Section 3 of the Act Entitled "an Act to Provide for the Protection of

the salmon fisheries of Alaska," approved March 2, 1889, provides that--

SEC. 3. That section 1956 of the Revised Statutes of the United States is hereby declared to include and apply to all the dominion of the United States in the waters of Bering Sea, and it shall be the duty of the President at a timely season in each year to issue his proclamation, and cause the same to be published for one month in at least one newspaper (if any such there be) published at each United States port of entry on the Pacific coast, warning all persons against entering such waters for the purpose of violating the provisions of said section, and he shall also cause one or more vessels of the United States to diligently cruise said waters and arrest all persons and seize all vessels found to be or to have been engaged in any violation of the laws of the United States therein.

Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States, pursuant to the above-recited statutes, hereby warn all persons against entering the waters of Bering Sea within the dominion of the United States for the purpose of violating the provisions of said section 1956, Revised Statutes; and I hereby proclaim that all persons found to be or to have been engaged in any violation of the laws of the United States in said waters will be arrested and punished as above provided, and that all vessels so employed, their tackle, apparel, furniture, and cargoes, will be seized and forfeited.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 4th day of April, 1891, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and fifteenth.

BENJ. HARRISON.

By the President: JAMES G. BLAINE, Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas, pursuant to an act of Congress approved May 15, 1886, entitled "An act making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of the Indian Department and for fulfilling treaty stipulations with various tribes for the year ending June 30, 1887, and for other purposes," an agreement was entered into on the 14th day of December, 1886, by John V. Wright, Jared W. Daniels, and Charles F. Larrabee, commissioners on the part of the United States, and the Arickaree, Gros Ventre, and Mandan tribes of Indians, residing on the Fort Berthold Reservation, in the then Territory of Dakota, now State of North Dakota, embracing a majority of all the male adult members of said tribes; and

Whereas by an act of Congress approved March 3, 1891, entitled "An act making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of the Indian Department and for fulfilling treaty stipulations with various Indian tribes for the year ending June 30, 1892, and for other purposes," the aforesaid agreement of December 14, 1886, was accepted, ratified, and confirmed, except as to article 6 thereof, which was modified and changed on the part of the United States so as to read as follows:

That the residue of lands within said diminished reservation, after all allotments have been made as provided in article 3 of this agreement, shall be held by the said tribes of Indians as a reservation.

And whereas it is provided in said last above-mentioned act--

That this act shall take effect only upon the acceptance of the modification and changes made by the United States as to article 6 of the said agreement by the said tribes of Indians in manner and form as said agreement was assented to, which said acceptance and consent shall be made known by proclamation by the President of the United States, upon satisfactory proof presented to him that the said acceptance and consent have been obtained in such manner and form.

And whereas satisfactory proof has been presented to me that the acceptance of and consent to the provisions of the act last named by the different bands of Indians residing on said reservation have been obtained in manner and form as said agreement of December 14, 1886, was assented to:

Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested, do hereby make known and proclaim the acceptance of and consent to the modification and changes made by the United States as to article 6 of said agreement by said tribe of Indians as required by the act, and said act is hereby declared to be in full force and effect, subject to all provisions, conditions, limitations, and restrictions therein contained.

All persons will take notice of the provisions of said act and of the conditions and restrictions therein contained, and be governed accordingly.

I furthermore notify all persons to particularly observe that a certain portion of the said Fort Berthold Reservation not ceded and relinquished by said agreement is reserved for allotment to, and also as a reservation for, the said tribes of Indians; and all persons are therefore hereby warned not to go upon any of the lands so reserved for any purpose or with any intent whatsoever, as no settlement or other rights can be secured upon said lands, and all persons found unlawfully thereon will be dealt with as trespassers and intruders; and I hereby declare all the lands sold, ceded, and relinquished to the United States under said agreement, namely, "all that portion of the Fort Berthold Reservation, as laid down upon the official map of the" (then) "Territory of Dakota published by the General Land Office in the year 1885, lying north of the forty-eighth parallel of north latitude, and also all that portion lying west of a north and south line 6 miles west of the most westerly point of the big bend of the Missouri River, south of the forty-eighth parallel of north latitude," open to settlement and subject to disposal as provided in section 25 of the act of March 3, 1891, aforesaid (26 U.S. Statutes at Large, p. 1035).

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of May, A.D. 1891, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and fifteenth.

BENJ. HARRISON.

By the President: WILLIAM F. WHARTON, Acting Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas an agreement for a modus vivendi between the Government of the United States and the Government of Her Britannic Majesty in relation to the fur-seal fisheries in Bering Sea was concluded on the 15th day of June, A.D. 1891, word for word as follows:

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE GOVERNMENT OF HER BRITANNIC MAJESTY FOR A MODUS VIVENDI IN RELATION TO THE FUR-SEAL FISHERIES IN BERING SEA.

For the purpose of avoiding irritating differences and with a view to promote the friendly settlement of the questions pending between the two Governments touching their respective rights in Bering Sea, and for the preservation of the seal species, the following agreement is made without prejudice to the rights or claims of either party:

(1) Her Majesty's Government will prohibit until May next seal killing in that part of Bering Sea lying eastward of the line of demarcation described in article No. 1 of the treaty of 1867 between the United States and Russia, and will promptly use its best efforts to insure the observance of this prohibition by British subjects and vessels.

(2) The United States Government will prohibit seal killing for the same period in the same part of Bering Sea and on the shores and islands thereof the property of the United States (in excess of 7,500 to be taken on the islands for the subsistence and care of the natives), and will promptly use its best efforts to insure the observance of this prohibition by United States citizens and vessels.

(3) Every vessel or person offending against this prohibition in the said waters of Bering Sea outside of the ordinary territorial limits of the United States may be seized and detained by the naval or other duly commissioned officers of either of the high contracting parties, but they shall be handed over as soon as practicable to the authorities of the nation to which they respectively belong, who shall alone have jurisdiction to try the offense and impose the penalties for the same. The witnesses and proofs necessary to establish the offense shall also be sent with them.

(4) In order to facilitate such proper inquiries as Her Majesty's Government may desire to make with a view to the presentation of the case of that Government before arbitrators, and in expectation that an agreement for arbitration may be arrived at, it is agreed that suitable persons designated by Great Britain will be permitted at any time, upon application, to visit or to remain upon the seal islands during the present sealing season for that purpose.

Signed and sealed in duplicate at Washington, this 15th day of June, 1891, on behalf of their respective Governments, by William F. Wharton, Acting Secretary of State of the United States, and Sir Julian Pauncefote, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., H.B.M. envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary.

