REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 47 



small items in different appropriation bills, and also an item of $2,000 to cover the 

 expense of an immediate exchange of parliamentary documents with the countries 

 entering into the treaty of Brussels in 1886. To this latter treaty for the immediate 

 exchange of the Congressional Record no effect has yet been given by reason of 

 lack of funds. The amount originally appropriated for the service of the year 

 1892-93 was $12,000, as stated above, ami this was subsequently increased by a 

 deficiency appropriation of $5,000 upon urgent representation of the neeil of this 

 further amount to carry the work through the year. 



CORRESPONDENTS. 



The new list of correspondents begun upon small ledger cards, January 1, 1892, 

 has proved of great convenience, and it is only by introducing labor-saving devices 

 in the arrangements for handling the records that it has been at all possible to meet 

 the growth of the (service with the smaller clerical force. 



The number of new ledger cards on July I, 1892, was 9,808, and on June 30, 1803, 

 16,340, classified as follows: 



INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. 



Under the treaty of Brussels of 1886, the text of which was given in full in the 

 report of the curator of exchanges for 1887-'88, the exchange of the official publi- 

 cations of the I nited States Government with other countries has been continued by 

 the Institution, and it now forms a very large proportion of the bureau's work. 



The entire number of publications sent abroad during the year under the provision' 

 of the act of Congress of March 2, 1867, and of the treaty above referred to was 

 31,850, and there have been received in return 5,196 packages. The United State- 

 Government Departments have forwarded to their correspondents abroad 16,074 

 packages, and have, received in return 12,922 packages. The total number of 

 exchanges for (Joverninent libraries has therefore been 18,118 packages received and 

 47,924 packages sent abroad, a total of 66,042 packages, or about 0.") per cent of the 

 entire number handled. 



The very inadequate return for the great number of documents sent out is in part 

 undoubtedly due to the fact that no other country publishes on such a lavish scale 

 as our own. Direct solicitation made by a special representative to the governments 

 with which we are in correspondence would also probably result in a considerable 

 increase to the Library of Congress. 



The exchange on account of Oovernment bureaus is shown in detail in the follow- 

 ing table: 



