Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1864-12-15


being an actual increase durin~ the year,
over and above all losses by shipwreck or in
battle, of s. vessels, 167 guns, and ~, 427
tons. The total number of men at this time
in the naval service, including officers, is
about 81, 900.
There have been captured By the navy
during the year, 324 vessels, and the whole
number Of naval captures since hostilities
commenced, is !, 800 Of which 267 are steam
ers. The gross proceeds arising from the
sale Of condemned prize property thus
far reported, amounts to ga 396, 250.5l. 4
large amount of such proceeds is still
/ under adjudication, and yet to be reported
The total expenditures of the Davy Ne
| partment, of every description, including the
cost of the immense squadrons that have
! been called into existence, from the 4th of
March, 1851, to the 1st of November, 1854,
are 1898, Ga, 262. 80.
Your favorable consideration is invited to
| the various recommendations of the Secre-
| tary Of the navy, especially in regard to
hayward and a suitable establishment for
the construction and repair of iron vessels
and the machinery and armature for our
| ships, to which reference was made in my
! last annual message. Your attention is also
/ invited to the views expressed in the report
! in relation to the legislation of congress at
| the last session in respect to prizes in our
/ inland waters. | cordially concur in the re
! commentator Of the secretary as to the
| propriety of creating the new rank of vice
! admiral in our naval service
POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT.
Your attention is invited to the report of
| the Postmaster General for detailed account
Of the operations and financial condition of
| the Post Office Department. The postal rev.
enues for the year ending June 30th, 1854,
amounted to So, ABS, 253.78, and the expen-
| dltures to so, 644, 1920, the excess of eX-
| penditures over receipts being S206, 6o242
| The views presented by the Postmaster Gen
eral on the subject of special grants by the
| government in aid of the establishment ofnew
| lines of ocean mail steamships, and the policy
| he recommends for the development of in
| creased commercial Intercourse with adjacent
and neighboring countries, should receive the
| careful consideration Of Congress.
THE NEW STATE.
| The organization and admission of the
| State of Nevada has been completed, in con-
| formity with the laws, and thus our excellent
| system is firmly established in the mountains
which once seemed a barren and uninhabited
| waste, between the Atlantic States and those
which have grown up on the coast Of the Pa
! cific Ocean.
THE TERRITORIES.
The Territories of the United States are
generally in a condition of prosperity and
rapid growth. Idaho and Montana, by reason
| of their great distance and the interception
of communication with them by Indian hos
| tilities, have been only partially organized,
| but it is understood that these difficulties are
about to disappear, which will permit their
10 Of 9th to into
| speedy and full operation.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.
| 1t is of noteworthy interest that the steady
| expansion of population and improvement in
| Governmental institutions over the new and
noccupied portions of our country have
scarcely been checked, much less impeded
or destroyed by our great civil war, which at
| first glance would seem to have absorbed al
most the entire energies Of the nation.
| As intimately connected with, and promo
tive of this material growth Of the nation,
ask the attention of Congress to the valuable
information and important recommendations
| relating to the public lands, Indian affairs,
| the Pacific Railroad, and mineral discoveries
| contained in the report Of the Secretary of
| the Interior, which is herewith transmitted,
| and which report also embraces the subjects
OF patents, PENSIONS and other topics of pub
| lie interest pertaining to his Department.
TIE PUBLIC LANDS
The quantity Of public land disposed of
| during the five quarters ending on the Both
| of September last was 1921 ,342 acres, Of
| which l, 539, GA acres were entered under
the homestead law. The remainder was To-
Gated with military warrants and agricultural
| scrip certified to states for railroads, and
| sold for cash. The cash receipts for sales
| i IL n1n MI
come from sales during the fiscal year ending
| June 30th, 1864, was S67S, O07.21, against
| S636, 07795 receipts the preceding year,
The aggregate of acres surveyed during the
year has been equal to the quantity disposed
of, and there is open to settlement about
| 133, 000,0 900 acres Of surveyed land.
| PACIFIC RAILROAD.
The great enterprise of connecting the At
lantic with the Pacific by railroad and tele-
graph lines has been entered upon with a
| vigor that gives assurance of success. Not
| outstanding the embarrassments arising from
the prevailing high prices of materials and
labor, the route of the main line of the road
has been definitely located for 100 miles
westw ard from the initial point at Omaha City,
Nebraska, and preliminary location of the
Pacific Railroad of California has been made
from Sacramento eastward to the great bend
| of Mucker river in Nevada.
MINES.
Numerous discoveries of gold, silver and
cinnabar mines have been added to the many
| heretofore known, and the country occupied
by the Sierra Nevada and Rocky mountains
and the subordinate ranges now teens with
enterprising labor, which is richly remunera-
tive. 1t is believed that the product of the
mines of precious metals in that region has,
during the year, reached, if not exceeded
$500, 900, 600 in value.
THE INDIAN SYSTEM.
1t was recommended in my last annual mes
sage that our Indian system be remodeled
Congress, at its last session, acting on the re,
commentator, did provide for recognizing
, the system in California, and it is believed
that under the present organization the man
| aoement of the Indians there will be attended
with reasonable success. Much yet remains
to be done to provide for the proper govern
ment of the Indians in other parts of the
country, to render it secure for the advanc
ing settler, AID to provide for the welfare o.
the Indian The Secretary reiterates his re
Communications, and to them the attention Of
Congress is invited.
PENSIONS.
The liberal provisions to the invalid sol
diers and sailors of the Republic, and to the
widows, orphans, and dependent mothers O.
those who have fallen in battle or died of dis
ease contracted or of wounds received IN the
service of their country, have been diligently
administered. There have been admitted tc
the pension rolls during the year ending the
3Oth day of June last, the names OF 1910