WILLIAM F. WHARTON. [SEAL.]

JULIAN PAUNCEFOTE. [SEAL.]

Now, therefore, be it known that I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States of America, have caused the said agreement to be made public, to the end that the same and every part thereof may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by the United States of America and the citizens thereof.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 15th day of June, A.D. 1891, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and fifteenth.

BENJ. HARRISON.

By the President: WILLIAM F. WHARTON, Acting Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas it is provided by section 13 of the act of Congress of March 3, 1891, entitled "An act to amend Title LX, chapter 3, of the Revised Statutes of the United States, relating to copyrights," that said act "shall only apply to a citizen or a subject of a foreign state or nation when such foreign state or nation permits to citizens of the United States of America the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as its own citizens, or when such foreign state or nation is a party to an international agreement which provides for reciprocity in the granting of copyright, by the terms of which agreement the United States of America may at its pleasure become a party to such agreement;" and

Whereas it is also provided by said section that "the existence of either of the conditions aforesaid shall be determined by the President of the United States by proclamation made from time to time as the purposes of this act may require;" and

Whereas satisfactory official assurances have been given that in Belgium, France, Great Britain and the British possessions, and Switzerland the law permits to citizens of the United States the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to the citizens of those countries:

Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States of America, do declare and proclaim that the first of the conditions specified in section 13 of the act of March 3, 1891, is now fulfilled in respect to the citizens or subjects of Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Switzerland.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of July, 1891, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and fifteenth.

BENJ. HARRISON.

By the President: WILLIAM F. WHARTON, Acting Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas, pursuant to section 3 of the act of Congress approved October 1, 1890, entitled "An act to reduce the revenue and equalize duties on imports, and for other purposes," the Secretary of State of the United States of America communicated to the Government of Spain the action of the Congress of the United States of America, with a view to secure reciprocal trade, in declaring the articles enumerated in said section 3, to wit, sugars, molasses, coffee, and hides, to be exempt from duty upon their importation into the United States of America; and

Whereas the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Spain at Washington has communicated to the Secretary of State the fact that, in reciprocity and compensation for the admission into the United States of America free of all duty of the articles enumerated in section 3 of said act, the Government of Spain will by due legal enactment and as a provisional measure admit, from and after September 1, 1891, into all the established ports of entry of the Spanish islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico the articles or merchandise named in the following transitory schedule, on the terms stated therein, provided that the same be the product or manufacture of the United States and proceed directly from the ports of said States:

TRANSITORY SCHEDULE.

Products or manufactures of the United States to be admitted into Cuba and Puerto Rico free of duties:

1. Meats, in brine, salted or smoked, bacon, hams, and meats preserved in cans, in lard or by extraction of air, jerked beef excepted.

2. Lard.

3. Tallow and other animal greases, melted or crude, unmanufactured.

4. Fish and shellfish, live, fresh, dried, in brine, smoked, pickled, oysters and salmon in cans.

5. Oats, barley, rye, and buckwheat, and flour of these cereals.

6. Starch, maizena, and other alimentary products of corn, except corn meal.

7. Cotton seed, oil and meal cake of said seed for cattle.

8. Hay, straw for forage, and bran.

9. Fruits, fresh, dried, and preserved, except raisins.

10. Vegetables and garden products, fresh and dried.

11. Resin of pine, tar, pitch, and turpentine.

12. Woods of all kinds, in trunks or logs, joists, rafters, planks, beams, boards, round or cylindric masts, although cut, planed, and tongued and grooved, including flooring.

13. Woods for cooperage, including staves, headings, and wooden hoops.

14. Wooden boxes, mounted or unmounted, except of cedar.

15. Woods, ordinary, manufactured into doors, frames, windows, and shutters, without paint or varnish, and wooden houses, unmounted, without paint or varnish.

16. Wagons and carts for ordinary roads and agriculture.

17. Sewing machines.

18. Petroleum, raw or unrefined, according to the classification fixed in the existing orders for the importation of this article in said islands.

19. Coal, mineral.

20. Ice.

Products or manufactures of the United States to be admitted into Cuba and Puerto Rico on payment of the duties stated:

21. Corn or maize, 25 cents per 100 kilograms.

22. Corn meal, 25 cents per 100 kilograms.

23. Wheat, from January 1, 1892, 30 cents per 100 kilograms.

24. Wheat flour, from January 1, 1892, $1 per 100 kilograms.

Products or manufactures of the United States to be admitted into Cuba and Puerto Rico at a reduction of duty of 25 per cent:

25. Butter and cheese.

26. Petroleum, refined.

27. Boots and shoes in whole or in part of leather or skins.

And whereas the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Spain in Washington has further communicated to the Secretary of State that the Government of Spain will in like manner and as a definitive arrangement admit, from and after July 1, 1892, into all the established ports of, entry of the Spanish islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico the articles or merchandise named in the following schedules A, B, C, and D, on the terms stated therein, provided that the same be the product or manufacture of the United States and proceed directly from the ports of said States:

SCHEDULE A.

Products or manufactures of the United States to be admitted into Cuba and Puerto Rico free of duties:

1. Marble, jasper, and alabaster, natural or artificial, in rough or in pieces, dressed, squared, and prepared for taking shape.

2. Other stones and earthy matters, including cement, employed in building, the arts and industries.

3. Waters, mineral or medicinal.

4. Ice.

5. Coal, mineral.

6. Resin, tar, pitch, turpentine, asphalt, schist, and bitumen.

7. Petroleum, raw or crude, in accordance with the classification fixed in the tariff of said islands.

8. Clay, ordinary, in paving tiles, large and small, bricks, and roof tiles unglazed, for the construction of buildings, ovens, and other similar purposes.

9. Gold and silver coin.

10. Iron, cast, in pigs, and old iron and steel.

11. Iron, cast, in pipes, beams, rafters, and similar articles for the construction of buildings and in ordinary manufactures. (See repertory.)

12. Iron, wrought, and steel, in bars, rails and bars of all kinds, plates, beams, rafters, and other similar articles for construction of buildings.

13. Iron, wrought, and steel, in wire, nails, screws, nuts, and pipes.

14. Iron, wrought, and steel, in ordinary manufactures, and wire cloth unmanufactured. (See repertory.)

15. Cotton, raw, with or without seed.

16. Cotton seed, oil and meal cake of same for cattle.

17. Tallow and all other animal greases, melted or crude, unmanufactured.

18. Books and pamphlets, printed, bound and unbound.

19. Woods of all kinds, in trunks or logs, joists, rafters, planks, beams, boards, and round or cylindric masts, although cut, planed, tongued and grooved, including flooring.

