the failure of competent persons to attend and be examined or the
prevalence of contagious disease or other sufficient cause shall make it
impracticable to supply in due season for any appointment the names of
persons who have passed a competitive examination, the appointment may
be made of a person who has passed a noncompetitive examination, which
examination the Commission may provide for; but its next report shall
give the reason for such resort to noncompetitive examination.

RULE XXI.

The Civil Service Commission will make appropriate regulations for
carrying these rules into effect.


RULE XXII.

Every violation by any officer in the executive civil service of these
rules or of the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, or fourteenth section of
the civil-service act, relating to political assessments, shall be good
cause for removal.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 21, 1883_.

Under the provisions of section 4 of the act approved March 3, 1883, it
is hereby ordered that the several Executive Departments, the Department
of Agriculture, and the Government Printing Office be closed on
Wednesday, the 30th instant, to enable the employees to participate in
the decoration of the graves of the soldiers who fell during the
rebellion.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WAR DEPARTMENT, _October 13, 1883_.

I. The President, having acceded to the request of General William
T. Sherman to be relieved from the command of the Army on the 1st of
November, 1883, preparatory to his retirement from active service,
directs the following changes and assignments to command:

General William T. Sherman will be relieved from the command of the Army
on the above-mentioned date and will repair to his home, St. Louis, Mo.,
to await his retirement. The General will be attended prior to his
retirement by those of his aids-de-camp whom he may designate to the
Adjutant-General.

Lieutenant-General Philip H. Sheridan will proceed to Washington, and on
the above-mentioned date assume command of the Army.

Major-General John M. Schofield will proceed to Chicago, Ill., and will
on the above-mentioned date assume command of the Military Division of
the Missouri.

Major-General John Pope will proceed to the Presidio of San Francisco,
Cal., and will on the above-mentioned date assume command of the
Military Division of the Pacific and of the Department of California.

Brigadier-General Christopher C. Augur will proceed to Fort Leavenworth,
and will on the above-mentioned date assume command of the Department of
the Missouri.

Brigadier-General Ranald S. Mackenzie will proceed to San Antonio, Tex.,
and will on the above-mentioned date assume command of the Department of
Texas.

II. The Department of the South will on the 1st day of November, 1883,
be merged in the Department of the East, under the command of
Major-General Hancock, commanding the Military Division of the Atlantic
and the Department of the East.

ROBERT T. LINCOLN,

_Secretary of War_.


In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the
Constitution, and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third
section of the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved
January 16, 1883, the following rules for the regulation and improvement
of the executive civil service are hereby amended and promulgated, as
follows:

RULE VI.

1. There shall be open competitive examinations for testing the fitness
of applicants for admission to the service. Such examinations shall be
practical in their character and, so far is may be, shall relate to
those matters which will fairly test the relative capacity and fitness
of the persons examined to discharge the duties of the branch of the
service which they seek to enter.

2. There shall, so far as they may be deemed useful, be competitive
examinations of a suitable character to test the fitness of persons for
promotion in the service.

RULE VII.

1. The general examinations under the first clause of Rule VI for
admission to the service shall be limited to the following subjects:
(1) Orthography, penmanship, and copying; (2) arithmetic--fundamental
rules, fractions, and percentage; (3) interest, discount, and elements
of bookkeeping and of accounts; (4) elements of the English language,
letter writing, and the proper construction of sentences; (5) elements
of the geography, history, and government of the United States.

2. Proficiency in each of these subjects shall be credited in grading
the standing of the persons examined in proportion to the value of a
knowledge of such subjects in the branch or part of the service which
the applicant seeks to enter.

3. No one shall be entitled to be certified for appointment whose
standing upon a just grading in the general examination shall be less
than 65 per cent of complete proficiency in the first three subjects
mentioned in this rule, and that measure of proficiency shall be deemed
adequate.

4. But for places in which a lower degree of education will suffice the
Commission may limit the examinations to less than the five subjects
above mentioned, but no person shall be certified for appointment under
this clause whose grading shall be less than an average of 65 per cent
on such of the first three subjects or parts thereof as the examination
may embrace.

5. The Commission may also order examinations upon other subjects,
of a technical or special character, to test the capacity which may be
needed in any part of the classified service which requires peculiar
information or skill. Examinations hereunder may be competitive or
noncompetitive, and the maximum limitations of age contained in the
twelfth rule shall not apply to applicants for the same. The application
for and notice of these special examinations, the records thereof,
and the certification of those found competent shall be such as the
Commission may provide for. After consulting the head of any Department
or office the Commission may from time to time designate, subject to the
approval of the President, the positions therein for which applicants
may be required to pass this special examination.

RULE VIII.

No question in any examination or proceeding by or under the Commission
or examiners shall call for the expression or disclosure of any
political or religious opinion or affiliation, and if such opinion of
affiliation be known no discrimination shall be made by reason thereof
by the examiners, the Commission, or the appointing power. The
Commission and its examiners shall discountenance all disclosure before
either of them of such opinion by or concerning any applicant for
examination or by or concerning anyone whose name is on any register
awaiting appointment.

RULE XI.

Every application, in order to entitle the applicant to appear for
examination or to be examined, must state under oath the facts on the
following subjects: (1) Full name, residence, and post-office address;
(2) citizenship; (3) age; (4) place of birth; (5) health and physical
capacity for the public service; (6) right of preference by reason
of military or naval service; (7) previous employment in the public
service; (8) business or employment and residence for the previous five
years; (9) education. Such other information shall be furnished as the
Commission may reasonably require touching the applicant's fitness for
the public service. The applicant must also state the number of members
of his family in the public service and where employed, and must also
assert that he is not disqualified under section 8 of the civil-service
act, which is as follows:

"That no person habitually using intoxicating beverages to excess shall
be appointed to or retained in any office, appointment, or employment to
which the provisions of this act are applicable."

No person under enlistment in the Army or Navy of the United States
shall be examined under these rules.

RULE XIII.

1. The date of the reception of all regular applications for the
classified departmental service shall be entered of record by the
Commission, and of all other regular applications by the proper
examining boards of the district or office for which they are made;
and applicants, when in excess of the number that can be examined at
a single examination, shall, subject to the needs of apportionment,
be notified to appear in their order on the respective records.
But any applicants in the several States and Territories for appointment
in the classified departmental service may be notified to appear for
examination at any place at which an examination is to be held, whether
in any State or Territory or in Washington, which shall be deemed most
convenient for them.

2. The Compassion is authorized, in aid of the apportionment among
the States and Territories, to hold examinations at places convenient
for applicants from different States and Territories, or for those
examination districts which it may designate and which the President
shall approve.

RULE XVI.

1. Whenever any officer having the power of appointment or employment
shall so request, there shall be certified to him by the Commission or
the proper examining board four names for the vacancy specified, to be
taken from those graded highest on the proper register of those in his
branch of the service and remaining eligible, regard being had to the
apportionment of appointments to States and Territories; and from the
said four a selection shall be made for the vacancy.

2. These certifications for the service at Washington shall be made
in such order as to apportion, as nearly as may be practicable, the
original appointments thereto among the States and Territories and the
District of Columbia upon the basis of population as ascertained at the
last preceding census.

3. In case the request for any such certification or any law or
regulation shall call for those of either sex, the four highest of that
sex shall be certified; otherwise sex shall be disregarded in such
certification.

4. No person upon any register shall be certified more than four
times to the same officer in the customs or postal service or more
than twice to any Department at Washington, unless upon request of the
appointing officer; nor shall anyone remain eligible more than one year
upon any register. No person while remaining eligible on any register
shall be admitted to a new examination, and no person having failed
upon any examination shall within six months thereafter be admitted
to another examination without the consent of the Commission; but
these restrictions shall not extend to examinations under clause 5
of Rule VII.

RULE XVIII.

Every head of a Department or office shall notify the Commission of the
name of every person appointed to or employed in the classified service
under him (giving the date of the appointment and the designation of the
office or place) from those examined under the Commission, and shall
also inform the Commission of the date of any rejection or final
appointment or employment of any probationer, and of the promotion,
removal, discharge, resignation, transfer, or death of any such person
after probation. Every head of an office in the postal or customs
service shall give such information on these subjects to the board of
examiners for his office as the regulations of the Commission may
provide for.

RULE XIX.

There are excepted from examination the following: (1) The confidential
clerk or secretary of any head of Department or office; (2) cashiers of
collectors; (3) cashiers of postmasters; (4) superintendents of
money-order divisions in post-offices; (5) the direct custodians of
money for whose fidelity another officer is under official bond, but
these exceptions shall not extend to any official below the grade of
assistant cashier or teller; (6) persons employed exclusively in the
secret service of the Government, or as translators or interpreters or
stenographers; (7) persons whose employment is exclusively professional;
(8) chief clerks, deputy collectors, and superintendents or chiefs of
divisions or bureaus. But no person so excepted shall be either
transferred, appointed, or promoted, unless to some excepted place,
without an examination under the Commission. Promotions may be made
without examinations in offices where examinations for promotion are not
now held until rules on the subject shall be promulgated.

Approved, November 7, 1883.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE.


WASHINGTON, _December 4, 1883_.

_To the Congress of the United States:_

At the threshold of your deliberations I congratulate you upon the
favorable aspect of the domestic and foreign affairs of this Government.

Our relations with other countries continue to be upon a friendly
footing. With the Argentine Republic, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark,
Hayti, Italy, Santo Domingo, and Sweden and Norway no incident has
occurred which calls for special comment. The recent opening of new
lines of telegraphic communication with Central America and Brazil
permitted the interchange of messages of friendship with the Governments
of those countries.

During the year there have been perfected and proclaimed consular and
commercial treaties with Servia and a consular treaty with Roumania,
thus extending our intercourse with the Danubian countries, while our
Eastern relations have been put upon a wider basis by treaties with
Korea and Madagascar. The new boundary-survey treaty with Mexico, a
trade-marks convention and a supplementary treaty of extradition with
Spain, and conventions extending the duration of the Franco-American
Claims Commission have also been proclaimed.

Notice of the termination of the fisheries articles of the treaty of
Washington was duly given to the British Government, and the reciprocal
privileges and exemptions of the treaty will accordingly cease on July
1, 1885. The fisheries industries, pursued by a numerous class of our
citizens on the northern coasts, both of the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans, are worthy of the fostering care of Congress. Whenever brought
into competition with the like industries of other countries, our
fishermen, as well as our manufacturers of fishing appliances and
preparers of fish products, have maintained a foremost place. I suggest
that Congress create a commission to consider the general question of
our rights in the fisheries and the means of opening to our citizens,
under just and enduring conditions, the richly stocked fishing waters
and sealing grounds of British North America.

Question has arisen touching the deportation to the United States from
the British Islands, by governmental or municipal aid, of persons unable
there to gain a living and equally a burden on the community here. Such
of these persons as fall under the pauper class as defined by law have
been sent back in accordance with the provisions of our statutes. Her
Majesty's Government has insisted that precautions have been taken
before shipment to prevent these objectionable visitors from coming
hither without guaranty of support by their relatives in this country.
The action of the British authorities in applying measures for relief
has, however, in so many cases proved ineffectual, and especially so
in certain recent instances of needy emigrants reaching our territory
through Canada, that a revision of our legislation upon this subject
may be deemed advisable.

Correspondence relative to the Clayton-Bulwer treaty has been continued
and will be laid before Congress.

The legislation of France against the importation of prepared swine
products from the United States has been repealed. That result is due
no less to the friendly representations of this Government than to a
growing conviction in France that the restriction was not demanded by
any real danger to health.

Germany still prohibits the introduction of all swine products from
America. I extended to the Imperial Government a friendly invitation to
send experts to the United States to inquire whether the use of those
products was dangerous to health. This invitation was declined. I have
believed it of such importance, however, that the exact facts should be
ascertained and promulgated that I have appointed a competent commission
to make a thorough investigation of the subject. Its members have shown
their public spirit by accepting their trust without pledge of
compensation, but I trust that Congress will see in the national and
international bearings of the matter a sufficient motive for providing
at least for reimbursement of such expenses as they may necessarily
incur.

The coronation of the Czar at Moscow afforded to this Government an
occasion for testifying its continued friendship by sending a special
envoy and a representative of the Navy to attend the ceremony.

While there have arisen during the year no grave questions affecting the
status in the Russian Empire of American citizens of other faith than
that held by the national church, this Government remains firm in its
conviction that the rights of its citizens abroad should be in no wise
affected by their religious belief.

It is understood that measures for the removal of the restrictions which
now burden our trade with Cuba and Puerto Rico are under consideration
by the Spanish Government.

The proximity of Cuba to the United States and the peculiar methods of
administration which there prevail necessitate constant discussion and
appeal on our part from the proceedings of the insular authorities. I
regret to say that the just protests of this Government have not as yet
produced satisfactory results.

The commission appointed to decide certain claims of our citizens
against the Spanish Government, after the recognition of a satisfactory
rule as to the validity and force of naturalization in the United
States, has finally adjourned. Some of its awards, though made more than
two years ago, have not yet been paid. Their speedy payment is expected.

Claims to a large amount which were held by the late commission to be
without its jurisdiction have been diplomatically presented to the
Spanish Government. As the action of the colonial authorities which has
given rise to these claims was admittedly illegal, full reparation for
the injury sustained by our citizens should be no longer delayed.

The case of the _Masonic_ has not yet reached a settlement. The
Manila court has found that the proceedings of which this Government has
complained were unauthorized, and it is hoped that the Government of
Spain will not withhold the speedy reparation which its sense of justice
should impel it to offer for the unusual severity and unjust action of
its subordinate colonial officers in the case of this vessel.

The Helvetian Confederation has proposed the inauguration of a class
of international treaties for the referment to arbitration of grave
questions between nations. This Government has assented to the proposed
negotiation of such a treaty with Switzerland.

Under the treaty of Berlin liberty of conscience and civil rights
are assured to all strangers in Bulgaria. As the United States have
no distinct conventional relations with that country and are not a
party to the treaty, they should, in my opinion, maintain diplomatic
representation at Sofia for the improvement of intercourse and the
proper protection of the many American citizens who resort to that
country as missionaries and teachers. I suggest that I be given
authority to establish an agency and consulate-general at the
Bulgarian capital.

The United States are now participating in a revision of the tariffs of
the Ottoman Empire. They have assented to the application of a license
tax to foreigners doing business in Turkey, but have opposed the
oppressive storage tax upon petroleum entering the ports of that
country.

The Government of the Khedive has proposed that the authority of the
mixed judicial tribunals in Egypt be extended so as to cover citizens of
the United States accused of crime, who are now triable before consular
courts. This Government is not indisposed to accept the change, but
believes that its terms should be submitted for criticism to the
commission appointed to revise the whole subject.

At no time in our national history has there been more manifest need of
close and lasting relations with a neighboring state than now exists
with respect to Mexico. The rapid influx of our capital and enterprise
into that country shows, by what has already been accomplished, the vast
reciprocal advantages which must attend the progress of its internal
development. The treaty of commerce and navigation of 1848 has been,
terminated by the Mexican Government, and in the absence of conventional
engagements the rights of our citizens in Mexico now depend upon the
domestic statutes of that Republic. There have been instances of harsh
enforcement of the laws against our vessels and citizens in Mexico and
of denial of the diplomatic resort for their protection. The initial
step toward a better understanding has been taken in the negotiation by
the commission authorized by Congress of a treaty which is still before
the Senate awaiting its approval.

The provisions for the reciprocal crossing of the frontier by the troops
in pursuit of hostile Indians have been prolonged for another year. The
operations of the forces of both Governments against these savages have
been successful, and several of their most dangerous bands have been
captured or dispersed by the skill and valor of United States and
Mexican soldiers fighting in a common cause.

The convention for the resurvey of the boundary from the Rio Grande
to the Pacific having been ratified and exchanged, the preliminary
reconnoissance therein stipulated has been effected. It now rests with
Congress to make provision for completing the survey and relocating the
boundary monuments.

A convention was signed with Mexico on July 13, 1882, providing for
the rehearing of the cases of Benjamin Weil and the Abra Silver Mining
Company, in whose favor awards were made by the late American and
Mexican Claims Commission. That convention still awaits the consent of
the Senate. Meanwhile, because of those charges of fraudulent awards
which have made a new commission necessary, the Executive has directed
the suspension of payments of the distributive quota received from
Mexico.

Our geographical proximity to Central America and our political and
commercial relations with the States of that country justify, in my
judgment, such a material increase of our consular corps as will place
at each capital a consul-general.

The contest between Bolivia, Chile, and Peru has passed from the stage
of strategic hostilities to that of negotiation, in which the counsels
of this Government have been exercised. The demands of Chile for
absolute cession of territory have been maintained and accepted by the
party of General Iglesias to the extent of concluding a treaty of peace
with the Government of Chile in general conformity with the terms of the
protocol signed in May last between the Chilean commander and General
Iglesias. As a result of the conclusion of this treaty General Iglesias
has been formally recognized by Chile as President of Peru and his
government installed at Lima, which has been evacuated by the Chileans.
A call has been issued by General Iglesias for a representative
assembly, to be elected on the 13th of January, and to meet at Lima on
the 1st of March next. Meanwhile the provisional government of General
Iglesias has applied for recognition to the principal powers of America
and Europe. When the will of the Peruvian people shall be manifested,
I shall not hesitate to recognize the government approved by them.

Diplomatic and naval representatives of this Government attended at
Caracas the centennial celebration of the birth of the illustrious
Bolivar. At the same time the inauguration of the statue of Washington
in the Venezuelan capital testified to the veneration in which his
memory is there held.

Congress at its last session authorized the Executive to propose to
Venezuela a reopening of the awards of the mixed commission of Caracas.
The departure from this country of the Venezuelan minister has delayed
the opening of negotiations for reviving the commission. This Government
holds that until the establishment of a treaty upon this subject the
Venezuelan Government must continue to make the payments provided for
in the convention of 1866.

There is ground for, believing that the dispute growing out of the
unpaid obligations due from Venezuela to France will be satisfactorily
adjusted. The French cabinet has proposed a basis of settlement which
meets my approval, but as it involves a recasting of the annual quotas
of the foreign debt it has been deemed advisable to submit the proposal
to the judgment of the cabinets of Berlin, Copenhagen, The Hague,
London, and Madrid.

At the recent coronation of His Majesty King Kalakaua this Government
was represented both diplomatically and by the formal visit of a vessel
of war.

The question of terminating or modifying the existing reciprocity treaty
with Hawaii is now before Congress. I am convinced that the charges of
abuses and frauds under that treaty have been exaggerated, and I renew
the suggestion of last year's message that the treaty be modified
wherever its provisions have proved onerous to legitimate trade between
the two countries. I am not disposed to favor the entire cessation of
the treaty relations which have fostered good will between the countries
and contributed toward the equality of Hawaii in the family of nations.

In pursuance of the policy declared by this Government of extending our
intercourse with the Eastern nations, legations have during the past
year been established in Persia, Siam, and Korea. It is probable that
permanent missions of those countries will ere long be maintained in the
United States. A special embassy from Siam is now on its way hither.

Treaty relations with Korea were perfected by the exchange at Seoul,
on the 19th of May last, of the ratifications of the lately concluded
convention, and envoys from the King of Tah Chosen have visited this
country and received a cordial welcome. Korea, as yet unacquainted with
the methods of Western civilization, now invites the attention of those
interested in the advancement of our foreign trade, as it needs the
implements and products which the United States are ready to supply. We
seek no monopoly of its commerce and no advantages over other nations,
but as the Chosenese, in reaching for a higher civilization, have
confided in this Republic, we can not regard with indifference any
encroachment on their rights.

China, by the payment of a money indemnity, has settled certain of the
long-pending claims of our citizens, and I have strong hopes that the
remainder will soon be adjusted.

Questions have arisen touching the rights of American and other foreign
manufacturers in China under the provisions of treaties which permit
aliens to exercise their industries in that country. On this specific
point our own treaty is silent, but under the operation of the
most-favored-nation clause we have like privileges with those of other
powers. While it is the duty of the Government to see that our citizens
have the full enjoyment of every benefit secured by treaty, I doubt
the expediency of leading in a movement to constrain China to admit an
interpretation which we have only an indirect treaty right to exact.
The transference to China of American capital for the employment there
of Chinese labor would in effect inaugurate a competition for the
control of markets now supplied by our home industries.

There is good reason to believe that the law restricting the immigration
of Chinese has been violated, intentionally or otherwise, by the
officials of China upon whom is devolved the duty of certifying that the
immigrants belong to the excepted classes.

Measures have been taken to ascertain the facts incident to this
supposed infraction, and it is believed that the Government of China
will cooperate with the United States in securing the faithful
observance of the law.

The same considerations which prompted Congress at its last session to
return to Japan the Simonoseki indemnity seem to me to require at its
hands like action in respect to the Canton indemnity fund, now amounting
to $300,000.

The question of the general revision of the foreign treaties of Japan
has been considered in an international conference held at Tokyo, but
without definite result as yet. This Government is disposed to concede
the requests of Japan to determine its own tariff duties, to provide
such proper judicial tribunals as may commend themselves to the Western
powers for the trial of causes to which foreigners are parties, and to
assimilate the terms and duration of its treaties to those of other
civilized states.

Through our ministers at London and at Monrovia this Government has
endeavored to aid Liberia in its differences with Great Britain touching
the northwestern boundary of that Republic. There is a prospect of
adjustment of the dispute by the adoption of the Mannah River as the
line. This arrangement is a compromise of the conflicting territorial
claims and takes from Liberia no country over which it has maintained
effective jurisdiction.

The rich and populous valley of the Kongo is being opened to commerce
by a society called the International African Association, of which the
King of the Belgians is the president and a citizen of the United States
the chief executive officer. Large tracts of territory have been ceded
to the association by native chiefs, roads have been opened, steamboats
placed on the river, and the nuclei of states established at twenty-two
stations under one flag which offers freedom to commerce and prohibits
the slave trade. The objects of the society are philanthropic. It does
not aim at permanent political control, but seeks the neutrality of the
valley. The United States can not be indifferent to this work nor to the
interests of their citizens involved in it. It may become advisable for
us to cooperate with other commercial powers in promoting the rights of
trade and residence in the Kongo Valley free from the interference or
political control of any one nation.

In view of the frequency of invitations from foreign governments to
participate in social and scientific congresses for the discussion of
important matters of general concern, I repeat the suggestion of my last
message that provision be made for the exercise of discretionary power
by the Executive in appointing delegates to such convocations. Able
specialists are ready to serve the national interests in such capacity
without personal profit or other compensation than the defrayment of
expenses actually incurred, and this a comparatively small annual
appropriation would suffice to meet.

I have alluded in my previous messages to the injurious and vexatious
restrictions suffered by our trade in the Spanish West Indies, Brazil,
whose natural outlet for its great national staple, coffee, is in and
through the United States, imposes a heavy export duty upon that
product. Our petroleum exports are hampered in Turkey and in other
Eastern ports by restrictions as to storage and by onerous taxation.
For these mischiefs adequate relief is not always afforded by
reciprocity treaties like that with Hawaii or that lately negotiated
with Mexico and now awaiting the action of the Senate. Is it not
advisable to provide some measure of equitable retaliation in our
relations with governments which discriminate against our own? If, for
example, the Executive were empowered to apply to Spanish vessels and
cargoes from Cuba and Puerto Rico the same rules of treatment and scale
of penalties for technical faults which are applied to our vessels and
cargoes in the Antilles, a resort to that course might not be barren of
good results.

The report of the Secretary of the Treasury gives a full and interesting
exhibit of the financial condition of the country.

It shows that the ordinary revenues from all sources for the fiscal year
ended June 30, 1883, amounted to $398,287,581.95, whereof there was
received--

  From customs                                            $214,706,496.93
  From internal revenue                                    144,720,368.98
  From sales of public lands                                 7,955,864.42
  From tax on circulation and deposits of national banks     9,111,008.85
  From profits on coinage, bullion deposits, and assays      4,460,205.17
  From other sources                                        17,333,637.60
                                                           ______________
      Total                                                398,287,581.95


For the same period the ordinary expenditures were:

  For civil expenses                                       $22,343,285.76
  For foreign intercourse                                    2,419,275.24
  For Indians                                                7,362,590.34
  For pensions                                             $66,012,573.64
  For the military establishment, including river and
    harbor improvements and arsenals                        48,911,382.93
  For the naval establishment, including vessels,
    machinery, and improvements at navy-yards               15,283,437.17
  For miscellaneous expenditures, including public
    buildings, light-houses, and collecting the revenue     40,098,432.73
  For expenditures on account of the District of Columbia    3,817,028.48
  For interest on the public debt                           59,160,131.25
                                                           ______________
      Total                                                265,408,137.54


Leaving a surplus revenue of $132,879,444.41, which, with an amount
drawn from the cash balance in the Treasury of $1,299,312.55, making
$134,178,756.96, was applied to the redemption--

  Of bonds for the sinking fund                            $44,850,700.00
  Of fractional currency for the sinking fund                   46,556.96
  Of funded loan of 1881, continued at 3-1/2 per cent.      65,380,250.00
  Of loan of July and August, 1861,
    continued at 3-1/2 per cent.                            20,594,600.00
  Of funded loan of 1907                                     1,418,850.00
  Of funded loan of 1881                                       719,150.00
  Of loan of February, 1861                                     18,000.00
  Of loan of July and August, 1861                             266,600.00
  Of loan of March, 1863                                       116,850.00
  Of loan of July, 1882                                         47,650.00
  Of five-twenties of 1862                                      10,300.00
  Of five-twenties of 1864                                       7,050.00
  Of five-twenties of 1865                                       9,600.00
  Of ten-forties of 1864                                       133,550.00
  Of consols of 1865                                            40,800.00
  Of consols of 1867                                           235,700.00
  Of consols of 1868                                           154,650.00
  Of Oregon War debt                                             5,450.00
  Of refunding certificates                                    109,150.00
  Of old demand, compound-interest, and other notes             13,300.00
                                                           ______________
      Total                                                134,178,756.96


The revenue for the present fiscal year, actual and estimated, is as
follows:

  =======================================================================
                                                           For the
  Source                                  For the quarter  remaining
                                          ended September  three quarters
                                          30, 1883         of the year
                                          (actual)         (estimated)

  From customs                            $57,402,975 67  $137,597,024 33
  From internal revenue                    29,662,078.60    90,337,921.40
  From sales of public lands                2,932,635.17     5,067,364.83
  From tax on circulation and deposits
    of national banks                       1,557,800.88     1,542,199.12
  From repayment of interest and sinking
  fund, Pacific Railway companies             521,059.51     1,478,940.49
  From customs fees, fines, penalties, etc.   298,696.78       901,303.22
  From fees--consular, letters patent,
    and lands                                 863,209.80     2,436,790.20
  From proceeds of sales of Government
    property                                  112,562.23       167,437.77
  From profits on coinage, etc.               950,229.46     3,149,770.54
  From deposits for surveying public lands    172,461.31       327,538.69
  From revenues of the District of Columbia   256,017.99     1,643,982.01
  From miscellaneous sources                1,237,189.63     2,382,810.37
                                            ____________     ____________
      Total receipts                       95,966,917.03   247,033,082.97
  =======================================================================

The actual and estimated expenses for the same period are:

  =======================================================================
                                                           For the
  Object                                  For the quarter  remaining
                                          ended September  three quarters
                                          30, 1883         of the year
                                          (actual)         (estimated)

  For civil and miscellaneous expenses,
    including public buildings,
    light-houses, and collecting
    the revenue                           $15,385,799.42   $51,114,200.58
  For Indians                               2,623,390.54     4,126,609.46
  For pensions                             16,285,261.98    53,714,738.02
  For military establishment, including
    fortifications, river and harbor
    improvements, and arsenals             13,512,204.33    26,487,795.67
  For naval establishment, including
    vessels and machinery, and
    improvements at navy-yards              4,199,299.69    12,300,700.31
  For expenditures on account of the
    District of Columbia                    1,138,836.41     2,611,163.59
  For interest on the public debt          14,797,297.96    39,702,702.04
                                           _____________   ______________
      Total ordinary expenditures          67,942,090.33   190,057,909.67
  =======================================================================

  Total receipts, actual and estimated                    $343,000,000.00
  Total expenditures, actual and estimated                 258,000,000.00
                                                           ______________
                                                            85,000,000.00
  Estimated amount due the sinking fund                     45,816,741.07
                                                           ______________
  Leaving a balance of                                      39,183,258.93


If the revenue for the fiscal year which will end on June 30, 1885,
be estimated upon the basis of existing laws, the Secretary is of the
opinion that for that year the receipts will exceed by $60,000,000 the
ordinary expenditures including the amount devoted to the sinking fund.

Hitherto the surplus, as rapidly as it has accumulated, has been devoted
to the reduction of the national debt.

As a result the only bonds now outstanding which are redeemable at the
pleasure of the Government are the 3 percents, amounting to about
$305,000,000.

The 4-1/2 percents, amounting to $250,000,000, and the $737,000,000 4
percents are not payable until 1891 and 1907, respectively.

If the surplus shall hereafter be as large as the Treasury estimates now
indicate, the 3 per cent bonds may all be redeemed at least four years
before any of the 4-1/2 percents can be called in. The latter at the
same rate of accumulation of surplus can be paid at maturity, and the
moneys requisite for the redemption of the 4 percents will be in the
Treasury many years before those obligations become payable.

There are cogent reasons, however, why the national indebtedness should
not be thus rapidly extinguished. Chief among them is the fact that only
by excessive taxation is such rapidity attainable.

In a communication to the Congress at its last session I recommended
that all excise taxes be abolished except those relating to distilled
spirits and that substantial reductions be also made in the revenues
from customs. A statute has since been enacted by which the annual tax
and tariff receipts of the Government have been cut down to the extent
of at least fifty or sixty millions of dollars.

