772 



UNITED STATES. 



sura by $94,280.27. There were issued 6,668,- 

 006 postal notes, amounting to $12,134,459.04, 

 and the notes paid were only $29,577.49 less 

 in value. There were 759,636 orders drawn 

 for payment in foreign countries, reaching the 

 large total of $11,293,870.05, while 236,992 or- 

 ders of the value of $1,169,675.64 were trans- 

 mitted from abroad for payment in the United 

 States. 



Pensions. The number of pensioners added 

 to the rolls during the fiscal year ended June 

 30, 1888, is 60,252, and increase of pensions 

 was granted in 45,716 cases. The names of 

 15,730 pensioners were dropped from the rolls 

 during the year, and at the close of the year 

 the number of persons of all classes receiving 

 pensions was 452,557. 



The Civil Service. The fourth annual report 

 of the Civil-Service Commission, covering the 

 period between Jan. 16, 1886, and July 1, 1887, 

 was transmitted to Congress in July. During 

 the time covered by the report, 15,852 persons 

 were examined for admission in the classified 

 civil service of the Government in all its 

 branches, of whom 10,745 passed the examina- 

 tion and 5,106 failed. Of those who passed 

 the examination 2,977 were applicants for ad- 

 mission to the departmental service at Wash- 

 ington, 2,547 were examined for admission to 

 the customs service, and 5,222 for admission to 

 the postal service. During the same period 

 547 appointments were made from the eligible 

 lists to the departmental service, 641 to the 

 customs service, and 3,254 to the postal service. 



Since the period covered by the report, the 

 rules and regulations governing the violations 

 of the law upon the subject have been com- 

 pletely remodeled in such a manner as to ren- 

 der the enforcement of the statute more effect- 

 ive and greatly increase its usefulness. 



Indians. Keports of Indian agents show that 

 the total Indian population for the fiscal year 

 1887-'88 was 246,095, not including the In- 

 dians of Alaska. The entire extent of terri- 

 tory now in reservation for Indian purposes, 

 including all portions of the Indian Territory, 

 is 112,413,440 acres, being an average of 456 

 acres for each Indian, computed on the last 

 reported number of the total population. The 

 work of allotting lands in severally which was 

 begun in 1887 on seven reservations, the Yank- 

 ton and Lake Traverse Eeservations in Dakota 

 Territory, the Winnebago Reservation in Ne- 

 braska, the Pottawatomie Reservation in the 

 Indian Territory, the Crow Reservation in 

 Montana, the Fon du Lac Reservation in Min- 

 nesota, and the Siletz Reservation in Oregon, 

 was suspended early in 1888, because the funds 

 had been exhausted. 



In June Congress appropriated $10,000, and 

 with this money the work was resumed on three 

 reservations, the Winnebago Reservation in 

 Nebraska, the Crow Reservation in Montana, 

 and the Fond du Lac Reservation in Minneso- 

 ta. The allotment on the Lake Traverse Res- 

 ervation is complete. 



Alaska. The Governor estimates the popula- 

 tion of Alaska as follows : Whites, 6,500; cre- 

 oles, 1,900; Aleuts, 2,950; civilized natives, 

 3,500 ; uncivilized natives, 35,000 a total of 

 49,850. The town cf Juneau has doubled in 

 population during the past year, owing to the 

 development of valuable mining properties, and 

 most of the towns in the southeastern section 

 of the Territory show an increase. During 

 the past year considerable progress was made 

 in mining; the great stamp-mill on Douglas 

 Island has now two hundred and forty stamps 

 in operation, and it is the largest mill of the 

 kind in the world, its output being at least 

 $150,000 a month. The ore at this mine is 

 improving, and four undeveloped claims on this 

 island were recently sold to Eastern and Euro- 

 pean capitalists for $1,500,000. Mines are be- 

 ing opened and new discoveries made of prom- 

 ising ore-beds. 



Coal seems to abound in the explored parts 

 of the Territory. During the last year cannel 

 coal was found. The United States steamer 

 ''Thetis" replenished her bunkers from a vein 

 that measured thirty-two feet in thickness, and 

 while on a cruise with this vessel the Governor 

 saw all along the coast coal-veins from one to 

 fifteen feet thick. 



The following is a careful estimate of the 

 market value of Alaskan products for the year : 

 Furs, $3,000,000 ; fish, oil, bone, and ivory, 

 $4,000,000; gold (bullion and dust), $2,000,- 

 000; silver, $50,000; lumber, $50,000 total, 

 $9,100,000. 



Foreign Relations. On February 15 the com- 

 missioners appointed to negotiate a treaty be- 

 tween Great Britain and the United S'tates 

 with respect to the Canadian fisheries com- 

 pleted their work at Washington, and signed a 

 proposed treaty, which was transmitted to the 

 Senate, which on August 21 rejected the treaty 

 by a strict party vote of 30 Republicans against 

 27 Democrats. The President thereupon sent 

 a warlike message to Congress, saying that re- 

 taliatory measures were now the only ones to 

 be adopted, and asking for greater powers to 

 carry them into effect. The Republicans in 

 Congress claimed that he already had sufficient 

 authority for that purpose, and, regarding the 

 message as an attempt to attract supporters in 

 the pending political canvass, refused to take 

 any action thereon. 



On March 12 a treaty with China was signed 

 at Washington. It provides for the absolute 

 exclusion of Chinese laborers from this coun- 

 try for twenty years, and for a second period 

 of twenty years unless notice to the contrary 

 should be given by either party. The Senate 

 ratified this treaty with some amendments on 

 May 7, but it was rejected by the Chinese Gov- 

 ernment, whereupon a Chinese exclusion bill, 

 having already passed the House, was adopted 

 by the Senate on September 7 and signed by 

 the President. Differences existing between 

 the United States and Morocco were settled by 

 an agreement made in May. 