20. Wooden cooperage, including staves, headings, and wooden hoops.

21. Wooden boxes, mounted or unmounted, except of cedar.

22. Woods, ordinary, manufactured into doors, frames, windows, and shutters, without paint or varnish, and wooden houses, unmounted, without paint or varnish.

23. Woods, ordinary, manufactured into all kinds of articles, turned or unturned, painted or varnished, except furniture. (See repertory.)

24. Manures, natural or artificial.

25. Implements, utensils, and tools for agriculture, the arts, and mechanical trades.

26. Machines and apparatus, agricultural, motive, industrial, and scientific, of all classes and materials, and loose pieces for the same, including wagons, carts, and handcarts for ordinary roads and agriculture.

27. Material and articles for public works, such as railroads, tramways, roads, canals for irrigation and navigation, use of waters, ports, light-houses, and civil construction of general utility, when introduced by authorization of the Government or if free admission is obtained in accordance with local laws.

28. Materials of all classes for the construction, repair in whole or in part of vessels, subject to specific regulations to avoid abuse in the importation.

29. Meats, in brine, salted and smoked, including bacon, hams, and meats preserved in cans, in lard or by extraction of air, jerked beef excepted.

30. Lard and butter.

31. Cheese.

32. Fish and shellfish, live, fresh, dried, in brine, salted, smoked, and pickled, oysters and salmon in cans.

33. Oats, barley, rye, and buckwheat, and flour of these cereals.

34. Starch, maizena, and other alimentary products of corn, except corn meal.

35. Fruits, fresh, dried, and preserved, except raisins.

36. Vegetables and garden products, fresh and dried.

37. Hay, straw for forage, and bran.

38. Trees, plants, shrubs, and garden seeds.

39. Tan bark.

SCHEDULE B.

Products or manufactures of the United States to be admitted into Cuba and Puerto Rico on payment of the duties stated:

40. Corn or maize, 25 cents per 100 kilograms.

41. Corn meal, 25 cents per 100 kilograms.

42. Wheat, 30 cents per 100 kilograms.

43. Wheat flour, $1 per 100 kilograms.

44. Carriages, cars and other vehicles for railroads or tramways, where authorization of the Government for free admission has not been obtained, 1 per cent ad valorem.

SCHEDULE C.

Products or manufactures of the United States to be admitted into Cuba and Puerto Rico at a reduction of duty of 50 per cent:

45. Marble, jasper, and alabaster of all kinds, cut into flags, slabs, or steps, and the same worked or carved in all kinds of articles, polished or not.

46. Glass and crystal ware, plate and window glass, and the same silvered, quicksilvered, and platinized.

47. Clay in tiles, large and small, and mosaic for pavement, colored tiles, roof tiles glazed, and pipes.

48. Stoneware and fine earthenware, and porcelain.

49. Iron, cast, in fine manufactures or those polished, with coating of porcelain or part of other metals. (See repertory.)

50. Iron, wrought, and steel, in axles, tires, springs, and wheels for carriages, rivets and their washers.

51. Iron, wrought, and steel, in fine manufactures or those polished, with coating of porcelain or part of other metals, not expressly comprised in other numbers of these schedules, and platform scales for weighing. (See repertory.)

52. Needles, pens, knives (table and carving), razors, penknives, scissors, pieces for watches, and other similar articles of iron and steel.

53. Tin plate in sheets or manufactured.

54. Copper, bronze, brass, and nickel, and alloys of same with common metals, in lump or bars, and all manufactures of the same.

55. All other common metals and alloys of the same, in lump or bars, and all manufactures of the same, plain, varnished, gilt, silvered, or nickeled.

56. Furniture of all kinds, of wood or metal, including school furniture, blackboards, and other materials for schools, and all kinds of articles of fine woods not expressly comprised in other numbers of these schedules. (See repertory.)

57. Rushes, esparto, vegetable hair, broom corn, willow, straw, palm, and other similar materials, manufactured into articles of all kinds.

58. Pastes for soups, rice flour, bread and crackers, and alimentary farinas not comprised in other numbers of these schedules.

59. Preserved alimentary substances and canned goods not comprised in other numbers of these schedules, including sausages, stuffed meats, mustards, sauces, pickles, jams, and jellies.

60. Rubber and gutta-percha and manufactures thereof, alone or mixed with other substances (except silk), and oilcloths and tarpaulin.

61. Rice, hulled or unhulled.

SCHEDULE D.

Products or manufactures of the United States to be admitted into Cuba and Puerto Rico at a reduction of duty of 25 per cent:

62. Petroleum, refined, and benzine.

63. Cotton, manufactured, spun or twisted, and in goods of all kinds, woven or knit, and the same mixed with other vegetable or animal fibers in which cotton is an equal or greater component part, and clothing exclusively of cotton.

64. Rope, cordage, and twine of all kinds.

65. Colors, crude and prepared, with or without oil, inks of all kinds, shoe blacking, and varnishes.

66. Soap, toilet, and perfumery.

67. Medicines, proprietary or patent and all others, and drugs.

68. Stearine and tallow manufactured in candles.

69. Paper for printing, for decorating rooms, of wood or straw, for wrapping and packing, and bags and boxes of same, sandpaper and pasteboard.

70. Leather and skins, tanned, dressed, varnished, or japanned, of all kinds, including sole leather or belting.

71. Boots and shoes in whole or in part of leather or skins.

72. Trunks, valises, traveling bags, portfolios, and other similar articles in whole or in part of leather.

73. Harness and saddlery of all kinds.

74. Watches and clocks of gold, silver, or other metals, with cases of stone, wood, or other material, plain or ornamented.

75. Carriages of two or four wheels and pieces of the same.

It is understood that flour which on its exportation from the United States has been favored with drawbacks shall not share in the foregoing reduction of duty.

The provisional arrangement as set forth in the transitory schedule shall come to an end on July 1, 1892, and on that date be substituted by the definitive arrangement as set forth in schedules A, B, C, and D.