While I have no doubt that still further reductions may be wisely made,
I do not advise the adoption at this session of any measures for large
diminution of the national revenues. The results of the legislation of
the last session of the Congress have not as yet become sufficiently
apparent to justify any radical revision or sweeping modifications of
existing law.

In the interval which must elapse before the effects of the act of March
3, 1883, can be definitely ascertained a portion at least of the surplus
revenues may be wisely applied to the long-neglected duty of
rehabilitating our Navy and providing coast defenses for the protection
of our harbors. This is a matter to which I shall again advert.

Immediately associated with the financial subject just discussed is the
important question what legislation is needed regarding the national
currency.

The aggregate amount of bonds now on deposit in the Treasury to support
the national-bank circulation is about $350,000,000. Nearly $200,000,000
of this amount consists of 3 percents, which, as already stated, are
payable at the pleasure of the Government and are likely to be called in
within less than four years unless meantime the surplus revenues shall
be diminished.

The probable effect of such an extensive retirement of the securities
which are the basis of the national-bank circulation would be such a
contraction of the volume of the currency as to produce grave commercial
embarrassments.

How can this danger be obviated? The most effectual plan, and one whose
adoption at the earliest practicable opportunity I shall heartily
approve, has already been indicated.

If the revenues of the next four years shall be kept substantially
commensurate with the expenses, the volume of circulation will not be
likely to suffer any material disturbance; but if, on the other hand,
there shall be great delay in reducing taxation, it will become
necessary either to substitute some other form of currency in place of
the national-bank notes or to make important changes in the laws by
which their circulation is now controlled.

In my judgment the latter course is far preferable. I commend to your
attention the very interesting and thoughtful suggestions upon this
subject which appear in the Secretary's report.

The objections which he urges against the acceptance of any other
securities than the obligations of the Government itself as a foundation
for national-bank circulation seem to me insuperable.

For averting the threatened contraction two courses have been suggested,
either of which is probably feasible. One is the issuance of new bonds,
having many years to run, bearing a low rate of interest, and
exchangeable upon specified terms for those now outstanding. The other
course, which commends itself to my own judgment as the better, is the
enactment of a law repealing the tax on circulation and permitting the
banks to issue notes for an amount equal to 90 per cent of the market
value instead of, as now, the face value of their deposited bonds. I
agree with the Secretary in the belief that the adoption of this plan
would afford the necessary relief.

The trade dollar was coined for the purpose of traffic in countries
where silver passed at its value as ascertained by its weight and
fineness. It never had a legal-tender quality. Large numbers of these
coins entered, however, into the volume of our currency. By common
consent their circulation in domestic trade has now ceased, and they
have thus become a disturbing element. They should not be longer
permitted to embarrass our currency system. I recommend that provision
be made for their reception by the Treasury and the mints, as bullion,
at a small percentage above the current market price of silver of like
fineness.

The Secretary of the Treasury advises a consolidation of certain of the
customs districts of the country, and suggests that the President be
vested with such power in relation thereto as is now given him in
respect to collectors of internal revenue by section 3141 of the Revised
Statutes. The statistics upon this subject which are contained in his
report furnish of themselves a strong argument in defense of his views.

At the adjournment of Congress the number of internal-revenue collection
districts was 126. By Executive order dated June 25, 1883, I directed
that certain of these districts be consolidated. The result has been a
reduction of one-third their number, which at present is but 83.

From the report of the Secretary of War it will be seen that in only a
single instance has there been any disturbance of the quiet condition of
our Indian tribes. A raid from Mexico into Arizona was made in March
last by a small party of Indians, which was pursued by General Crook
into the mountain regions from which it had come. It is confidently
hoped that serious outbreaks will not again occur and that the Indian
tribes which have for so many years disturbed the West will hereafter
remain in peaceable submission.

I again call your attention to the present condition of our
extended seacoast, upon which are so many large cities whose wealth and
importance to the country would in time of war invite attack from modern
armored ships, against which our existing defensive works could give no
adequate protection. Those works were built before the introduction of
modern heavy rifled guns into maritime warfare, and if they are not put
in an efficient condition we may easily be subjected to humiliation
by a hostile power greatly inferior to ourselves. As germane to this
subject, I call your attention to the importance of perfecting our
submarine-torpedo defenses. The board authorized by the last Congress
to report upon the method which should be adopted for the manufacture
of heavy ordnance adapted to modern warfare has visited the principal
iron and steel works in this country and in Europe. It is hoped that
its report will soon be made, and that Congress will thereupon be
disposed to provide suitable facilities and plant for the manufacture
of such guns as are now imperatively needed.

On several occasions during the past year officers of the Army have at
the request of the State authorities visited their militia encampments
for inspection of the troops. From the reports of these officers
I am induced to believe that the encouragement of the State militia
organizations by the National Government would be followed by very
gratifying results, and would afford it in sudden emergencies the aid
of a large body of volunteers educated in the performance of military
duties.

The Secretary of the Navy reports that under the authority of the acts
of August 5, 1882, and March 3, 1883, the work of strengthening our Navy
by the construction of modern vessels has been auspiciously begun. Three
cruisers are in process of construction--the _Chicago_, of 4,500
tons displacement, and the _Boston_ and _Atlanta_, each of 2,500 tons.
They are to be built of steel, with the tensile strength and ductility
prescribed by law, and in the combination of speed, endurance, and
armament are expected to compare favorably with the best unarmored war
vessels of other nations. A fourth vessel, the _Dolphin_, is to be
constructed of similar material, and is intended to serve as a fleet
dispatch boat.

The double-turreted monitors _Puritan, Amphitrite,_ and _Terror_
have been launched on the Delaware River and a contract has been made
for the supply of their machinery. A similar monitor, the _Monadnock_,
has been launched in California.

The Naval Advisory Board and the Secretary recommend the completion
of the monitors, the construction of four gunboats, and also of three
additional steel vessels like the _Chicago, Boston,_ and _Dolphin_.

As an important measure of national defense, the Secretary urges also
the immediate creation of an interior coast line of waterways across the
peninsula of Florida, along the coast from Florida to Hampton Roads,
between the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware River, and through Cape Cod.

I feel bound to impress upon the attention of Congress the necessity of
continued progress in, the reconstruction of the Navy. The condition of
the public Treasury, as I have already intimated, makes the present an
auspicious time for putting this branch of the service in a state of
efficiency.

It is no part of our policy to create and maintain a Navy able to cope
with that of the other great powers of the world.

We have no wish for foreign conquest, and the peace which we have long
enjoyed is in no seeming danger of interruption.

But that our naval strength should be made adequate for the defense
of our harbors, the protection of our commercial interests, and the
maintenance of our national honor is a proposition from which no
patriotic citizen can withhold his assent.

The report of the Postmaster-General contains a gratifying exhibit of
the condition and prospects of the interesting branch of the public
service committed to his care.

It appears that on June 30, 1883, the whole number of post-offices was
47,863, of which 1,632 were established during the previous fiscal year.
The number of offices operating under the system of free delivery was
154.

At these latter offices the postage on local matter amounted to
$4,195,230.52, a sum exceeding by $1,021,894.01 the entire cost of the
carrier service of the country.

The rate of postage on drop letters passing through these offices is now
fixed by law at 2 cents per half ounce or fraction thereof. In offices
where the carrier system has not been established the rate is only half
as large.

It will be remembered that in 1863, when free delivery was first
established by law, the uniform single-rate postage upon local letters
was 1 cent, and so it remained until 1872, when in those cities where
carrier service was established it was increased in order to defray the
expense of such service.

It seems to me that the old rate may now with propriety be restored, and
that, too, even at the risk of diminishing, for a time at least, the
receipts from postage upon local letters.

I can see no reason why that particular class of mail matter should
be held accountable for the entire cost of not only its own collection
and delivery, but the collection and delivery of all other classes;
and I am confident, after full consideration of the subject, that the
reduction of rate would be followed by such a growing accession of
business as to occasion but slight and temporary loss to the revenues
of the Post-Office. The Postmaster-General devotes much of his report
to the consideration in its various aspects of the relations of the
Government to the telegraph. Such reflection as I have been able to give
to this subject since my last annual message has not led me to change
the views which I there expressed in dissenting from the recommendation
of the then Postmaster-General that the Government assume the same
control over the telegraph which it has always exercised over the mail.

Admitting that its authority in the premises is as ample as has ever
been claimed for it, it would not, in my judgment, be a wise use of that
authority to purchase or assume the control of existing telegraph lines,
or to construct others with a view of entering into general competition
with private enterprise.

The objections which may be justly urged against either of those
projects, and indeed against any system which would require an enormous
increase in the civil-service list, do not, however, apply to some of
the plans which have lately provoked public comment and discussion. It
has been claimed, for example, that Congress might wisely authorize the
Postmaster-General to contract with some private persons or corporation
for the transmission of messages, or of a certain class of messages, at
specified rates and under Government supervision. Various such schemes,
of the same general nature, but widely differing in their special
characteristics, have been suggested in the public prints, and the
arguments by which they have been supported and opposed have doubtless
attracted your attention.

It is likely that the whole subject will be considered by you at the
present session.

In the nature of things it involves so many questions of detail that
your deliberations would probably be aided slightly, if at all, by any
particular suggestions which I might now submit.

I avow my belief, however, that the Government should be authorized by
law to exercise some sort of supervision over interstate telegraphic
communication, and I express the hope that for attaining that end some
measure may be devised which will receive your approbation.

The Attorney-General criticises in his report the provisions of existing
law fixing the fees of jurors and witnesses in the Federal courts. These
provisions are chiefly contained in the act of February 26, 1853, though
some of them were introduced into that act from statutes which had been
passed many years previous. It is manifest that such compensation as
might when these laws were enacted have been just and reasonable would
in many instances be justly regarded at the present day as inadequate.
I concur with the Attorney-General in the belief that the statutes
should be revised by which these fees are regulated.

So, too, should the laws which regulate the compensation of district
attorneys and marshals. They should be paid wholly by salaries instead
of in part by fees, as is now the case.

The change would prove to be a measure of economy and would discourage
the institution of needless and oppressive legal proceedings, which it
is to be feared have in some instances been conducted for the mere sake
of personal gain.

Much interesting and varied information is contained in the report of
the Secretary of the Interior.

I particularly call your attention to his presentation of certain phases
of the Indian question, to his recommendations for the repeal of the
preemption and timber-culture acts, and for more stringent legislation
to prevent frauds under the pension laws. The statutes which prescribe
the defnitions and punishments of crimes relating to pensions could
doubtless be mads more effective by certain amendments and additions
which are pointed out in the Secretary's report.

I have previously referred to the alarming state of illiteracy in
certain portions of the country, and again submit for the consideration
of Congress whether some Federal aid should not be extended to public
primary education wherever adequate provision therefor has not already
been made.

The Utah Commission has submitted to the Secretary of the Interior
its second annual report. As a result of its labors in supervising the
recent election in that Territory, pursuant to the act of March 22,
1882, it appears that persons by that act disqualified to the number of
about 12,000, were excluded from the polls. This fact, however, affords
little cause for congratulation, and I fear that it is far from
indicating any real and substantial progress toward the extirpation of
polygamy. All the members elect of the legislature are Mormons. There
is grave reason to believe that they are in sympathy with the practices
that this Government is seeking to suppress, and that its efforts in
that regard will be more likely to encounter their opposition than to
receive their encouragement and support. Even if this view should
happily be erroneous, the law under which the commissioners have been
acting should be made more effective by the incorporation of some such
stringent amendments as they recommend, and as were included in bill
No. 2238 on the Calendar of the Senate at its last session.

I am convinced, however, that polygamy has become so strongly
intrenched in the Territory of Utah that it is profitless to attack
it with any but the stoutest weapons which constitutional legislation
can fashion. I favor, therefore, the repeal of the act upon which the
existing government depends, the assumption by the National Legislature
of the entire political control of the Territory, and the establishment
of a commission with such powers and duties as shall be delegated to it
by law.

The Department of Agriculture is accomplishing much in the direction
of the agricultural development of the country, and the report of the
Commissioner giving the results of his investigations and experiments
will be found interesting and valuable.

At his instance a convention of those interested in the cattle
industry of the country was lately held at Chicago. The prevalence of
pleuro-pneumonia and other contagious diseases of animals was one of the
chief topics of discussion. A committee of the convention will invite
your cooperation in investigating the causes of these diseases and
providing methods for their prevention and cure.

I trust that Congress will not fail at its present session to put Alaska
under the protection of law. Its people have repeatedly remonstrated
against our neglect to afford them the maintenance and protection
expressly guaranteed by the terms of the treaty whereby that Territory
was ceded to the United States. For sixteen years they have pleaded in
vain for that which they should have received without the asking.

They have no law for the collection of debts, the support of education,
the conveyance of property, the administration of estates, or the
enforcement of contracts; none, indeed, for the punishment of criminals,
except such as offend against certain customs, commerce, and navigation
acts.

The resources of Alaska, especially in fur, mines, and lumber, are
considerable in extent and capable of large development, while its
geographical situation is one of political and commercial importance.

The promptings of interest, therefore, as well as considerations of
honor and good faith, demand the immediate establishment of civil
government in that Territory.

Complaints have lately been numerous and urgent that certain
corporations, controlling in whole or in part the facilities for the
interstate carriage of persons and merchandise over the great railroads
of the country, have resorted in their dealings with the public to
divers measures unjust and oppressive in their character.

In some instances the State governments have attacked and suppressed
these evils, but in others they have been unable to afford adequate
relief because of the jurisdictional limitations which are imposed upon
them by the Federal Constitution.

The question how far the National Government may lawfully interfere in
the premises, and what, if any, supervision or control it ought to
exercise, is one which merits your careful consideration.

While we can not fail to recognize the importance of the vast railway
systems of the country and their great and beneficent influences upon
the development of our material wealth, we should, on the other hand,
remember that no individual and no corporation ought to be invested
with absolute power over the interest of any other citizen or class
of citizens. The right of these railway corporations to a fair and
profitable return upon their investments and to reasonable freedom in
their regulations must be recognized; but it seems only just that, so
far as its constitutional authority will permit, Congress should protect
the people at large in their interstate traffic against acts of
injustice which the State governments are powerless to prevent.

In my last annual message I called attention to the necessity of
protecting by suitable legislation the forests situated upon the public
domain. In many portions of the West the pursuit of general agriculture
is only made practicable by resort to irrigation, while successful
irrigation would itself be impossible without the aid afforded by
forests in contributing to the regularity and constancy of the supply of
water.

During the past year severe suffering and great loss of property have
been occasioned by profuse floods followed by periods of unusually low
water in many of the great rivers of the country.

These irregularities were in great measure caused by the removal from
about the sources of the streams in question of the timber by which the
water supply had been nourished and protected.

The preservation of such portions of the forests on the national domain
as essentially contribute to the equable flow of important water courses
is of the highest consequence.

Important tributaries of the Missouri, the Columbia, and the
Saskatchewan rise in the mountain region of Montana, near the northern
boundary of the United States, between the Blackfeet and Flathead Indian
reservations. This region is unsuitable for settlement, but upon the
rivers which flow from it depends the future agricultural development
of a vast tract of country. The attention of Congress is called to the
necessity of withdrawing from public sale this part of the public domain
and establishing there a forest preserve.

The industrial exhibitions which have been held in the United States
during the present year attracted attention in many foreign countries,
where the announcement of those enterprises had been made public through
the foreign agencies of this Government. The Industrial Exhibition at
Boston and the Southern Exposition at Louisville were largely attended
by the exhibitors of foreign countries, notwithstanding the absence of
any professed national character in those undertakings.

The Centennial Exposition to be held next year at New Orleans in
commemoration of the centenary of the first shipment of cotton from
a port of the United States bids fair to meet with like gratifying
success. Under the act of Congress of the 10th of February, 1883,
declaring that exposition to be national and international in its
character, all foreign governments with which the United States
maintain relations have been invited to participate.

The promoters of this important undertaking have already received
assurances of the lively interest which it has excited abroad.

The report of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia is herewith
transmitted. I ask for it your careful attention, especially for those
portions which relate to assessments, arrears of taxes, and increase of
water supply.

The commissioners who were appointed under the act of January 16, 1883,
entitled "An act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United
States," entered promptly upon the discharge of their duties.

A series of rules, framed in accordance with the spirit of the statute,
was approved and promulgated by the President.

In some particulars wherein they seemed defective those rules were
subsequently amended. It will be perceived that they discountenance any
political or religious tests for admission to those offices of the
public service to which the statute relates.

The act is limited in its original application to the classified
clerkships in the several Executive Departments at Washington
(numbering about 5,600) and to similar positions in customs districts
and post-offices where as many as fifty persons are employed.
A classification of these positions analogous to that existing in
the Washington offices was duly made before the law went into effect.
Eleven customs districts and twenty-three post-offices were thus
brought under the immediate operation of the statute.

The annual report of the Civil Service Commission which will soon be
submitted to Congress will doubtless afford the means of a more definite
judgment than I am now prepared to express as to the merits of the new
system. I am persuaded that its effects have thus far proved beneficial.
Its practical methods appear to be adequate for the ends proposed, and
there has been no serious difficulty in carrying them into effect.
Since the 16th of July last no person, so far as I am aware, has been
appointed to the public service in the classified portions thereof
at any of the Departments, or at any of the post-offices and customs
districts above named, except those certified by the Commission to be
the most competent on the basis of the examinations held in conformity
to the rules.

At the time when the present Executive entered upon his office his
death, removal, resignation, or inability to discharge his duties would
have left the Government without a constitutional head.

It is possible, of course, that a similar contingency may again arise
unless the wisdom of Congress shall provide against its recurrence.

The Senate at its last session, after full consideration, passed an act
relating to this subject, which will now, I trust, commend itself to the
approval of both Houses of Congress.

The clause of the Constitution upon which must depend any law regulating
the Presidential succession presents also for solution other questions
of paramount importance.

These questions relate to the proper interpretation of the phrase
"inability to discharge the powers and duties of said office," our
organic law providing that when the President shall suffer from such
inability the Presidential office shall devolve upon the Vice-President,
who must himself under like circumstances give place to such officer as
Congress may by law appoint to act as President.

I need not here set forth the numerous and interesting inquiries which
are suggested by these words of the Constitution. They were fully stated
in my first communication to Congress and have since been the subject of
frequent deliberations in that body.

It is greatly to be hoped that these momentous questions will find
speedy solution, lest emergencies may arise when longer delay will be
impossible and any determination, albeit the wisest, may furnish cause
for anxiety and alarm.

For the reasons fully stated in my last annual message I repeat my
recommendation that Congress propose an amendment to that provision of
the Constitution which prescribes the formalities for the enactment of
laws, whereby, in respect to bills for the appropriation of public
moneys, the Executive may be enabled, while giving his approval to
particular items, to interpose his veto as to such others as do not
commend themselves to his judgment.

The fourteenth amendment of the Constitution confers the rights of
citizenship upon all persons born or naturalized in the United States
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof. It was the special purpose of
this amendment to insure to members of the colored race the full
enjoyment of civil and political rights. Certain statutory provisions
intended to secure the enforcement of those rights have been recently
declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Any legislation whereby Congress may lawfully supplement the guaranties
which the Constitution affords for the equal enjoyment by all the
citizens of the United States of every right, privilege, and immunity
of citizenship will receive my unhesitating approval.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



SPECIAL MESSAGES.


EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 10, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 3d instant, submitting, with accompanying papers, draft of a bill
to accept and ratify certain agreements made with the Sioux Indians and
to grant a right of way to the Dakota Central Railway Company through
the Sioux Reservation in Dakota.

The matter is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 10, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 3d instant, with accompanying papers, submitting draft of a bill
to prevent timber depredations on Indian reservations.

The subject is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 10, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 3d instant from the Secretary
of the Interior, in relation to the urgent necessity of action on the
part of the Congress for the more adequate prevention of trespasses
upon Indian lands, with copy of report from the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs upon the subject, draft of bill for the object indicated, and
copy of correspondence from the Secretary of War recommending action
in the premises.

The matter is commended to the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 10, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 3d instant from the
Secretary of the Interior, with the draft of a bill "to accept and
ratify an agreement made by the Pi-Ute Indians, and granting a right of
way to the Carson and Colorado Railroad Company through the Walker River
Reservation, in Nevada," and accompanying papers in relation to the
subject.

The matter is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 10, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 3d instant, with accompanying papers, submitting a draft of a
bill "providing for the allotment of lands in severalty to certain
Chippewa Indians of Lake Superior residing in the State of Wisconsin,
and granting patents therefor."

The subject is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 10, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 3d instant, with draft of bill for the payment of certain
settlers in the State of Nevada for improvements on lands in Duck
Valley, in that State, taken for the use and occupancy of the Shoshone
Indians, with accompanying papers.

The subject is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 10, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 3d instant, submitting, with accompanying papers, draft of a bill
"To provide for the settlement of the estates of deceased Kickapoo
Indians in the State of Kansas, and for other purposes."

The matter is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 11, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Interior,
inclosing a communication from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs
setting forth the necessity of a deficiency appropriation of $60,000
for the immediate wants of his Bureau.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 13, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter
from the Secretary of War, inclosing copies of official reports,
etc., by the military authorities touching the necessity for the
acquisition of additional land for the military reservation of Fort
Preble, Me., and expressing his concurrence in the recommendation of the
Lieutenant-General of the Army that the sum of $8,000 be appropriated by
Congress for the purchase of such additional land.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 13, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, touching the question of the reconstruction
of a bridge over the Republican River at or near Fort Riley, in the
State of Kansas, and recommending such legislation as will authorize the
reconstruction of said bridge by the United States in accordance with
the terms and provisions of a joint resolution of the legislature of the
State of Kansas approved March 6, 1883, a copy of which is herewith
inclosed.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 13, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated the 4th instant, inclosing and
commending to favorable consideration a letter from the board of
commissioners of the Soldiers' Home, dated Washington, D.C., November
27, 1883, recommending such legislation as will confer upon said board
of commissioners authority to advance a sum not exceeding $40,000
annually from funds found to be due the Soldiers' Home on settlements to
be made in the offices of the Second Comptroller and Second Auditor, to
pay for the services of extra clerks to be employed under the direction
of the Secretary of the Treasury in making such settlements.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 13, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a copy of
a communication from the Secretary of War, dated the 8th instant,
inclosing one from Captain S. M. Mills, Fifth Artillery, indorsed by the
Chief Signal Officer of the Army, recommending that Congress authorize
the printing and binding, for the use of the Signal Office, of 5,000
copies of the Annual Report of the Chief Signal Officer for the fiscal
year 1882, and inclosing a draft of a joint resolution for that purpose.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 13, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War, dated the 8th instant, and its accompanying
papers, relative to the reconveyance to Mr. Thomas Mulvihill, of
Pittsburg, Pa., of certain land erroneously conveyed by him to the
United States, the particular facts regarding which are fully set forth
in the inclosed copy of Senate Executive Document No. 46, Forty-seventh
Congress, second session.

It appearing that the land in question was through error alone
transferred to the United States, and that to retransfer the same to Mr.
Mulvihill would be a measure of simple justice, it is recommended that
such legislation be had as may be necessary to restore to Mr. Mulvihill
his rights in the premises.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 17, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 4th instant, with accompanying papers, submitting a draft of a
bill "to confirm the title to certain land in the Indian Territory to
the Cheyennes and Arapahoes and the Wichitas and affiliated bands, to
provide for the issuance of patents therefor, and for other purposes."

The subject is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 17, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 11th instant from the
Secretary of the Interior, submitting, with accompanying papers, draft
of a bill "to provide for the issuance of patents for certain lands in
the Indian Territory occupied by the Kickapoo, Iowa, and other Indians."

The matter is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 17, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 6th instant from the
Secretary of the Interior, submitting, with accompanying papers, a draft
of a bill "to accept and ratify an agreement with the confederated
tribes of the Flathead, Kootenay, and Upper Pend d'Oreille Indians for
the sale of a portion of their reservation in the Territory of Montana
required for the use of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and for other
purposes."

The subject is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 17, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 4th instant, submitting, with accompanying papers, draft of a
bill "to accept and ratify the agreement submitted by the Shoshones,
Bannocks, and Sheepeaters of the Fort Hall and Lemhi reservations, in
Idaho, May 14, 1880, for the sale of a portion of their land in said
Territory and for other purposes, and to make the necessary
appropriations for carrying out the same."

The matter is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 17, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
submitting a draft of a bill "providing for allotment of lands in
severalty to the Indians residing upon the Chehalis Reservation, in
Washington Territory, and granting patents therefor," with accompanying
report from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs upon the subject.

The matter is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 17, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 3d instant, with accompanying papers, submitting a draft of a
bill for the relief of the Nez Percé Indians in the Territory of Idaho
and of the allied tribes residing on the Grande Ronde Indian
Reservation, in the State of Oregon.

The subject is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 17, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 4th instant, submitting, with accompanying papers, draft of a
bill to accept and ratify certain agreements made with the Sioux Indians
and to grant a right of way to the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul
Railway Company through the Sioux Reservation in Dakota.

The matter is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 17, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War, dated December 13 instant, inclosing one from the
Surgeon-General of the Army submitting a special estimate for funds
in the sum of $200,000 for the erection in this city of a suitable
fireproof building to contain the records, library, and museum of the
Medical Department of the Army, together with preliminary plans for
said building and copies of reports, etc., in relation to the subject.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 17, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of the Navy, dated the 10th instant, inclosing a
letter from the Surgeon-General of the Navy respecting the advisability
of providing for representation on the part of the United States in any
international convention that may be organized for the purpose of
establishing uniform standards of measure of color perception and
acuteness of vision.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 17, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 3d instant from the Secretary
of the Interior, submitting, with accompanying papers, a draft of a bill
for the payment of the value of certain improvements made by certain
settlers on the Round Valley Indian Reservation, in the State of
California, as appraised under the act approved March 3, 1873.

The subject is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 17, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 12th instant from the
Secretary of the Interior, submitting a report of the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs of December 8, 1883, and accompanying papers, on the
subject of the "Old Settler" or "Western" Cherokees.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 17, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 4th instant from the
Secretary of the Interior, with draft of a bill to accept and ratify an
agreement made with Chief Moses and other Indians for the relinquishment
of certain lands in Washington Territory, and to make the necessary
appropriations for carrying the same into effect, with accompanying
papers.

The subject is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 19, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War, dated the 15th instant, inclosing one from the
Quartermaster-General setting forth the necessity for the construction
of a fireproof building in this city for the storage of the public
records.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 19, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Interior,
inclosing a copy of a communication from the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs setting forth the necessity of a deficiency appropriation of
$78,110 for the purchase of supplies for the balance of the present
fiscal year for the Crow Indians.

CHESTER A ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 19, 1883_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in response to the Senate resolution of the 18th
instant, a report of the Secretary of State and accompanying papers,
relating to the treaty between the United States and Great Britain
signed April 19, 1850.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 19, 1883_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War, dated December 14, 1883, upon the subject of
abandoned military reservations, and renewing his former recommendation
for such legislation as will provide for the disposal of military sites
that are no longer needed for military purposes.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 19, 1883_.

_To the Senate of the United States of America:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate, for its consideration with a view
to ratification, a treaty of extradition between the United States of
America and the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, concluded at Berlin on the
29th of October, A.D. 1883.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 24, 1883_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

The House of Representatives having adopted on the 19th instant a
resolution in the following words--

  _Resolved_, That the Secretary of State be, and he is hereby,
  requested to furnish for the information of this House, without delay,
  if not incompatible with the public service, all communications,
  documents, and papers in his possession relating to the trial,
  conviction, and execution of the late Patrick O'Donnell by the British
  Government--


I transmit herewith a report made to me by the Secretary of State, with
the papers enumerated in the subjoined list, as answering said
resolution.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 7, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 19th ultimo, submitting, with accompanying papers, a draft of a
bill providing for the allotment of lands in severalty to the Arickaree,
Gros Ventre, and Mandan Indians on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation,
in Dakota, and the granting of patents therefor, and for other purposes.

The matter is presented for the action of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 7, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior
of the 19th ultimo, submitting, with accompanying papers, a draft of a
bill "to allow Indian homestead entries in certain cases without the
payment of fees and commissions."

The matter is presented for the consideration and action of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.


EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 7, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War, dated the 2d instant, inclosing copies of official
correspondence, reports, etc., in relation to the military post of Fort
Sullivan, Me., and recommending such legislation as will authorize the
sale of the site to the highest bidder after public advertisement, the
same being no longer needed for military purposes.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 8, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I submit a communication from the governor of the State of Illinois,
with a copy of an act of the general assembly of that State tendering to
the United States the cession of the Illinois and Michigan Canal upon
condition that it shall be enlarged and maintained as a national
waterway for commercial purposes.

The proposed cession is an element of the subject which Congress had
under consideration in directing by the act of August 2, 1882, a survey
for a canal from a point on the Illinois River at or near the town of
Hennepin by the most practicable route to the Mississippi River at or
above the city of Rock Island, the canal to be not less than 70 feet
wide at the water line and not less than 7 feet in depth of water, and
with capacity for vessels of at least 280 tons burden; and also a survey
of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and an estimate of the cost of
enlarging it to the dimensions of the proposed canal between Hennepin
and the Mississippi River.

The surveys ordered in the above act have been completed and the report
upon them is included in the last annual report of the Secretary of War,
and a copy is herewith submitted. It is estimated in the report that by
the enlargement of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and the construction
of the proposed canal by the shortest route between Hennepin and the
Mississippi River a direct and convenient thoroughfare for vessels of
280 tons burden may be opened from the Mississippi River to Lake
Michigan at a cost of $8,110,286.65, and that the annual charge for
maintenance would be $138,600.

It appears from these papers that the estimated yield of corn, wheat,
and oats for 1882 in the States of Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota,
Kansas, and Nebraska was more than 1,000,000,000 bushels. It is claimed
that if the cheap water transportation route which is now continuous
from the Atlantic Ocean to Chicago is extended to the Upper Mississippi
by such a canal a great benefit in the reduction of freight charges
would result to the people of the Upper Mississippi Valley, whose
productions I have only partly noted, not only upon their own shipments,
but upon the articles of commerce used by them, which are now taken from
the Eastern States by water only as far as Chicago.

