Morning journal and courier., 1881-12-07

the ection of the State department in 'dissem- mating the rules and in acQuainting ship masters of the option of conforming to them without the jurisdictional waters of the
 United States, they are now very generally
 known and obeyed.
 The State department still continues to
 publish to the country the trade and manu- featuring reports received from it's officers abroad. The success of this course warrants it's continuance and such appropriation as may be required to meet the rapidly increas- ing demand for these publications. With special reference to the Atlanta Cotton Ex- position, the October number of the reports was devoted to valuable collection of pa-
 pers on the cotton goods trade of the world.
 The International Sanitary Conference, for which, in 1879, Congress made provision, re- assembled in this city early in January last, and it's sessions were prolonged until March.
 Although it reached no specific conclusions affecting the future action of the participant
 powers, the interchange of views proved to
 be most valuable. The full protocols of the sessions have been already presented to the Senate. As pertinent to this general subject
 I call your attention to the operations of the National Board of Health, established by act
 of Congress, approved March 3d, 1879. Its
 sphere of duty was enlarged by the act of
 June 2d in the same year. By the last named
 act the Board was required to institute such
 measures as might be deemed necessary for
 preventing the introduction of contagious or infectious diseases from foreign countries
 into the United States, or from one State
 into another. The execution of the rules
 and regulations prepared by the board, and
 approved by my predecessor, has done much
 to arrest the progress of epidemic disease
 and has thus established service to the nation
 The International Sanitary Conference, to
 which I have referred, adopted form of 8
 bill of health to be used by all vessels seek
 ing to enter the ports of countries whose re-
 presentatives participated in it's deliberations.
 This form has since been prescribed by the
 National Board of Health and incorporated
 with it's rules and regulations, which have
 been approved by me in pursuance of law.
 The health of the people is of supreme i'm
 portance and all measures looking to their protection against the spread of contagious diseases, and to increase our sanitary knowledge for such purposes, deserve the at- tention of Congress.
 THE FINANCES.
 The report of the Secretary of the Treasury represents in detail 8 highly satisfactory ex- hibit of the state of the finances and the con- dition of the various branches of the public service administered by that department. The ordinary revenues from all sources for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881, were-from customs, $19s, 150, ,676 O2; from internal reve- nue, $135, 264, ,4S5.51; from sales of public bonds, $251, ,021, S63.17; tax on circulation and deposits of National banks, $9, 116, 115.- 72; from the repayment of interest by Pacific Railway companies, $S10, 833 80; from sink ing fund for the Pacific Railway companies, SS05, 1SO. 54; fIom customs fees, fines, penal ties, etc., $225, 514. SC; for fees, consular let ters, patents and lands, $2, PA 9S3. 99;' from proceeds of sales of government property $26, 217 400; from profits on coinage, $3,- 46s. .4S5.61; from revenues of the District of Columbia. $2,o16, 199 28; from miscellaneous sources, $6, ,206. ESQ., 13. Total ordinary receipts, $360, TSP, 292 57 The ordinary expenditures for the same period were |: For civil expenses, $17, ,941,- 177.19; for foreign intercourse, $1,093,- 954 92 for Indians, $6, 514, 101 .O9; for pen sions, $50, 059, 279.62; for the military estab- lishment, including river and harbor i'm provements and arsenals, $40, 466, AGO. .55; for the naval establishment, including ves- sels, machinery, improvements at navy yards, S15, CSC, ,671. .66; for miscellaneous expendi- lures, including public buildings, lighthouses and collecting the revenue, $41, S37, ,2S0.57; for expenditures. on account of the District of Columbia. $3, 543, ,912. .03 for interest on the public debt, $S2, sos. TAI. IS, for premium on bonds purchased $1, ,O6f, 24S.7S. Total ordinary expenditures, $260, TIP, S97.59. leav- ing surplus of revenue of $1OO, ,O69, ,4o4. 9s, the redemption of bonds, the sink ing fund, $74, ,371, 200; fractional cur rency for the sinking fund, $1O9, ,OO1. O5 loan of February, 1861, $7,419,0O0; ten forties of 1864, $2,O16, 15O; fve.twenties of 1862, SIS, BOG, GOO; five-twenties of 1864, $3 400, 900; fve-twenties of 1865, $37, ,3OO,- GOO; eonsols of 1865, Ss143, 150; consols of 1867, $959, 15O; consols of 1868, $337, 400; Texan indemnity stock, $1OO, 900; old demand compound interest and other notes, $1, ESQ., GOO, and to the increase of cash in the Treas ury, $14, 637, ,023. 93 total, $1OO, ,069, 4O4 9S. The requirements of the sinking fund for the year amounted to $9O, 7S6, 064.02, which sum included balance of $49, ,S17, ,12S.7s not pro vided for during the present fiscal year. The sum of $74, ,4SO, POI. .O5 was applied to this fund, which left deficit of SIG, 305, ,873. AT. The increase of the revenues for 1881 over those of the previous year was $29 1852 ,9Ol.- 10. It is estimated that the receipts during the present fiscal year will reach $4O0, ,000,- 900, and the expenditures $27O, 900, ,000, leav- ing surplus of $13O, ,OOO, ,OOO, applicable to the sinking fund and the redemption of the public debt.