And that the Government of Spain has further provided that the laws and regulations adopted to protect its revenue and prevent fraud in the declarations and proof that the articles named in the foregoing schedules are the product or manufacture of the United States of America shall place no undue restrictions on the importer nor impose any additional charges or fees therefor on the articles imported; and

Whereas the Secretary of State has, by my direction, given assurance to the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Spain at Washington that this action of the Government of Spain in granting exemption of duties to the products and manufactures of the United States of America on their importation into Cuba and Puerto Rico is accepted for those islands as a due reciprocity for the action of Congress as set forth in section 3 of said act:

Now, therefore, be it known that I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States of America, have caused the above-stated modifications of the tariff laws of Cuba and Puerto Rico to be made public for the information of the citizens of the United States of America.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 31st day of July, 1891, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixteenth.

BENJ. HARRISON.

By the President: WILLIAM F. WHARTON, Acting Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas, pursuant to section 3 of the act of Congress approved October 1, 1890, entitled "An act to reduce the revenue and equalize duties on imports, and for other purposes," the Secretary of State of the United States of America communicated to the Government of the Dominican Republic the action of the Congress of the United States of America, with a view to secure reciprocal trade, in declaring the articles enumerated in said section 3, to wit, sugars, molasses, coffee, and hides, to be exempt from duty upon their importation into the United States of America; and

Whereas the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the Dominican Republic at Washington has communicated to the special plenipotentiary of the United States the fact that, in reciprocity and compensation for the admission into the United States of America free of all duty of the articles enumerated in section 3 of said act, the Government of the Dominican Republic will by due legal enactment admit, from and after September 1, 1891, into all the established ports of entry of the Dominican Republic the articles or merchandise named in the following schedules, on the terms stated therein, provided that the same be the product or manufacture of the United States and proceed directly from the ports of said States:

SCHEDULE A.

Articles to be admitted free of duty into the Dominican Republic:

1. Animals, live.

2. Meats of all kinds, salted or in brine, but not smoked.

3. Corn or maize, corn meal, and starch.

4. Oats, barley, rye, and buckwheat, and flour of these cereals.

5. Hay, bran, and straw for forage.

6. Trees, plants, vines, and seeds, and grains of all kinds for propagation.

7. Cotton-seed oil and meal cake of same.

8. Tallow, in cake or melted, and oil for machinery, subject to examination and proof respecting the use of said oil.

9. Resin, tar, pitch, and turpentine.

10. Manures, natural and artificial.

11. Coal, mineral.

12. Mineral waters, natural and artificial.

13. Ice.

14. Machines, including steam engines and those of all other kinds, and parts of the same, implements and tools for agricultural, mining, manufacturing, industrial, and scientific purposes, including carts, wagons, handcarts, and wheelbarrows, and parts of the same.

15. Material for the construction and equipment of railways.

16. Iron, cast and wrought, and steel, in pigs, bars, rods, plates, beams, rafters, and other similar articles for the construction of buildings, and in wire, nails, screws, and pipes.

17. Zinc, galvanized and corrugated iron, tin and lead in sheets, asbestus, tar paper, tiles, slate, and other material for roofing.

18. Copper in bars, plates, nails, and screws.

19. Copper and lead pipe.

20. Bricks, fire bricks, cement, lime, artificial stone, paving tiles, marble and other stones in rough, dressed or polished, and other earthy materials used in building.

21. Windmills.

22. Wire, plain or barbed, for fences, with hooks, staples, nails, and similar articles used in the construction of fences.

23. Telegraph wire and telegraphic, telephonic, and electrical apparatus of all kinds for communication and illumination.

24. Wood and lumber of all kinds for building, in logs or pieces, beams, rafters, planks, boards, shingles, flooring, joists, wooden houses, mounted or unmounted, and accessory parts of buildings.

25. Cooperage of all kinds, including staves, headings, and hoops, barrels and boxes, mounted or unmounted.

26. Materials for shipbuilding.

27. Boats and lighters.

28. School furniture, blackboards, and other articles exclusively for the use of schools.

29. Books, bound or unbound, pamphlets, newspapers and printed matter, and paper for printing newspapers.

30. Printers' inks of all colors, type, leads, and all accessories for printing.

31. Sacks, empty, for packing sugar.

32. Gold and silver coin and bullion.

SCHEDULE B.

Articles to be admitted into the Dominican Republic at a reduction of duty of 25 per cent:

33. Meats not included in Schedule A and meat products of all kinds except lard.

34. Butter, cheese, and condensed or canned milk.

35. Fish and shellfish, salted, dried, smoked, pickled, or preserved in cans.

36. Fruits and vegetables, fresh, canned, dried, pickled, or preserved.

37. Manufactures of iron and steel, single or mixed, not included in Schedule A.

38. Cotton, manufactured, spun or twisted, and in fabrics of all kinds, woven or knit, and the same fabrics mixed with other vegetable or animal fibers in which cotton is the equal or greater component part.

39. Boots and shoes in whole or in part of leather or skins.

40. Paper for writing, in envelopes, ruled or blank books, wall paper, paper for wrapping and packing, for cigarettes, in cardboard, boxes, and bags, sandpaper and pasteboard.

41. Tin plate and tinware for arts, industries, and domestic uses.

42. Cordage, rope, and twine of all kinds.

43. Manufactures of wood of all kinds not embraced in Schedule A, including wooden ware, implements for household use, and furniture in whole or in part of wood.

And that the Government of the Dominican Republic has further provided that the laws and regulations adopted to protect its revenue and prevent fraud in the declarations and proof that the articles named in the foregoing schedules are the product or manufacture of the United States of America shall place no undue restrictions on the importer nor impose any additional charges or fees therefor on the articles imported; and

Whereas the special plenipotentiary of the United States has, by my direction, given assurance to the envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the Dominican Republic at Washington that this action of the Government of the Dominican Republic in granting exemption of duties to the products and manufactures of the United States of America on their importation into the Dominican Republic is accepted as a due reciprocity for the action of Congress as set forth in section 3 of said act:

Now, therefore, be it known that I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States of America, have caused the above-stated modifications of the tariff laws of the Dominican Republic to be made public for the information of the citizens of the United States of America.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 1st day of August, 1891, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixteenth.

BENJ. HARRISON.

By the President: WILLIAM F. WHARTON, Acting Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas it is provided by section 24 of an act approved March 3, 1891, entitled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes"--

That the President of the United States may from time to time set apart and reserve in any State or Territory having public land bearing forests, in any part of the public lands wholly or in part covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not, as public reservations; and the President shall by public proclamation declare the establishment of such reservations and limits thereof.