As a matter of great interest, especially to the citizens of that part
of the country, I commend the general subject to your consideration.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, January 8, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 7th
instant, respecting the alleged distribution of circulars in some of the
Departments asking contributions for political purposes, I hereby
transmit the reply of the Secretary of State.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 8, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith to the House of Representatives a communication from
the Secretary of War, submitting the annual report of the Mississippi
River Commission.

I take this occasion to invite the early attention of Congress to the
continuation of the work on the Mississippi River which is being carried
on under the plans of the commission. My sense of the importance of the
improvement of this river, not only to the people of the Northwest, but
especially to the inhabitants of the Lower Mississippi Valley, has
already been expressed in a special communication to the last Congress.
The harvests of grain and cotton produced in the region bordering upon
the Mississippi are so vast as to be of national importance, and the
project now being executed for their cheap transportation should be
sufficiently provided for.

The commission report that the results due to the still uncompleted
works have been remarkable, and give the highest encouragement for
expecting the ultimate success of the improvement.

The act of August 2, 1882, appropriated $4,123,000 for the work on that
part of the river below Cairo. The estimates of the commission already
transmitted to Congress call for $3,000,000 for the continuation of the
work below Cairo, and it appears from their report that all of the last
appropriation available for active operations has been exhausted and
that there is urgently needed an immediate appropriation of $1,000,000
to continue the work without loss of time, in view of the approach of
the flood season, with its attendant dangers.

I therefore recommend to Congress the early passage of a separate bill
on this subject.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 9, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War of the 7th instant, inclosing a copy of one from
the Quartermaster-General of the Army submitting plans and estimates
for the construction of walls, etc., at the Schuylkill Arsenal,
Philadelphia, Pa., rendered necessary by the opening of Peltz street,
and recommending that an appropriation be made of the amount estimated
to be requisite for the work referred to.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 14, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
submitting, with accompanying papers, an estimate of appropriation in
the sum of $25,000 for the settlement under existing treaties of certain
freedmen and their descendants upon lands known as the Oklahoma
district, within the Indian Territory.

The matter is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 14, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 11th instant from the
Secretary of the Interior, submitting, with accompanying papers, an item
of appropriation in the sum of $3,000 for the location and survey of
boundary lines of certain lands purchased by the United States from the
Creek Indians for the use of the Seminole Indians in the Indian
Territory.

The matter is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 14, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
submitting, with accompanying papers, a draft of a bill "for the relief
of the Mission Indians in the State of California."

The subject is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, January 15, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

In response to the resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant, calling
for the correspondence on file upon the subject of discriminating duties
upon commerce between the United States and Cuba and Puerto Rico, I
transmit herewith a report made to me by the Secretary of State, with
accompanying papers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 16, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a copy of a
letter from the secretary of state of the State of Pennsylvania, dated
November 26, 1883, inclosing a duly authenticated copy of an act
of the legislature of that State entitled "An act to provide for the
preservation, use, custody, and disposition of the marine hospital at
Erie, and making an appropriation for the repair of the same," approved
July 5, 1883, and tendering to the United States Government, on behalf
of the governor, in pursuance of the provisions of the act, the said
marine hospital for use as a soldiers' and sailors' home.

The papers having upon their receipt been referred by me to the
Secretary of War, I inclose also a copy of his letter of the 12th
instant returning the same, together with a copy of the report of
Captain Edward Maguire, Corps of Engineers, dated the 10th ultimo,
giving a description of the property referred to and expressing his
views as to its adaptability for a soldiers and sailors' home.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 16, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of the Interior, dated
the 11th instant, suggesting further action by Congress in the matter of
granting leases of bath houses and bath-house sites at the Hot Springs
Reservation, Ark.

The subject is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 17, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit, for the consideration of Congress, a communication from the
Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy, on the subject of an
expedition for the relief of Lieutenant A.W. Greely and his party,
composing what is known as the "Lady Franklin Bay Expedition," which was
sent to the arctic regions in 1881 under the provisions of the acts of
Congress approved May 1, 1880, and March 3, 1881.

In the plans for the relief of this party, as arranged with Lieutenant
Greely, it was contemplated that an effort would be made to communicate
with him and furnish him any needed assistance in 1882 and again in
1883.

Subsequently legislation was enacted which required the expedition of
1883 to bring the party home. It was a part of the arrangement that
if communication should not be made with him on or before the 1st of
September, 1883, he should, with his party, abandon his station at
Lady Franklin Bay not later than the above-mentioned date and proceed
south-ward, and would find a well-supplied relief station at the
entrance to Smiths Sound, a point where it would not be difficult
to reach him during a part of each year. The expeditions of 1882 and
1883 were sent, but neither one of them was able to communicate with
Lieutenant Greely; and the last one failed to accomplish any part of
its object beyond leaving a very small quantity of stores in the
neighborhood of the entrance to Smiths Sound.

The situation of Lieutenant Greely and his party under these
circumstances is one of great peril, and in presenting the preliminary
views of the board appointed by me to take into consideration an
expedition for their relief I urgently recommend prompt action by
Congress to enable the recommendations of the Secretary of War and the
Secretary of the Navy to be carried out without delay.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 22, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, in response to the resolution of the House dated
January 11, 1883, a letter, dated the 21st instant, from the Secretary
of War, together with a report submitted to him by the Chief of
Engineers, embodying the information, so far as the same can be
furnished from the records of his office, and a statement prepared in
the Treasury Department, respecting the expenditures for rivers and
harbors, called for by the said resolution.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 28, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit to Congress a communication from the Secretary of War, in
relation to the necessity of an immediate appropriation of not less
than $42,000 to enable the engineer in charge to make next autumn the
explosion required for the removal of Flood Rock, in the East River,
New York. The importance of the work is well known, and as it appears
that without a speedy appropriation a delay of a year must follow,
accompanied by large expenses to protect from injury the work already
done, I commend the subject to the early and favorable consideration
of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, January 30, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

In further response to the resolution of the Senate of the 8th
instant, calling for the correspondence on file upon the subject of
discriminating duties upon commerce between the United States and Cuba
and Puerto Rico, I transmit certain papers additional to the papers
which accompanied the report sent to you on the 15th instant.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 31, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 29th instant from the
Secretary of the Interior, submitting, with accompanying papers, a
report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs upon the subject of the
right of way of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company
through the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, in Dakota.

The subject is commended to the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 31, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in response to the resolutions of the House of
Representatives, the following report of the Secretary of State, with
accompanying papers, relative to the restrictions upon the importation
of American hog products into Germany and France.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 6, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication,
under date of the 2d instant, from the Secretary of the Interior,
transmitting the last annual report of the Government directors of the
Union Pacific Railway Company.

The report accompanying the Secretary's communication has been sent to
the House of Representatives.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 7, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State, in response to
the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 16th ultimo,
respecting the arrest and imprisonment of John E. Wheelock in Venezuela
in 1879.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 7, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, in response to a resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 15th instant [ultimo], a report of the Secretary
of State, with accompanying papers, in relation to the reported arrest
at Lodz, in Russian Poland, of Reinhardt Wagner, a citizen of the United
States.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _February 7, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
its ratification, an agreement concerning trade-marks between the United
States and Italy, signed June 1, 1882, provided the terms thereof commend
themselves to the Senate.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 11, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit a communication, under date of the 8th instant, addressed to
me by the Secretary of the Navy, covering a report of Professor Simon
Newcomb, United States Navy, on the subject of recent improvements in
astronomical observatories, instruments, and methods of observations, as
noted during his visit to the principal observatories of Europe in the
year 1883, made in pursuance of orders of the Navy Department.

The request of the Secretary is commended to the consideration of
Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 12, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of the Senate in connection
with the commercial convention of January 20, 1883, between the United
States and Mexico, now pending before the Senate, a protocol of an
agreement, signed on the 11th instant by the Secretary of State and the
representative of Mexico at this capital, explaining and correcting an
error of translation found in the Spanish text of said convention.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 12, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 8th ultimo from the
Secretary of the Interior, and the accompanying papers, relating to the
establishment of the boundary line between the United States and the
State of Texas.

The matter is presented for the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 13, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of February 6, 1884,
directing "that the President be requested, if in his judgment not
incompatible with the public interests, to communicate to the Senate
the record of the proceedings, testimony, and findings of the court of
inquiry in relation to the events connected with the loss of the steamer
_Proteus_ in the Arctic Ocean," I have the honor to transmit herewith
a copy of the record, etc., called for in said resolution, together with
the letter of the Secretary of War, dated the 12th instant, submitting
the same to me.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 13, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

In reply to the resolution of the Senate of the 11th instant, I have the
honor to inclose a communication[16] from the Secretary of State.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 16: Relating to the demand of Mexico for the extradition of
Alexander Trimble.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 18, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith the report of a board of Army and Navy officers
appointed by me in accordance with the act of Congress approved March 3,
1883, "for the purpose of examining and reporting to Congress which of
the navy-yards or arsenals owned by the Government has the best location
and is best adapted for the establishment of a Government foundry, or
what other method, if any, should be adopted for the manufacture of
heavy ordnance adapted to modern warfare, for the use of the Army and
Navy of the United States, the cost of all buildings, tools, and
implements necessary to be used in the manufacture thereof, including
the cost of a steam hammer or apparatus of sufficient size for the
manufacture of the heaviest guns."

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 21, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State of the 21st
instant, whereby your honorable body, and through you the people of the
United States, may become apprised of the generous contribution made by
Her Britannic Majesty's Government toward the efforts for the relief of
Lieutenant Greely's arctic exploring party by presenting to the United
States the arctic steamship _Alert_.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



DEPARTMENT OF STATE, _Washington, February 21, 1884_.

The PRESIDENT:

In the search for vessels suitable for the expedition now preparing to
relieve Lieutenant Greely and his party, attention was early directed to
the _Alert_, which is the property of the British Government, and
was the advance ship of the expedition under Sir George Nares. It was
desirable to secure this vessel, as she is peculiarly fitted for the
intended service, and as the inspecting officers recommended her Mr.
Lowell was therefore instructed to ask whether she could be spared for
the service.

Information of the wish of this Government having previously and
informally reached the British admiralty, a private intimation was
conveyed to the United States minister to the effect that the British
Government had not forgotten the very considerate conduct of this
Government on the occasion of the recovery of the _Resolute_, and
that should any suggestion be made that the vessel would be of use to
the expedition she would be presented. The _Resolute_, a vessel, as
the President remembers, formerly belonging to Her Majesty's navy,
having been abandoned in the arctic region, was discovered and brought
to the United States by American seamen, and thereupon was purchased by
this Government of her sailors, repaired, and returned to Great Britain.
On her arrival in England the vessel was received by the Queen in
person, and the officers of the United States Navy who took the ship
thither were treated with every official and personal courtesy.

The Government of Her Majesty has now given the _Alert_ to the
United States unconditionally, with her anchors, chains, and such of her
equipment as can be utilized.

Recognizing this graceful and opportune act of courtesy on the part of
Her Majesty's Government, the undersigned to-day instructed Mr. Lowell
as follows, by telegraph:

"Her Majesty's Government having presented to the Government of the
United States the ship _Alert_ to aid in the relief of Lieutenant
Greely and his party, you will inform the secretary of state for foreign
affairs that the spirit which prompts this act of generosity, and this
evidence of sympathy with the object in view, receives the highest
appreciation of the President, as it will that of the people of the
United States. The President sends his cordial thanks for the opportune
gift of this vessel, which he accepts in the name of the United States,
and which will be used in the humane enterprise for which it is so
peculiarly adapted."

Respectfully submitted.

FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 21, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter from
the Secretary of War, dated the 19th instant, submitting a letter from
the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, dated the 2d instant, and its
accompanying plan of a proposed meteorological observatory at Fort Myer,
Va., together with an estimate of the cost of the same in the sum of
$4,000 and a statement giving various reasons why the said observatory
should be established.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 25, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In answer to so much of the resolution of the House of Representatives
of the 17th ultimo as calls for the correspondence with the Mexican
Government respecting the payment of claims specified in the fifth
section of the act of Congress approved June 17, 1878, I transmit
herewith the report of the Secretary of State and its accompanying
papers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 29, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

In compliance with the act of Congress approved January 16, 1883,
entitled "An act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United
States," the Civil Service Commission has made to the President its
first annual report.

That report is herewith transmitted, together with communications from
the heads of the several Executive Departments of the Government
respecting the practical workings of the law under which the Commission
has been acting.

Upon the good results which that law has already accomplished I
congratulate Congress and the people, and I avow my conviction that it
will henceforth prove to be of still more signal benefit to the public
service.

I heartily commend the zeal and fidelity of the Commissioners and their
suggestion for further legislation, and I advise the making of such an
appropriation as shall be adequate for their needs.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 29, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a report of the
Secretary of State, accompanying a report made by the commission lately
designated by me to examine and report upon the asserted unhealthfulness
of the swine products of this country. The views and conclusions of the
commission deserve the most careful consideration of Congress, to the
end that if any path be legitimately open for removing the prohibition
which closes important foreign markets to those products it may be
followed and appropriate legislation devised.

I earnestly recommend that Congress provide for reimbursing the expenses
incurred by the commissioners in this praiseworthy service, and I should
be glad also if some remunerative recognition of their public-spirited
action in accepting the onerous and responsible duties imposed on them
were to suggest itself to Congress. At all events, in view of the
conflicting theories touching the origin and propagation of trichiniasis
and the means of isolating and extirpating it among domestic swine, and
considering the important bearing which precise knowledge on these
points would have on the commercial aspects of the matter, I recommend
provision for special research in this direction.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, March 5, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In further response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 15th January last, calling for copies of correspondence on file in
the Department of State in relation to the reported arrest at Lodz, in
Russia, of Reinhardt Wagner, a citizen of the United States, I transmit,
in addition to the papers sent you on the 7th ultimo, a copy of a
dispatch subsequently received.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, March 6, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the House of Representatives a report from the
Secretary of State, in response to a resolution of that body of the 5th
ultimo, calling for correspondence concerning the representations made
to this Government in relation to the existing tariff discrimination
against the works of foreign artists.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, March 10, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith the following documents, received from the Secretary
of State, relative to the resolution of the House of Representatives
upon the death of Mr. Edward Lasker.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, March 11, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I submit herewith, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
obtaining its advice and consent thereto, a draft of a proclamation
whereby the United States accede and adhere to an international
convention for the protection of industrial property, signed at Paris
March 20, 1883, and in explanation of the purport of that convention and
the proposed mode of effecting the adhesion of the United States thereto
I subjoin a report of the Secretary of State.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 14, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War of the 12th instant, and accompanying papers,
requesting an appropriation of $230,869.44 for the erection at the
Presidio of San Francisco of additional buildings at headquarters
Military Division of the Pacific, rendered necessary in consequence of
the proposed increase of the garrison by removal of troops from points
in San Francisco Harbor.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 18, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretaries of War and the Navy, concerning the expediency of
offering rewards for the rescue of Lieutenant Greely and party by the
independent efforts of private vessels, in addition to sending the three
ships constituting the national relief expedition.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, March 18, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 15th of January last,
respecting the discovery of phosphates upon the coast of Brazil by a
citizen of the United States, I transmit herewith a report from the
Secretary of State upon the subject, together with the accompanying
papers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 20, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

In accordance with the provisions of the act making appropriations for
the diplomatic and consular service for the year ending June 30, 1883,
I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of State in
relation to the consular service.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 20, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War of the
18th instant, submitting a letter from Colonel A.F. Rockwell, United
States Army, in charge of public buildings and grounds, embodying an
estimate in the sum of $30,000 for a pedestal for the statue of General
James A. Garfield, to be erected in the city of Washington by the
Society of the Army of the Cumberland, together with a letter upon the
subject from General Anson G. McCook, on behalf of the Society of the
Army of the Cumberland, the object in view being the procurement of an
appropriation by Congress of the amount of the accompanying estimate.

I commend the subject to the favorable consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 26, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

In my annual message I impressed upon Congress the necessity of
continued progress in the reconstruction of the Navy. The
recommendations in this direction of the Secretary of the Navy and of
the Naval Advisory Board were submitted by me unaccompanied by specific
expressions of approval. I now deem it my duty to advise that
appropriations be made at the present session toward designing and
commencing the construction of at least the three additional steel
cruisers and the four gunboats thus recommended, the cost of which,
including their armament, will not exceed $4,283,000, of which sum
one-half should be appropriated for the next fiscal year.

The _Chicago, Boston, Atlanta,_ and _Dolphin_ have been designed
and are being built with care and skill, and there is every reason to
believe that they will prove creditable and serviceable modern cruisers.
Technical questions concerning the details of these or of additional
vessels can not wisely be settled except by experts, and the Naval
Advisory Board, organized by direction of Congress under the act of
August 5, 1882, and consisting of three line officers, a naval
constructor, and a naval engineer, selected "with reference only to
character, experience, knowledge, and skill," and a naval architect and
a marine engineer from civil life "of established reputation and
standing as experts in naval or marine construction," is an appropriate
authority to decide finally all such questions. I am unwilling to see
the gradual reconstruction of our naval cruisers, now happily begun in
conformity with modern requirements, delayed one full year for any
unsubstantial reason.

Whatever conditions Congress may see fit to impose in order to secure
judicious designs and honest and economical construction will be
acceptable to me, but to relinquish or postpone the policy already
deliberately declared will be, in my judgment, an act of national
imprudence.

Appropriations should also be made without delay for finishing the four
double-turreted monitors, the _Puritan, Amphitrite, Terror,_ and
_Monadnock_, and for procuring their armament and that of the
_Miantonomoh_. Their hulls are built, and their machinery is under
contract and approaching completion, except that of the _Monadnock_,
on the Pacific coast. This should also be built, and the armor and heavy
guns of all should be procured at the earliest practicable moment.

The total amount appropriated up to this time for the four vessels is
$3,546,941.41. A sum not exceeding $3,838,769.62, including $866,725
for four powerful rifled cannon and for the remainder of the ordnance
outfit, will complete and equip them for service. Of the sum required,
only two millions need be appropriated for the next fiscal year. It is
not expected that one of the monitors will be a match for the heaviest
broadside ironclads which certain other Governments have constructed at
a cost of four or five millions each, but they will be armored vessels
of an approved and useful type, presenting limited surfaces for the shot
of an enemy, and possessed of such seagoing capacity and offensive power
as fully to answer our immediate necessities. Their completion having
been determined upon in the recent legislation of Congress, no time
should be lost in accomplishing the necessary object.

The Gun Foundry Board, appointed by direction of Congress, consisting
of three army and three navy officers, has submitted its report, duly
transmitted on the 20th day of February, 1884, recommending that the
Government should promote the production at private steel works of the
required material for heavy cannon, and that two Government factories,
one for the Army and one for the Navy, should be established for the
fabrication of guns from such material. An early consideration of the
report is recommended, together with such action as will enable the
Government to construct its ordnance upon its own territory and so to
provide the armaments demanded by considerations which concern the
national safety and honor.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 1, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In response to a resolution of the House of Representatives of
January 15, 1884, requesting the President to forward to the House
information, including reports from consuls and others, concerning the
undervaluation, false classification, and other irregular practices
in the importation of foreign merchandise, and to recommend what
legislation, if any, is needed to prevent such frauds on the revenue,
I have the honor to transmit herewith a letter of the Secretary of the
Treasury of the 28th ultimo, inclosing a draft of a bill on the subject,
together with copies of reports taken from the files of the Treasury
Department concerning the information desired.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 1, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State and accompanying
papers, furnished in response to a resolution of the House of
Representatives of January 16, 1884, calling for information as to the
payments made by Spain in accordance with the terms of its treaty with
the United States concluded February 17, 1834.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 2, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit to Congress a communication from the Secretary of War,
embodying the views of the president of the Mississippi River Commission
upon a report from Major Stickney, of the Engineer Corps, in relation to
the protection of existing levees from destruction by the floods in the
lower part of the Mississippi River. It appears that there is an urgent
need of an appropriation of $100,000 to be used for this purpose,
and that an enormous destruction of property may be thereby averted.
I recommend an immediate appropriation of the sum required for the
purpose, to be expended under the direction of the Mississippi River
Commission.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 2, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of 5th
of February last, respecting the arrest and imprisonment of certain
American citizens by the authorities of Colombia, at Aspinwall,
I transmit a report of the Secretary of State.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 11, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

The condition of our seacoast defenses and their armament has been
brought to the attention of Congress in my annual messages, and I now
submit a special estimate of the Chief of Ordnance, United States
Army, transmitted by the Secretary of War, for a permanent annual
appropriation of $1,500,000 to provide the necessary armament for
our fortifications.

This estimate is founded upon the report of the Gun Foundry Board
recently transmitted, to which I have heretofore invited the early
attention of Congress.

In presenting this estimate I do not think it necessary to enumerate the
considerations which make it of the highest importance that there should
be no unnecessary delay in entering upon the work, which must be
commensurate with the public interests to be guarded, and which will
take much time.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _April 14, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of War of the 5th instant, submitting copies of
certain papers, consisting of a letter, dated February 16 last, from Mr.
Haughwout Howe, of New York City, presenting a proposition for the sale
to the Government for the sum of $5,500 of certain hospital and other
records pertaining to an association founded in New York City in April,
1862, for the purpose of extending relief to soldiers of the late war;
a report of an examination made of these records by a representative
of the War Department, and a report of the Adjutant-General stating
that the records would prove of great value to the Department in the
settlement of claims of deserving soldiers, as well as in detecting
fraudulent claims, as the books, etc., contain information not now
of record in the War Department.

The Secretary of War, it will be observed, recommends that an
appropriation be made by Congress of the necessary sum for the
purchase of the records referred to.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 14, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States of America:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate, for its consideration with a view
to ratification, a convention concluded between the United States of
America and France and the twenty-four other powers named in said
convention for the protection of submarine cables, concluded at Paris on
the 14th day of March, A.D. 1884. I also inclose, for the information of
the Senate, a copy of Mr. Morton's dispatch No. 518, of the 18th ultimo,
in relation to the subject.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _April 14, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a convention concerning trade-marks and trade-labels
between the United States and Belgium, signed on the 7th instant.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 18, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of State of the
16th instant, relative to the approaching visit of a special embassy
from Siam to the United States, and recommend that the appropriation
asked by the Secretary of State to suitably defray the expenses of such
embassy while in this country be made.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 18, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a copy of a report of the Secretary of State of the
16th instant, in relation to the final award made by the late French and
American Claims Commission against the United States for the sum of
$625,566.35, for the payment of the claims of French citizens against
this Government. I recommend that an appropriation of the above sum be
made to enable the Government to fulfill its obligations under the
treaty of January 15, 1880, between this country and France.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 18, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of State, dated
the 16th instant, respecting the approaching international conference at
Washington, D.C., for the purpose of fixing upon a meridian proper to be
employed as a common zero of longitude and standard of time reckoning
throughout the globe, and recommend that the sum of $10,000 be
appropriated to enable the Secretary of State to meet the expenses of
the same.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 18, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

In response to the resolution of the Senate of the 5th of December last,
respecting the execution by the United States of the ninth article of
the treaty of 1819 with Spain, I transmit herewith a report of the
Secretary of State and its accompanying papers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 22, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State, in response to
a resolution of the Senate of February 29, 1884, requesting information
concerning the respective average production, consumption, exportation,
and importation of wheat, rye, corn, and cotton in foreign countries,
together with statistics showing the production and surplus or
deficiency in the crops of the past two years in each of such countries,
an estimate of the probable requirements of such products from the
United States to meet the wants of these countries before the crops
of the coming crop year are ready for market, and other available
information concerning the questions to which the resolution refers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 24, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, in answer to a resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 21st instant, a report of the Secretary of State,
with the accompanying papers, in relation to the threatened confiscation
of the American college at Rome by the Italian Government.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, April 28, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State, in relation to
the bill for the support of the diplomatic and consular services.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 3, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for your consideration, a communication from
the Secretary of State, recommending the appropriation of the sum of
$22,500, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to meet the proper
obligations of the Government on account of the courteous services
of the various umpires of the late American-Spanish Commission.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 6, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

In answer to the resolution of the Senate of March 12, 1884, requesting
to be furnished with a copy of correspondence between this Government
and that of China respecting the Ward claims and the claim of Charles
E. Hill, I herewith submit a letter of the Secretary of State, together
with its accompanying papers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 6, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the information of Congress, a communication
from the Secretary of the Interior, submitting a copy of the report of
the Utah Commission.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 6, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the information of Congress, a copy of the
preliminary report of the board of management of the World's Industrial
and Cotton Centennial Exposition, showing their operations and
containing observations upon other matters concerning the project deemed
of importance.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 6, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In answer to that part of the resolution of the House of Representatives
of the 17th of January last respecting the question of boundaries
between the Republics of Mexico and Guatemala, I transmit herewith the
report of the Secretary of State and its accompanying papers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 12, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, in answer to the resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 6th of February last, a communication from the
Secretary of State, respecting the extradition of criminals under the
treaty of 1842 with Great Britain.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 12, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of State,
transmitting a draft of a resolution providing for the presentation
of a testimonial to Mr. E.L. Oxenham, British consul at Chin-Kiang,
in acknowledgment of services rendered the United States.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 14, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of State of the
14th instant, with accompanying papers, relative to the necessity of
an appropriation by Congress to enable this Government to execute the
provisions of the convention between the United States and Mexico of
July 29, 1882, for the relocation of the monuments marking the boundary
line between the two countries, and recommend that the amount asked,
$224,556.75, immediately provided.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 15, 1884_.

_To the Senate:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate, for consideration with a view to
advising and consenting thereto, an agreement, signed May 14, 1884,
between the Secretary of State and the minister plenipotentiary of Siam,
for the regulation of the liquor traffic in Siam when citizens of the
United States engage in the importation or sale of liquors there.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 19, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for such action as is deemed proper, a
communication from the Secretary of State, recommending an additional
appropriation of $6,000 for the construction of a wharf and roadway
as a means of approach to the monument to be erected at Wakefield,
Westmoreland County, Va., to mark the birthplace of George Washington.

I commend the matter to your favorable attention.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 19, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, with
accompanying copies of correspondence, in further response to the
resolution of the House of Representatives of January 16, 1884,
respecting the arrest and imprisonment of John E. Wheelock in Venezuela
in 1879.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _May 29, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for such action as is deemed proper, a
communication from the Secretary of State, accompanied by several
inclosures, in which he recommends an appropriation for rewarding the
services of the Osette Indians in rescuing and caring for the crew of
the American steamer _Umatilla_, which vessel was wrecked in
February last near the coast of Vancouvers Island.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 29, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in response to the resolution of the Senate of
March 10 last, a report from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
papers, in regard to the claim of Edward H. Ladd against the Government
of Colombia.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 9, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, a letter and
its accompanying estimate, submitted by the board charged with preparing
a departmental exhibit for the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial
Exposition to be held at New Orleans, beginning December 1, 1884.
This board was appointed by Executive order of May 13, 1884,[17] and
is composed of representatives of the several Executive Departments,
the Department of Agriculture, and the Smithsonian Institution. It is
charged with the important and responsible duty of making arrangements
for a complete and harmonious collection of the articles and materials
deemed desirable to place on exhibition, in illustration of the
resources of the country, its methods of governmental administration,
and its means of offense and defense.

The board submits an estimate calling for an appropriation of
$588,000 to accomplish the desired end. That amount is distributed
among the Departments as shown in the table. The War, Navy, and Interior
Departments call for the largest share, representing as they do the
national defenses by land and sea, the progress of naval architecture
and ordnance, the geological survey and mineral wealth of the
Territories, the treatment of the Indians, and the education of the
masses, all of which admit of varied and instructive exhibits. The
Smithsonian Institution, having under its general care the National
Museum and the Fish Commission, is prepared to make a display second
in interest to none of modern days. The remaining Departments can
present instructive and interesting exhibits, which will attract popular
attention and convey an idea of their extensively ramified duties and of
the many points where they beneficially affect the life of the people as
a nation and as individuals.

The exhibit of the Government at the Centennial Exhibition held at
Philadelphia in 1876 was admitted to be one of the most attractive
features of that great national undertaking and a valuable addition to
it. From men of intelligence and scientific attainments, at home and
abroad, it received the highest encomiums, showing the interest it
awakened among those whose lives are given to the improvement of the
social and material condition of the people.

The reproduction of such a display now on a more extensive plan is
rendered possible by the advancement of science and invention during
the eight years that have passed since the Philadelphia exhibit was
collected.

The importance, purposes, and benefits of the New Orleans Exhibition
are continental in their scope. Standing at the threshold of the almost
unopened markets of Spanish and Portuguese America, New Orleans is a
natural gateway to their trade, and the exhibition offers to the people
of Mexico and Central and South America an adequate knowledge of our
farming implements, metal manufactures, cotton and woolen goods, and the
like necessities of existence, in respect to which those countries are
either deficient or supplied to a limited extent. The breaking down of
the barriers which still separate us from the Republics of America whose
productions so entirely complement our own will aid greatly in removing
the disparity of commercial intercourse under which less than 10 per
cent of our exports go to American countries.

I trust that Congress will realize the urgency of this recommendation
and make its appropriation immediately available, so that the board may
lose no time in undertaking the extensive preparations necessary to
spread a more intimate knowledge of our Government institutions and
national resources among the people of our country and of neighboring
states in a way to command the respect due it in the family of nations.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 17: See pp. 230-231.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 9, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, for consideration by the Senate and appropriate
action thereon, a report of the Secretary of State, communicating the
proposal of the King of Hawaii that the duration of the existing
reciprocity treaty with the United States be extended for a further
definite period of seven years.

