786 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



Its beginnings are found in an order in council, 

 promulgated in 1855, and it was after patient and cau- 

 tious scrutiny of its workings that fitteen years later 

 it took its present shape. 



Five years after the issuance of the order in coun- 

 cil, and at a time when resort had been had to com- 

 petitive examinations as an experiment, much more 

 extensively than has yet been the case in this coun- 

 try, a select committee of the House of Commons 

 made a report to that House, which, declaring its ap- 

 proval of the competitive plan, deprecated, neverthe- 

 less, any precipitancy in its general adoption, as like- 

 ly to endanger its ultimate success. 



During this tentative period the results of the two 

 methods of pass examination and competitive exami- 

 nation were closely watched and compared. It may 

 be that, before we confine ourselves upon this impor- 

 tant 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 mis- 

 chiefs 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 attain- 

 ments of candidates hi 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 fail- 

 ure 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 exe- 

 cute the provisions of that law according to its letter 

 and spirit. 



I am unwilling, in justice to the present civil serv- 

 ants of the Government, to dismiss this subject with- 

 out declaring my dissent from the severe and almost 

 indiscriminate censure with which they have been re- 

 cently 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 ex- 

 tent, variety, delicacy, and importance of their duties 

 are considered, the great majority of the employes of 

 the Government are, in my judgment, deserving of 

 hiffh 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 in- 

 terest diminishing, but it is less than when our ex- 

 ports and imports were not half so large as now, either 

 in bulk or value. There must be some peculiar hin- 

 drance 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 sub- 

 ject to the wisdom of Congress, with the suggestion 

 that_no question of greater magnitude or farther-reach- 

 ing importance can engage their attention. 



In 1875 the Supreme Court of the United States de- 

 clared unconstitutional the statutes of certain States 

 which imposed upon ship-owners or consignees a tax 



of one dollar and a half 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 at- 

 tending 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 mani- 

 fer-tly 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 rea- 

 son 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 neces- 

 sity 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 provid- 

 ing for the construction of a building for the Library 

 of Congress, but it failed to become a law. The pro- 

 vision 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 or the harbor-lines along the Poto- 

 mac River front. 



It is represented that in their present condition 

 these marshes seriously affect the health of the resi- 

 dents 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 improve- 

 ment 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 ex- 

 tending 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 inhabit- 

 ants. 



I commend these subjects to your favorable con- 

 sideration. 



The importance of timely legislation with respect 

 to the ascertainment and declaration of the vote for 

 presidential electors was sharply called to the atten- 

 tion 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 tem- 

 porary 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 sug- 

 gested 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 Consti- 

 tution, 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 said office, the same shall devolve 

 on the Vice-President." 



What is the intendment of the Constitution in its 