And whereas the lands hereinafter described are public and forest bearing, and on the 30th of March last I issued a proclamation intended to reserve the same as authorized in said act, but as some question has arisen as to the boundaries proclaimed being sufficiently definite to cover the forests intended to be reserved:

Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States, for the purpose of removing any doubt and making the boundaries of said reservation more definite, by virtue of the power in me vested by said act, do hereby issue this my second proclamation and hereby set apart, reserve, and establish as a public reservation all that tract of land situate in the State of Wyoming embraced within the following boundary:

Beginning at a point on the parallel of 44° 50' north latitude where said parallel is intersected by the east boundary of the Yellowstone National Park; thence due east along said parallel 24-1/2 miles; thence due south to the parallel of 44° north latitude; thence due west along said parallel to its point of intersection with the west boundary of the State of Wyoming; thence due north along said boundary to its intersection with the south boundary of the Yellowstone National Park; thence due east along the south boundary of said park to the southeast corner thereof; thence due north along the east boundary of said park to the place of beginning.

And warning is hereby expressly given to all persons not to enter or make settlement upon the tract of land reserved by this proclamation.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 10th day of September, A.D. 1891, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and fifteenth.

BENJ. HARRISON.

By the President: WILLIAM F. WHARTON, Acting Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas by a written agreement made on the 12th day of June, 1890, the Sac and Fox Nation of Indians, in the Territory of Oklahoma, ceded and conveyed to the United States of America all title or interest of said Indians in and to the lands particularly described in Article I of the agreement, except the quarter section of land on which the Sac and Fox Agency is located, and provided that the section of land now designated and set apart near the Sac and Fox Agency for a school and farm shall not be subject either to allotment or to homestead entry; that every citizen of said nation shall have an allotment of land in quantity as therein stated, to be selected within the tract of country so ceded, except in sections 16 and 36 in each Congressional township, and except the agency quarter section and section set apart for school and farm, as above mentioned, or other lands selected in lieu thereof; that when the allotments to the citizens of the Sac and Fox Nation are made the Secretary of the Interior shall cause trust patents to issue therefor in the name of the allottees, and that as soon as such allotments are so made and approved by the Department of the Interior, and the patents provided for are issued, then the residue of said tract of country shall, as far as said Sac and Fox Nation is concerned, become public lands of the United States, and, under such restrictions as may be imposed by law, be subject to white settlement; and

Whereas by a certain other agreement with the Iowa tribe of Indians residing on the Iowa Reservation, in said Territory, made on the 20th day of May, 1890, said tribe surrendered and relinquished to the United States all their title and interest in and to the lands of said Indians in said Territory, and particularly described in Article I of said agreement, and provided that each and every member of said tribe shall have an allotment of 80 acres of land upon said reservation, and upon the approval of such allotments by the Secretary of the Interior that trust patents shall be issued therefor, and that there shall be excepted from the operation of said agreement a tract of land not exceeding 10 acres, in a square form, including the church and schoolhouse and graveyard at or near the Iowa village, which shall belong to said Iowa tribe of Indians in common, subject to the conditions and limitations in said agreement expressed; that the chief of the Iowas may select an additional 10 acres, in a square form, for the use of said tribe in said reservation, conforming in boundaries to the legal subdivisions of land therein, which shall be held by said tribe in common, subject to the conditions and limitations as expressed in relation thereto; and

Whereas it is provided-in the act of Congress approved February 13, 1891 (26 U.S. Statutes at Large, pp. 758, 759), section 7, accepting, ratifying, and confirming said agreements with the Sac and Fox Nation of Indians and the Iowa tribe of Indians--

That whenever any of the lands acquired by the agreements in this act ratified and confirmed shall by operation of law or proclamation of the President of the United States be open to settlement they shall be disposed of to actual settlers only, under the provisions of the homestead laws, except section 2301, which shall not apply: Provided, however, That each settler under and in accordance with the provisions of said homestead laws shall before receiving a patent for his homestead pay to the United States for the land so taken by him, in addition to the fees provided by law, the sum of $1.25 for each acre thereof; and such person, having complied with all the laws relating to such homestead settlement, may at his option receive a patent therefor at the expiration of twelve months from date of settlement upon said homestead; and any person otherwise qualified who has attempted to but for any cause failed to secure a title in fee to a homestead under existing law, or who made entry under what is known as the commuted provision of the homestead law, shall be qualified to make a homestead entry upon any of said lands.

And whereas by a certain other agreement with the Citizen band of Pottawatomie Indians, in said Territory, made on the 25th day of June, 1890, the said band of Indians ceded and absolutely surrendered to the United States all their title and interest in and to the lands in said Territory, and particularly described in Article I of said agreement, and provided that all allotments of land theretofore made, or then being made, or to be made, to members of said Citizen band of Pottawatomie Indians under the provisions of the general allotment act approved February 8, 1887, shall be confirmed; that in all allotments to be thereafter made no person shall have the right to select his or her allotment in sections 16 and 36 in any Congressional township, nor upon any land heretofore set apart in said tract of country for any use by the United States, or for schools, school-farm, or religious purposes; nor shall said sections 16 and 36 be subject to homestead entry, but shall be kept and used for school purposes; nor shall any lands set apart for any use of the United States, or for school, school-farm, or religious purposes, be subject to homestead entry, but shall be held by the United States for such purposes so long as the United States shall see fit to use them; and further, that the south half of section 7 and the north half of section 18, in township 6 north, range 5 east, theretofore set apart by a written agreement between said band of Indians and certain Catholic fathers for religious, school, and farm purposes, shall not be subject to allotment or homestead entry, but shall be held by the United States for the Sacred Heart Mission, the name under which said association of fathers are conducting the church, school, and farm on said lands; and

Whereas by a certain agreement with the Absentee Shawnee Indians, in said Territory, made on the 26th day of June, 1890, said last-named Indians ceded, relinquished, and surrendered to the United States all their title and interest in and to the lands in said Territory, and particularly described in Article I of said agreement, provided that all allotments of lands theretofore made, or then being made, or to be made, to said Absentee Shawnees under the provisions of the general allotment act approved February 8, 1887, shall be confirmed; that in all allotments to be thereafter made no person shall have the right to select his or her allotment in sections 16 and 36 in any Congressional township, nor in any land heretofore set apart in said tract of country for any use by the United States, or for school, school-farm, or religious purposes; nor shall said sections 16 and 36 be subject to homestead entry, but shall be held by the United States for such purposes so long as the United States shall see fit to use them; and