The treaty having been heretofore under consideration by your honorable
body, I deem it fitting to consult the Senate in the matter before
directing the negotiations to proceed.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 11, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of
the 10th instant, I return House bill No. 2344, entitled "An act for
the relief of Melissa G. Polar."

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 11, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith to the House of Representatives, in response to
a resolution of that body of the 21st of April last, a copy of the
material correspondence on file in the Department of State relative to
the claim of W.J. Hale against the Argentine Republic, and a list of
the papers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 12, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in response to a resolution of the Senate dated May
2, 1884, the following report of the Secretary of State, with an
accompanying paper, relative to the latest law of the Mexican Republic
creating or modifying the _zona libre_ in relation to importations
of merchandise.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 13, 1884_.

_To the Senate:_

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a convention signed on the 11th instant, supplementary to
the extradition convention concluded between the United States and Italy
on the 23d of March, 1868.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 19, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, in answer to the resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 3ist of March last, a communication from the
Secretary of State, with accompanying papers, concerning the rent of
consular premises in China.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 21, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I have permitted House bill No. 4689, entitled "An act for the relief of
Eliza W. Patterson," to become a law by withholding action upon it for
ten days after it was presented to me.

The affairs and interests of the District of Columbia are committed to
Congress as its legislature. I do not question the constitutional right
of Congress to pass a law relieving the family of an officer, in view of
the services he had rendered his country, from the burdens of taxation,
bat I submit to Congress that this just gift of the nation to the family
of such faithful officer should come from the National Treasury rather
than from that of this District, and I therefore recommend that an
appropriation be made to reimburse the District for the amount of taxes
which would have been due to it had this act not become a law.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 24, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the
7th instant, making an inquiry regarding the expenditure of moneys
appropriated by Congress to meet the expenses of the French and American
Claims Commission, I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of
State upon the subject.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 28, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Interior,
calling attention to certain omissions, etc., in the act (H.R. 1340)
entitled "An act to establish a Bureau of Labor Statistics," and invite
the attention of the Congress to the same.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 30, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, in compliance with resolutions of the House of
Representatives respectively dated March 22 and April 19, 1884, a report
from the Secretary of State, communicating information in regard to
moneys received from Venezuela under the treaty of April 25, 1866, and
their distribution to holders of awards by the Department of State.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, July 3, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in response to a resolution of the Senate of the
11th of February last, a report of the Secretary of State, relative to
the papers on file in the Department of State touching the unsettled
claims of citizens of the United States against France for spoliations
prior to July 31, 1801.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 7, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In compliance with the concurrent resolution of the Senate and House of
Representatives of the 5th instant, I return herewith House bill 6770,
entitled "An act making appropriations for the consular and diplomatic
service of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1885, and
for other purposes."

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



VETO MESSAGE.


EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 2, 1884_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

After careful consideration of the bill entitled "An act for the relief
of Fitz John Porter," I herewith return it with my objections to that
House of Congress in which it originated. Its enacting clause is in
terms following:

  That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to nominate and,
  by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint Fitz John
  Porter, late a major-general of the United States Volunteers and a
  brevet brigadier-general and colonel of the Army, to the position of
  colonel in the Army of the United States, of the same grade and rank
  held by him at the time of his dismissal from the Army by sentence of
  court-martial promulgated January 27, 1863. * * *


It is apparent that should this bill become a law it will create
a new office which can be filled by the appointment of the particular
individual whom it specifies, and can not be filled otherwise; or it
may be said with perhaps greater precision of statement that it will
create a new office upon condition that the particular person designated
shall be chosen to fill it. Such an act, as it seems to me, is either
unnecessary and ineffective or it involves an encroachment by the
legislative branch of the Government upon the authority of the
Executive. As the Congress has no power under the Constitution to
nominate or appoint an officer and can not lawfully impose upon the
President the duty of nominating or appointing to office any particular
individual of its own selection, this bill, if it can fairly be
construed as requiring the President to make the nomination and, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, the appointment which it
authorizes, is in manifest violation of the Constitution. If such be
not its just interpretation, it must be regarded as a mere enactment of
advice and counsel, which lacks in the very nature of things the force
of positive law and can serve no useful purpose upon the statute books.

There are other causes that deter me from giving this bill the sanction
of my approval. The judgment of the court-martial by which more than
twenty years since General Fitz John Porter was tried and convicted
was pronounced by a tribunal composed of nine general officers of
distinguished character and ability. Its investigation of the charges of
which it found the accused guilty was thorough and conscientious, and
its findings and sentence were in due course of law approved by Abraham
Lincoln, then President of the United States. Its legal competency, its
jurisdiction of the accused and of the subject of the accusation, and
the substantial regularity of all of its proceedings are matters which
have never been brought into question. Its judgment, therefore, is final
and conclusive in its character.

The Supreme Court of the United States has recently declared that a
court-martial such as this was is the organism provided by law and
clothed with the duty of administering justice in this class of cases.
Its judgments, when approved, rest on the same basis and are surrounded
by the same considerations which give conclusiveness to the judgments of
other legal tribunals, including as well the lowest as the highest. It
follows, accordingly, that when a lawfully constituted court-martial has
duly declared its findings and its sentence and the same have been duly
approved neither the President nor the Congress has any power to set
them aside. The existence of such power is not openly asserted, nor
perhaps is it necessarily implied, in the provisions of the bill which
is before me, but when its enacting clauses are read in the light of the
recitations of its preamble it will be seen that it seeks in effect the
practical annulment of the findings and the sentence of a competent
court-martial.

A conclusion at variance with these findings has been reached after
investigation by a board consisting of three officers of the Army. This
board was not created in pursuance of any statutory authority and was
powerless to compel the attendance of witnesses or to pronounce a
judgment which could have been lawfully enforced. The officers who
constituted it, in their report to the Secretary of War, dated March
19, 1879, state that in their opinion--

  Justice requires * * * such action as may be necessary to annul and set
  aside the findings and sentence of the court-martial in the case of
  Major-General Fitz John Porter and to restore him to the positions of
  which that sentence deprived him, such restoration to take effect from
  the date of his dismissal from the service.


The provisions of the bill now under consideration are avowedly based
on the assumption that the findings of the court-martial have been
discovered to be erroneous; but it will be borne in mind that the
investigation which is claimed to have resulted in this discovery was
made many years after the events to which that evidence related and
under circumstances that made it impossible to reproduce the evidence
on which they were based.

It seems to me that the proposed legislation would establish a dangerous
precedent, calculated to imperil in no small measure the binding force
and effect of the judgments of the various tribunals established under
our Constitution and laws.

I have already, in the exercise of the pardoning power with which the
President is vested by the Constitution, remitted the continuing penalty
which had made it impossible for Fitz John Porter to hold any office of
trust or profit under the Government of the United States; but I am
unwilling to give my sanction to any legislation which shall practically
annul and set at naught the solemn and deliberate conclusions of the
tribunal by which he was convicted and of the President by whom its
findings were examined and approved.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



PROCLAMATIONS.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas both Houses of Congress did on the 20th instant request the
commemoration, on the 23d instant, of the one hundredth anniversary of
the surrender by George Washington, at Annapolis, of his commission as
Commander in Chief of the patriot forces of America; and

Whereas it is fitting that this memorable act, which not only signalized
the termination of the heroic struggle of seven years for independence,
but also manifested Washington's devotion to the great principle that
ours is a civic government of and by the people, should be generally
observed throughout the United States:

Now, therefore, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States, do
hereby recommend that either by appropriate exercises in connection with
the religious services of the 23d instant or by such public observances
as may be deemed proper on Monday, the 24th instant, this signal event
in the history of American liberty be commemorated; and further, I
hereby direct that at 12 o'clock noon on Monday next the national salute
be fired from all the forts throughout the country.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.

[SEAL.]

Done this 21st day of December, A.D. 1883, and of the Independence of
the United States the one hundred and eighth.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas by a memorandum of an agreement executed at Madrid on the 13th
day of February, A.D. 1884, by and between the duly authorized agents
and representatives of the Government of the United States of America
and of the Government of His Majesty the King of Spain, satisfactory
evidence has been given to me that the Government of that country has
abolished the discriminating customs duty heretofore imposed upon the
products of and articles proceeding from the United States of America
imported into the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico, said abolition to
take effect on and after the 1st day of March next:

Now, therefore, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 4228 of the
Revised Statutes, do hereby declare and proclaim that on and after the
said 1st day of March next, so long as the products of and articles
proceeding from the United States imported into the islands of Cuba and
Puerto Rico shall be exempt from discriminating customs duties, any such
duties on the products of and articles proceeding from Cuba and Puerto
Rico under the Spanish flag shall be suspended and discontinued.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.

[SEAL.]

Done at the city of Washington, this 14th day of February, A.D. 1884,
and of the Independence, of the United States the one hundred and
eighth.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas it is alleged that certain persons have within the territory and
jurisdiction of the United States begun and set on foot preparations for
an organized and forcible possession of and settlement upon the lands
of what is known as the Oklahoma lands, in the Indian Territory, which
Territory is designated, recognized, and described by the treaties and
laws of the United States and by the executive authorities as Indian
country, and as such is subject to occupation by Indian tribes only; and

Whereas the laws of the United States provide for the removal of all
persons residing or being found in said Indian Territory without express
permission of the Interior Department:

Now, therefore, for the purpose of properly protecting the interests of
the Indian nations and tribes in said Territory, and that settlers may
not be induced to go into a country, at great expense to themselves,
where they can not be allowed to remain, I, Chester A. Arthur, President
of the United States, do admonish and warn all such persons so intending
or preparing to remove upon said lands or into said Territory against
any attempt to so remove or settle upon any of the lands of said
Territory; and I do further warn and notify any and all such persons
who do so offend that they will be speedily and immediately removed
therefrom by the proper officers of the Interior Department, and, if
necessary, the aid and assistance of the military forces of the United
States will be invoked to remove all such intruders from the said Indian
Territory.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.

[SEAL.]

Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of July, A.D. 1884, and
of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and eighth.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

While quarantine regulations are committed to the several States, the
General Government has reposed certain powers in the President, to be
used at his discretion in preventing a threatened epidemic.

Feeling it my duty, I hereby call upon all persons who under existing
systems in the several States are intrusted with the execution of
quarantine regulations to be diligent and on the alert in order to
prevent the introduction of the pestilence which we all regret to learn
has made its appearance in some of the countries of Europe between which
and the ports of the United States intercourse is direct and frequent.

I further advise that the cities and towns of the United States, whether
on the coast or on the lines of interior communication, by sound
sanitary regulations and the promotion of cleanliness, be prepared to
resist the power of the disease and to mitigate its severity.

And I further direct the consuls of the United States in the ports where
the pestilence has made or may make its appearance to exercise vigilance
in carrying out the instructions heretofore given and in communicating
to the Government of the United States any information of value relating
to the progress or treatment of the disease.

[SEAL.]

Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, at the city of
Washington, this 19th day of July, A.D. 1884, and of the Independence
of the United States the one hundred and ninth.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

The season is nigh when it is the yearly wont of this people to observe
a day appointed for that purpose by the President as an especial
occasion for thanksgiving unto God.

Now, therefore, in recognition of this hallowed custom, I, Chester A.
Arthur, President of the United States, do hereby designate as such day
of general thanksgiving Thursday, the 27th day of this present November.

And I do recommend that throughout the land the people, ceasing from
their accustomed occupations, do then keep holiday at their several
homes and their several places of worship, and with heart and voice pay
reverent acknowledgment to the Giver of All Good for the countless
blessings wherewith He hath visited this nation.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.

[SEAL.]

Done at the city of Washington, this 7th day of November, A.D. 1884, and
of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and ninth.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



EXECUTIVE ORDERS.


In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the
Constitution, and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third
section of the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved
January 16, 1883, the following rule for the regulation and improvement
of the executive civil service is hereby amended and promulgated, as
follows:

RULE XII.

  1. Every regular application must be supported by proper certificates
  of good moral character, health, and physical and mental capacity for
  doing the public work, the certificates to be in such form and number
  as the regulations of the Commission shall provide; but no certificate
  will be received which is inconsistent with the tenth section of the
  civil-service act.

  2. No one shall be entitled to be examined for admission to the
  classified postal service if under 16 or over 35 years of age, or
  to the classified customs service or to the classified departmental
  service if under 18 or over 45 years of age; but no one shall be
  examined for appointment to any place in the classified customs
  service, except that of clerk or messenger, who is under 21 years
  of age; but these limitations of age shall not apply to persons
  honorably discharged from the military or naval service of the
  country who are otherwise duly qualified.


Approved, December 5, 1883.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 17, 1883_

The following-named officers of the Army and Navy will constitute a
board to consider an expedition to be sent for the relief of Lieutenant
Greely and his party, composing what is known as the "Lady Franklin Bay
Expedition," and to recommend to the Secretaries of War and the Navy,
jointly, the steps the board may consider necessary to be taken for the
equipment and transportation of the relief expedition, and to suggest
such plan for its control and conduct and for the organization of its
personnel as may seem to them best adapted to accomplish its purpose:

Brigadier-General William B. Hazen, Chief Signal Officer, United States
Army; Captain James A. Greer, United States Navy; Lieutenant-Commander
B.H. McCalla, United States Navy; Captain George W. Davis, Fourteenth
Infantry, United States Army.

The board will meet in Washington, D.C., on the 20th instant.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the
Constitution, and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third
section of the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved
January 16, 1883, the following rule and the amendment to Rule XVI for
the regulation and improvement of the executive civil service are hereby
promulgated:


RULE XXI.

  1. No person shall be promoted, without examination under these rules,
  from any position for which an examination is not required to any
  position for which an examination is required under the rules; nor shall
  any person who has passed only a limited examination under clause 4 of
  Rule VII for the lower classes or grades in the departmental or customs
  service be promoted within two years after appointment to any position
  giving a salary of $1,000 or upward without first passing an examination
  under clause I of said rule, and such examination shall not be allowed
  within the first year after appointment.

  2. But a person who has passed the examination under said clause I and
  has accepted a position giving a salary of $900 or less shall have the
  same right of promotion as if originally appointed to a position giving
  a salary of $1,000 or more.

  3. The Commission may at any time certify for a $900 or any lower place
  in the classified service any person upon the register who has passed
  the examination under clause I of Rule VII if such person does not
  object before such certification is made.


II. The following words are added as a fifth clause at the end of Rule
XVI, viz:

  5. Any person appointed to or employed in any part of the classified
  service, after due certification for the same under these rules, who
  shall be dismissed or separated therefrom without fault or delinquency
  on his part may be reappointed or reemployed in the same part or grade
  of such service at the same office, within eight months next following
  such dismissal or separation, without further examination.


III. It is further ordered that the rule heretofore designated XXI be
hereafter designated XXII, and XXII as Rule XXIII.

Approved, January 18, 1884.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 8, 1884_.

General William T. Sherman, General of the Army, having this day reached
the age of 64 years, is, in accordance with law, placed upon the retired
list of the Army without reduction in his current pay and allowances.

The announcement of the severance from the command of the Army of one
who has been for so many years its distinguished chief can but awaken in
the minds, not only of the Army, but of the people of the United States,
mingled emotions of regret and gratitude--regret at the withdrawal from
active military service of an officer whose lofty sense of duty has been
a model for all soldiers since he first entered the Army in July, 1840,
and gratitude, freshly awakened, for the services, of incalculable
value, rendered by him in the war for the Union, which his great
military genius and daring did so much to end.

The President deems this a fitting occasion to give expression
in this manner to the gratitude felt toward General Sherman by his
fellow-citizens, and to the hope that Providence may grant him many
years of health and happiness in the relief from the active duties
of his profession.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, _Washington, March 12, 1884_.

_To the District Attorneys and Marshals of the United States:_

By direction of the President, I have to inform you it is reported that
certain persons are aiding in the prosecution of heinous crimes by
shipping to foreign ports explosives dangerous in the highest degree to
life and property. No proof has been adduced that this rumor is founded
upon fact, and the President can not believe its truth. The honor of
this nation, however, requires that it should not be open to the
imputation, unfounded though it be, of the slightest appearance of
tolerating such crimes, whether to be committed against our people or
those of other countries.

Your attention is therefore called to sections 5353, 5354, 5355, 4278,
and 4279 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, which regulate
the shipment of explosives and the punishment of those who infringe
their provisions; and you are instructed to be diligent in your efforts
to prevent the offenses described and to detect and prosecute those who
have or may commit them.

Very respectfully,

BENJAMIN HARRIS BREWSTER, _Attorney-General_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

EXECUTIVE ORDER.

Whereas it has been brought to the notice of the President of the
United States that in the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial
Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mines,
to be held in the city of New Orleans, commencing December 1, 1884,
for the purpose of celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the
production, manufacture, and commerce of cotton, it is desirable that
from the Executive Departments of the Government of the United States
in which there may be articles suitable for the purpose intended there
should appear such articles and materials as will, when presented in
a collective exhibition, illustrate the functions and administrative
faculties of the Government in time of peace and its resources as a war
power, and thereby serve to demonstrate the nature of our institutions
and their adaptation to the wants of the people:

Now, for the purpose of securing a complete and harmonious arrangement
of the articles and materials designed to be exhibited from the
Executive Departments of the Government, it is ordered that a board,
to be composed of one person to be named by the head of each of the
Executive Departments which may have articles and materials to be
exhibited, and also of one person to be named in behalf of the
Smithsonian Institution, and one to be named in behalf of the
Department of Agriculture, and one to be named in behalf of the
Bureau of Education, be charged with the preparation, arrangement,
and safe-keeping of such articles and materials as the heads of the
several Departments and the Commissioner of Agriculture, the Director
of the Smithsonian Institution, and the Commissioner of Education may
respectively decide shall be embraced in the collection; that one of the
persons thus named, to be designated by the President, shall be chairman
of such board, and that the board appoint from their number such other
officers as they may think necessary; and that the said board, when
organized, shall be authorized, under the direction of the President,
to confer with the executive officers of the World's Industrial Cotton
Centennial Exhibition in relation to such matters connected with the
subject as may pertain to the respective Departments having articles
and materials on exhibition, and that the names of the persons thus
selected by the heads of the several Departments, the Commissioner
of Agriculture,'the Director of the Smithsonian Institution, and the
Commissioner of Education shall be submitted to the President for
designation.

Done at the city of Washington, this 9th day of April, 1884, and of the
Independence of the United States the one hundred and eighth.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the Constitution
and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third section of the
Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved January 16, 1883,
the following rules for the regulation and improvement of the executive
civil service are amended as stated below, and are hereby promulgated:


1. Rule XI is amended by adding thereto a second clause, as follows:


  2. The Commission may by regulations, subject to change at any time by
  the President, declare the kind and measure of ill health, physical
  incapacity, misrepresentation, and bad faith which may properly exclude
  any person from the right of examination, grading, or certification
  under these rules. It may also provide for medical certificates of
  physical capacity in the proper cases, and for the appropriate
  certification of persons so defective in sight, speech, hearing, or
  otherwise as to be apparently disqualified for some of the duties of
  the part of the service which they seek to enter.


2. The second clause of Rule XII is amended by substituting for the
first line and the second line thereof down to the word "age" therein
(as printed in the annual report of the Commission) the following words:


  No one shall be entitled to be examined for admission to the
  classified postal service if under 16 or over 35 years of age,
  excepting messengers, stampers, and other junior assistants, who
  must not be under 14 years of age.


3. Rule XXI, as printed in said report, is amended by substituting
for the first two lines and the third line down to the word "rules"
therein the following words:


  No person, unless excepted under Rule XIX, shall be admitted into the
  classified civil service from any place not within said service without
  an examination and certification under the rules.


Approved, April 23, 1884.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.


In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the
Constitution, and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third
section of the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved
January 16, 1883, the following rule for the regulation and improvement
of the executive civil service is amended as stated below, and is hereby
promulgated:

Rule XI is amended by striking out the last sentence of said rule as
printed in the annual report of the Commission and inserting in place
thereof the following, namely:


  No person under enlistment in the Army or Navy of the United States
  shall be examined under these rules except for some place in the
  Department under which he is enlisted requiring special qualifications,
  and with the consent in writing of the head of such Department.


Approved, April 23, 1884.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

EXECUTIVE ORDER.

In conformity with the Executive order directing the organization of a
board, to be composed of one person to be named by the head of each of
the Executive Departments which may have articles and materials to be
exhibited at the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exhibition,
I hereby direct the persons who have been so designated, viz, Major
and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen C. Lyford, United States Army,
of the War Department, president of the board; Charles S. Hill, of the
Department of State; Lieutenant B.H. Buckingham, United States Navy, of
the Navy Department; William F. McLennan, of the Treasury Department;
Abraham D. Hazen, Assistant Postmaster-General; Benjamin Butterworth,
of the Interior Department; Cecil Clay, of the Department of Justice;
William Saunders, of the Agricultural Department; G. Brown Goode, of the
Smithsonian Institution; London A. Smith, of the Bureau of Education,
Interior Department, to assemble at the Department of State, in the city
of Washington, at noon on the 17th day of May, 1884, and then and there
to organize said board; and said board when so organized shall
immediately proceed to the discharge of its duties.

I also designate W.A. De Caindry as the secretary of said board.

Done at the city of Washington, this 13th day of May, 1884, and of the
Independence of the United States the one hundred and eighth.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, May 26, 1884_.

Under the provisions of section 4 of the act approved March 3, 1883, it
is hereby ordered that the several Executive Departments, the Department
of Agriculture, and the Government Printing Office be closed on Friday,
the 30th instant, to enable the employees to participate in the
decoration of the graves of the soldiers who fell during the rebellion.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the
Constitution, and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third
section of the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved
January 16, 1883, the following special rule for the regulation and
improvement of the executive civil service is hereby promulgated:

SPECIAL RULE.

  Any person who was employed on or before the 16th day of January, 1883,
  in any Executive Department at Washington in a position not included in
  the classified service in said Department, but who was at that date
  exclusively engaged in the duties of a clerk or copyist, and who has
  since been continuously so engaged, may, in the discretion of the head
  of the Department, be treated as within the classified service in the
  Department in a grade corresponding to such duties, provided such person
  has either already passed an examination under the civil-service rules
  or shall pass an appropriate competitive or noncompetitive examination
  thereunder at a grade of 65 per cent or upward.


Approved, June 12, 1884.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 8, 1884_.

In order to carry out the provisions of that portion of the act entitled
"An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the
Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1885, and for other
purposes," approved July 7, 1884, which contemplates the participation
of the several Executive Departments, the Department of Agriculture, and
the Smithsonian Institution in the World's Industrial and Cotton
Centennial Exposition of 1884-85, the board heretofore appointed by
Executive order to take charge of the articles and materials to be
exhibited by these Departments, the Department of Agriculture, and the
Smithsonian Institution is hereby continued under the following
regulations and distribution of duties, viz:

The funds appropriated for such participation will be drawn from the
Treasury upon the requisition of the president of the board, and will
be disbursed and accounted for as are other public moneys under the
existing laws and regulations relating to disbursing officers.

An officer of the Army will be detailed by the Secretary of War and
an officer of the Navy will be detailed by the Secretary of the Navy to
report to the president of the board for duty as disbursing officers of
the board.

The representatives of the several Executive Departments, the
representative of the Department of Agriculture, and the representative
of the Smithsonian Institution will have charge of the matter pertaining
to their respective Departments, subject to the general advisement of
the board, and all bills will be paid by the disbursing officers upon
vouchers certified by such representatives and countersigned by the
president of the board.

The disbursing officers will render, through the president of the board,
monthly accounts current of all advances and disbursements by them to
the First Auditor of the Treasury for audit and settlement in the same
manner as are other accounts of disbursing officers of the Government.

Each representative will be held responsible to the head of his
respective Department for all public property of the United States
furnished by the head of such Department or otherwise coming to his
hands for the purposes of the exposition, and will render proper
accounts of the same to such head of Department until the property
is returned.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 10, 1884_.

The participation of the several Executive Departments, the Department
of Agriculture, and the Smithsonian Institution in the Cincinnati
Industrial Exposition at Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Southern Exposition
at Louisville, Ky., as contemplated by the "act making appropriations
for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1885, and for other purposes," is hereby placed under the
management of the board referred to in Executive order of July 8, 1884,
relating to the participation of said Departments and Institution in the
World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition of 1884-85, the
provisions of which order being hereby extended to embrace said
Cincinnati and Louisville expositions.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _July 16, 1884_.

No appropriation having been specifically made for the participation of
the Bureau of Education, Interior Department, in the World's Industrial
and Cotton Centennial Exposition at New Orleans, La., the Industrial
Exposition, Cincinnati, Ohio, or the Southern Exposition, Louisville,
Ky., the representative on behalf of that Bureau in the board appointed
by Executive order of May 13, 1884,[18] is relieved from further duty as
a member of the board, and the display of that Bureau will be made as a
part of the exhibit of the Interior Department out of the moneys
appropriated for the participation of that Department in said
expositions.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 18: See pp. 230-231.]



In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the Constitution,
and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third section of
the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved January 16,
1883, the following special rule for the regulation and improvement of
the executive civil service is hereby promulgated:

SPECIAL RULE

  The names of all persons who shall have successfully passed their
  examination under the civil-service rules previous to July 16, 1884, may
  remain on the register of persons eligible for appointment two years
  from the date of their respective registrations, unless sooner
  appointed.

Approved, July 18, 1884.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the Constitution,
and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third section of
the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved January 16,
1883, the following special rule for the regulation and improvement of
the executive civil service is hereby promulgated:

SPECIAL RULE NO. 3.

  Appointments to the 150 places in the Pension Office provided to be
  filled by the act of July 7, 1884, except so far as they may be filled
  by promotions, must be separately apportioned by the appointing power in
  as near conformity to the second section of the act of January 16, 1883,
  as the need of filling them promptly and the residence and
  qualifications of the applicants will permit.

Approved, July 22, 1884.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



DEPARTMENT OF STATE, _Washington, September 5, 1884_.

SIR:[19] With deep regret I announce to you that the Hon. Charles J.
Folger, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, yesterday died
at his home in Geneva, State of New York.

Thus has closed the life of a distinguished and respected citizen, who
by his services as an executive officer of the United States and as a
legislator and judge of his own State won the esteem and regard of his
fellow-countrymen.

The President directs that all Departments of the executive branch of
the Government and the offices subordinate to them shall manifest due
honor for the memory of this eminent citizen, in a manner consonant with
the dignity of the office thus made vacant and with the upright
character of him who held it.

To this end the President directs that the Treasury Department and its
dependencies in this capital shall be draped in mourning for a period of
thirty days, the several Executive Departments shall be closed on the
day of the funeral of the deceased, and that on all public buildings of
the Government throughout the United States the national flag shall be
draped in mourning and displayed at half-mast.

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN.

[Footnote 19: Addressed to the heads of the Executive Departments, etc.]



In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the
Constitution, and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third
section of the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved
January 16, 1883, the following rule for the regulation and improvement
of the executive civil service is hereby amended and promulgated:

RULE XIX.

There are excepted from examination the following: (i) The confidential
clerk or secretary of any head of Department or office; (2) cashiers
of collectors; (3) cashiers of postmasters; (4) superintendents of
money-order divisions in post-offices; (5) the direct custodians of
money for whose fidelity another officer is under official bond and
disbursing officers having the custody of money who give bonds, but
these exceptions shall not extend to any official below the grade of
assistant cashier or teller; (6) persons employed exclusively in the
secret service of the Government, or as translators or interpreters or
stenographers; (7) persons whose employment is exclusively professional;
(8) chief clerks, deputy collectors, and superintendents, or chiefs
of divisions and bureaus. But no person so excepted shall be either
transferred, appointed, or promoted, unless to some excepted place,
without an examination under the Commission. Promotions may be made
without examination in offices where examinations for promotion are
not now held until rules on this subject shall be promulgated.

Approved, November 10, 1884.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE.


WASHINGTON, _December 1, 1884_.

_To the Congress of the United States:_

Since the close of your last session the American people, in the
exercise of their highest right of suffrage, have chosen their Chief
Magistrate for the four years ensuing.

When it is remembered that at no period in the country's history has
the long political contest which customarily precedes the day of the
national election been waged with greater fervor and intensity, it is
a subject of general congratulation that after the controversy at the
polls was over, and while the slight preponderance by which the issue
had been determined was as yet unascertained, the public peace suffered
no disturbance, but the people everywhere patiently and quietly awaited
the result.

Nothing could more strikingly illustrate the temper of the American
citizen, his love of order, and his loyalty to law. Nothing could more
signally demonstrate the strength and wisdom of our political
institutions.

Eight years have passed since a controversy concerning the result of
a national election sharply called the attention of the Congress to
the necessity of providing more precise and definite regulations for
counting the electoral vote.

It is of the gravest importance that this question be solved before
conflicting claims to the Presidency shall again distract the country,
and I am persuaded that by the people at large any of the measures of
relief thus far proposed would be preferred to continued inaction.

Our relations with all foreign powers continue to be amicable.

With Belgium a convention has been signed whereby the scope of present
treaties has been so enlarged as to secure to citizens of either country
within the jurisdiction of the other equal rights and privileges in the
acquisition and alienation of property. A trade-marks treaty has also
been concluded.

The war between Chile an4 Peru is at an end. For the arbitration of the
claims of American citizens who during its continuance suffered through
the acts of the Chilean authorities a convention will soon be
negotiated.

The state of hostilities between France and China continues to be an
embarrassing feature of our Eastern relations. The Chinese Government
has promptly adjusted and paid the claims of American citizens whose
property was destroyed in the recent riots at Canton. I renew the
recommendation of my last annual message, that the Canton indemnity fund
be returned to China.

The true interpretation of the recent treaty with that country
permitting the restriction of Chinese immigration is likely to be again
the subject of your deliberations. It may be seriously questioned
whether the statute passed at the last session does not violate the
treaty rights of certain Chinese who left this country with return
certificates valid under the old law, and who now seem to be debarred
from relanding for lack of the certificates required by the new.

