UNITED STATES. 



749 



2. An advisory board of suitable persons to bo em- 

 ployed by the President under the ninth section of 

 the act of March 3, 1871,' entitled " An act making 

 appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Gov- 

 ernment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1872, and 

 for other purposes," shall, so far as practicable, 

 group the positions in each branch of the civil ser- 

 vice, according to the character of the duties to be 

 performed, and shall grade each group from the low- 

 est to the highest for the purpose of promotion 

 within the group. Admission to the civil service 

 shall alwayslbe to the lowest grade of any group, and, 

 to such positions as cannot be grouped or graded, 

 admission shall be determined as provided for the 

 lowest grade. 



3. A vacancy occurring in the lowest grade of any 

 group of offices shall be filled, after due public notice, 

 from all applicants who shall present themselves, and 

 who shall have furnished the evidences and satisfied 

 the preliminary examination already mentioned, and 

 who shall have passed a public competitive examina- 

 tion to test their knowledge, ability, and special 

 qualifications for the performance of the duties of 

 the office. The Board conducting such competitive 

 examination shall prepare, under the supervision of 

 the Advisory Board, a list of the names of the ap- 

 plicants in the order of their excellence, as proved 

 by such examination, beginning with the highest, 

 and shall then certify to the nominating or appoint- 

 ing power (as the case may be) the names standing 

 at the head of such list, not exceeding three, and 

 from the names thus certified the appointment shall 

 be made. 



4. A vacancy occurring in any grade of a group of 

 officers above the lowest shall be filled by a com- 

 petitive examination of applicants from the other 

 grades of that group, and the list of names from 

 which the appointment is to be made shall be pre- 

 pared and certified as provided in the preceding 

 rule ; but, if no such applicants are found competent, 

 the appointment shall be upon an examination of all 

 applicants, conducted in accordance with the pro- 

 visions for admission in the lowest grade. 



5. Applicants, certified or otherwise, qualified for 

 appointment as cashiers of collectors of customs, 

 cashiers of assistant-treasurers, cashiers of post- 

 masters superintendent of money-order division in 

 post-offices, and such other custodians of large sums 

 of money as may hereafter be designated by the Ad- 

 visory Board, and for whose pecuniary fidelity an- 

 other officer is responsible, shall nevertheless not be 

 appointed, except with the approval of such other 

 olticer. 



6. Postmasters whose annual salary is less than 

 $200 may be appointed upon the written request of 

 applicants, with such evidence of character and fit- 

 ness as shall be satisfactory to the head of the De- 

 partment. 



7. The appointment of all persons entering the 

 civil service in accordance with these regulations, 



9. Any person, who, after long and faithful service 

 in a department, shall be incapacitated by mental or 

 bodily infirmities for the efficient discharge of tho 

 duties of his position, may be appointed by the head 

 of the Department, at his discretion, to a position of 

 less responsibility in the same Department. 



10. Nothing in these rules shall prevent the ap- 

 pointment of aliens to positions in the consular ser- 

 vice, which by reason of small compensation or of 

 other sufficient cause are, in the judgment of the ap- 

 pointing power, necessarily so filled, nor the ap- 

 pointment of such persons within the United States 

 as are indispensable to a proper discharge of the 

 duties of certain positions, but who may not be fa- 

 miliar with the English language, or legally capable 

 of naturalization. 



11. No head of a Department or any subordinate 

 officer of the Government shall, as such officer, au- 

 thorize or assist in levying any assessment of money 

 for political purposes, under the form of voluntary 

 contributions or otherwise, upon any person em- 

 ployed under his control, nor shall any such person 

 pay any money so assessed. 



12. The Advisory Board shall at any time recom- 

 mend to the President such changes in these rules 

 as it may consider necessary to secure tho greater 

 efficiency of the civil service. 



13. From these rules are excepted the heads of de- 

 partments, assistant-secretaries of departments. As- 

 sistant Attorney-General and First Assistant-Post- 

 master-General. Solicitor-General, Solicitor of the 

 Treasury, Naval Solicitor, Solicitor of Internal Rev- 

 enue, Examiner of Claims in the State Department, 

 Treasurerof the United States, Registrar of the Treas- 

 ury, First and Second Comptrollers of the Treasury, 

 Judges of the United States Courts, District At- 

 torneys, Private Secretary of the President, Am- 

 bassadors and other public Ministers, Superintend- 

 ent of the Coast Survey, Director of the Mint, Gov- 

 ernors of Territories, Special Commissioners, spe- 

 cial annual Visiting and Examining Boards, persons 

 appointed to positions without compensation for ser- 

 vices, dispatch agents, and bearers of dispatches. 



Early in the month of April the Democratic 

 members of Congress issued an address to the 

 people of the United States. After expressing 

 their views on the condition of the country, 

 the manner in which the Administration has 

 discharged its duties, the dangers before the 

 country, the extravagance and violence of 

 their opponents, they conclude thus : 



No indignation can be too stern and no scorn too 

 severe for the assertions by unscrupulous radical 

 leaders that the great Democratic and conservative 

 party of the Union has or can have sympathy with 

 disorders or violence in any part of the country, or 

 in the deprivation of any man of his rights under 

 the Constitution. 



excepting persons appointed by the President by the Constitution. 



and with the advice and consent of the Senate, post- It is to protect and perpetuate the rights which 



masters and persons appointed to any position in a every freeman cherishes, to revive in all hearts the 



masters and persons appointed to any position in a 

 foreign country, shall be made for a probationary 

 term of six months, during which the conduct^ and 

 capacity of such persons shall be tested, and, if, at 

 the end of such probationary term, satisfactory 

 proofs of their fitness shall have been furnished by 

 the Board of Examiners to tho head of the Depart- 

 ment in which they shall have been employed during 

 said term, they shall be reappointed. 



The President will designate three persons in 

 public service to serve as a Board 



of Examiners, which, under the supervision of the 

 Advisory Board, and under regulations to be pre- 

 scribed by it, and at such times and places as it may 

 determine, shall conduct personally, or by persons 

 approved by the Advisory Board, all investigations 

 and examinations for admission into said depart- 

 ments, or for promotion therein. 



feeling of friendship, affection, and harmony, which 

 are the best guarantees of law and order, and to 

 throw around the humblest citizen, wherever ho 

 may be. the protecting aegis of these safeguards of 

 personal liberty which the fundamental laws of the 

 land assure, that we invoke the aid of all good men 

 in the work of peace and reconciliation ; we invito 

 their generous cooperation, irrespective of all formei 

 differences of opinion, so that the harsh voice of dis- 

 cord may be relieved; that a new and dangerous 

 sectional agitation may be checked ; that the burdens 

 of taxation, direct or indirect, may be reduced to tho 

 lowest point consistent with good faith to every just 

 national obligation and with a strictly economical 

 administration of the Government, and that the 

 States may be restored in their integrity and true 

 relations to our Federal Union. 