Whereas it is provided in the act of Congress accepting, ratifying, and confirming said agreements with the Citizen band of Pottawatomie Indians and the Absentee Shawnee Indians, approved March 3, 1891 (26 U.S. Statutes at Large, pp. 989-1044), section 16--

That whenever any of the lands acquired by either of the * * * foregoing agreements respecting lands in the Indian or Oklahoma Territory shall by operation of law or proclamation of the President of the United States be open to settlement they shall be disposed of to actual settlers only, under the provisions of the homestead and town-site laws, except section 2301 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, which-shall not apply: Provided, however, That each settler on said lands shall before making a final proof and receiving a certificate of entry pay to the United States for the land so taken by him, in addition to the fees provided by law, and within five years from the date of the first original entry, the sum of $1.50 per acre, one-half of which shall be paid within two years; but the rights of honorably discharged Union soldiers and sailors as defined and described in sections 2304 and 2305 of the Revised Statutes of the United States shall not be abridged except as to the sum to be paid as aforesaid; and all the lands in Oklahoma are hereby declared to be agricultural lands, and proof of their nonmineral character shall not be required as a condition precedent to final entry.

And whereas allotments of land in severalty to said Sac and Fox Nation, said Iowa tribe, said Citizen band of Pottawatomies, and said Absentee Shawnee Indians have been made and approved, and provisional patents issued therefor, in accordance with law and the provisions of the before-mentioned agreements with them respectively, and an additional 10 acres of land has been selected for the use of said Iowa tribe, to be held by said tribe in common, in accordance with the provisions of supplemental Article XII of the agreement with them; and

Whereas the lands acquired by the four several agreements hereinbefore mentioned have been divided into counties by the Secretary of the Interior, as required by said last-mentioned act of Congress before the same shall be open to settlement, and lands have been reserved for county-seat purposes, as therein required; and

Whereas it is provided by act of Congress for temporary government of Oklahoma, approved May 2, 1890, that there shall be reserved public highways 4 rods wide between each section of land in said Territory, the section lines being the centers of said highways, but no deduction shall be made from cash payments from each quarter section by reason thereof; and

Whereas all the terms, conditions, and considerations required by said several agreements made respectively with said tribes of Indians hereinbefore mentioned, and of the laws relating thereto, precedent to opening said several tracts of land to settlement, have been, as I hereby declare, provided for, paid, and complied with:

Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested by the statutes hereinbefore mentioned, also an act of Congress entitled "An act making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of the Indian Department and fulfilling treaty stipulations with various Indian tribes for the year ending June 30, 1890, and for other purposes," approved March 2, 1889, and by other the laws of the United States, and by said several agreements, do hereby declare and make known that all of the lands acquired from the Sac and Fox Nation of Indians, the Iowa tribe of Indians, the Citizen band of Pottawatomie Indians, and the Absentee Shawnee Indians by the four several agreements aforesaid, saving and excepting the lands allotted to the Indians as in said agreements provided, or otherwise reserved in pursuance of the provisions of said agreements and the said acts of Congress ratifying the same and other the laws relating thereto, will, at and after the hour of 12 o'clock noon (central standard time), Tuesday, the 22d day of this the present month of September, and not before, be opened to settlement, under the terms of and subject to all the conditions, limitations, reservations, and restrictions contained in said agreements, the statutes above specified, and the laws of the United States applicable thereto.

The lands to be so opened to settlement are for greater convenience particularly described in the accompanying schedule, entitled "Schedule of lands within the Sac and Fox, Iowa, Pottawatomie (and Absentee Shawnee) reservations, in Oklahoma Territory, opened to settlement by proclamation of the President dated September 18, 1891," and which schedule is made a part hereof.

Each entry shall be in square form as nearly as practicable; and no other lands in the Territory of Oklahoma are opened to settlement under this proclamation or the agreements ratifying the same.

Notice, moreover, is hereby given that it is by law enacted that until said lands are opened to settlement by proclamation no person shall be permitted to enter upon and occupy the same, and no person violating this provision shall be permitted to enter any of said lands or acquire any right thereto. The officers of the United States will be required to enforce this provision.

And further notice is hereby given that it has been duly ordered that the lands in the Territory of Oklahoma mentioned and included in this proclamation be, and the same are, attached to the Eastern and Oklahoma land districts in said Territory, severally, as follows:

1. All that portion of the Territory of Oklahoma commencing at the southwest corner of township 14 north, range 1 east; thence east on town line between townships 13 and 14 to the west boundary of the Creek country; thence north on said boundary line to the middle of main channel of the Cimarron River; thence up the Cimarron River, following the main channel thereof, to the Indian meridian; thence south on said meridian line to the place of beginning, is attached to the Eastern land district in Oklahoma Territory, the office of which is now located at Guthrie.

2. All that portion of said Territory commencing at the northwest corner of township 13 north, range 1 east; thence south on Indian meridian to the North Fork of the Canadian River; thence west up said river to the west boundary of the Pottawatomie Indian Reservation, according to Merrill's survey; thence south, following the line as run by O.T. Morrill under his contract of September 3, 1872, to the middle of the main channel of the Canadian River; thence east down the main channel of said river to the west boundary of the Seminole Indian Reservation; thence north with said west boundary to the North Fork of the Canadian River; thence east down said North Fork to the west boundary of the Creek Nation; thence north with said west boundary to its intersection with the line between townships 13 and 14 north of the Indian base; thence west on town line between townships 13 and 14 north to the place of beginning, is attached to the Oklahoma land district in said Territory, the office of which is now located at Oklahoma City.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 18th day of September, A.D. 1891, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and sixteenth.

BENJ. HARRISON.

By the President: WILLIAM F. WHARTON, Acting Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas it is provided by section 24 of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1891, entitled "An act to repeal the timber-culture laws, and for other purposes"--

That the President of the United States may from time to time set apart and reserve in any State or Territory having public lands bearing forests, in any part of the public lands wholly or in part covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not, as public reservations; and the President shall by public proclamation declare the establishment of such reservation and the limits thereof.