The recent purchase by citizens of the United States of a large trading
fleet heretofore under the Chinese flag has considerably enhanced our
commercial importance in the East. In view of the large number of
vessels built or purchased by American citizens in other countries and
exclusively employed in legitimate traffic between foreign ports under
the recognized protection of our flag, it might be well to provide a
uniform rule for their registration and documentation, so that the
_bona fide_ property rights of our citizens therein shall be duly
evidenced and properly guarded.

Pursuant to the advice of the Senate at the last session, I recognized
the flag of the International Association of the Kongo as that of a
friendly government, avoiding in so doing any prejudgment of conflicting
territorial claims in that region. Subsequently, in execution of the
expressed wish of the Congress, I appointed a commercial agent for the
Kongo basin.

The importance of the rich prospective trade of the Kongo Valley has led
to the general conviction that it should be open to all nations upon
equal terms. At an international conference for the consideration of
this subject called by the Emperor of Germany, and now in session at
Berlin, delegates are in attendance on behalf of the United States.
Of the results of the conference you will be duly advised.

The Government of Korea has generously aided the efforts of the United
States minister to secure suitable premises for the use of the legation.
As the conditions of diplomatic intercourse with Eastern nations demand
that the legation premises be owned by the represented power, I advise
that an appropriation be made for the acquisition of this property by
the Government. The United States already possess valuable premises at
Tangier as a gift from the Sultan of Morocco. As is stated hereafter,
they have lately received a similar gift from the Siamese Government.
The Government of Japan stands ready to present to us extensive grounds
at Tokyo whereon to erect a suitable building for the legation,
court-house, and jail, and similar privileges can probably be secured
in China and Persia. The owning of such premises would not only effect
a large saving of the present rentals, but would permit of the due
assertion of extraterritorial rights in those countries, and would the
better serve to maintain the dignity of the United States.

The failure of Congress to make appropriation for our representation at
the autonomous court of the Khedive has proved a serious embarrassment
in our intercourse with Egypt; and in view of the necessary intimacy of
diplomatic relationship due to the participation of this Government
as one of the treaty powers in all matters of administration there
affecting the rights of foreigners, I advise the restoration of the
agency and consulate-general at Cairo on its former basis. I do not
conceive it to be the wish of Congress that the United States should
withdraw altogether from the honorable position they have hitherto held
with respect to the Khedive, or that citizens of this Republic residing
or sojourning in Egypt should hereafter be without the aid and
protection of a competent representative.

With France the traditional cordial relationship continues. The colossal
statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, the generous gift of the
people of France, is expected to reach New York in May next. I suggest
that Congressional action be taken in recognition of the spirit which
has prompted this gift and in aid of the timely completion of the
pedestal upon which it is to be placed.

Our relations with Germany, a country which contributes to our own some
of the best elements of citizenship, continue to be cordial. The United
States have extradition treaties with several of the German States, but
by reason of the confederation of those States under the imperial rule
the application of such treaties is not as uniform and comprehensive as
the interests of the two countries require. I propose, therefore, to
open negotiations for a single convention of extradition to embrace all
the territory of the Empire.

It affords me pleasure to say that our intercourse with Great Britain
continues to be of a most friendly character.

The Government of Hawaii has indicated its willingness to continue for
seven years the provisions of the existing reciprocity treaty. Such
continuance, in view of the relations of that country to the American
system of States, should, in my judgment, be favored.

The revolution in Hayti against the established Government has
terminated. While it was in progress it became necessary to enforce our
neutrality laws by instituting proceedings against individuals and
vessels charged with their infringement. These prosecutions were in all
cases successful.

Much anxiety has lately been displayed by various European Governments,
and especially by the Government of Italy, for the abolition of our
import duties upon works of art. It is well to consider whether the
present discrimination in favor of the productions of American artists
abroad is not likely to result, as they themselves seem very generally
to believe it may, in the practical exclusion of our painters and
sculptors from the rich fields for observation, study, and labor which
they have hitherto enjoyed.

There is prospect that the long-pending revision of the foreign treaties
of Japan may be concluded at a new conference to be held at Tokyo. While
this Government fully recognizes the equal and independent station of
Japan in the community of nations, it would not oppose the general
adoption of such terms of compromise as Japan may be disposed to offer
in furtherance of a uniform policy of intercourse with Western nations.

During the past year the increasing good will between our own Government
and that of Mexico has been variously manifested. The treaty of
commercial reciprocity concluded January 20, 1883, has been ratified and
awaits the necessary tariff legislation of Congress to become effective.
This legislation will, I doubt not, be among the first measures to claim
your attention.

A full treaty of commerce, navigation, and consular rights is much to be
desired, and such a treaty I have reason to believe that the Mexican
Government stands ready to conclude.

Some embarrassment has been occasioned by the failure of Congress at its
last session to provide means for the due execution of the treaty of
July 29, 1882, for the resurvey of the Mexican boundary and the
relocation of boundary monuments.

With the Republic of Nicaragua a treaty has been concluded which
authorizes the construction by the United States of a canal, railway,
and telegraph line across the Nicaraguan territory.

By the terms of this treaty 60 miles of the river San Juan, as well as
Lake Nicaragua, an inland sea 40 miles in width, are to constitute a
part of the projected enterprise.

This leaves for actual canal construction 17 miles on the Pacific side
and 36 miles on the Atlantic. To the United States, whose rich territory
on the Pacific is for the ordinary purposes of commerce practically cut
off from communication by water with the Atlantic ports, the political
and commercial advantages of such a project can scarcely be
over-estimated.

It is believed that when the treaty is laid before you the justice and
liberality of its provisions will command universal approval at home and
abroad.

The death of our representative at Russia while at his post at St.
Petersburg afforded to the Imperial Government a renewed opportunity to
testify its sympathy in a manner befitting the intimate friendliness
which has ever marked the intercourse of the two countries.

The course of this Government in raising its representation at Bangkok
to the diplomatic rank has evoked from Siam evidences of warm friendship
and augurs well for our enlarged intercourse. The Siamese Government has
presented to the United States a commodious mansion and grounds for the
occupancy of the legation, and I suggest that by joint resolution
Congress attest its appreciation of this generous gift.

This Government has more than once been called upon of late to take
action in fulfillment of its international obligations toward Spain.
Agitation in the island of Cuba hostile to the Spanish Crown having been
fomented by persons abusing the sacred rights of hospitality which our
territory affords, the officers of this Government have been instructed
to exercise vigilance to prevent infractions of our neutrality laws at
Key West and at other points near the Cuban coast. I am happy to say
that in the only instance where these precautionary measures were
successfully eluded the offenders, when found in our territory, were
subsequently tried and convicted.

The growing need of close relationship of intercourse and traffic
between the Spanish Antilles and their natural market in the United
States led to the adoption in January last of a commercial agreement
looking to that end. This agreement has since been superseded by a more
carefully framed and comprehensive convention, which I shall submit to
the Senate for approval. It has been the aim of this negotiation to Open
such a favored reciprocal exchange of productions carried under the flag
of either country as to make the intercourse between Cuba and Puerto
Rico and ourselves scarcely less intimate than the commercial movement
between our domestic ports, and to insure a removal of the burdens on
shipping in the Spanish Indies, of which in the past our shipowners and
shipmasters have so often had cause to complain.

The negotiation of this convention has for a time postponed the
prosecution of certain claims of our citizens which were declared to be
without the jurisdiction of the late Spanish-American Claims Commission,
and which are therefore remitted to diplomatic channels for adjustment.
The speedy settlement of these claims will now be urged by this
Government.

Negotiations for a treaty of commercial reciprocity with the Dominican
Republic have been successfully concluded, and the result will shortly
be laid before the Senate.

Certain questions between the United States and the Ottoman Empire
still remain unsolved. Complaints on behalf of our citizens are not
satisfactorily adjusted. The Porte has sought to withhold from our
commerce the right of favored treatment to which we are entitled by
existing conventional stipulations, and the revision of the tariffs
is unaccomplished.

The final disposition of pending questions with Venezuela has not as yet
been reached, but I have good reason to expect an early settlement which
will provide the means of reexamining the Caracas awards in conformity
with the expressed desire of Congress, and which will recognize the
justice of certain claims preferred against Venezuela.

The Central and South American Commission appointed by authority of the
act of July 7, 1884, will soon proceed to Mexico. It has been furnished
with instructions which will be laid before you. They contain a
statement of the general policy of the Government for enlarging its
commercial intercourse with American States. The commissioners have been
actively preparing for their responsible task by holding conferences in
the principal cities with merchants and others interested in Central and
South American trade.

The International Meridian Conference lately convened in Washington upon
the invitation of the Government of the United States was composed of
representatives from twenty-five nations. The conference concluded its
labors on the 1st of November, having with substantial unanimity agreed
upon the meridian of Greenwich as the starting point whence longitude is
to be computed through 180 degrees eastward and westward, and upon the
adoption, for all purposes for which it may be found convenient, of a
universal day which shall begin at midnight on the initial meridian and
whose hours shall be counted from zero up to twenty-four.

The formal report of the transactions of this conference will be
hereafter transmitted to the Congress.

This Government is in frequent receipt of invitations from foreign
states to participate in international exhibitions, often of great
interest and importance. Occupying, as we do, an advanced position in
the world's production, and aiming to secure a profitable share for our
industries in the general competitive markets, it is a matter of serious
concern that the want of means for participation in these exhibitions
should so often exclude our producers from advantages enjoyed by those
of other countries. During the past year the attention of Congress
was drawn to the formal invitations in this regard tendered by the
Governments of England, Holland, Belgium, Germany, and Austria. The
Executive has in some instances appointed honorary commissioners. This
is, however, a most unsatisfactory expedient, for without some provision
to meet the necessary working expenses of a commission it can effect
little or nothing in behalf of exhibitors. An International Inventions
Exhibition is to be held in London next May. This will cover a field of
special importance, in which our country holds a foremost rank; but the
Executive is at present powerless to organize a proper representation of
our vast national interests in this direction.

I have in several previous messages referred to this subject. It seems to
me that a statute giving to the Executive general discretionary authority
to accept such invitations and to appoint honorary commissioners, without
salary, and placing at the disposal of the Secretary of State a small
fund for defraying their reasonable expenses, would be of great public
utility.

This Government has received official notice that the revised
international regulations for preventing collisions at sea have been
adopted by all the leading maritime powers except the United States, and
came into force on the 1st of September last. For the due protection of
our shipping interests the provisions of our statutes should at once be
brought into conformity with these regulations.

The question of securing to authors, composers, and artists copyright
privileges in this country in return for reciprocal rights abroad is one
that may justly challenge your attention. It is true that conventions
will be necessary for fully accomplishing this result; but until
Congress shall by statute fix the extent to which foreign holders of
copyright shall be here privileged it has been deemed inadvisable to
negotiate such conventions. For this reason the United States were not
represented at the recent conference at Berne.

I recommend that the scope of the neutrality laws of the United States
be so enlarged as to cover all patent acts of hostility committed in our
territory and aimed against the peace of a friendly nation. Existing
statutes prohibit the fitting out of armed expeditions and restrict the
shipment of explosives, though the enactments in the latter respect were
not framed with regard to international obligations, but simply for the
protection of passenger travel. All these statutes were intended to meet
special emergencies that had already arisen. Other emergencies have
arisen since, and modern ingenuity supplies means for the organization
of hostilities without open resort to armed vessels or to filibustering
parties.

I see no reason why overt preparations in this country for the
commission of criminal acts such as are here under consideration should
not be alike punishable whether such acts are intended to be committed
in our own country or in a foreign country with which we are at peace.

The prompt and thorough treatment of this question is one which
intimately concerns the national honor.

Our existing naturalization laws also need revision. Those sections
relating to persons residing within the limits of the United States
in 1795 and 1798 have now only a historical interest. Section 2172,
recognizing the citizenship of the children of naturalized parents, is
ambiguous in its terms and partly obsolete. There are special provisions
of law favoring the naturalization of those who serve in the Army or in
merchant vessels, while no similar privileges are granted those who
serve in the Navy or the Marine Corps.

"An uniform rule of naturalization" such as the Constitution
contemplates should, among other things, clearly define the status
of persons born within the United States subject to a foreign power
(section 1992) and of minor children of fathers who have declared
their intention to become citizens but have failed to perfect their
naturalization. It might be wise to provide for a central bureau of
registry, wherein should be filed authenticated transcripts of every
record of naturalization in the several Federal and State courts, and to
make provision also for the vacation or cancellation of such record in
cases where fraud had been practiced upon the court by the applicant
himself or where he had renounced or forfeited his acquired citizenship.
A just and uniform law in this respect would strengthen the hands of the
Government in protecting its citizens abroad and would pave the way for
the conclusion of treaties of naturalization with foreign countries.

The legislation of the last session effected in the diplomatic and
consular service certain changes and reductions which have been
productive of embarrassment. The population and commercial activity of
our country are steadily on the increase, and are giving rise to new,
varying, and often delicate relationships with other countries. Our
foreign establishment now embraces nearly double the area of operations
that it occupied twenty years ago. The confinement of such a service
within the limits of expenditure then established is not, it seems to
me, in accordance with true economy. A community of 60,000,000 people
should be adequately represented in its intercourse with foreign
nations.

A project for the reorganization of the consular service and for
recasting the scheme of extraterritorial jurisdiction is now before
you. If the limits of a short session will not allow of its full
consideration, I trust that you will not fail to make suitable provision
for the present needs of the service.

It has been customary to define in the appropriation acts the rank of
each diplomatic office to which a salary is attached. I suggest that
this course be abandoned and that it be left to the President, with
the advice and consent of the Senate, to fix from time to time the
diplomatic grade of the representatives of this Government abroad as may
seem advisable, provision being definitely made, however, as now, for
the amount of salary attached to the respective stations.

The condition of our finances and the operations of the various branches
of the public service which are connected with the Treasury Department
are very fully discussed in the report of the Secretary.

It appears that the ordinary revenues for the fiscal year ended June 30,
1884, were:


  From customs                                            $195,067,489.76
  From internal revenue                                    121,586,072.51
  From all other sources                                    31,866,307.65
                                                           ______________
    Total ordinary revenues                                348,519,869.92


The public expenditures during the same period were:

  For civil expenses                                       $22,312,907.71
  For foreign intercourse                                    1,260,766.37
  For Indians                                                6,475,999.29
  For pensions                                              55,429,228.06
  For the military establishment, including river and
    harbor improvements and arsenals                        39,429,603.36
  For the naval establishment, including vessels,
    machinery, and improvements at navy-yards               17,292,601.44
  For miscellaneous expenditures, including public
    buildings, light-houses, and collecting the revenue     43,939,710.00
  For expenditures on account of the District of Columbia    3,407,049.62
  For interest on the public debt                           54,578,378.48
  For the sinking fund                                      46,790,229.50
                                                           ______________
    Total ordinary expenditures                            290,916,473.83
                                                           ==============
    Leaving a surplus of                                    57,603,396.09


As compared with the preceding fiscal year, there was a net decrease of
over $21,000,000 in the amount of expenditures. The aggregate receipts
were less than those of the year previous by about $54,000,000. The
falling off in revenue from customs made up nearly $20,000,000 of this
deficiency, and about $23,000,000 of the remainder was due to the
diminished receipts from internal taxation.

The Secretary estimates the total receipts for the fiscal year which
will end June 30, 1885, at $330,000,000 and the total expenditures at
$290,620,201.16, in which sum are included the interest on the debt and
the amount payable to the sinking fund. This would leave a surplus for
the entire year of about $39,000,000.

The value of exports from the United States to foreign countries during
the year ending June 30, 1884, was as follows:


  Domestic merchandise                                       $724,964,852
  Foreign merchandise                                          15,548,757
                                                              ___________
    Total merchandise                                         740,513,609
  Specie                                                       67,133,383
                                                              ___________
    Total exports of merchandise and specie                   807,646,992


The cotton and cotton manufactures included in this statement were
valued at $208,900,415; the breadstuffs at $162,544,715; the provisions
at $114,416,547, and the mineral oils at $47,103,248.

During the same period the imports were as follows:


  Merchandise                                                $667,697,693
  Gold and silver                                              37,426,262
                                                              ___________
    Total                                                     705,123,955


More than 63 per cent of the entire value of imported merchandise
consisted of the following articles:


  Sugar and molasses                                         $103,884,274
  Wool and woolen manufactures                                 53,542,292
  Silk and its manufactures                                    49,949,128
  Coffee                                                       49,686,705
  Iron and steel and manufactures thereof                      41,464,599
  Chemicals                                                    38,464,965
  Flax, hemp, jute, and like substances,
    and manufactures thereof                                   33,463,398
  Cotton and manufactures of cotton                            30,454,476
  Hides and skins other than fur skins                         22,350,906


I concur with the Secretary of the Treasury in recommending the
immediate suspension of the coinage of silver dollars and of the
issuance of silver certificates. This is a matter to which in former
communications I have more than once invoked the attention of the
National Legislature.

It appears that annually for the past six years there have been coined,
in compliance with the requirements of the act of February 28, 1878,
more than 27,000,000 silver dollars.

The number now outstanding is reported by the Secretary to be nearly
185,000,000, whereof but little more than 40,000,000, or less than 22
per cent, are in actual circulation. The mere existence of this fact
seems to me to furnish of itself a cogent argument for the repeal of
the statute which has made such fact possible.

But there are other and graver considerations that tend in the same
direction.

The Secretary avows his conviction that unless this coinage and the
issuance of silver certificates be suspended silver is likely at no
distant day to become our sole metallic standard. The commercial
disturbance and the impairment of national credit that would be thus
occasioned can scarcely be overestimated.

I hope that the Secretary's suggestions respecting the withdrawal from
circulation of the $1 and $2 notes will receive your approval. It is
likely that a considerable portion of the silver now encumbering the
vaults of the Treasury might thus find its way into the currency.

While trade dollars have ceased, for the present at least, to be an
element of active disturbance in our currency system, some provision
should be made for their surrender to the Government. In view of the
circumstances under which they were coined and of the fact that they
have never had a legal-tender quality, there should be offered for them
only a slight advance over their bullion value.

The Secretary in the course of his report considers the propriety
of beautifying the designs of our subsidiary silver coins and of so
increasing their weight that they may bear their due ratio of value
to the standard dollar. His conclusions in this regard are cordially
approved.

In my annual message of 1882 I recommended the abolition of all excise
taxes except those relating to distilled spirits. This recommendation
is now renewed. In case these taxes shall be abolished the revenues
that will still remain to the Government will, in my opinion, not only
suffice to meet its reasonable expenditures, but will afford a surplus
large enough to permit such tariff reduction as may seem to be advisable
when the results of recent revenue laws and commercial treaties shall
have shown in what quarters those reductions can be most judiciously
effected.

One of the gravest of the problems which appeal to the wisdom of
Congress for solution is the ascertainment of the most effective means
for increasing our foreign trade and thus relieving the depression under
which our industries are now languishing. The Secretary of the Treasury
advises that the duty of investigating this subject be intrusted in the
first instance to a competent commission. While fully recognizing the
considerations that may be urged against this course, I am nevertheless
of the opinion that upon the whole no other would be likely to effect
speedier or better results.

That portion of the Secretary's report which concerns the condition
of our shipping interests can not fail to command your attention.
He emphatically recommends that as an incentive to the investment
of American capital in American steamships the Government shall, by
liberal payments for mail transportation or otherwise, lend its active
assistance to individual enterprise, and declares his belief that unless
that course be pursued our foreign carrying trade must remain, as it is
to-day, almost exclusively in the hands of foreigners.

One phase of this subject is now especially prominent in view of
the repeal by the act of June 26, 1884, of all statutory provisions
arbitrarily compelling American vessels to carry the mails to and from
the United States. As it is necessary to make provision to compensate
the owners of such vessels for performing that service after April,
1885, it is hoped that the whole subject will receive early
consideration that will lead to the enactment of such measures for the
revival of our merchant marine as the wisdom of Congress may devise.

The 3 per cent bonds of the Government to the amount of more than
$100,000,000 have since my last annual message been redeemed by the
Treasury. The bonds of that issue still outstanding amount to little
over $200,000,000, about one-fourth of which will be retired through the
operations of the sinking fund during the coming year. As these bonds
still constitute the chief basis for the circulation of the national
banks, the question how to avert the contraction of the currency caused
by their retirement is one of constantly increasing importance.

It seems to be generally conceded that the law governing this matter
exacts from the banks excessive security, and that upon their present
bond deposits a larger circulation than is now allowed may be granted
with safety. I hope that the bill which passed the Senate at the last
session, permitting the issue of notes equal to the face value of the
deposited bonds, will commend itself to the approval of the House of
Representatives.

In the expenses of the War Department the Secretary reports a decrease
of more than $9,000,000. Of this reduction $5,600,000 was effected in
the expenditures for rivers and harbors and $2,700,000 in expenditures
for the Quartermaster's Department.

Outside of that Department the annual expenses of all the Army bureaus
proper (except possibly the Ordnance Bureau) are substantially fixed
charges, which can not be materially diminished without a change in the
numerical strength of the Army. The expenditures in the Quartermaster's
Department can readily be subjected to administrative discretion, and it
is reported by the Secretary of War that as a result of exercising such
discretion in reducing the number of draft and pack animals in the Army
the annual cost of supplying and caring for such animals is now
$1,108,085.90 less than it was in 1881.

The reports of military commanders show that the last year has been
notable for its entire freedom from Indian outbreaks.

In defiance of the President's proclamation of July 1, 1884,[20] certain
intruders sought to make settlements in the Indian Territory. They were
promptly removed by a detachment of troops.

During the past session of Congress a bill to provide a suitable
fireproof building for the Army Medical Museum and the library of the
Surgeon-General's Office received the approval of the Senate. A similar
bill, reported favorably to the House of Representatives by one of its
committees, is still pending before that body. It is hoped that during
the coming session the measure may become a law, and that thereafter
immediate steps may be taken to secure a place of safe deposit for these
valuable collections, now in a state of insecurity.

The funds with which the works for the improvement of rivers and
harbors were prosecuted during the past year were derived from the
appropriations of the act of August 2, 1882, together with such few
balances as were on hand from previous appropriations. The balance in
the Treasury subject to requisition July 1, 1883, was $10,021,649.55.
The amount appropriated during the fiscal year 1884 was $1,319,634.62,
and the amount drawn from the Treasury during the fiscal year was
$8,228,703.54, leaving a balance of $3,112,580.63 in the Treasury
subject to requisition July 1, 1884.

The Secretary of War submits the report of the Chief of Engineers
as to the practicability of protecting our important cities on the
seaboard by fortifications and other defenses able to repel modern
methods of attack. The time has now come when such defenses can be
prepared with confidence that they will not prove abortive, and when
the possible result of delay in making such preparation is seriously
considered delay seems inexcusable. For the most important cities--those
whose destruction or capture would be a national humiliation--adequate
defenses, inclusive of guns, may be made by the gradual expenditure of
$60,000,000--a sum much less than a victorious enemy could levy as a
contribution. An appropriation of about one-tenth of that amount is
asked to begin the work, and I concur with the Secretary of War in
urging that it be granted.

The War Department is proceeding with the conversion of 10-inch
smoothbore guns into 8-inch rifles by lining the former with tubes of
forged steel or of coil wrought iron. Fifty guns will be thus converted
within the year. This, however, does not obviate the necessity of
providing means for the construction of guns of the highest power both
for the purposes of coast defense and for the armament of war vessels.

The report of the Gun Foundry Board, appointed April 2, 1883, in
pursuance of the act of March 3, 1883, was transmitted to Congress in
a special message of February 18, 1884.[21] In my message of March 26,
1884,[22] I called attention to the recommendation of the board that the
Government should encourage the production at private steel works of the
required material for heavy cannon, and that two Government factories,
one for the Army and one for the Navy, should be established for the
fabrication of guns from such material. No action having been taken,
the board was subsequently reconverted to determine more fully the plans
and estimates necessary for carrying out its recommendation. It has
received information which indicates that there are responsible steel
manufacturers in this country who, although not provided at present
with the necessary plant, are willing to construct the same and to make
bids for contracts with the Government for the supply of the requisite
material for the heaviest guns adapted to modern warfare if a guaranteed
order of sufficient magnitude, accompanied by a positive appropriation
extending over a series of years, shall be made by Congress. All doubts
as to the feasibility of the plan being thus removed, I renew my
recommendation that such action be taken by Congress as will enable the
Government to construct its own ordnance upon its own territory, and so
to provide the armaments demanded by considerations of national safety
and honor.

The report of the Secretary of the Navy exhibits the progress which has
been made on the new steel cruisers authorized by the acts of August 5,
1882, and March 3, 1883. Of the four vessels under contract, one, the
_Chicago_, of 4,500 tons, is more than half finished; the _Atlanta_,
of 3,000 tons, has been successfully launched, and her machinery is now
fitting; the _Boston_, also of 3,000 tons, is ready for launching, and
the _Dolphin_, a dispatch steamer of 1,500 tons, is ready for delivery.

Certain adverse criticisms upon the designs of these cruisers are
discussed by the Secretary, who insists that the correctness of the
conclusions reached by the Advisory Board and by the Department has been
demonstrated by recent developments in shipbuilding abroad.

The machinery of the double-turreted monitors _Puritan, Terror,_
and _Amphitrite_, contracted for under the act of March 3, 1883, is
in process of construction. No work has been done during the past year
on their armor for lack of the necessary appropriations. A fourth
monitor, the _Monadnock_, still remains unfinished at the navy-yard
in California. It is recommended that early steps be taken to complete
these vessels and to provide also an armament for the monitor
_Miantonomoh_.

The recommendations of the Naval Advisory Board, approved by the
Department, comprise the construction of one steel cruiser of 4,500
tons, one cruiser of 3,000 tons, two heavily armed gunboats, one light
cruising gunboat, one dispatch vessel armed with Hotchkiss cannon, one
armored ram, and three torpedo boats. The general designs, all of which
are calculated to meet the existing wants of the service, are now well
advanced, and the construction of the vessels can be undertaken as soon
as you shall grant the necessary authority.

The act of Congress approved August 7, 1882, authorized the removal to
the United States of the bodies of Lieutenant-Commander George W. De
Long and his companions of the _Jeannette_ expedition. This removal
has been successfully accomplished by Lieutenants Harber and Schuetze.
The remains were taken from their grave in the Lena Delta in March,
1883, and were retained at Yakutsk until the following winter, the
season being too far advanced to admit of their immediate
transportation. They arrived at New York February 20, 1884, where they
were received with suitable honors.

In pursuance of the joint resolution of Congress approved February 13,
1884, a naval expedition was fitted out for the relief of Lieutenant
A.W. Greely, United States Army, and of the party who had been engaged
under his command in scientific observations at Lady Franklin Bay. The
fleet consisted of the steam sealer _Thetis_, purchased in England;
_Bear_, purchased at St. Johns, Newfoundland, and the _Alert_,
which was generously provided by the British Government. Preparations
for the expedition were promptly made by the Secretary of the Navy, with
the active cooperation of the Secretary of War. Commander George W.
Coffin was placed in command of the _Alert_ and Lieutenant William
H. Emory in command of the _Bear_. The _Thetis_ was intrusted
to Commander Winfield S. Schley, to whom also was assigned the
superintendence of the entire expedition.

Immediately upon its arrival at Upernavik the fleet began the
dangerous navigation of Melville Bay, and in spite of every obstacle
reached Littleton Island on June 22, a fortnight earlier than any vessel
had before attained that point. On the same day it crossed over to Cape
Sabine, where Lieutenant Greely and the other survivors of his party
were discovered. After taking on board the living and the bodies of the
dead, the relief ships sailed for St. Johns, where they arrived on July
17. They were appropriately received at Portsmouth, N.H., on August 1
and at New York on August 8. One of the bodies was landed at the former
place. The others were put on shore at Governors Island, and, with
the exception of one, which was interred in the national cemetery,
were forwarded thence to the destinations indicated by friends.
The organization and conduct of this relief expedition reflects great
credit upon all who contributed to its success.

In this the last of the stated messages that I shall have the honor to
transmit to the Congress of the United States I can not too strongly
urge upon its attention the duty of restoring our Navy as rapidly as
possible to the high state of efficiency which formerly characterized
it. As the long peace that has lulled us into a sense of fancied
security may at any time be disturbed, it is plain that the policy of
strengthening this arm of the service is dictated by considerations of
wise economy, of just regard for our future tranquillity, and of true
appreciation of the dignity and honor of the Republic.

The report of the Postmaster-General acquaints you with the present
condition and needs of the postal service.

It discloses the gratifying fact that the loss of revenue from the
reduction in the rate of letter postage recommended in my message of
December 4, 1882, and effected by the act of March 3, 1883, has been
much less than was generally anticipated. My recommendation of this
reduction was based upon the belief that the actual falling off in
receipts from letter postages for the year immediately succeeding the
change of rate would be $3,000,000. It has proved to be only $2,275,000.

This is a trustworthy indication that the revenue will soon be restored
to its former volume by the natural increase of sealed correspondence.

I confidently repeat, therefore, the recommendation of my last annual
message that the single-rate postage upon drop letters be reduced to
1 cent wherever the payment of 2 cents is now required by law. The
double rate is only exacted at offices where the carrier system is in
operation, and it appears that at those offices the increase in the tax
upon local letters defrays the cost not only of its own collection and
delivery, but of the collection and delivery of all other mail matter.
This is an inequality that ought no longer to exist.

I approve the recommendation of the Postmaster-General that the unit of
weight in the rating of first-class matter should be 1 ounce instead of
one-half ounce, as it now is. In view of the statistics furnished by the
Department, it may well be doubted whether the change would result in
any loss of revenue. That it would greatly promote the convenience of
the public is beyond dispute.

