668 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



the peace and restore order without the use of force. 

 In the discharge of this delicate and important duty, 

 both officers and men acted with great prudence and 

 courage, and for their services deserve the thanks of 

 the country. 



Disturbances along the Eio Grande, in Texas, to 

 which I have already referred, have rendered nec- 

 essary the constant employment of a military force 

 in that vicinity. A full report of all recent military 

 operations in that quarter has been transmitted to 

 the House of Representatives in answer to a resolu- 

 tion of that body, and it will, therefore, not be nec- 

 essary to enter into details. I regret to say that 

 these lawless incursions into our territory by armed 

 bauds from the Mexican side of the line, for the 

 purpose of robbery, have been of frequent occur- 

 rence, and in spite of the most vigilant efforts of the 

 commander of our forces the marauders have gener- 

 ally succeeded in escaping into Mexico with their 

 plunder. In May last I gave orders for the exercise 

 of the utmost vigilance on the part of our troops for 

 the suppression of these raids and the punishment 

 of the guilty parti&s, as well as the recapture of 

 property stolen by them. General Ord, command- 

 ing in Texas, was directed to invite the cooperation 

 of the Mexican authorities in efforts to this end, and 

 to assure them that I was anxious to avoid giving 

 the least offense to Mexico. At the same time, he 

 was directed to give notice of my determination to 

 put an end to the invasion of our territory by law- 

 less bands, intent upon the plunder of our peaceful 

 citizens, even if the effectual punishment of the out- 

 laws should make the crossing of the border by our 

 troops in their pursuit necessary. It is believed that 

 this policy has had the effect to check somewhat 

 these depredations, and that with a considerable in- 

 crease of our force upon that frontier, and the estab- 

 lishment of several additional military posts along 

 the Bio Grande, so as more effectually to guard that 

 extensive border, peace may be preserved and the 

 lives and property of our citizens in Texas fully pro- 

 tected. 



Prior to the 1st day of July last the Army was, in 

 accordance with law, reduced to the maximum of 

 25,000 enlisted men, being a reduction of 2,500 below 

 the force previously authorized. This reduction was 

 made, as required by law, entirely from the infantry 

 and artillery branches of the service, without any 

 reduction o'f the cavalry. Under the law as it now 

 stands, it is necessary that the cavalry regiments 

 be recruited to one hundred men in each company 

 for service on the Mexican and Indian frontiers. 

 The necessary effect of this legislation is to reduce 

 the infantry and artillery arms of the service below 

 the number required for efficiency, and I concur with 

 the Secretary of War in recommending that author- 

 ity be given to recruit all companies of infantry to 

 at least fifty men, and all batteries of artillery to at 

 least seventy-five men, with the power, in case of 

 emergency, to increase the former to one hundred and 

 the latter to one hundred and twenty-two men each. 



I invite your special attention to the following 

 recommendations of the Secretary of War : 



First. That provision be made for supplying to 

 the Array a more abundant and better supply of 

 reading-matter. 



Second. That early action be taken by Con- 

 press looking to a complete revision and republica- 

 tion of the Army Regulations. 



Third. That section 1258 of the Revised Stat- 

 utes, limiting the number of officers on the retired 

 list, be repealed. 



Fourth. That the claims arising under the act 

 of July 4, 1864, for supplies taken by the Army dur- 

 ing the war, be taken from the offices of the Quarter- 

 master and Commissary Generals and transferred to 

 the Southern Claims Commission, or some other tri- 

 bunal having more time and better facilities for their 

 prompt investigation and decision than are possessed 

 by these officers. 



Fifth. That Congress provide for an annuity- 

 fund for the families of deceased officers, as recom- 

 mended by the Paymaster-General of the Army. 



The report of the Secretary of the Navy shows 

 that we have six squadrons now engaged in the pro- 

 tection of our foreign commerce and other duties 

 pertaining to the naval service. The condition and 

 operations of the department are also shown. The 

 total expenditures for the fiscal year ending June 30, 

 1877, were $16,077,974.54. There are unpaid claims 

 against the department chargeable to the last year, 

 which are presented to the consideration of Congress 

 by the report of the Secretary. The estimates for 

 the fiscal year commencing July 1, 1878, are $16,233,- 

 234.40, exclusive of the sum of $2,314,231, submitted 

 for new buildings, repairs, and improvements at the 

 several navy-yards. The appropriations for the 

 present fiscal year, commencing July 1, 1677, are 

 $13,592,932.90. The amount drawn from the Treas- 

 ury from July 1 to November 1, 1877, is $5,343,037.- 

 40, of which there is estimated to be yet available 

 $1,029,528.30, showing the amount of actual expendi- 

 ture during the first four months of the present fis- 

 cal year to have been $4,313,509.10. 



The report of the Postmaster-General contains 

 a full and clear statement of the operations and con- 

 dition of the Post-Office Department. The ordinary 

 revenues of the department for the fiscal year end- 

 ing June 30, 1877, includingreceipts from the money- 

 order business and from official stamps and stamped 

 envelopes, amounted to the sum of $27,531,585.26. 

 The additional sum of $7,013,000 was realized from 

 appropriations from the General Treasury for various 

 purposes, making the receipts from all sources $34,- 

 544, 885.26. The total expenditures during the fiscal 

 year amounted to $33,486,322.44, leaving an excess 

 of total receipts over total expenditures of $1,058,- 

 562.82, and an excess of total expenditures over or- 

 dinary receipts of $5,954.737.18. Deducting from 

 the total receipts the sum of $63,261.84 received from 

 international money-orders of the preceding fiscal 

 year, and deducting from the total expenditures the 

 sum of $1,163,818.20 paid on liabilities incurred in 

 previous fiscal years, the expenditures and receipts 

 appertaining to the business of the last fiscal year 

 were as follows : 



Expenditures $82,822,504 24 



Beceipta (ordinary, from money-order business 

 and from official postage-stamps) 27,468,828 42 



Excess of expenditures $4,884,180 82 



The ordinary revenues of the Post-Office Depart- 

 ment for the year ending June 30, 1879, are estimated 

 at an increase of three per cent, over those of 1877, 

 making $29,034,098.28, and the expenditures for the 

 same year are estimated at $36,427,771, leaving an 

 estimated deficiency for the year 1879 of $7,398,672.- 

 72. The additional legislation recommended by the 

 Postmaster-General lor improvements of the mnil 

 service, and to protect the postal revenues from the 

 abuses practised under existing laws, is respectfully 

 tommended to the careful consideration of Congress. 

 The report of the Attorney -General contains sev- 

 eral suggestions as to the administration of justice to 

 which I invite your attention. The pressure of bus- 

 iness in the Supreme Court and in certain circuit 

 courts of the United States is now such that serious 

 delays, to the great injury and even oppression of 

 suitors, occur, and a remedy should be sought for this 

 condition of affairs. Whether it will be found in the 

 plan briefly sketched in the report, of increasing the 

 number of judges of the circuit courts, and by means 

 of this addition to the judicial force of creating an 

 intermediate court of errors and appeals, or whether 

 some other mode can be devised for obviating the 

 difficulties which now exist, I leave to your mature 

 consideration. 



The present condition of the Indian tribes on the 

 territory of the United States and our relations with 

 them are fully set forth in the reports of the Sccre- 