And whereas the public lands in the State of Colorado within the limits hereinafter described are in part covered with timber, and it appears that the public good would be promoted by setting apart and reserving said lands as a public reservation:

Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested by section 24 of the aforesaid act of Congress, do hereby make known and proclaim that there is hereby reserved from entry or settlement and set apart as a public reservation all those certain tracts, pieces, or parcels of land lying and being situate in the State of Colorado and particularly described as follows, to wit:

Beginning at a point between sections three (3) and four (4) on the north boundary of township five (5) south, range eighty-seven (87) west of the sixth principal meridian in Colorado; thence north 12 miles; thence east to the southeast corner of township two (2) south, range eighty-six (86) west; thence north between ranges numbered eighty-five (85) and eighty-six (86) west to the base line; thence west along the base line to the southwest corner of township one (1) north, range eighty-five (85) west; thence north between ranges numbered eighty-five (85) and eighty-six (86) west to a point between sections thirteen (13) and twenty-four (24) on the east boundary of township five (5) north, range eighty-six (86) west; thence west through the middle of township five (5) north to the center of township five (5) north, range ninety-one (91) west; thence south to a point between sections three (3) and four (4) on the north boundary of township two (2) north, range ninety-one (91) west; thence west six (6) miles to a point between sections three (3) and four (4) on the north boundary of township two (2) north, range ninety-two (92) west; thence south to a point on the base line between sections thirty-three (33) and thirty-four (34) of township one (1) north, range ninety-two (92) west; thence west along the base line to a point between sections three (3) and four (4) on the north boundary of township one (1) south, range ninety-two (92) west; thence south to a point between sections three (3) and four (4) on the north boundary of township two (2) south, range ninety-two (92) west; thence west to the northwest corner of township two (2) south, range ninety-three (93) west; thence south to the southwest corner of township three (3) south, range ninety-three (93) west; thence east to the northeast corner of township four (4) south, range ninety-two (92) west; thence south to the southeast corner of township four (4) south, range ninety-two (92) west; thence east to the place of beginning.

Excepting from the force and effect of this proclamation all land which may have been prior to the date hereof embraced in any valid entry or covered by a lawful filing duly made in the proper United States land office, and all mining claims duly located and held according to the laws of the United States and local rules and regulations not in conflict therewith.

Provided, That this exception shall not continue to apply to any particular tract of land unless the entryman or claimant continues to comply with the law under which the entry, filing, or location was made.

Warning is hereby expressly given to all persons not to enter or make settlement upon the tract of land reserved by this proclamation.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 16th day of October, A.D. 1891, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and sixteenth.

BENJ. HARRISON.

By the President: WILLIAM F. WHARTON, Acting Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

It is a very glad incident of the marvelous prosperity which has crowned the year now drawing to a close that its helpful and reassuring touch has been felt by all our people. It has been as wide as our country, and so special that every home has felt its comforting influence. It is too great to be the work of man's power and too particular to be the device of his mind. To God, the beneficent and the all-wise, who makes the labors of men to be fruitful, redeems their losses by His grace, and the measure of whose giving is as much beyond the thoughts of man as it is beyond his deserts, the praise and gratitude of the people of this favored nation are justly due.

Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States of America, do hereby appoint Thursday, the 26th day of November present, to be a day of joyful thanksgiving to God for the bounties of His providence, for the peace in which we are permitted to enjoy them, and for the preservation of those institutions of civil and religious liberty which He gave our fathers the wisdom to devise and establish and us the courage to preserve. Among the appropriate observances of the day are rest from toil, worship in the public congregation, the renewal of family ties about our American firesides, and thoughtful helpfulness toward those who suffer lack of the body or of the spirit.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 13th day of November, A.D. 1891, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and sixteenth.

BENJ. HARRISON.

By the President: JAMES G. BLAINE, Secretary of State.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas satisfactory proof has been given to me that no tonnage or light-house dues, or other equivalent tax or taxes, are imposed upon vessels of the United States in the ports of the island of Tobago, one of the British West India Islands:

Now, therefore, I, Benjamin Harrison, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 11 of the act of Congress entitled "An act to abolish certain fees for official services to American vessels, and to amend the laws relating to shipping commissioners, seamen, and owners of vessels, and for other purposes," approved June 19, 1886, do hereby declare and proclaim that from and after the date of this my proclamation shall be suspended the collection of the whole of the tonnage duty which is imposed by said section of said act upon vessels entered in the ports of the United States from any of the ports of the island of Tobago.

Provided, That there shall be excluded from the benefits of the suspension hereby declared and proclaimed the vessels of any foreign country in whose ports the fees or dues of any kind or nature imposed on vessels of the United States, or the import or export duties on their cargoes, are in excess of the fees, dues, or duties imposed on the vessels of such country or on the cargoes of such vessels; but this proviso shall not be held to be inconsistent with the special regulation by foreign countries of duties and other charges on their own vessels, and the cargoes thereof, engaged in their coasting trade, or with the existence between such countries and other states of reciprocal stipulations founded on special conditions and equivalents, and thus not within the treatment of American vessels under the most-favored-nation clause in treaties between the United States and such countries.

And the suspension hereby declared and proclaimed shall continue so long as the reciprocal exemption of vessels belonging to citizens of the United States and their cargoes shall be continued in the said ports of the island of Tobago and no longer.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 2d day of December, A.D. 1891, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and sixteenth.

BENJ. HARRISON.

By the President: JAMES G. BLAINE, Secretary of State.

EXECUTIVE ORDERS.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., January 19, 1891.

The death of George Bancroft, which occurred in the city of Washington on Saturday, January 17, at 3.40 o'clock p.m., removes from among the living one of the most distinguished Americans. As an expression of the public loss and sorrow the flags of all the Executive Departments at Washington and the public buildings in the cities through which the funeral party is to pass will be placed at half-mast on to-morrow and until the body of this eminent statesman, scholar, and historian shall rest in the State that gave him to his country and to the world.

By direction of the President:

ELIJAH W. HALFORD, Private Secretary.

AMENDMENT OF CIVIL-SERVICE RULES.

JANUARY 26, 1891.

Special Departmental Rule No. 1 is hereby amended by adding to the exceptions from examination therein declared the following:

In the Department of Agriculture, in the office of the Secretary, division of illustration and engraving: One artist.

BENJ. HARRISON.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, January 30, 1891.

SIR: The Hon. William Windom, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, died suddenly last night, in the city of New York, at the hour of eleven minutes past 10 o'clock, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. Thus has passed away a man of pure life, an official of stainless integrity, distinguished by long and eminent service in both branches of Congress and by being twice called to administer the national finances. His death has caused deep regret throughout the country, while to the President and those associated with him in the administration of the Government it comes as a personal sorrow.

The President directs that all the Departments of the executive brand of the Government and the officers subordinate thereto shall manifest due respect to the memory of this eminent citizen in a manner consonant with the dignity of the office which he has honored by his devotion to public duty.

The President further directs that the Treasury Department in all its branches in this capital be draped in mourning for the period of thirty days, that on the day of the funeral the several Executive Departments shall be closed, and that on all public buildings throughout the United States the national flag shall be displayed at half-mast.