The free-delivery system has been lately applied to five cities, and
the total number of offices in which it is now in operation is 159.
Experience shows that its adoption, under proper conditions, is equally
an accommodation to the public and an advantage to the postal service.
It is more than self-sustaining, and for the reasons urged by the
Postmaster-General may properly be extended.

In the opinion of that officer it is important to provide means whereby
exceptional dispatch in dealing with letters in free-delivery offices
may be secured by payment of extraordinary postage. This scheme might
be made effective by employment of a special stamp whose cost should
be commensurate with the expense of the extra service.

In some of the large cities private express companies have undertaken
to outstrip the Government mail carriers by affording for the prompt
transmission of letters better facilities than have hitherto been at the
command of the Post-Office.

It has always been the policy of the Government to discourage such
enterprises, and in no better mode can that policy be maintained than in
supplying the public with the most efficient mail service that, with due
regard to its own best interests, can be furnished for its
accommodation.

The Attorney-General renews the recommendation contained in his report
of last year touching the fees of witnesses and jurors.

He favors radical changes in the fee bill, the adoption of a system by
which attorneys and marshals of the United States shall be compensated
solely by salaries, and the erection by the Government of a penitentiary
for the confinement of offenders against its laws.

Of the varied governmental concerns in charge of the Interior Department
the report of its Secretary presents an interesting summary. Among the
topics deserving particular attention I refer you to his observations
respecting our Indian affairs, the preemption and timber-culture acts,
the failure of railroad companies to take title to lands granted by the
Government, and the operations of the Pension Office, the Patent Office,
the Census Bureau, and the Bureau of Education.

Allusion has been made already to the circumstance that, both as between
the different Indian tribes and as between the Indians and the whites,
the past year has been one of unbroken peace.

In this circumstance the President is glad to find justification for the
policy of the Government in its dealing with the Indian question and
confirmation of the views which were fully expressed in his first
communication to the Forty-seventh Congress.

The Secretary urges anew the enactment of a statute for the punishment
of crimes committed on the Indian reservations, and recommends the
passage of the bill now pending in the House of Representatives for the
purchase of a tract of 18,000 square miles from the Sioux Reservation.
Both these measures are worthy of approval.

I concur with him also in advising the repeal of the preemption law, the
enactment of statutes resolving the present legal complications touching
lapsed grants to railroad companies, and the funding of the debt of the
several Pacific railroads under such guaranty as shall effectually
secure its ultimate payment.

The report of the Utah Commission will be read with interest.

It discloses the results of recent legislation looking to the prevention
and punishment of polygamy in that Territory. I still believe that if
that abominable practice can be suppressed by law it can only be by the
most radical legislation consistent with the restraints of the
Constitution.

I again recommend, therefore, that Congress assume absolute political
control of the Territory of Utah and provide for the appointment of
commissioners with such governmental powers as in its judgment may
justly and wisely be put into their hands.

In the course of this communication reference has more than once been
made to the policy of this Government as regards the extension of our
foreign trade. It seems proper to declare the general principles that
should, in my opinion, underlie our national efforts in this direction.

The main conditions of the problem may be thus stated:

We are a people apt in mechanical pursuits and fertile in invention.
We cover a vast extent of territory rich in agricultural products and
in nearly all the raw materials necessary for successful manufacture.
We have a system of productive establishments more than sufficient to
supply our own demands. The wages of labor are nowhere else so great.
The scale of living of our artisan classes is such as tends to secure
their personal comfort and the development of those higher moral and
intellectual qualities that go to the making of good citizens. Our
system of tax and tariff legislation is yielding a revenue which is in
excess of the present needs of the Government.

These are the elements from which it is sought to devise a scheme by
which, without unfavorably changing the condition of the workingman, our
merchant marine shall be raised from its enfeebled condition and new
markets provided for the sale beyond our borders of the manifold fruits
of our industrial enterprises.

The problem is complex and can be solved by no single measure of
innovation or reform.

The countries of the American continent and the adjacent islands are for
the United States the natural marts of supply and demand. It is from
them that we should obtain what we do not produce or do not produce in
sufficiency, and it is to them that the surplus productions of our
fields, our mills, and our workshops should flow, under conditions that
will equalize or favor them in comparison with foreign competition.

Four paths of policy seem to point to this end:

First. A series of reciprocal commercial treaties with the countries of
America which shall foster between us and them an unhampered movement of
trade. The conditions of these treaties should be the free admission of
such merchandise as this country does not produce, in return for the
admission free or under a favored scheme of duties of our own products,
the benefits of such exchange to apply only to goods carried under the
flag of the parties to the contract; the removal on both sides from the
vessels so privileged of all tonnage dues and national imposts, so that
those vessels may ply unhindered between our ports and those of the
other contracting parties, though without infringing on the reserved
home coasting trade; the removal or reduction of burdens on the exported
products of those countries coming within the benefits of the treaties,
and the avoidance of the technical restrictions and penalties by which
our intercourse with those countries is at present hampered.

Secondly. The establishment of the consular service of the United States
on a salaried footing, thus permitting the relinquishment of consular
fees not only as respects vessels under the national flag, but also as
respects vessels of the treaty nations carrying goods entitled to the
benefits of the treaties.

Thirdly. The enactment of measures to favor the construction and
maintenance of a steam carrying marine under the flag of the United
States.

Fourthly. The establishment of an uniform currency basis for the
countries of America, so that the coined products of our mines may
circulate on equal terms throughout the whole system of commonwealths.
This would require a monetary union of America, whereby the output of
the bullion-producing countries and the circulation of those which
yield neither gold nor silver could be adjusted in conformity with
the population, wealth, and commercial needs of each. As many of the
countries furnish no bullion to the common stock, the surplus production
of our mines and mints might thus be utilized and a step taken toward
the general remonetization of silver.

To the accomplishment of these ends, so far as they can be attained
by separate treaties, the negotiations already concluded and now in
progress have been directed; and the favor which this enlarged policy
has thus far received warrants the belief that its operations will ere
long embrace all, or nearly all, the countries of this hemisphere.

It is by no means desirable, however, that the policy under
consideration should be applied to these countries alone. The healthful
enlargement of our trade with Europe, Asia, and Africa should be sought
by reducing tariff burdens on such of their wares as neither we nor the
other American States are fitted to produce, and thus enabling ourselves
to obtain in return a better market for our supplies of food, of raw
materials, and of the manufactures in which we excel.

It seems to me that many of the embarrassing elements in the great
national conflict between protection and free trade may thus be turned
to good account; that the revenue may be reduced so as no longer to
overtax the people; that protective duties may be retained without
becoming burdensome; that our shipping interests may be judiciously
encouraged, the currency fixed on firm bases, and, above all, such an
unity of interests established among the States of the American system
as will be of great and ever-increasing advantage to them all.

All treaties in the line of this policy which have been negotiated
or are in process of negotiation contain a provision deemed to be
requisite under the clause of the Constitution limiting to the House of
Representatives the authority to originate bills for raising revenue.

On the 29th of February last[23] I transmitted to the Congress the
first annual report of the Civil Service Commission, together with
communications from the heads of the several Executive Departments of
the Government respecting the practical workings of the law under which
the Commission had been acting. The good results therein foreshadowed
have been more than realized.

The system has fully answered the expectations of its friends in
securing competent and faithful public servants and in protecting the
appointing officers of the Government from the pressure of personal
importunity and from the labor of examining the claims and pretensions
of rival candidates for public employment.

The law has had the unqualified support of the President and of the
heads of the several Departments, and the members of the Commission have
performed their duties with zeal and fidelity. Their report will shortly
be submitted, and will be accompanied by such recommendations for
enlarging the scope of the existing statute as shall commend themselves
to the Executive and the Commissioners charged with its administration.

In view of the general and persistent demand throughout the commercial
community for a national bankrupt law, I hope that the differences of
sentiment which have hitherto prevented its enactment may not outlast
the present session.

The pestilence which for the past two years has been raging in the
countries of the East recently made its appearance in European ports
with which we are in constant communication.

The then Secretary of the Treasury, in pursuance of a proclamation of
the President,[24] issued certain regulations restricting and for a
time prohibiting the importation of rags and the admission of baggage
of immigrants and of travelers arriving from infected quarters. Lest
this course may have been without strict warrant of law, I approve the
recommendation of the present Secretary that the Congress take action
in the premises, and I also recommend the immediate adoption of such
measures as will be likely to ward off the dreaded epidemic and to
mitigate its severity in case it shall unhappily extend to our shores.

The annual report of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia
reviews the operations of the several departments of its municipal
government. I ask your careful consideration of its suggestions in
respect to legislation, especially commending such as relate to a
revision of the civil and criminal code, the performance of labor by
persons sentenced to imprisonment in the jail, the construction and
occupation of wharves along the river front, and the erection of a
suitable building for District offices.

I recommend that in recognition of the eminent services of Ulysses
S. Grant, late General of the armies of the United States and twice
President of this nation, the Congress confer upon him a suitable
pension.

Certain of the measures that seem to me necessary and expedient I have
now, in obedience to the Constitution, recommended for your adoption.

As respects others of no less importance I shall content myself with
renewing the recommendations already made to the Congress, without
restating the grounds upon which such recommendations were based.

The preservation of forests on the public domain, the granting of
Government aid for popular education, the amendment of the Federal
Constitution so as to make effective the disapproval by the President of
particular items in appropriation bills, the enactment of statutes in
regard to the filling of vacancies in the Presidential office, and the
determining of vexed questions respecting Presidential inability are
measures which may justly receive your serious consideration.

As the time draws nigh when I am to retire from the public service,
I can not refrain from expressing to the members of the National
Legislature with whom I have been brought into personal and official
intercourse my sincere appreciation of their unfailing courtesy and of
their harmonious cooperation with the Executive in so many measures
calculated to promote the best interests of the nation.

And to my fellow citizens generally I acknowledge a deep sense
of obligation for the support which they have accorded me in my
administration of the executive department of this Government.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 20: See pp. 224-225.]

[Footnote 21: See p. 204.]

[Footnote 22: See pp. 209-210.]

[Footnote 23: See pp. 205-206.]

[Footnote 24: See p. 225.]



SPECIAL MESSAGES.


EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 3, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a convention for regulating the right of succession to and
acquisition of property, etc., concluded between the United States and
Belgium on the 4th ultimo.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 3, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I herewith transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
its ratification, a convention between the United States of America and
the United States of Mexico, touching the boundary line between the two
countries where it follows the bed of the Rio Grande and the Rio Gila,
concluded November 12, 1884, and add that the convention is in
accordance with an opinion of the Hon. Caleb Cushing, Attorney-General,
dated November 11, 1856. (See Opinions of Attorneys-General, Vol. XIII,
p. 175, "Arcifinious boundaries.")

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 4, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of State,
submitting the text, in the English and French languages, of the
proceedings of the International Meridian Conference, provided for by
the act of Congress approved August 3, 1882, held at Washington during
the month of October, 1884.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 9, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I herewith transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
its ratification, a supplementary convention to limit the duration of
the convention respecting commercial reciprocity between the United
States of America and the Hawaiian Kingdom, concluded January 30, 1875.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 9, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of the Senate with a view
to obtaining its advice thereon and consent thereto, a convention for
commercial reciprocity between the United States and the Dominican
Republic, which was signed in this capital on the 4th instant.

This convention aims to carry out the principles which, as explained in
my last annual message to the Congress, should, it is conceived, control
all commercial arrangements entered into with our neighbors of the
American system with whom trade must be conducted by sea. Santo Domingo
is the first of the independent Republics of the Western Hemisphere
with which an engagement of this character has been concluded, and the
precedent now set will command your fullest attention as affecting like
future negotiations.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 10, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, for consideration by the Senate with a view to
advising and consenting to its ratification, a convention for commercial
reciprocity between the United States and Spain, providing for an
intimate and favored exchange of products with the islands of Cuba and
Puerto Rico, which convention was signed at Madrid on the 18th ultimo.

The negotiations for this convention have been in progress since April
last, in pursuance of the understanding reached by the two Governments
on the 2d of January, 1884, for the improvement of commercial relations
between the United States and the Spanish Antilles, by the eighth
article of which both Governments engaged "to begin at once negotiations
for a complete treaty of commerce and navigation between the United
States of America and the said Provinces of Cuba and Puerto Rico."
Although this clause was by common consent omitted from the
substitutionary agreement of February 13, 1884 (now in force until
replaced by this convention being carried into effect), the obligation
to enter upon such a negotiation was deemed to continue. With the best
desire manifest on both sides to reach a common accord, the negotiation
has been necessarily protracted, owing to the complexity of the details
to be incorporated in order that the convention might respond to the
national policy of intercourse with the neighboring communities of the
American system, which is outlined in my late annual message to the
Congress in the following words:

  The conditions of these treaties should be the free admission of
  such merchandise as this country does not produce, in return for
  the admission free, or under a favored scheme of duties, of our
  own products, the benefits of such exchange to apply only to goods
  carried under the flag of the parties to the contract; the removal
  on both sides from the vessels so privileged of all tonnage dues and
  national imposts, so that those vessels may ply unhindered between
  our ports and those of the other contracting parties, though without
  infringing on the reserved home coasting trade; the removal or
  reduction of burdens on the exported products of those countries
  coming within the benefits of the treaties, and the avoidance of
  the technical restrictions and penalties by which our intercourse
  with those countries is at present hampered.


A perusal of the convention now submitted will suffice to show how fully
it carries out the policy of intercourse thus announced. I commend it to
you in the confident expectation that it will receive your sanction.

It does not seem necessary to my present purpose to enter into detailed
consideration of the many immediate and prospective advantages which
will flow from this convention to our productions and our shipping
interests.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 10, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate, for consideration with a view to
ratification, a treaty signed on the 1st of December with the Republic
of Nicaragua, providing for the construction of an interoceanic canal
across the territory of that State.

The negotiation of this treaty was entered upon under a conviction that
it was imperatively demanded by the present and future political and
material interests of the United States.

The establishment of water communication between the Atlantic and
Pacific coasts of the Union is a necessity, the accomplishment of which,
however, within the territory of the United States is a physical
impossibility. While the enterprise of our citizens has responded to the
duty of creating means of speedy transit by rail between the two oceans,
these great achievements are inadequate to supply a most important
requisite of national union and prosperity.

For all maritime purposes the States upon the Pacific are more distant
from those upon the Atlantic than if separated by either ocean alone.
Europe and Africa are nearer to New York, and Asia nearer to California,
than are these two great States to each other by sea. Weeks of steam
voyage or months under sail are consumed in the passage around the Horn,
with the disadvantage of traversing tempestuous waters or risking the
navigation of the Straits of Magellan.

A nation like ours can not rest satisfied with such a separation of its
mutually dependent members. We possess an ocean border of considerably
over 10,000 miles on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, and, including
Alaska, of some 10,000 miles on the Pacific. Within a generation the
western coast has developed into an empire, with a large and rapidly
growing population, with vast, but partially developed, resources.
At the present rate of increase the end of the century will see us a
commonwealth of perhaps nearly 100,000,000 inhabitants, of which the
West should have a considerably larger and richer proportion than now.
Forming one nation in interests and aims, the East and the West are more
widely disjoined for all purposes of direct and economical intercourse
by water and of national defense against maritime aggression than are
most of the colonies of other powers from their mother country.

The problem of establishing such water communication has long attracted
attention. Many projects have been formed and surveys have been made of
all possible available routes. As a knowledge of the true topical
conditions of the Isthmus was gained, insuperable difficulties in one
case and another became evident, until by a process of elimination only
two routes remained within range of profitable achievement, one by way
of Panama and the other across Nicaragua.

The treaty now laid before you provides for such a waterway through the
friendly territory of Nicaragua.

I invite your special attention to the provisions of the convention
itself as best evidencing its scope.

From respect to the independent sovereignty of the Republic, through
whose cooperation the project can alone be realized, the stipulations of
the treaty look to the fullest recognition and protection of Nicaraguan
rights in the premises. The United States have no motive or desire for
territorial acquisition or political control beyond the present borders,
and none such is contemplated by this treaty. The two Governments unite
in framing this scheme as the sole means by which the work, as
indispensable to the one as to the other, can be accomplished under such
circumstances as to prevent alike the possibility of conflict between
them and of interference from without.

The canal is primarily a domestic means of water communication
between the Atlantic and Pacific shores of the two countries which unite
for its construction, the one contributing the territory and the other
furnishing the money therefor. Recognizing the advantages which the
world's commerce must derive from the work, appreciating the benefit of
enlarged use to the canal itself by contributing to its maintenance and
by yielding an interest return on the capital invested therein, and
inspired by the belief that any great enterprise which inures to the
general benefit of the world is in some sort a trust for the common
advancement of mankind, the two Governments have by this treaty provided
for its peaceable use by all nations on equal terms, while reserving to
the coasting trade of both countries (in which none but the contracting
parties are interested) the privilege of favoring tolls.

The treaty provides for the construction of a railway and telegraph
line, if deemed advisable, as accessories to the canal, as both may be
necessary for the economical construction of the work and probably in
its operation when completed.

The terms of the treaty as to the protection of the canal, while
scrupulously confirming the sovereignty of Nicaragua, amply secure that
State and the work itself from possible contingencies of the future
which it may not be within the sole power of Nicaragua to meet.

From a purely commercial point of view the completion of such a waterway
opens a most favorable prospect for the future of our country. The
nations of the Pacific coast of South America will by its means be
brought into close connection with our Gulf States. The relation of
those American countries to the United States is that of a natural
market, from which the want of direct communication has hitherto
practically excluded us. By piercing the Isthmus the heretofore
insuperable obstacles of time and sea distance disappear, and our
vessels and productions will enter upon the world's competitive field
with a decided advantage, of which they will avail themselves.

When to this is joined the large coasting trade between the Atlantic
and Pacific States, which must necessarily spring up, it is evident that
this canal affords, even alone, an efficient means of restoring our flag
to its former place on the seas.

Such a domestic coasting trade would arise immediately, for even the
fishing vessels of both seaboards, which now lie idle in the winter
months, could then profitably carry goods between the Eastern and the
Western States.

The political effect of the canal will be to knit closer the States now
depending upon railway corporations for all commercial and personal
intercourse, and it will not only cheapen the cost of transportation,
but will free individuals from the possibility of unjust
discriminations.

It will bring the European grain markets of demand within easy distance
of our Pacific States, and will give to the manufacturers on the
Atlantic seaboard economical access to the cities of China, thus
breaking down the barrier which separates the principal manufacturing
centers of the United States from the markets of the vast population of
Asia, and placing the Eastern States of the Union for all purposes of
trade midway between Europe and Asia. In point of time the gain for
sailing vessels would be great, amounting from New York to San Francisco
to a saving of seventy-five days; to Hongkong, of twenty-seven days;
to Shanghai, of thirty-four days, and to Callao, of fifty-two days.

Lake Nicaragua is about 90 miles long and 40 miles in greatest width.
The water is fresh, and affords abundant depth for vessels of the
deepest draft. Several islands give facilities for establishing coaling
stations, supply depots, harbors, and places for repairs. The advantage
of this vast inland harbor is evident.

The lake is 110 feet above tide water. Six locks, or five intermediate
levels, are required for the Pacific end of the canal. On the Atlantic
side but five locks, or four intermediate levels, are proposed. These
locks would in practice no more limit the number of vessels passing
through the canal than would the single tide lock on the Pacific end,
which is necessary to any even or sea-level route.

Seventeen and a half miles of canal lie between the Pacific and the
lake. The distance across the lake is 56 miles, and a dam at the mouth
of the San Carlos (a tributary of the San Juan), raising the water level
49 feet, practically extends the lake 63 miles to that point by a
channel from 600 to 1,200 feet wide, with an abundant depth of water.

From the mouth of the San Carlos (where the canal will leave the San
Juan) to the harbor of Greytown the distance is 36 miles, which it is
hoped may by new surveys be shortened 10 miles.

The total canal excavation would thus be from 43-1/2 to 53-1/2 miles,
and the lake and river navigation, amounting to 119 miles by the present
survey, would be somewhat increased if the new surveys are successful.

From New York to San Francisco by this route for sailing vessels the
time is ten days shorter than by the Panama route.

The purely pecuniary prospects of the canal as an investment are
subordinate to the great national benefits to accrue from it; but it
seems evident that the work, great as its cost may appear, will be a
measure of prudent economy and foresight if undertaken simply to afford
our own vessels a free waterway, for its far-reaching results will, even
within a few years in the life of a nation, amply repay the expenditure
by the increase of national prosperity. Further, the canal would
unquestionably be immediately remunerative. It offers a shorter sea
voyage, with more continuously favoring winds, between the Atlantic
ports of America and Europe and the countries of the East than any other
practicable route, and with lower tolls, by reason of its lesser cost,
the Nicaragua route must be the interoceanic highway for the bulk of the
world's trade between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

So strong is this consideration that it offers an abundant guaranty for
the investment to be made, as well as for the speedy payment of the loan
of four millions which the treaty stipulates shall be made to Nicaragua
for the construction of internal improvements to serve as aids to the
business of the canal.

I might suggest many other considerations in detail, but it seems
unnecessary to do so. Enough has been said to more than justify the
practical utility of the measure. I therefore commit it to the Congress
in the confident expectation that it will receive approval, and that by
appropriate legislation means may be provided for inaugurating the work
without delay after the treaty shall have been ratified.

In conclusion I urge the justice of recognizing the aid which has
recently been rendered in this matter by some of our citizens. The
efforts of certain gentlemen connected with the American company which
received the concession from Nicaragua (now terminated and replaced by
this international compact) accomplished much of the preliminary labors
leading to the conclusion of the treaty.

You may have occasion to examine the matter of their services, when such
further information as you may desire will be furnished you.

I may add that the canal can be constructed by the able Engineer Corps
of our Army, under their thorough system, cheaper and better than any
work of such magnitude can in any other way be built.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 10, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, for consideration by the Senate with a view to
advising and consenting to its ratification, a convention for commercial
reciprocity between the United States and Spain, providing for an
intimate and favored exchange of products with the islands of Cuba and
Puerto Rico, which convention was signed at Madrid on the 18th ultimo.

The negotiations for this convention have been in progress since April
last, in pursuance of the understanding reached by the two Governments
on the 2d of January, 1884, for the improvement of commercial relations
between the United States and the Spanish Antilles, by the eighth
article of which both Governments engaged "to begin at once negotiations
for a complete treaty of commerce and navigation between the United
States of America and the said Provinces of Cuba and Puerto Rico."
Although this clause was by common consent omitted from the
substitutionary agreement of February 13, 1884 (now in force until
replaced by this convention being carried into effect), the obligation
to enter upon such a negotiation was deemed to continue. With the best
desire manifest on both sides to reach a common accord, the negotiation
has been necessarily protracted, owing to the complexity of the details
to be incorporated in order that the convention might respond to the
national policy of intercourse with the neighboring communities of the
American system, which is outlined in my late annual message to the
Congress in the following words:

  The conditions of these treaties should be the free admission of such
  merchandise as this country does not produce, in return for the
  admission free or under a favored scheme of duties of our own products,
  the benefits of such exchange to apply only to goods carried under the
  flag of the parties to the contract; the removal on both sides from the
  vessels so privileged of all tonnage dues and national imposts, so that
  those vessels may ply unhindered between our ports and those of the
  other contracting parties, though without infringing on the reserved
  home coasting trade; the removal or reduction of burdens on the
  exported products of those countries coming within the benefits of the
  treaties, and the avoidance of the technical restrictions and penalties
  by which our intercourse with those countries is at present hampered.


A perusal of the convention now submitted will suffice to show how fully
it carries out the policy of intercourse thus announced. I commend it to
you in the confident expectation that it will receive your sanction.

It does not seem necessary to my present purpose to enter into detailed
consideration of the many immediate and prospective advantages which
will flow from this convention to our productions and our shipping
interests.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, 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.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 11, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate a communication of this date from the
Secretary of State, in relation to the reciprocity treaty recently
signed between the United States and Spain.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 16, 1884_.

The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

In compliance with the following resolution, adopted by the House on the
10th instant--

  _Resolved_, That the President be requested to furnish this House,
  as early as convenient, with the necessary information showing the
  authority of law for which certain commodores of the Navy have been
  given the rank of acting rear-admirals when, as is alleged, no vacancy
  existed to justify such action--


I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Navy,
containing the information called for by the resolution.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, December 17, 1884_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, an agreement signed by Mr. N.D. Comanos, on the part
of the United States of America, and Nubar Pasha, on behalf of the
Government of the Khedive of Egypt, relative to a commercial and
customs-house convention. The agreement is dated November 16, 1884.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 22, 1884_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith the supplementary report, dated December 20, 1884,
made in pursuance of orders of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of
the Navy by the Gun Foundry Board, appointed by me in accordance with
the act of Congress approved March 3, 1883.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 5, 1885_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In accordance with the provisions of the act making appropriations for
the diplomatic and consular service for the year ending June 30, 1883,
I transmit herewith a further communication from the Secretary of State
in relation to the consular service.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 5, 1885_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, with a recommendation for its favorable
consideration, a communication from the Secretary of State, in which he
urges the adoption of measures to secure the consul at Buenos Ayres
against loss through the dropping of his salary at the last session of
Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 5, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 2d instant from the Secretary
of the Interior, inclosing certain papers in relation to the present
condition of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians in the Indian Territory,
and recommending that some provision of law be enacted for disarming
those and other Indians when such action may be found necessary for
their advancement in civilized pursuits, and that means be provided for
compensating the Indians for the weapons so taken from or surrendered
by them.

The subject is commended to the favorable consideration and action of
the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 12, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, the annual
report of Government directors of the Union Pacific Railway Company for
the year 1884.

The report accompanies the message to the House of Representatives.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 13, 1885_.

_To the Senate:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of State,
respecting the compensation for special electoral messengers to be
appointed under the provisions of existing law.

I earnestly invite the attention of Congress to this communication and
recommend that an appropriation be made without delay, to be immediately
available, for the purposes indicated.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 13, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, dated
January 9, 1885, inclosing a copy of one dated January 5, 1885, from
Lieutenant-Colonel William P. Craighill, Corps of Engineers, who was
charged with the building of the monument at Yorktown, reporting the
completion of the monument and recommending that the balance of the
appropriation for building the same be used in paying the wages of
a watchman and erecting a suitable keeper's dwelling on the site.

The matter is commended to the consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 16, 1885_.

_To the United States Senate:_

I transmit herewith a copy of a letter addressed to the Secretary of War
by General W.T. Sherman, under date of January 6, 1885, as called for by
resolution of the Senate of January 13, 1885, as follows:


  That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby,
  requested, if in his opinion it be not incompatible with the public
  interest, to communicate to the Senate a historical statement
  concerning the public policy of the executive department of the
  Confederate States during the late War of the Rebellion, reported
  to have been lately filed in the War Department by General William
  T. Sherman.


CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 20, 1885_.

_To the Senate:_

In response to the resolution of the Senate passed December 16, 1884,
I transmit herewith a letter of the Secretary of State of the 19th
instant, submitting a report containing certain information in the
Department of State in relation to the foreign trade of Mexico, Central
and South America, the Spanish West Indies, Hayti, and Santo Domingo,
and also in relation to the share of the United States to the trade
in question.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 23, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, in answer to a resolution of the Senate dated
January 5, 1885, a report of the Secretary of State and accompanying
copies of such treaties and conventions between the United States and
foreign powers as are requested by the resolution.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 23, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 20th instant from the
Secretary of the Interior, presenting, with accompanying papers, a draft
of proposed legislation providing for the settlement of certain claims
of Omaha Indians in Nebraska against the Winnebago Indians on account of
horses stolen by members of the latter tribe from the Omahas.

The subject is commended to the favorable consideration and action of
the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 23, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State of the 22d
instant, respecting an estimate of an appropriation to enable the
Department of State to cause a preliminary search to be made of the
records of the French prize courts from 1792 to 1801, inclusive, to
ascertain whether any evidence or documents relating to the claims in
question still exist, and, if so, the nature and character thereof;
said preliminary search being intended to aid the Department of State
to carry out the requirements of section 5 of the act approved January
20, 1885, to provide for the ascertainment of the claims of American
citizens for spoliations committed by the French prior to the 31st
of July, 1801.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 27, 1885_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, as desired by the House resolution of the 9th
instant, a report, with accompanying papers, from the Secretary of
State, in relation to the arrest and the imprisonment of Thomas R.
Monahan by the authorities of Mexico.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 27, 1885_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a preliminary report of the Secretary of State
of the 26th instant, in response to a resolution of the House of
Representatives passed on the 9th day of January, 1885, calling for
copies of accounts and vouchers of the disbursing officers of the French
and American Claims Commission and certain other information in relation
to the transactions of said commission.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 27, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I have carefully considered the provisions of Senate bill No. 862,
entitled "An act for the relief of Uriel Crocker."

The general statute provides for relief in case of the destruction of
coupon bonds.

In my opinion this provision of law is sufficiently liberal to meet all
cases of missing coupon bonds worthy of favorable action, and I do not
deem it advisable to encourage this class of legislation.

The bill is not, however, so flagrantly inexpedient as to call for my
formal disapproval, and I have allowed it to become a law under the
constitutional provision, contenting myself with communicating to the
Senate, in which the bill originated, my disapproval of special
legislation of this character.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, January 27, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, an additional article, signed on the 23d of June last, to
the treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation which was concluded
between the United States and the Argentine Confederation July 27, 1853.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 27, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a letter from the Secretary of State, concerning the
awards made against Venezuela by the mixed commission under the
convention of April 25, 1866.

I earnestly invite the attention of Congress to this communication and
the accompanying documents.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 27, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State and accompanying
papers, furnished in response to a resolution of the Senate of May 2,
1884, calling for information relative to the landing of foreign
telegraphic cables upon the shores of the United States.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 27, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I have the honor to transmit communications from the Secretary of the
Navy, recommending certain action by the Government in recognition of
the services, official and personal, extended in Russia to the survivors
of the arctic exploring steamer _Jeannette_ and to the search
parties subsequently sent to Siberia.

