Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1866-12-14

liable to tax shall be increased from 5000 to
$1,000, with a ike exemption to officers of
the United States Government who pay a
tax on salaries. There IS much interest in
the workings Of the Internal Revenue de-
partment, and the subject is clearly present
cd by Mr.. Rollins.
The Report ofthc Secretary of the Navy.
The annual report of Gideon wells, Sec
retary Of the Navy, occupies forty-two
pages, document size lie states that The
large navy necessary during the war has
been reduced and brought within the limits
of a proper peace establishment, and con
graduates the country that since the surren-
der Of the armies and the termination of
the blockade, tranquility has peryaded the
States which were in rebellion. lie then
discourses at length upon the peaceful sub
mission Of the South to the result Of the
war observes that he is not at all surprised
that its people should oppose the attttemIRt
s.l4I - "a. tlIo nature of eE post facto laws,
and "a constitutional amendment in the prep
aration and prescntment Of which they had
no voice or representation. The New Or
leans massacre he asserts was in the begin
ming a domestic disturbance of local char
acter, having its origin in a controversy
concerning the State Government, and
proclaims the fact that the riot was speedily
suppressed without assistance from the
naval vessels which were in front of the
city and ready to render aid il required -
In the next paragraph general exhibit of
the navy is given, from which We learn that
the total number Of vessels at this time is
two hundred and seventy eight. armed with
two thousand three hundred and fifty-on
guns, one hundred and fifteen of the mum
Der, armed with one thousand aud twenty
nine guns, being in commission and on active
duty The total number of seamcn is about
5000. i list of the vessels composing
the different squadIons, aud the movements
Of each during the year, Is given that the
policy Of the department Is not to allow the
country to become complicated in the con
troyersics Of other powers with Japan is
announced and the course pursued by
Commodore Rodgers in maintaining a strict
neutrality during the bombardment of Val
paralso is approved. In regard to the
building Of vessels, he believes that the
Government should have its own shops and
machinery and construct Its own iron and
armored naval vessels, and, that in the event
OF foreign war one Of the navy yards
north Of the Chesapeake could be better
dispensed with than the one at Pen
sac0la or at Norfolk, and he therefore rec
Ommends that the two named should be
placed Ill an efficient condition, particularly,
as the peace and unity, which constitute the
North and South one country and one peo-
pie, have been re established. The Secre-
tary recommends the establishment of a
bureau which shall have in charge all sub
jects relating to men-of-wars-men and the
shipped seamen Of the merchant service
urges the Senate to speedily pass the bill
accepting League island for naval purposes,
SO that the necessary appropriations may
be made for deepening the channel, prepa-
ring docks rnd making other arrangements
Tor the care and protection of che iron -clads
now there, and earnestly advocates the
establishment of navy yard on the Della
ware which should have ten times the water
front and twenty times the area of the one
in Philadelphia
Report of the Secretary of the Inte-
rioT.
The exhibit of the operations of the De-
partment of the Interior during the past year
made by Secretary Browning, gives com
plete account of the various interests commit
ted to its charge. From it we learn that dur
ing the fiscal year ending June so, 1866,
1920, 81 acres of public land were dispos-
ed Of, the number of homestead entries ex-
ceeding that of any previous year by more
than sixty per cent. The entire amount of
public domain is /, ,465, 468, 800 acres Of which
All, ,160,55 acres have been surveyed; and
the coal land of the United States is estimated
at two hundred thousand square miles The
invalid pensions of wars prior to the rebellion
are said to be only three thousand, and the
widows and children who receive pension
by reason Of the services and death of those
who served in such wars, one thousand two
hundred and twenty.seven. Of NEW army
pensioners added TO the rolls during the year
ending June 80. 1866, there were 1921, re-
quiring for their payment S4,500,528 81 per
annum and on the same day there we're in all
124, 500 army pensioners, at an annual aggre-
gate of SII ,413, 122 &c, and 2,2l3 naval pen
sioners, requiring for their annual payment
$261, 1852 05. The navy pension fund accru-
ing from the sale of prizes amounts to S11,-
$50, 900, the interest on which is more than
double the amount necessary to pay the navy
pensions. In alluding to the Indian troubles,
the Secretary states that collisions have been
less frequent than is generally believed and
that peace has been the rule, and not the ex-
ception, between the Mississippi river and the
n cclrvy Moupfafns In fha pateut na,.o .