Year: 1874

. questionable whethe r or not lars
D amounts are not lost by failure to CO
. lect, to the direct loss Of the Treasur
t and to the prejudice of the interests {
, honest importers Of taxpayers.


The Secretary of the Treasury, in hi
report, favors legislation looking to
AN EARLY RETURN TO SPECIE PAYMENT
thus supporting the views previousl
r expressed in this message. He ais
, recommends economy in appropria
tions. calls attention to the loss of rev
enue from repeating the tax on tea an,
coffee without benefit to the consumer


and recommends an increase OF 10 cent


per gallon on whisky; and further, tha


no modification be made in the bank


ing and currency bills passed last ses


sion of Congress, unless modification


should become necessary by reason o


the adoption of the Treasurer's recon


mendation for returning to specie pay


ments. And in these recommendation


| cordially join. l would suggest e


Congress the propriety of readjustins


the tariff so as to increase the revenue
and at the same time decrease the mum


Der of articles upon which duties are


levied. Those articles which enter in.
to oar manufactures. and are not pro.
duced at home, it seems to me should
be treated free. Those articles of man.


ufacture of which we produce q cou.
stituent part, but do not produce the
whole, that part which we do not pro.
duce should enter free also. 1 will in
stance fine wool, dyes, sc. These arti-
cles must be imported to form a part oil
the manufacture of the higher grades OF
wOolen goods. Chemicals used as dyes,
| compounded in medicines, and used in
various ways in manufactures, come un-
| der this class. The introduction, free
o: duty, of such woods as we do not
produce should stimulate the manu-
facture of goods requiring the use of
those we do produce and therefore
would benefit home productions. There
are many articles entering into home
manufacturers which we do not pro-
duce ourselves, the tariff upon which
increases to cost of producing the man.
ufactured articles. All corrections in
this regard are in the direction of bring
ing labor and capital in harmony with
each other. aud of supplying one of the
elements of prosperity so much needed.


THE ARMY AND NAVY.


The report of the Secretary of War.
herewith attached, and forming a part
of this message, gives all the informa-
ton concerning the operations, wants
and necessities of the army, and con-
tains many suggestions and recOmmen-
dations which commend to your at
tentiDn. There is no class of, Govern
ment employees who are harder worked
than the army officers and men; none
who perform their tasks more cheer
fully and efficiently, uader circum-
stances of the great privations and hard
ships. 1t is desirable to render more
efficient this branch of the public SER
vice. All the recommendation of the
Secretary of War regard rs judicious.
and specially command to your at
tentiOn the following: Consolidation of
Government arsenals; the restoration
of mileage TO officers travelling under
orders; the exemption Of money feceiv-
ed from the sale of subsistence stores
from being covered into the Treasury;
the use ofappropriations for subsistence
stores without waiting for the Begin
ming of the fiscal year for which the
appropriations are made; for addition
al appropriations for the collection of
torpedo material; for increased appro-
priations in the manufacture Of arms:
for relieving the States from Indebted
ness for arms charged to them during
the rebellion; for dropping officers from
the rolls Of the army without trial for
the offense Of drawing pay moro than
once for the same period; for the dis
eoufagement of the plan Of paying sold
iers by checks; and the establishment
OF profeasorship of rhetoric and En-
glish literature at West Point.


The reason for these recommends
tions are obvions, and are set forth
sufficiently in the report attached.


l also recommend that the staff corps
of the army be fixed, where this has
not been done, so that promotions may
be made, and vacancies filled as they
occur in each grade when reduced be-
low the number to be fixed by law.
The necessity for such a regulation is
specially felt now In the pay depart
ment. The number of officers In that
department is below the number ade-
quate to the performance of the duties
required of them by law. The effici-
ency of the Navy has been largely in
creased during the last year under the
impulse of the foreign complications
which threatened us at the commence
n,ent of the last session of Congress.
Most of our efficient wooden ships were
put in condition for immediate service
and the repair of our Iron Clad feet
were pushed with the utmost vigor.
The result is that the most of these are
now in an effective state and need only
to be manned and put in commission
to go at once into service. Some of the |
new sloops authorized by Congress are
already in commission, and the most |
of the remainder are launched and only
wait the completion of their machinery !
to enable them to take their places as
part of our effective force. Two iron
torpedo ships have been completed dur
ing the last year, and four of onr large
double turretted Iron Clads are now
undergoing repairs. When these are
finished everything that is useful of
our Navy as now authorized, will be in
condition for service, and with the sd-
vance in the science of torpedo warfare,
the American Navy, comparatively
small as it is, will be found at any time
powerful enough for the purpose of q
peaceful nation.


THE SOUTHERN STATES.


Your attention will be drawn to the
unsettled condition of affairs in some
of the Southern States. On tho 14th Of
September last the Governor of Louis.
lana called upon me, as provided by
the Constitution and laws Of the United
States, to aid him in suppressing the
domestic violence in that State; This
call was made in view of q proclama-
ton issued on that day, by d. B. Penn,
claiming that he was elected Lieuten-
anti Governor in 1872, and calling upon
the militia of the State to arm, assem-
BILE and drive from power the usurpers,
as he designated the officers of the State
government. The next day / issued
my proclamation commanding the in
surgents to disperse within five days