The authority of Congress is requested for extending the specific
rewards mentioned in the paper accompanying one of the communications of
the Secretary. The suggestion concerning the thanks of Congress is also
submitted for consideration.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 27, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

In response to the resolution of the Senate of the 22d instant, setting
forth that--

  Whereas the United States, in 1866, acquired from the Creek and
  Seminole Indians by treaty certain lands situate in the Indian
  Territory, a portion of which have remained unoccupied until the
  present time; and

  Whereas a widely extended belief exists that such unoccupied lands are
  public lands of the United States, and as such subject to homestead and
  preemption settlement, and pursuant to such belief a large number of
  citizens of the United States have gone upon them claiming the right
  to settle and acquire title thereto under the general land laws of the
  United States; and

  Whereas it is understood that the President of the United States does
  not regard said lands as open to settlement and believes it to be his
  duty to remove all persons who go upon the same claiming the right to
  settle thereon, and for that purpose has directed the expulsion of the
  persons now on said lands by the use of military force, and there seems
  to be a probability of a conflict growing out of the attempt to expel
  said persons so claiming right and attempting to settle: Therefore,

  _Resolved_, That the President be requested to advise the Senate as
  to the status of the lands in question as viewed by the Executive, the
  action taken, if any, to expel persons seeking to settle thereon, and
  the reasons for the same, together with any other information in his
  possession bearing upon the existing controversy--


I have the honor to state that the matter was referred to the
Secretaries of War and the Interior and to transmit herewith their
respective reports thereon, dated the 26th instant.

The report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs accompanying that
of the Secretary of the Interior recites fully the provisions of the
treaties made with the Indian tribes ceding the lands in question to
the United States, showing the condition and purposes expressed in
said treaties regarding said lands, as well as the action taken with
reference thereto, from which it will be seen that they are not open
to settlement under any laws of the United States.

The report of the Secretary of War shows the action of the military
authorities at the request of the Interior Department under section 2147
of the Revised Statutes.

The status of these lands was considered by my predecessor, President
Hayes, who on the 26th day of April, 1879, issued a proclamation[25]
warning all persons intending to go upon said lands without proper
permission of the Interior Department that they would be speedily and
immediately removed therefrom according to the laws made and provided,
and that if necessary the aid and assistance of the military forces of
the United States would be invoked to carry into proper execution the
laws of the United States referring thereto. A similar proclamation[26]
was issued by President Hayes on the 12th day of February, 1880. On the
1st day of July, 1884, I considered it to be my duty to issue a
proclamation[27] of like import.

These several proclamations were at the request of the Secretary of the
Interior.

As will be seen by the report of the Secretary of War, the military
forces of the United States have been repeatedly employed to remove
intruders from the lands in question, and that notwithstanding such
removals and in disregard of law and the Executive proclamations a large
body of intruders is now within the territory in question, and that an
adequate force of troops has been ordered to remove the intruders and is
now being concentrated for that purpose.

None of the land or general laws of the United States have been extended
over these lands except as to the punishment for crimes and other
provisions contained in the intercourse act which relate to trade and
the introduction of spirituous liquors and arms among Indians, and do
not sanction settlement. It is clear that no authorized settlement can
be made by any person in the territory in question.

Until the existing status of these lands shall have been changed by
agreement with the Indians interested, or in some other manner as may be
determined by Congress, the treaties heretofore made with the Indians
should be maintained and the power of the Government to the extent
necessary should be exercised to keep off intruders and all unauthorized
persons.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

[Footnote 25: See Vol. VII, pp. 547-548.]

[Footnote 26: See Vol. VII, pp. 598-599.]

[Footnote 27: See pp. 224-225.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 29, 1885_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 5th
of January, 1885, calling for information as to the Kongo conference at
Berlin, I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State of the
28th instant, in relation to the subject.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 29, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of 27th instant, with inclosures,
from the Secretary of the Interior, in relation to objections on the
part of the Creek Nation of Indians to pending legislation providing for
the opening up to homestead settlement of certain lands in the Indian
Territory.

The matter is presented to the consideration of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 29, 1885_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives (which
was concurred in by the Senate) of January 28, 1885, I return herewith
the bill (H.R. 1017) relative to the Inspector-General's Department of
the Army.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 30, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

When the expedition for the relief of Lieutenant Greely and his party
was being prepared, in the early part of the year 1884, and a search for
suitable vessels was being made, the _Alert_, then the property of
Great Britain, and which had been the advance ship of the expedition
under Sir George Nares, was found to be peculiarly fitted for the
intended service, and this Government immediately offered to purchase
that vessel, upon which Her Majesty's Government generously presented
her to the United States, refusing to accept any pay whatever for the
vessel. The _Alert_ rendered important and timely service in the
expedition for the relief of Lieutenant Greely and party, which in its
results proved so satisfactory to the Government and people of this
country.

I am of the opinion that the _Alert_ should now be returned to Her
Majesty's Government, with suitable acknowledgments for its generous and
graceful acts of courtesy in so promptly putting the vessel at the
service of the United States, and I therefore recommend that authority
be given me by Congress to carry out this purpose.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 30, 1885_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, in response to a resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 28th of January, 1885, a report by the Secretary
of State, in relation to the case of Julio R. Santos, an American
citizen imprisoned in Ecuador.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 30, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States:_

I herewith transmit a communication from the Secretary of State, in
regard to the desire of the Government of Korea to obtain the services
of one or more officers of the United States as military instructors
in that country, and recommend the adoption of a joint resolution
authorizing such officers as may be conveniently spared, and who may be
selected for that duty, to proceed to Korea for the purpose indicated.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 2, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States:_

I transmit herewith to the Senate a communication from the Secretary of
State, submitting, at the request of a delegate from the United States
to the Third International Conference of the Red Cross, held in
September, 1884, a copy of the preliminary report of that conference.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 2, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of Congress, the report of
the National Board of Health for the year 1884.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 2, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States of America:_

With reference to the resolution of the Senate of the 12th of June,
1884, declining to advise and consent to the ratification of an
accession of the United States to an international convention for the
protection of industrial property, signed at Paris March 20, 1883,
I now return the proposed instrument of accession to the Senate for
reconsideration in connection with the views and recommendations
contained in the accompanying report of the Secretary of State, dated
January 29, 1885.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 2, 1885_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of January
28, 1885, "that the President be respectfully requested to transmit to
this House a copy of the recent appeal of Fitz John Porter, together
with the accompanying papers," I transmit herewith a copy of a
communication from Fitz John Porter, addressed to the President from
Morristown, N.J., under date of October 14, 1884, together with copies
of the accompanying papers.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 3, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I take especial pleasure in laying before Congress the generous offer
made by Mrs. Grant to give to the Government, in perpetual trust, the
swords and military (and civil) testimonials lately belonging to General
Grant. A copy of the deed of trust and of a letter addressed to me by
Mr. William H. Vanderbilt, which I transmit herewith, will explain the
nature and motives of this offer.

Appreciation of General Grant's achievements and recognition of his just
fame have in part taken the shape of numerous mementoes and gifts which,
while dear to him, possess for the nation an exceptional interest.

These relics, of great historical value, have passed into the hands of
another, whose considerate action has restored the collection to Mrs.
Grant as a life trust, on the condition that at the death of General
Grant, or sooner, at Mrs. Grant's option, it should become the property
of the Government, as set forth in the accompanying papers. In the
exercise of the option thus given her Mrs. Grant elects that the trust
shall forthwith determine, and asks that the Government designate a
suitable place of deposit and a responsible custodian for the
collection.

The nature of this gift and the value of the relics which the generosity
of a private citizen, joined to the high sense of public regard which
animates Mrs. Grant, have thus placed at the disposal of the Government,
demand full and signal recognition on behalf of the nation at the hands
of its representatives. I therefore ask Congress to take suitable action
to accept the trust and to provide for its secure custody, at the same
time recording the appreciative gratitude of the people of the United
States to the donors.

In this connection I may pertinently advert to the pending legislation
of the Senate and House of Representatives looking to a national
recognition of General Grant's eminent services by providing the means
for his restoration to the Army on the retired list. That Congress, by
taking such action, will give expression to the almost universal desire
of the people of this nation is evident, and I earnestly urge the
passage of an act similar to Senate bill No. 2530, which, while not
interfering with the constitutional prerogative of appointment, will
enable the President in his discretion to nominate General Grant as
general upon the retired list.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.


  DEED OF TRUST.

  Whereas I, William H. Vanderbilt, of the city of New York, by virtue of
  a sale made under a judgment in a suit to foreclose a chattel mortgage
  in the supreme court of this State, in which I was plaintiff and Ulysses
  S. Grant defendant, which judgment was entered on the 6th day of
  December, 1884, and under an execution in another suit in said court
  between the same parties upon a judgment entered December 9, 1884, have
  become the owner of the property and the articles described in the
  schedule hereto annexed, formerly the property of Ulysses S. Grant:

  Now, therefore, to carry out a purpose formed by me, and in
  consideration of $1 to me paid, I do hereby transfer and convey each and
  every one of the articles mentioned and itemized in the said schedule to
  Julia Dent Grant, to have and hold the same to her, her executors and
  administrators, upon the trust and agreement, nevertheless, hereby
  accepted and made by her, that on the death of the said Ulysses S.
  Grant, or previously thereto, at her or their option, the same shall
  become and be the property of the nation and shall be taken to
  Washington and transferred and conveyed by her and them to the United
  States of America.

  In witness whereof the said William H. Vanderbilt and Julia Dent Grant
  have executed these presents, this 10th day of January, A.D. 1885.

  Sealed and delivered in presence of--

  W.H. VANDERBILT.
  JULIA DENT GRANT.


_Schedule of swords and medals, paintings, bronzes, portraits,
commissions and addresses, and objects of value and art presented by
various governments in the world to General Ulysses S. Grant_.

Mexican onyx cabinet, presented to General Grant by the people of
Puebla, Mexico.

Aerolite, part of which passed over Mexico in 1871.

Bronze vases, presented to General Grant by the Japanese citizens of
Yokohama, Japan.

Marble bust and pedestal, presented by workingmen of Philadelphia.

General Grant and family, painted by Coggswell.

Large elephant tusks, presented by the King of Siam.

Small elephant tusks, from the Maharajah of Johore.

Picture of General Scott, by Page, presented by gentlemen of New York.

Crackleware bowls (very old), presented by Prince Koon, of China.

Cloisonne jars (old), presented by Li Hung Chang.

Chinese porcelain jars (old), presented by Prince Koon, of China.

Arabian Bible.

Coptic Bible, presented by Lord Napier, who captured it with King
Theodore, of Abyssinia.

Sporting rifle.

Sword of Donelson, presented to General Grant after the fall of Fort
Donelson, by officers of the Army, and used by him until the end of the
war.

New York sword, voted to General Grant by the citizens of New York at
the fair held in New York.

Sword of Chattanooga, presented to General Grant by the citizens of Jo
Daviess County, Ill. (Galena), after the battle of Chattanooga.

Roman mug and pitcher.

Silver menu and card, farewell dinner of San Francisco, Cal.

Silver menu of Paris dinner.

Horn and silver snuff box.

Silver match box, used by General Grant.

Gold table, modeled after the table in Mr. McLean's house on which
General R.E. Lee signed the articles of surrender. This was presented to
General Grant by ex-Confederate soldiers.

Gold cigar case (enameled), presented by the Celestial King of Siam.

Gold cigar case (plain), presented by the Second King of Siam.

Gold-handled knife, presented by miners of Idaho Territory.

Nine pieces of jade stone, presented by Prince Koon, of China.

Silver trowel, used by General Grant in laying the corner stone of the
American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Knife, made at Sheffield for General Grant.

Gold pen, General Grant's.

Embroidered picture (cock and hen), presented to General Grant by
citizens of Japan.

Field glasses, used by General Grant during the war.

Iron-headed cane, made from the rebel ram _Merrimac_.

Silver-headed cane, made from wood used in the defense of Fort Sumter.

Gold-headed cane, made out of wood from old Fort Du Quesne, Pa.

Gold-headed cane, presented to General Grant as a tribute of regard for
his humane treatment of the soldiers and kind consideration of those who
ministered to the sick and wounded during the war.

Gold-headed cane, used by General Lafayette, and presented to General
Grant by the ladies of Baltimore, Md.

Carved wood cane, from the estate of Sir Walter Scott.

Uniform as general of the United States Army.

Fifteen buttons, cut from the coats during the war by Mrs. Grant after
the different battles.

Hat ornament, used at Belmont.

Hat ornament, used at Fort Donelson.

Shoulder straps (brigadier-general), worn by General Grant at Belmont,
Fort Donelson, and Shiloh.

Shoulder straps (lieutenant-general), cut from the coat used by General
Grant in the campaigns against Richmond and Petersburg and Lee's army.

Shoulder straps (lieutenant-general), cut from General Grant's coat.

Pair of shoulder straps (general), cut from a coat General Grant used
after the war.

Medal from the American Congress (gold) for opening the Mississippi.

Gold medal, from Philadelphia.

Twenty-one medals (gold, silver, and bronze), badges of armies and
corps.

Ten medals (silver and bronze), sent to General Grant at different
times.

Fourteen medals (bronze), in memory of events.

Silk paper (Louisville Commercial), printed for General Grant.

Silk paper (Daily Chronicle), printed for General Grant.

Silk paper (Burlington Hawkeye), printed for General Grant.

Collection of coin (Japanese). This is the only complete set, except one
which is in the Japanese treasury. Seven of these pieces cost $5,000.
This set was presented by the Government of Japan.

Warrant as cadet at West Point.

Commission, brevet second lieutenant (missing).

Commission, second lieutenant (missing).

Commission, brevet first lieutenant (missing).

Commission as first lieutenant, United States Army.

Commission as brevet captain, United States Army.

Commission as captain, United States Army.

Commission as colonel of volunteers.

Commission as brigadier-general.

Commission as major-general.

Commission as major-general, United States Army.

Commission as lieutenant-general, United States Army.

Commission as general, United States Army.

Commission as honorary member of M.L.A., San Francisco.

Commission as member of Sacramento Society of Pioneers.

Commission as honorary member Royal Historical Society.

Commission as Military Order of Loyal Legion.

Commission as member of the Aztec Club.

Certificate of election President of the United States.

Certificate of reelection President of the United States.

Certificate of honorary membership Territorial Pioneers of California.

Certificate of honorary membership St. Andrew's Society.

Certificate of election LL. D., Harvard College.

Certificate of election honorary membership of the Sacramento Society.

Certificate of Pioneers of California.

Certificate of election honorary member Mercantile Library, San
Francisco.

Freedom of the city of Dublin, Ireland.

Freedom of the city of Stratford-on-Avon.

Freedom of the city of London, England.

Freedom of the city of Glasgow, Scotland.

Freedom of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Freedom of the city of Ayr, Scotland.

Freedom of the burgh of Inverness, Scotland.

Freedom of the city of Oakland, America.

Freedom of the city of San Francisco, America.

Freedom of the city of Londonderry, Ireland.

The freedom of many other cities.

Address to General Grant from the Chamber of Commerce,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1877.

Address to General Grant from the mayor, aldermen, and citizens of the
city of Manchester, England, May 13, 1877.

Address to General Grant by the workingmen of Birmingham, England,
October 16, 1877.

Address to General Grant from the Chamber of Commerce and Board of
Trade, San Francisco, Cal., September, 1879.

Address to General Grant by mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the
borough of Gateshead, England.

Address to General Grant by the mayor, aldermen, magistrates, aldermen,
and councilors of the borough of Leicester, England.

Address to General Grant by the Americans of Shanghai, China, May 19,
1879.

Address to General Grant by the Calumet Club, of Chicago, Ill.

Address to General Grant from the Society of Friends in Great Britain.

Address to General Grant from Chamber of Commerce of Penang.

Address to General Grant by the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the
borough of Southampton, England.

Address to General Grant by the provost, magistrates, and town council
of the royal borough of Stirling.

Address to General Grant by the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of
Tynemouth, England.

Address to General Grant by the mayor and town council of Sunderland.

Address to General Grant by the trade and friendly societies of
Sunderland.

Address to General Grant by the public schools of Louisville, Ky.

Address to General Grant by the colored men of Louisville, Ky.

Address to General Grant by ex-Confederate soldiers.

Address to General Grant by the State of Louisiana.

Address to General Grant by the Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade
of San Francisco, Cal.

Address to General Grant by the British workmen of London, England.

Address to General Grant by the North Shields Shipowners' Society,
England.

Address to General Grant by the Chamber of Commerce, Sheffield, England.

Address to General Grant from mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of borough
of Royal Leamington Spa, England.

Address to General Grant by the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of
Sheffield, England.

Address to General Grant by wardens, etc., and commonalty of the town of
Sheffield, England.

Address to General Grant from the provost, magistrates, and town council
of the city and royal burgh of Elgin, Scotland.

Address to General Grant from the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the
borough of Folkestone, England.

Address to General Grant by the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the
borough of Jarrow, England.

Address to General Grant by the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of
Gateshead, England.

Address to General Grant from the Carpenters' Company.

Address to General Grant from the citizens of Cincinnati, congratulating
him on his second election as President of the United States.

Address to General Grant from the citizens of Nagasaki, Japan.

Resolutions of the Territorial Pioneers, admitting General Grant to
membership.

Resolution of the Caledonian Club, of San Francisco, enrolling General
Grant as an honorary member.

Resolutions of the citizens of Jo Daviess County, presenting a sword to
General Grant (sword of Chattanooga).

Resolutions of the Washington Camp, of Brooklyn, Long Island.

First resolutions of thanks of the Congress of the United States.

First resolutions inviting General Grant to visit the house of
representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Second resolutions of thanks from the Congress of the United States.

Letter from citizens of Jersey City thanking General Grant for his Des
Moines, Iowa, speech on the question of public schools.

Presentation of a silver medal by the Union League Club, of
Philadelphia, for gallantry and distinguished services.

Vote of thanks by Congress to General U.S. Grant, etc.

Other resolutions, addresses, votes of thanks, and freedom of cities.



640 FIFTH AVENUE, _January 20, 1885_.

His Excellency CHESTER A. ARTHUR,

_President of the United States_.


DEAR SIR: I purchased the articles of historical interest belonging
to General Grant and gave them to Mrs. Grant in trust to hold during
the lifetime of the General, and at his death, or sooner, at her
option, they to become the property of the Government. They consist of
his swords, memorials of his victories from the United States, States,
and cities, and tributes to his fame and achievements from governments
all over the world. In their proper place at Washington they will
always be secure and will afford pleasure and instruction to succeeding
generations. This trust has been accepted by Mrs. Grant, and the
disposition of the articles is in conformity to the wishes of the
General. I transmit to you herewith the deed of trust. Mrs. Grant
informs me that she prefers to close the trust at once and send the
memorials to Washington. May I ask, therefore, that you will designate
some official, representing the proper Department, to receive them, and
direct him to notify Mrs. Grant of the arrangements necessary to perfect
the transfer and deposit in such of the Government buildings as may be
most suitable?

Yours, respectfully,

W.H. VANDERBILT.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 5, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States:_

I herewith transmit a communication from the Secretary of State,
relative to the Japanese Government's offer to donate a valuable piece
of land to the United States in fee simple for legation purposes, and
earnestly recommend that the Executive may be immediately authorized to
accept the gift in the name of the United States and to tender to his
Imperial Japanese Majesty's Government a suitable expression of this
Government's thanks for the generosity which prompted the presentation
of so desirable a site of ground.

I deem it unnecessary to enlarge upon the statement of the Secretary of
State. I feel certain, however, that a perusal of his communication will
at once commend itself to the favorable attention of Congress, and doubt
not that the necessary authorization of Congress will be immediately
given for the acceptance of the gift, as well as insure early action
looking to the erection on the premises of suitable public buildings for
the use of the legation of the United States at Tokyo. This step can not
but be favorable to the United States in every honorable way, while the
disinterested motives of a friendly foreign government deserve from us
a proper and just recognition.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 11, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

In compliance with the act of Congress approved January 16, 1883,
entitled "An act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United
States," the Civil Service Commission has made to the President its
second annual report.

That report is herewith transmitted.

The Commission is in the second year of its existence. The President
congratulates the country upon the success of its labors, commends the
subject to the favorable consideration of Congress, and asks for an
appropriation to continue the work.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 12, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a copy of the report of the board of management of
the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition, dated February
2, 1885, requesting an additional appropriation to extinguish a deficit
in its accounts, and asking authority to reopen the exhibition during
the winter of 1885-86.

A failure on the part of the management to carry out the original intent
in regard to the exposition might reflect upon the honor of the United
States Government, since twenty-one foreign nations and forty-six States
and Territories have joined in the enterprise through faith in the
sanction of the Government. In view of this fact and in consideration
of the value of the exposition to the cause of material progress and
general education, I respectfully submit the report mentioned for the
favorable consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 13, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I herewith transmit, as desired by the act of Congress approved July 7,
1884, a letter from the Secretary of State, with accompanying report
from the Central and South American commissioners.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 17, 1885_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 9th
of January, 1885, calling for certain correspondence concerning the
transactions of the late French and American Commission, I transmit
herewith a report of the Secretary of State of the 16th instant, in
relation to the subject.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



WASHINGTON, _February 17, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

Referring your honorable body to the message of December 1, 1884, by
which I transmitted to the Senate, with a view to ratification, a treaty
negotiated with Belgium touching the succession to and acquirement of
real property, etc., by the citizens or subjects of the one Government
in the domain of the other, I now address you in order to recall the
treaty thus transmitted for reexamination.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 17, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

Referring to my message of the 13th instant, concerning the report of
the Central and South American commissioners, I have the honor to inform
the Senate that the report therein stated as accompanying the message
was transmitted with a like message to the House of Representatives.

A note of explanation to this effect was inadvertently omitted from the
former message.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 19, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State of the 19th
instant, recommending the enactment of a law for the protection of
submarine cables in pursuance of our treaty obligations under the
international convention in relation to the subject signed at Paris
on the 14th day of March, 1884.

I commend the matter to the favorable consideration of Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 19, 1885_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith a communication of the 16th instant from the
Secretary of the Interior, submitting, with accompanying papers, a draft
of a bill "to accept and ratify an agreement with the confederated
tribes and bands of Indians occupying the Yakima Reservation in the
Territory of Washington for the extinguishment of their title to so much
of said reservation as is required for the use of the Northern Pacific
Railroad, and to make the necessary appropriation for carrying out the
same."

The matter is presented for the consideration and action of the Congress.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 19, 1885_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

I transmit herewith, in response to a resolution of the House of
Representatives of the 5th instant, requesting copies of all the
communications which have been received respecting the Kongo conference,
and especially copies of the text of the commissions or powers sent by
this Government to each of the three American plenipotentiaries or
agents, a report of the Secretary of State.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 19, 1885_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

With reference to my communication of the 27th ultimo, transmitting to
the House of Representatives a preliminary report of the Secretary of
State, dated the 26th of January, 1885, in response to the resolution
of the House of the 9th of January, 1885, calling for copies of the
accounts and vouchers of the disbursing officers of the French-American
Claims Commission and containing other information in relation to the
transactions of said commission, I now transmit herewith a further
report on the subject by the Secretary of State, dated the 17th instant,
which is accompanied by the desired copies of the accounts and vouchers
in question.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 25, 1885_.

_To the House of Representatives:_

In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 13th
instant, requesting me to inform that body, if not incompatible with
the public interest, what were the reasons which moved me to appoint
commissioners to examine and report upon the California and Oregon
Railroad from Reading northwardly, I transmit herewith a communication
on that subject addressed to me on the 24th instant by the Secretary of
the Interior, setting forth the practice under which my action was
taken.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 26, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit to the Senate, for its consideration with a view to
ratification, a provisional article of agreement modifying the latter
clause of Article XXVI of the pending commercial treaty between the
United States and Spain, concluded November 18, 1884, so as to extend
the time for the approval of the laws necessary to carry the said treaty
into operation if ratified.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, D.C., February 26, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I herewith transmit, for the consideration of the Senate with a view
to ratification, an additional article, signed by the Secretary of
State and the minister of Mexico here, on behalf of their respective
Governments, the 25th instant, providing for the extension of the time
for the approval of the necessary legislation in order to carry into
effect the commercial reciprocity treaty between the United States and
Mexico of January 20, 1883.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, February 28, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

Referring to my message to the Senate of the 25th instant, by which I
transmitted, with a view to ratification, an additional article to the
commercial treaty with Spain concluded November 18, 1884, I now have the
honor to request the return of that instrument.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, March 2, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I herewith transmit to the Senate, with a view to examination and
sanction by that body, a treaty signed in this city to-day by the
Secretary of State and the Spanish minister, consisting of four
supplementary articles amendatory of the commercial treaty of November
18, 1884, between the United States and Spain, which is now pending in
the Senate. The accompanying report of the Secretary of State recites
the particulars of the modifications which have been made in deference
to the representations made on behalf of important commercial interests
of the United States, whereby it is believed all well-founded objections
on their part to the ratification of that treaty are obviated.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 2, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I transmit herewith, for the consideration of the Senate with a view to
its ratification, a convention concluded February 20, 1885, between the
United States of America and the United States of Mexico, for the
extradition of criminals. A report of the Secretary of State, touching
the negotiation of the convention, is also transmitted.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 3, 1885_.

_To the Senate of the United States:_

I nominate Ulysses S. Grant, formerly commanding the armies of the
United States, to be general on the retired list of the Army, with the
full pay of such rank.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



PROCLAMATIONS.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas the treaty concluded between the United States of America
and Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, concluded at
Washington on the 8th day of May, 1871, contains among other articles
the following, viz:

  ARTICLE XVIII.

  It is agreed by the high contracting parties that, in addition to
  the liberty secured to the United States fishermen by the convention
  between the United States and Great Britain signed at London on the
  20th day of October, 1818, of taking, curing, and drying fish on
  certain coasts of the British North American colonies therein defined,
  the inhabitants of the United States shall have, in common with the
  subjects of Her Britannic Majesty, the liberty, for the term of years
  mentioned in Article XXXIII of this treaty, to take fish of every
  kind, except shellfish, on the seacoasts and shores and in the bays,
  harbors, and creeks of the Provinces of Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New
  Brunswick, and the colony of Prince Edwards Island, and of the several
  islands thereunto adjacent, without being restricted to any distance
  from the shore, with permission to land upon the said coasts and
  shores and islands, and also upon the Magdalen Islands, for the
  purpose of drying their nets and curing their fish; provided that in
  so doing they do not interfere with the rights of private property or
  with British fishermen in the peaceable use of any part of the said
  coasts in their occupancy for the same purpose.

  It is understood that the above-mentioned liberty applies solely to
  the sea fishery, and that the salmon and shad fisheries, and all other
  fisheries in rivers and the mouths of rivers, are hereby reserved
  exclusively for British fishermen.

  ARTICLE XIX.

  It is agreed by the high contracting parties that British subjects
  shall have, in common with the citizens of the United States, the
  liberty, for the term of years mentioned in Article XXXIII of this
  treaty, to take fish of every kind, except shellfish, on the eastern
  seacoasts and shores of the United States north of the thirty-ninth
  parallel of north latitude, and on the shores of the several islands
  thereunto adjacent, and in the bays, harbors, and creeks of the said
  seacoasts and shores of the United States and of the said islands,
  without being restricted to any distance from the shore, with
  permission to land upon the said coasts of the United States and of
  the islands aforesaid, for the purpose of drying their nets and curing
  their fish; provided that in so doing they do not interfere with the
  rights of private property or with the fishermen of the United States
  in the peaceable use of any part of the said coasts in their occupancy
  for the same purpose.

  It is understood that the above-mentioned liberty applies solely to
  the sea fishery; and that salmon and shad fisheries, and all other
  fisheries in rivers and mouths of rivers, are hereby reserved
  exclusively for fishermen of the United States.

  ARTICLE XX.

  It is agreed that the places designated by the commissioners appointed
  under the first article of the treaty between the United States and
  Great Britain concluded at Washington on the 5th of June, 1854, upon
  the coasts of Her Britannic Majesty's dominions and the United States,
  as places reserved from the common right of fishing under that treaty,
  shall be regarded as in like manner reserved from the common right of
  fishing under the preceding articles. In case any question should
  arise between the Governments of the United States and of Her
  Britannic Majesty as to the common right of fishing in places not thus
  designated as reserved, it is agreed that a commission shall be
  appointed to designate such places, and shall be constituted in the
  same manner and have the same powers, duties, and authority as the
  commission appointed under the said first article of the treaty of the
  5th of June, 1854.

  ARTICLE XXI.

  It is agreed that for the term of years mentioned in Article XXXIII of
  this treaty fish oil and fish of all kinds (except fish of the inland
  lakes and of the rivers falling into them, and except fish preserved
  in oil), being the produce of the fisheries of the United States, or
  of the Dominion of Canada, or of Prince Edwards Island, shall be
  admitted into each country, respectively, free of duty.

  ARTICLE XXII.

  Inasmuch as it is asserted by the Government of Her Britannic Majesty
  that the privileges accorded to the citizens of the United States
  under Article XVIII of this treaty are of greater value than those
  accorded by Articles XIX and XXI of this treaty to the subjects of Her
  Britannic Majesty, and this assertion is not admitted by the
  Government of the United States, it is further agreed that
  commissioners shall be appointed to determine, having regard to the
  privileges accorded by the United States to the subjects of Her
  Britannic Majesty, as stated in Articles XIX and XXI of this treaty,
  the amount of any compensation which in their opinion ought to be paid
  by the Government of the United States to the Government of Her
  Britannic Majesty in return for the privileges accorded to the
  citizens of the United States under Article XVIII of this treaty; and
  that any sum of money which the said commissioners may so award shall
  be paid by the United States Government, in a gross sum, within twelve
  months after such award shall have been given.

  ARTICLE XXIII.

