, 1876-12-09

f0fGl0C8ClOQS Hill uhnu1dCbuI0 Oh small
arms. and to replenish the working stock
rr;ations for these last named have for the
nast ten years been so distributed that the
acsumulations in store will be entirely ex-
hausted during the present year, and it
will be necessary to at once begin to re-
plenish them.
I invite your special attention to the fol-
lowing Recommendations of the Secretary
of War:
First-That the claims under the act OF
July 4, 1864, for supplies taken by the
army during the war, be raised from the
Office of the Quartermaster and Commits
sary Generals, and transferred to the claims
commissioners. These claims are of pre-
cisely similar nature to those now before
the southern claims commission, and the
war department bureaus have not the cleri-
cal force for their examination nor the
proper machinery for investigating the
loyalty of the claimants.
Second-That Congress sanction the
scheme of an annuity fund for the benefit
of the families of deceased officers, and
that it also provide for the permanent Or
ganization of the regular service, both Of
which were recommended in my last an
nual message.
Third--That the manufacturing opera
tions of the ordnance, be concentrated at
an armorv; and that the remaining be sold
and the proceeds applied to this object by
the ordnance department.
RIVER AND HARBoR IMPROVEMENTS.
The appropriation for river and harbor
improvements for the present year was
$5,OOO,OOO With my approval, the Sc
cretary of War directed that of this amount
$4,000, 600 should be expended, and no
works should be begun and now prosecut-
ed which were not of national Importance.
Subsequently this amount was increased
to So, 237 600, and works are now progress
sing on this basis. The Improvement Of
the South Pass of the Mississippi river un-
der James B. Eads and his associates is
progressing favorably. At the present time
there is channel of 20 $40 feet in depth
between the jetties at the mouth of the
pass and 1917 feet at the head OF the pass
Neither channel, however, has the width
required before payments can be made by
the United States. A commission of en-
gineer officers is now examining these
works, and their reports will presented as
soon as received.
THE NAVY.
The report of the Secretary of the Navy
shows that branch of service to be in con-
dition as effective as it is possible to keep
it with the means appropriated to the de-
partment. 1t is, of course, impossible to
rival the costly and progressive establish
ments of great European powers, with the
old material of our navy to which no in
crease has been authorized since the war
except the eight small cruisers built to sup
ply the place of others which had gone to
tbo hos hoon 1.,v, al hof
possible with the means at command, and
by substantially rebuilding some of our
old ships with durable material, and COM
pleting, repairing and refitting our moni-
tor feet, the navy has been gradually so
brought up, that though, if it does not
maintain its relative position with the pro-
gressive navies of the world it is now in
condition more powerful and effective than
it has ever been in time of peace. The
complete repairs of our five heavy IRON
clads are only delayed on account of the
inadequacy of the appropriations made
last year for working the bureaus of the
department which were actually less in
amount than those made before the war,
notwithstanding the greatly enhanced price
of labor and material, and the increase in
cost of naval service growing out of the
universal use, and great expense of steam
machinery necessary for these repairs. It
should be provided for at once so they
may be completed with unnecessary delay
and expense; when this is done all the
strength that there is in the navy will be
developed and useful to it's full capacity,
and will be powerful for the purpose of
defense, and also for offensive action,
should necessity for that arise within a
reasonable distance from our shores; and
the fact that our navy is not more modern
and powerful than tbs has been madea cause
OF complaint against the Secretary of the
Navy by persons who at the same time
criticise and complain of his endeavors to
bring the navy that we have to its best and
most efficient condition. But the good
sense of the country will understand that
it is really to his practical action that we
have at thisstime any effective naval force
at command.
POSTOFFICE DEPARTMENT.
The report of the postmaster general
shows the excess of expenditures, exclu-
ding expenditures on account of the previ-
GUS year, over receipts for the fiscal year
ending June 3Oth, 1876, to be $4, 141, $685.
66. Estimated expenditures for the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1878, are $36, ,723,-
432 43. Estimated revenue for the same
period, $50, ,645, 1866, leaving an estimated
excess OF expenditure to be appropriated
as deficiency of Sc, OF 1857 43. The post
master general, like his predecessor, is
convinced thata change in the basis of ad-
!usting the salaries of postmasters of the
fourth class is necessary for the good of
the service as we'll as for the interests of
the Government, and urgently recommends
that compensation of the class of post
masters above mentioned be based on the
business of their respective offices, as
ascertained by the sworn returns of the
stamps cancelled.
A few postmasters in the Southern States
have expressed great apprehension of their