UNITED STATES, FINANCES OF THE. 



781 



begun when the repealing act was passed, and 

 this view was acted on. 



Miscellaneous* The amount of public lands 

 disposed of during the last fiscal year was 

 19,430,032-80 acres, of which 339,235.90 were 

 Indian lands, and 1,999,335'71 acres were 

 grants to railroads. The receipts for lands 

 disposed of were $11,718,888.70, an increase 

 on 1882 of $3,319,367.66. There were pre-emp- 

 tion and private entries of 4,465,665 49 acres; 

 timber - culture entries, 3,110,930-23 acres; 

 homestead entries, 56,565 in number, aggre- 

 gating 8,171,914-38 acres. 



The work of educating the Indians was ex- 

 tended during the year, and there is now pro- 

 vision for the education of 11,000. 



A noteworthy event of the year was the 

 completion of the main line of the Northern 

 Pacific Railroad in September. The last spike 

 was driven on the 9th 'of that month, at a point 

 on the Pacific slope of the Rocky mountains 

 50 miles west of Helena, Montana, and 30 

 miles west of the Grand Divide, 2,500 miles 

 from the Atlantic Ocean, and 800 miles from 

 the Pacific. The opening of the line from 

 Lake Superior to the Pacific was celebrated 

 by the company, under the direction of its 

 president, Henry Villard, an excursion being 

 made over the' whole line in September. 



The President made a trip to Florida in the 

 spring, leaving Washington April 5th. On the 

 30th of July he left the capital tor a trip to 

 the West. He attended the opening of the 

 Exposition at Louisville, Ky., on Aug. 1st, and 

 proceeded to the Yellowstone Park by way of 

 Chicago, St. Paul, and the Northern Pacific 

 Railroad. He reached Chicago on his return 

 Sept. 5th, and two days later arrived at the 

 capital, but made no extended stay there until 

 nearly two months later. 



UNITED STATES, FINANCES OF THE. The most 

 noteworthy events in the financial history of 

 the year 1883 were the reduction of the inter- 

 nal revenue taxes and the revision of the tariff; 

 the steady decrease of the public debt, involv- 

 ing the redemption of the remainder of the 3 

 per cent, bonds and the calling in of a part of 

 the 3 per cents.; the agitation of the question 

 of a further revision of the tariff, in order to 

 bring about the reduction of the revenue which 

 the first revision seems to have failed to pro- 

 duce ; and the discussion of plans to avert the 

 contraction of the currency, which it is feared 

 may follow the rapid redemption of the bonds 

 most desirable as a basis for the bank circulation. 



Receipts and Expenditures. The receipts and 

 expenditures of the Government for the calen- 

 dar years 1882 and 1883 were: 



The surplus revenue for 1883, with $3,624,- 

 333.36 drawn from the cash in the treasury, 

 and $1,500 recovered of moneys heretofore 

 charged off as unavailable, making a total of 

 $115,141,780.86, was expended in the redemp- 

 tion of the public debt. 



There was a falling off of $44.328,925.45 in 

 1883, as compared with the preceding calendar 

 year, in the receipts from the following sources : 



Customs, $23,625,791.28; internal revenue, 

 $14,993,221.99; tax on national banks, $3,- 

 011,274.66; and miscellaneous, $2,698,637.52. 

 There was an increase of $4,968,865.41 in the 

 receipts from sales of public lands, making a 

 net decrease of $39,360,060.04 in the total 

 revenues of the Government. 



There was an increase of $15,488,625.38 in 

 the expenditures during the year on the fol- 