  The commissioners referred to in the preceding article shall be
  appointed in the following manner; that is to say: One commissioner
  shall be named by the President of the United States, one by Her
  Britannic Majesty, and a third by the President of the United States
  and Her Britannic Majesty conjointly; and in case the third
  commissioner shall not have been so named within a period of three
  months from the date when this article shall take effect, then the
  third commissioner shall be named by the representative at London of
  His Majesty the Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. In case of the
  death, absence, or incapacity of any commissioner, or in the event of
  any commissioner omitting or ceasing to act, the vacancy shall be
  filled in the manner hereinbefore provided for making the original
  appointment, the period of three months in case of such substitution
  being calculated from the date of the happening of the vacancy.

  The commissioners so named shall meet in the city of Halifax, in the
  Province of Nova Scotia, at the earliest convenient period after they
  have been respectively named, and shall before proceeding to any
  business make and subscribe a solemn declaration that they will
  impartially and carefully examine and decide the matters referred
  to them to the best of their judgment and according to justice and
  equity; and such declaration shall be entered on the record of their
  proceedings.

  Each of the high contracting parties shall also name one person to
  attend the commission as its agent, to represent it generally in all
  matters connected with the commission.

  ARTICLE XXIV.

  The proceedings shall be conducted in such order as the commissioners
  appointed under Articles XXII and XXIII of this treaty shall
  determine. They shall be bound to receive such oral or written
  testimony as either Government may present. If either party shall
  offer oral testimony, the other party shall have the right of
  cross-examination, under such rules as the commissioners shall
  prescribe.

  If in the case submitted to the commissioners either party shall have
  specified or alluded to any report or document in its own exclusive
  possession, without annexing a copy, such party shall be bound, if the
  other party thinks proper to apply for it, to furnish that party with
  a copy thereof; and either party may call upon the other, through the
  commissioners, to produce the originals or certified copies of any
  papers adduced as evidence, giving in each instance such reasonable
  notice as the commissioners may require.

  The case on either side shall be closed within a period of six
  months from the date of the organization of the commission, and
  the commissioners shall be requested to give their award as soon
  as possible thereafter. The aforesaid period of six months may be
  extended for three months in case of a vacancy occurring among the
  commissioners under the circumstances contemplated in Article XXIII
  of this treaty.

  ARTICLE XXV.

  The commissioners shall keep an accurate record and correct minutes
  or notes of all their proceedings, with the dates thereof, and may
  appoint and employ a secretary and any other necessary officer or
  officers to assist them in the transaction of the business which may
  come before them.

  Each of the high contracting parties shall pay its own commissioner
  and agent or counsel; all other expenses shall be defrayed by the two
  Governments in equal moieties.

  ARTICLE XXX.

  It is agreed that for the term of years mentioned in Article XXXIII of
  this treaty subjects of Her Britannic Majesty may carry in British
  vessels, without payment of duty, goods, wares, or merchandise from
  one port or place within the territory of the United States upon the
  St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes, and the rivers connecting the same, to
  another port or place within the territory of the United States as
  aforesaid: _Provided_, That a portion of such transportation is
  made through the Dominion of Canada by land carriage and in bond,
  under such rules and regulations as may be agreed upon between the
  Government of Her Britannic Majesty and the Government of the United
  States.

  Citizens of the United States may for the like period carry in United
  States vessels, without payment of duty, goods, wares, or merchandise
  from one port or place within the possessions of Her Britannic Majesty
  in North America to another port or place within the said possessions:
  _Provided_, That a portion of such transportation is made through
  the territory of the United States by land carriage and in bond, under
  such rules and regulations as may be agreed upon between the
  Government of the United States and the Government of Her Britannic
  Majesty.

  The Government of the United States further engages not to impose
  any export duties on goods, wares, or merchandise carried under this
  article through the territory of the United States; and Her Majesty's
  Government engages to urge the parliament of the Dominion of Canada
  and the legislatures of the other colonies not to impose any export
  duties on goods, wares, or merchandise carried under this article; and
  the Government of the United States may, in case such export duties
  are imposed by the Dominion of Canada, suspend during the period that
  such duties are imposed the right of carrying granted under this
  article in favor of the subjects of Her Britannic Majesty.

  The Government of the United States may suspend the right of carrying
  granted in favor of the subjects of Her Britannic Majesty under this
  article in case the Dominion of Canada should at any time deprive the
  citizens of the United States of the use of the canals in the said
  Dominion on terms of equality with the inhabitants of the Dominion,
  as provided in Article XXVII.

  ARTICLE XXXII.

  It is further agreed that the provisions and stipulations of Articles
  XVIII to XXV of this treaty, inclusive, shall extend to the colony
  of Newfoundland, so far as they are applicable. But if the Imperial
  Parliament, the legislature of Newfoundland, or the Congress of the
  United States shall not embrace the colony of Newfoundland in their
  laws enacted for carrying the foregoing articles into effect, then
  this article shall be of no effect; but the omission to make provision
  by law to give it effect by either of the legislative bodies aforesaid
  shall not in any way impair any other articles of this treaty.

  And whereas, pursuant to the provisions of Article XXXIII of said
  treaty, due notice has been given to the Government of Her Britannic
  Majesty of the intention of the Government of the United States of
  America to terminate the above-recited articles of the treaty in
  question on the 1st day of July, 1885; and


Whereas, pursuant to the terms of said treaty and of the notice given
thereunder by the Government of the United States of America to that
of Her Britannic Majesty, the above-recited articles of the treaty of
Washington, concluded May 8, 1871, will expire and terminate on the
1st day of July, 1885:

Now, therefore, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States of
America, do hereby give public notice that Articles XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI,
XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXX, and XXXII of the treaty of Washington,
concluded May 8, 1871, will expire and terminate on the 1st day of July,
1885, and all citizens of the United States are hereby warned that none
of the privileges secured by the above-recited articles of the treaty in
question will exist after the 1st day of July next. All American
fishermen should govern themselves accordingly.

Done at the city of Washington, this 31st day of January, A.D. 1885, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and
ninth.

[SEAL.]

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas satisfactory evidence has been received by me that upon vessels
of the United States arriving in ports of the Province of Ontario, in
the Dominion of Canada, or arriving at any port in the island of
Monserrat, in the West Indies, or at Panama or Aspinwall, United States
of Colombia, or at the ports of San Juan and Mayaguez, in the island of
Puerto Rico, no duty is imposed by the ton as tonnage tax or as light
money, and that no other equivalent tax on vessels of the United States
is imposed at said ports by the governments to which said ports are
immediately subject; and

Whereas by the provisions of section 14 of an act approved June 26,
1884, "to remove certain burdens on the American merchant marine and
encourage the American foreign carrying trade, and for other purposes,"
the President of the United States is authorized to suspend the
collection in ports of the United States from vessels arriving from any
port in the Dominion of Canada, Newfoundland, the Bahama Islands, the
Bermuda Islands, the West India Islands, Mexico, and Central America
down to and including Aspinwall and Panama of so much of the duty at
the rate of 3 cents per ton as may be in excess of the tonnage and
light-house dues, or other equivalent tax or taxes, imposed on American
vessels by the government of the foreign country in which such port
is situated:

Now, therefore, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the act and section
hereinbefore mentioned, do hereby declare and proclaim that on and after
the first Tuesday in February, 1885, the collection of said tonnage duty
of 3 cents per ton shall be suspended as regards all vessels arriving in
any port of the United States from any port in the Province of Ontario,
in the Dominion of Canada, or from a port in the island of Monserrat, in
the West Indies, or from the ports of Panama and Aspinwall, or the ports
of San Juan and Mayaguez, in the island of Puerto Rico.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 31st day of January, 1885, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and
ninth.

[SEAL.]

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas satisfactory evidence has been received by me that upon
vessels of the United States arriving at the port of San Juan del Norte
(Greytown), Nicaragua, no duty is imposed by the ton as tonnage tax or
as light money, and that no other equivalent tax on vessels of the
United States is imposed at said port by the Government of Nicaragua;
and

Whereas, by the provisions of section 14 of an act approved June 26,
1884, "to remove certain burdens on the American merchant marine and
encourage the American foreign carrying trade, and for other purposes,"
the President of the United States is authorized to suspend the
collection in ports of the United States from vessels arriving from any
port in the Dominion of Canada, Newfoundland, the Bahama Islands, the
Bermuda Islands, the West India Islands, Mexico, and Central America
down to and including Aspinwall and Panama of so much of the duty
at the rate of 3 cents per ton as may be in excess of the tonnage and
light-house dues, or other equivalent tax or taxes, imposed on American
vessels by the government of the foreign country in which such port is
situated:

Now, therefore, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the act and section
hereinbefore mentioned, do hereby declare and proclaim that on and after
the first Tuesday in March, 1885, the collection of said tonnage duty of
3 cents per ton shall be suspended as regards all vessels arriving in
any port of the United States from the port of San Juan del Norte
(Greytown), Nicaragua.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 26th day of February, 1885, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and
ninth.

[SEAL.]

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas objects of interest to the United States require that the Senate
should be convened at 12 o'clock on the 4th day of March next to receive
and act upon such communications as may be made to it on the part of the
Executive:

Now, therefore, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States,
have considered it to be my duty to issue this my proclamation,
declaring that an extraordinary occasion requires the Senate of the
United States to convene for the transaction of business at the Capitol,
in the city of Washington, on the 4th day of March next, at 12 o'clock
at noon on that day, of which all who shall at that time be entitled to
act as members of that body are hereby required to take notice.

Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, at Washington,
the 27th day of February, A.D. 1885, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the one hundred and ninth.

[SEAL.]

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

By the President:
  FREDK. T. FRELINGHUYSEN,
    _Secretary of State_.



EXECUTIVE ORDERS.


In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the
Constitution, and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third
section of the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved
January 16, 1883, the following rules for the regulation and improvement
of the executive civil service are hereby amended and promulgated, as
follows:

  RULE V.

  There shall be three branches of the service classified under the
  civil-service act (not including laborers or workmen or officers
  required to be confirmed by the Senate), as follows:

  1. Those classified in the Departments at Washington shall be designated
  "The classified departmental service."

  2. Those classified under any collector, naval officer, surveyor, or
  appraiser in any customs district shall be designated "The classified
  customs service."

  3. Those classified under any postmaster at any post-office, including
  that at Washington, shall be designated "The classified postal service."

  4. The classified customs service shall embrace the several customs
  districts where the officials are as many as fifty, now the following:
  New York City, N.Y.; Boston, Mass.; Philadelphia, Pa.; San Francisco,
  Cal.; Baltimore, Md.; New Orleans, La.; Chicago, Ill.; Burlington, Vt.;
  Portland, Me.; Detroit, Mich.; Port Huron, Mich.

  5. The classified postal service shall embrace the several post-offices
  where the officials are as many as fifty, now the following: Albany,
  N.Y.; Baltimore, Md.; Boston, Mass.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Buffalo, N.Y.;
  Chicago, Ill.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.;
  Indianapolis, Ind.; Jersey City, N.J.; Kansas City, Mo.; Louisville,
  Ky.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Newark, N.J.; New Orleans,
  La.; New York City, N.Y.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Pittsburg, Pa.; Providence,
  R.I.; Rochester, N.Y.; St. Louis, Mo.; St. Paul, Minn.; San Francisco,
  Cal.; Washington, D.C.

  RULE VII.

  1. The general examinations under the first clause of Rule VI for
  admission to the service shall be limited to the following subjects:
  (1) Orthography, penmanship, and copying; (2) arithmetic--fundamental
  rules, fractions, and percentage; (3) interest, discount, and elements
  of bookkeeping and of accounts; (4) elements of the English language,
  letter writing, and the proper construction of sentences; (5) elements
  of the geography, history, and government of the United States.

  2. Proficiency in any subject upon which an examination shall be held
  shall be credited in grading the standing of the persons examined in
  proportion to the value of a knowledge of such subject in the branch or
  part of the service which the applicant seeks to enter.

  3. No one shall be entitled to be certified for appointment whose
  standing upon a just grading in the general examination shall be less
  than 65 per cent of complete proficiency in the first three subjects
  mentioned in this rule, and that measure of proficiency shall be deemed
  adequate.

  4. For places in which a lower degree of education will suffice the
  Commission may limit the examinations to less than the five subjects
  above mentioned; but no person shall be certified for appointment under
  this clause whose grading shall be less than an average of 65 per cent
  on such of the first three subjects or parts thereof as the examination
  may embrace.

  5. The Commission may also order examinations upon other subjects
  of a technical or special character to test the capacity which may be
  needed in any part of the classified service which requires peculiar
  information or skill. Examinations hereunder may be competitive or
  noncompetitive, and the maximum limitations of age contained in the
  twelfth rule shall not apply to applicants for the same. The application
  for and notice of these special examinations, the records thereof,
  and the certification of those found competent shall be such as the
  Commission may provide for. After consulting the head of any Department
  or office the Commission may from time to time designate, subject to the
  approval of the President, the positions therein for which applicants
  may be required to pass the special examination.

  RULE XI.

  1. Every application, in order to entitle the applicant to appear for
  examination or to be examined, must state under oath the facts on the
  following subjects: (1) Full name, residence, and post-office address;
  (2) citizenship; (3) age; (4) place of birth; (5) health and physical
  capacity for the public service; (6) right of preference by reason
  of military or naval service; (7) previous employment in the public
  service; (8) business or employment and residence for the previous five
  years; (9) education. Such other information shall be furnished as the
  Commission may reasonably require touching the applicant's fitness for
  the public service. The applicant must also state the number of members
  of his family in the public service and where employed, and must also
  assert that he is not disqualified under section 8 of the civil-service
  act, which is as follows:

  "That no person habitually using intoxicating beverages to excess shall
  be appointed to or retained in any office, appointment, or employment to
  which the provisions of this act are applicable."

  No person dismissed from the public service for misconduct shall be
  admitted to examination within two years thereafter.

  2. No person under enlistment in the Army or Navy of the United States
  shall be examined under these rules except for some place in the
  Department under which he is enlisted requiring special qualifications,
  and with the consent in writing of the head of such Department.

  3. The Commission may by regulations, subject to change at any time
  by the President, declare the kind and measure of ill health, physical
  incapacity, misrepresentation, and bad faith which may properly exclude
  any person from the right of examination, grading, or certification
  under these rules. It may also provide for medical certificates of
  physical capacity in the following cases, and for the appropriate
  certification of persons so defective in sight, speech, hearing, or
  otherwise as to be apparently disqualified for some of the duties of
  the part of the service which they seek to enter.

  RULE XVI.

  1. Whenever any officer having the power of appointment or employment
  shall so request, there shall be certified to him by the Commission or
  the proper examining board four names for the vacancy specified, to be
  taken from those graded highest on the proper register of those in his
  branch of the service and remaining eligible, regard being had to any
  right of preference and to the apportionment of appointments to States
  and Territories; and from the said four a selection shall be made for
  the vacancy. But if a person is on both a general and special register
  he need be certified from the former only, at the discretion of the
  Commission, until he has remained two months upon the latter.

  2. These certifications for the service at Washington shall be made
  in such order as to apportion, as nearly as may be practicable, the
  original appointments thereto among the States and Territories and the
  District of Columbia upon the basis of population as ascertained at the
  last preceding census.

  3. In case the request for any such certification or any law or
  regulation shall call for those of either sex, persons of that sex shall
  be certified; otherwise sex shall be disregarded in such certification.

  4. No person upon any register shall be certified more than four times
  to the same officer in the customs or postal service or more than twice
  to any Department at Washington, unless upon request of the appointing
  officer; nor shall anyone remain eligible more than one year upon any
  register; but these restrictions shall not extend to examinations under
  clause 5 of Rule VII. No person while remaining eligible on any register
  shall be admitted to a new examination, and no person having failed upon
  any examination shall within six months thereafter be admitted to
  another examination without the consent of the Commission.

  5. Any person appointed to or employed in any part of the classified
  service, after due certification for the same under these rules, who
  shall be dismissed or separated therefrom without cause or delinquency
  on his part may be reappointed or reemployed in the same part or grade
  of such service at the same office, within eight months next following
  such dismissal or separation, without further examination.

  RULE XVII.

  1. Every original appointment or employment in said classified service
  shall be for the probationary period of six months, at the end of which
  time, if the conduct and capacity of the person appointed have been
  found satisfactory, the probationer shall be absolutely appointed or
  employed, but otherwise be deemed out of the service.

  2. Every officer under whom any probationer shall serve during any part
  of the probation provided for by these rules shall carefully observe the
  quality and value of the service rendered by such probationer, and shall
  report to the proper appointing officer, in writing, the facts observed
  by him, showing the character and qualifications of such probationer and
  of the service performed by him; and such report shall be preserved on
  file.

  3. Every false statement knowingly made by any person in his application
  for examination, and every connivance by him at any false statement made
  in any certificate which may accompany his application, and every
  deception or fraud practiced by him or by any person in his behalf and
  with his knowledge to influence his examination, certification, or
  appointment, shall be regarded as good cause for the removal or
  discharge of such person during his probation or thereafter.

  RULE XXI.

  1. No person, unless excepted under Rule XIX, shall be admitted into the
  classified civil service from any place not within said service without
  an examination and certification under the rules; nor shall any person
  who has passed only a limited examination under clause 4 of Rule VII for
  the lower classes or grades in the departmental or customs service be
  appointed, or be promoted within two years after appointment, to any
  position giving a salary of $1,000 or upward without first passing an
  examination under clause I of said rule; and such examination shall not
  be allowed within the first year after appointment.

  2. But a person who has passed the examination under said clause I and
  has accepted a position giving a salary of $900 or less shall have the
  same right of promotion as if originally appointed to a position giving
  a salary of $1,000 or more.

  3. The Commission may at any time certify for a $900 or any lower place
  in the classified service any person upon the register who has passed
  the examination under clause I of Rule VII, if such person does not
  object before such certification is made.

  RULE XXII.

  Any person who has been in the classified departmental service for one
  year or more immediately previous may, when the needs of the service
  require it, be transferred or appointed to any other place therein upon
  producing a certificate from the Civil Service Commission that such
  person has passed at the required grade one or more examinations which
  are together equal to that necessary for original entrance to the place
  which would be secured by the transfer or appointment.

  RULE XXIII.

  The Civil Service Commission will make appropriate regulations for
  carrying these rules into effect.

  RULE XXIV.

  Every violation by any officer in the executive civil service of these
  rules, or of the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, or fourteenth sections
  of the civil-service act, relating to political assessments, shall be
  good cause for removal.


Approved, December 5, 1884.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the
Constitution, and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third
section of the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved
January 16, 1883, the following rules for the regulation and improvement
of the executive civil service are hereby amended and promulgated, as
follows:

  RULE V.

  There shall be three branches of the service classified under the
  civil-service act (not including laborers or workmen or officers
  required to be confirmed by the Senate), as follows:

  1. Those classified in the Departments at Washington shall be designated
  "The classified departmental service."

  2. Those classified under any collector, naval officer, surveyor, or
  appraiser in any customs district shall be designated "The classified
  customs service."

  3. Those classified under any postmaster at any post-office, including
  that at Washington, shall be designated "The classified postal service."

  4. The classified customs service shall embrace the several customs
  districts where the officials are as many as fifty, now the following:
  New York City, N.Y.; Boston, Mass.; Philadelphia, Pa.; San Francisco,
  Cal.; Baltimore, Md.; New Orleans, La.; Chicago, Ill.; Burlington, Vt.;
  Portland, Me.; Detroit, Mich.; Port Huron, Mich.

  5. The classified postal service shall embrace the several post-offices
  where the officials are as many as fifty, now the following: Albany,
  N.Y.; Baltimore, Md.; Boston, Mass.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Buffalo, N.Y.;
  Chicago, Ill.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.;
  Indianapolis, Ind.; Jersey City, N.J.; Kansas City, Mo.; Louisville,
  Ky.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Newark, N.J.; New Haven,
  Conn.; New Orleans, La.; New York City, N.Y.; Philadelphia, Pa.;
  Pittsburg, Pa.; Providence, R.I.; Rochester, N.Y.; St. Louis, Mo.;
  St. Paul, Minn.; San Francisco, Cal.; Washington, D.C.

  6. Whenever within the meaning of said act the clerks and persons
  employed by the collector, naval officer, surveyor, and appraisers, or
  either of them, in any customs district shall be as many as fifty, any
  existing classification for the customs service shall apply thereto, and
  when the number of clerks and persons employed at any post-office shall
  be as many as fifty any existing classification of those in the postal
  service shall apply thereto; and thereafter the Commission will provide
  for examinations for filling the vacancies at said offices, and the
  rules will be applicable thereto.

  RULE XIII

  1. The date of the reception of all regular applications for the
  classified departmental service shall be entered of record by the
  Commission, and of all other regular applications by the proper
  examining boards of the district or office for which they are made; and
  applicants, when in excess of the number that can be examined at a
  single examination, shall, subject to the needs of apportionment, be
  notified to appear in their order on the respective records. But any
  applicants in the several States and Territories for appointment in the
  classified departmental service may be notified to appear for
  examination at any place at which an examination is to be held, whether
  in any State or Territory or in Washington, which shall be deemed most
  convenient for them.

  2. The Commission is authorized, in aid of the apportionment among the
  States and Territories, to hold examinations at places convenient for
  applicants from different States and Territories, or for those
  examination districts which it may designate and which the President
  shall approve.

  3. The Commission may by regulation provide for dropping from any record
  the applicants whose names have remained thereon for six months or more
  without having been reached in due course for notification to be
  examined.

  RULE XVI.

  1. Whenever any officer having the power of appointment or employment
  shall so request, there shall be certified to him by the Commission or
  the proper examining board four names for the vacancy specified, to be
  taken from those graded highest on the proper register of those in his
  branch of the service and remaining eligible, regard being had to any
  right of preference and to the apportionment of appointments to States
  and Territories; and from the said four a selection shall be made for
  the vacancy. But if a person is on both a general and a special register
  he need be certified from the former only, at the discretion of the
  Commission, until he has remained two months upon the latter.

  2. These certifications for the service at Washington shall be made
  in such order as to apportion, as nearly as may be practicable, the
  original appointments thereto among the States and Territories and the
  District of Columbia upon the basis of population as ascertained at
  the last preceding census.

  3. In case the request for any such certification or any law or
  regulation shall call for those of either sex, persons of that sex shall
  be certified; otherwise sex shall be disregarded in such certification.

  4. No person upon any register shall be certified more than four times
  to the same officer in the customs or postal service or more than three
  times to any Department at Washington, unless upon request of the
  appointing officer; nor shall anyone remain eligible more than one
  year upon any register; but these restrictions shall not extend to
  examinations under clause 5 of Rule VII. No person while remaining
  eligible on any register shall be admitted to a new examination, and
  no person having failed upon any examination shall within six months
  thereafter be admitted to another examination without the consent of
  the Commission.

  5. Any person appointed to or employed in any part of the classified
  service, after due certification for the same under these rules, who
  shall be dismissed or separated therefrom without fault or delinquency
  on his part, may be reappointed or reemployed in the same part or grade
  of such service in the same Department or office within one year next
  following such dismissal or separation, without further examination,
  on such certification as the Commission may provide.

Approved, January 24, 1885.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the
Constitution, and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third
section of the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved
January 16, 1883, the following rule for the regulation and improvement
of the executive civil service is hereby amended and promulgated, as
follows:

  RULE XVI.

  1. Whenever any officer having the power of appointment or employment
  shall so request, there shall be certified to him by the Commission or
  the proper examining board four names for the vacancy specified, to be
  taken from those graded highest on the proper register of those in his
  branch of the service and remaining eligible, regard being had to any
  right of preference and to the apportionment of appointments to States
  and Territories; and from the said four a selection shall be made for
  the vacancy. But if a person is on both a general and a special register
  he need be certified from the former only, at the discretion of the
  Commission, until he has remained two months upon the latter.

  2. These certifications for the service at Washington shall be made
  in such order as to apportion, as nearly as may be practicable, the
  original appointments thereto among the States and Territories and the
  District of Columbia upon the basis of population as ascertained at the
  last preceding census.

  3. In case the request for any such certification or any law or
  regulation shall call for those of either sex, persons of that sex shall
  be certified; otherwise sex shall be disregarded in such certification.

  4. No person upon any register shall be certified more than four times
  to the same officer in the customs or postal service or more than three
  times to any Department at Washington, unless upon request of the
  appointing officer; nor shall anyone remain eligible more than one
  year upon any register; but these restrictions shall not extend to
  examinations under clause 5 of Rule VII. No person while remaining
  eligible on any register shall be admitted to a new examination, and
  no person having failed upon any examination shall within six months
  thereafter be admitted to another examination without the consent of
  the Commission.

  5. Any person appointed to or employed in any part of the classified
  service, after due certification for the same under these rules, who
  shall be dismissed or separated therefrom without fault or delinquency
  on his part, may be reappointed or reemployed in the same part or grade
  of such service in the same Department or office within one year next
  following such dismissal or separation, without further examination,
  on such certification as the Commission may provide.


Approved, February 11, 1885.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 11, 1885_.

Under the provisions of section 4 of the act of Congress approved March
3, 1883, it is hereby ordered that the several Executive Departments,
the Department of Agriculture, and the Government Printing Office be
closed on Saturday, the 21st instant, to enable the employees to
participate in the ceremonies attending the dedication of the Washington
Monument.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY,

_Washington, D.C., February 26, 1885_.

Attention is called to the following section of the act of May 17, 1884,
entitled "An act providing a civil government for Alaska:"

"SEC. 14. That the provisions of chapter 3, Title XXIII, of the Revised
Statutes of the United States, relating to the unorganized Territory of
Alaska, shall remain in full force except as herein specially otherwise
provided; and the importation, manufacture, and sale of intoxicating
liquors in said district, except for medicinal, mechanical, and
scientific purposes, is hereby prohibited under the penalties which are
provided in section 1955 of the Revised Statutes for the wrongful
importation of distilled spirits; and the President of the United States
shall make such regulations as are necessary to carry out the provisions
of this section."

To enforce this section of law the following regulations are prescribed:

No intoxicating liquors shall be landed at any port or place in said
Territory without a permit from the chief officer of the customs at such
port or place, to be issued upon evidence satisfactory to such officer
that the liquors are imported and are to be used solely for medicinal,
mechanical, and scientific purposes.

No person shall manufacture or sell intoxicating liquors within the
Territory of Alaska without first having obtained a license from the
governor of said Territory, to be issued upon evidence satisfactory to
that officer that the making and sale of such liquor will be conducted
strictly in accordance with the requirements of the statute.

Any intoxicating liquors imported, manufactured, or sold within the
limits of said Territory in violation of these regulations, and the
persons engaged in such violation, will be dealt with in the manner
prescribed in section 1955 of the Revised Statutes; and the governor of
Alaska and the officers of the customs at any port or place in the
United States from which intoxicating liquors may be shipped to that
Territory, as well as officers of the United States within that
Territory, are hereby authorized respectively to exact, in their
discretion, a bond of the character mentioned in section 1955, Revised
Statutes, from the master or mate of any vessel and from the persons in
such Territory to whom the liquors may be sent.

The penalty prescribed by section 1955, Revised Statutes, for violation
of the law is a fine not exceeding $500, or imprisonment not more than
six months, and the forfeiture of the vessel bringing the merchandise
and her cargo, together with her tackle, apparel, and furniture, where
the value of the merchandise exceeds $400. Where the value does not
exceed $400, the penalty is forfeiture of the merchandise.

The proper officers within the Territory are charged with the execution
of the law and these regulations. Intoxicating liquors forfeited under
the provisions of this act will be subject to sale under the same
provisions of law as govern the sale of other goods that may have become
liable to forfeiture, but will only be delivered for removal beyond the
limits of the Territory.

H. McCULLOCH, _Secretary_.


Approved:

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the
Constitution, and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third
section of the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved
January 16, 1883, the following rule for the regulation and improvement
of the executive civil service is hereby amended and promulgated, as
follows:

  RULE XVI.

  1. Whenever any officer having the power of appointment or employment
  shall so request, there shall be certified to him by the Commission or
  the proper examining board four names for the vacancy specified, to be
  taken from those graded highest on the proper register of those in his
  branch of the service and remaining eligible, regard being had to any
  right of preference and to the apportionment of appointments to States
  and Territories; and from the said four a selection shall be made for
  the vacancy. But if a person is on both a general and a special register
  he need be certified from the former only, at the discretion of the
  Commission, until he has remained two months upon the latter.

  2. These certifications for the service at Washington shall be made
  in such order as to apportion, as nearly as may be practicable, the
  original appointments thereto among the States and Territories and the
  District of Columbia upon the basis of population as ascertained at the
  last preceding census.

  3. In case the request for any such certification or any law or
  regulation shall call for those of either sex, persons of that sex shall
  be certified; otherwise sex shall be disregarded in such certification.

  4. No person upon any register shall be certified more than four times
  to the same officer in the customs or postal service or more than three
  times to any Department at Washington, unless upon request of the
  appointing officer; nor shall anyone remain eligible more than one year
  upon any register, except as maybe provided by regulation; but these
  restrictions shall not extend to examinations under clause 5 of Rule
  VII. No person while remaining eligible on any register shall be
  admitted to a new examination, and no person having failed upon any
  examination shall within six months thereafter be admitted to another
  examination without the consent of the Commission.

  5. Any person appointed to or employed in any part of the classified
  service who shall be dismissed or separated therefrom without fault or
  delinquency on his part may be reappointed or reemployed in the same
  part or grade of such service in the same Department or office within
  one year next following such dismissal or separation, without further
  examination, on such certification as the Commission may provide.


Approved, February 27, 1885.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 3, 1885_.

Under the provisions of section 4 of the act of Congress approved March
3, 1883, it is hereby ordered that the several Executive Departments,
the Department of Agriculture, and the Government Printing Office be
closed on Wednesday, the 4th instant, to enable the employees to witness
the ceremonies incident to the inauguration on that day.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.





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