PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



045 



compared with a fraudulent currency, and the robber- 

 ies committed by depreciated paper. Our own his- 

 tory has recorded for our instruction enough, and 

 more than enough, of the demoralizing tendency, the 

 injustice, and the intolerable oppression on the vir- 

 tuous and well-disposed, of a degraded paper currency 

 authorized by law, or in any way countenanced by 

 Government." It is one of the most successful de- 

 vices, in times of peace or war, of expansions or re- 

 vulsions, to accomplish the transfer of all the precious 

 metals from the great mass of the people into the 

 hands of the few, where they are hoarded in secret 

 places or deposited under bolts and bars, while the 

 people are left to endure all the inconvenience, sacri- 

 hce, and demoralization resulting from the use of de- 

 preciated and worthless paper. 



The Secretary of the Interior, in his report, gives 

 valuable information in reference to the interests con- 

 fided to the supervision of his department, and re- 

 views the operations of the Land-Office, Pension 

 Office, Patent-Office, and the Indian Bureau. 



During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, 

 6,655,700 acres of public land were disposed of. The 

 entire cash receipts of the General Land-Office for 

 the same period were $1,632,745, being greater by 

 $284,883 than the amount realized from the same 

 sources during the previous year. The entries under 

 the homestead law cover 2,328,973 acres, nearly one- 

 fourth of which was taken under the act of June 21, 

 1866, which applies only to the States of Alabama, 

 Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida. 



On the 30th of June, 1868, 169 2 643 names were 

 borne on the pension-rolls, and during the year end- 

 ing on that day the total amount paid for pensions, 

 including the expenses of disbursement, was $24,010,- 

 982, being $5,391,025 greater than that expended for 

 like purposes during the preceding year. 



During the year ending the 30th of September last, 

 the expenses of the Patent-Office exceeded the re- 

 ceipts by $171 ; andj including reissues and designs, 

 14,153 patents were issued. 



Treaties with various Indian tribes have been con- 

 cluded, and will be submitted to the Senate for its 

 constitutional action. I cordially sanction the stipu- 

 lations which provide for reserving lands for the va- 

 rious tribes, where they may be encouraged to aban- 

 don their nomadic habits, and engage in agricultural 

 and industrial pursuits. This policy, inaugurated 

 many years since, has met with signal success when- 

 ever it has been pursued in good faith and with be- 

 coming liberality by the United States. The neces- 

 sity for extending it as far as practicable in our rela- 

 tions with the aboriginal population is greater now 

 than at any preceding period. "Whilst we furnish 

 subsistence and instruction to the Indians, and guar- 

 antee the undisturbed enjoyment of their treaty rights, 

 we should habitually insist upon the faithful observ- 

 ance of their agreement to remain within their re-, 

 spective reservations. This is the only mode _ by 

 which collisions with other tribes and with the whites 

 can be avoided, and the safety of our frontier settle- 

 ments secured. 



The companies constructing the railway from 

 Omaha to Sacramento have been most energetically 

 engaged in prosecuting the work, and it is believed 

 that the line will be completed before the expiration 

 of the next fiscal year. The six per cent, bonds 

 issued to these companies amounted, on the 5th in- 

 stant, to $44,337,000, and additional work had been 

 performed to the extent of $3,200,000. 



The Secretary of the Interior in August last in- 

 vited my attention to the report of a Government 

 director of the Union Pacific Bailroad^Company, who 

 had been specially instructed to examine the location, 

 construction, and equipment of their road. I sub- 

 mitted for the opinion of the Attorney-General cer- 

 tain questions in regard to the authority of the Ex- 

 ecutive which arose upon this report, and those which 

 had from time to time been presented by the commis- 

 sioners appointed to inspect each successive section 



of the work. After carefully considering the law of 

 the case, he affirmed the right of the Executive to 

 order, if necessary, a thorough revision of the entire 

 road. Commissioners were thereupon appointed to 

 examine this and other lines, and have recently sub- 

 mitted a statement of their investigations, of which 

 the report of the Secretary of the Interior furnishes 

 specific information. 



The report of the Secretary of "War contains infor- 

 mation of interest and importance respecting the 

 several bureaus of the "War Department and the op- 

 erations of the army. The strength of our military 

 force on the 30th of September last, was 48,000 men, 

 and it is computed that, by the first of January next, 

 this number will be decreased to 43,000. It is the 

 opinion of the Secretary of "War that within the next 

 year a considerable diminution of the infantry force 

 may be made without detriment to the interests of 

 the country and in view of the great expense attend- 

 ing the military peace establishment, and the abso- 

 lute necessity of retrenchment wherever it can be 

 applied, it is hoped that Congress will sanction the 

 reduction which his report recommends. "While in 

 1860, 16,300 men cost the nation $16,472,000, the sum 

 of $65,682,000 is estimated as necessary for the sup- 

 port of the army during the fiscal year ending June 

 30, 1870. The estimates of the War Department for 

 the last two fiscal years were, for 1867, $33,814,461, 

 and for 1868, $25,205,669. The actual expenditures 

 during the same periods were, respectively, $95,224,- 

 415 and $123,246,648. The estimate submitted in 

 December last for the fiscal year ending June 30, 

 1869, was $77,124,707 ; the expenditures for the first 

 quarter ending the 30th of September last, were 

 $27,219,117, and the Secretary of the Treasury gives 

 $66,000,000 as the amount which will probably be 

 required during the remaining three-quarters, if there 

 should be no reduction of the army making its ag- 

 gregate cost for the year considerably in excess of 

 $93,000,000. The difference between the estimates 

 and expenditures for the three fiscal years which 

 have been named is thus shown to be $175,545,343 for 

 this single branch of the public service. 



The report of the Secretary of the Navy exhibits 

 the operations of that department and of the navy 

 during the year. A considerable reduction of the 

 force has been effected. There are 42 vessels, carrying 

 411 guns, in the six squadrons which are established 

 in different parts of the world. Three of these ves- 

 sels are returning to the United States, and four are 

 used as storeships, leaving the actual cruising force 35 

 vessels, carrying 356 guns. The total number of ves- 

 sels in the navy is 206, mounting 1,743 guns. Eighty- 

 one vessels of every description are in use, armed with 

 696 guns. The number of enlisted men in the ser- 

 vice ; including apprentices, has been reduced to 8,500. 

 An increase of navy-yard facilities is recommended 

 as a measure which will, in the event of war, be pro- 

 motive of economy and security. A more thorough 

 and systematic survey of the North Pacific Ocean is 

 advised, in view of our recent acquisitions, our ex- 

 panding commerce, and the increasing intercourse 

 between the Pacific States and Asia. The naval pen- 

 sion fund, which consists of a moiety of the avails of 

 prizes captured during the war, amounts to $14,000,- 

 000. Exception is taken to the act of 23d July last, 

 which reduces the interest on the fund loaned to the 

 Government by the Secretary, as trustee, to three per 

 cent., instead of six per cent., which was originally 

 stipulated when the investment was made. An 

 amendment of the pension laws is suggested to rem- 

 edy omissions and defects in existing enactments. 

 The expenditures of the department during the last 

 fiscal year were $20,120,394, and the estimates for the 

 coming year amount to $20,993,414. 



The Postmaster-General's report furnishes a full 

 and clear exhibit of the operations and condition of 

 the postal service. The ordinary postal revenue for 

 the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, was $16,292,606, 

 and the total expenditures, embracing all the service 