 I approve the recommendation of the Sec retary of the Treasury, that provision be made for the early retirement of silver cer tifcates and that the act requiring their is- sue be repealed. They were issued in pur- suance of the policy of the government to maintain silver at or near the gold standard, and were accordingly made receivable for all customs, taxes and public dues. About S66, GOO, GOO of them are now outstanding. They form an unnecessary addition to the paper currency, a sufficient amount of which may be readily supplied by the national banks.
 In accordance with the Act of February 2S, 1878, the Treasury department has monthly caused at least $2,00o,O00 in value of silver bullion to be coined into standard silver dollars 10,OO0,OO0 of these dollars have been already coined, while only about $34 ,OO0, GOO are in circulation. For the req sons which he specifies, I concur in the Sec recommendation that the provision for coinage of a fixed amount each month be repealed, and that hereafter only so much be coined as shall be necessary to supply the de- mand. The Secretary advises that the issue of gold certificates should not for the present be resumed, and sugg ests that the national banks may properly be forbidden by law to retire their currency, except upon reasonable notice of their intention so to do. Such leg islation would seem to be justified by the re- cent action of certain banks on the occasion referred to in the Secretary report of the S15, ,o0O, GOO of fractional currency still out standing, only about $50, oOe has been re deemed the past year. The suggestion that this amount may properly be dropped from future statements of the public debt seems ! worthy of approval. So also does the sug- gestion of the Secretary as to the advisability l of relieving the calendar of the United States | courts In the southern Q1SJrlcb or NoW 1OIK, | by the transfer to another tribunal of the | numerous suits there pending against collec- | tors.
 The revenue from customs for the past fis- | cal year was $199, ,159, ,676.02, an increase of | S11, ,637, ,611 42 over that of the year preced- 1 ing. $13S ,09s, ,562.39 of this amount was | collected at the port of New York, leaving | $50. 251, ,113 63 as the amount collected at all | the other ports of the country. Of this sum i BY, ,977, 137. 63 was collected on sugar, mela- | do and molasses $27, ,2S5, ,624.7S on wool and | it's manufactures; $21, ,462, ,534. 34 on iron and | steel, and manufactures thereof; SIS, ,038,- | 565. S1 on manufactures of silk $10,825,- I15. 21 on manufactures of cotton and &C., | 469, ,643 O4 on wines and spirits, making a l total revenue from these sources of $133,- | 159, ,720. The expenses for collection during | the past year were $6, 419, 345.20, an increase l over the preceding year of $367, ,410.- | )4 Notwithstanding the increase in | the revenue from customs over the | year, the gross value of the imports, | including free goods, decreased over $25, ,000,- poo. The most marked decrease was in the | value of unmanufactured wool, $114, ,O23,- 5s2, and that of scrap and pig iron, $12, s10,- 671 The value of imported sugar on the | other hand showed an increase of $7, 457,- i74 of staal rails S4 345 521 of harley Ss2-