Very respectfully,

JAMES G. BLAINE.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 13, 1891.

To the Heads of the Executive Departments:

In token of respect to the memory of Admiral David D. Porter, who died this morning, the President directs that the national flag be displayed at half-mast upon all public buildings throughout the United States until after his funeral shall have taken place, and that on the day of the funeral public business in the Departments at Washington be suspended.

E.W. HALFORD, Private Secretary.

GENERAL ORDERS NO. 16.

HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, Washington, February 14, 1891.

I. The following order of the War Department is published to the Army:

WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, February 14, 1891.

The death of General Sherman is hereby announced in the fitting words of the President in his message to Congress:

The following Executive order will be published to the Army:

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., February 14, 1891.

It is my painful duty to announce to the country that General William Tecumseh Sherman died this day at 1 o'clock and 50 minutes p.m., at his residence in the city of New York. The Secretary of War will cause the highest military honors to be paid to the memory of this distinguished officer. The national flag will be floated at half-mast over all public buildings until after the burial, and the public business will be suspended in the Executive Departments at the city of Washington and in the city where the interment takes place on the day of the funeral and in all places where public expression is given to the national sorrow during such hours as will enable every officer and employee to participate therein with their fellow-citizens.

BENJ. HARRISON.

The Major-General Commanding will issue the necessary orders to the Army.

It is ordered, That the War Department be draped in mourning for the period of thirty days, and that all business be suspended therein on the day of the funeral.

L.A. GRANT, Acting Secretary of War.

II. On the day of the funeral the troops at every military post will be paraded and this order read to them, after which all labors for the day will cease. The national flag will be displayed at half-staff from the time of the receipt of this order until the close of the funeral. On the day of the funeral a salute of seventeen guns will be fired at half-hour intervals, commencing at 8 o'clock a.m. The officers of the Army will wear the usual badges of mourning, and the colors of the several regiments and battalions will be draped in mourning for a period of six months.

The day and hour of the funeral will be communicated to department commanders by telegraph, and by them to their subordinate commanders. Other necessary orders will be issued hereafter relative to the appropriate funeral ceremonies.

By command of Major-General Schofield:

J.C. KELTON, Adjutant-General.

GENERAL ORDER.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, February 16, 1891.

The following Executive order, announcing the death of General William Tecumseh Sherman, is published for the information of the Navy and the Marine Corps:

In accordance with the order of the President, the Navy Department will be closed and all business suspended therein on the day of the funeral, and the flag at all yards and stations will be displayed at half-mast until after the burial of General Sherman, and in all places where public expression is given to the national sorrow business will be suspended at navy-yards or stations during such hours as will enable officers and employees of the Navy to participate therein with their fellow-citizens.

B.F. TRACY, Secretary of the Navy.

AMENDMENT OF CIVIL-SERVICE RULES.

FEBRUARY 18, 1891.

Special Departmental Rule No. 1 is hereby amended so as to include among the places excepted from examination therein the following:

In the Department of Agriculture, in the office of the Secretary: Private secretary to the chief of the division of statistics.

BENJ. HARRISON.

AMENDMENT OF CIVIL-SERVICE RULES.

FEBRUARY 21, 1891.

Special Departmental Rule No. 1 is hereby amended so as to include among the places excepted from examination therein the following:

In the Department of the Treasury, in the Coast and Geodetic Survey: Clerk to act as confidential clerk and cashier to the disbursing officer.

In the Post-Office Department, office of Assistant Attorney-General: Confidential clerk to the Assistant Attorney-General.

BENJ. HARRISON.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., February 26, 1891.

In accordance with an act of Congress approved September 27, 1890, the following limits to the punishment of enlisted men, together with the accompanying regulations, are established for the government in time of peace of all courts-martial, and will take effect thirty days after the date of this order:

I. Subject to the modifications authorized in subdivision 3 of this section, the punishment for desertion shall not exceed the following:

1. In the case of a soldier who surrenders--

(a) When such surrender is made within thirty days after desertion, confinement at hard labor, with forfeiture of pay and allowances, for three months.

(b) When such surrender is made after an absence of more than thirty days and not more than ninety days, confinement at hard labor, with forfeiture of pay and allowances, for six months.

(c) When such surrender is made after an absence of more than ninety days, dishonorable discharge, with forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement at hard labor for eighteen months: Provided, That in the case of a deserter who had not been more than three months in the service the confinement shall not exceed ten months.

2. In the case of a soldier who does not surrender--

(a) When at the time of desertion he shall have been less than three months in the service, dishonorable discharge, with forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement at hard labor for one year.

(b) When at the time of desertion he shall have been three months or more, but less than six months, in the service, dishonorable discharge, with forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement at hard labor for eighteen months.

(c) When at the time of desertion he shall have been six months or more in the service, dishonorable discharge, with forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement at hard labor for two years and six months.

3. The foregoing limitations will be subject to modification under the following conditions:

(a) The punishment of a deserter may be increased by one year of confinement at hard labor in consideration of each previous conviction of desertion, and also by dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all pay and allowances when not already authorized.

(b) The punishment for desertion when joined in by two or more soldiers in the execution of a conspiracy, or for desertion in the presence of an outbreak of Indians or of any unlawful assemblage which the troops may be opposing, shall not exceed dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement at hard labor for five years.

II. Except as herein otherwise indicated, punishments shall not exceed the limits prescribed in the following table:

Offenses. Limit of punishment.

Under seventeenth article of war.

Selling horse or arms, Three years' confinement at hard either or both labor; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

Selling accouterments Four months confinement at hard labor; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

Selling clothing Two months' confinement at hard labor; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

Losing or spoiling horse Four months' confinement at hard or arms through neglect labor; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

Losing or spoiling One month's confinement at hard accouterments or clothing labor; for noncommissioned officer, through neglect reduction in addition thereto.

Under twentieth article of war.

Behaving himself with Six months' confinement at hard labor disrespect toward his and forfeiture of $10 per month for commanding officer the same period; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

Under twenty-fourth article of war.

Refusal to obey or using Dishonorable discharge, with violence to officer or forfeiture of all pay and allowances, noncommissioned officer and imprisonment for 2 years. while quelling quarrels or disorders

Under thirty-first article of war.

Lying out of quarters Forfeiture of $2; corporal, $3; sergeant, $4.

Under thirty-second article of war.

Absence without leave--

Less than 1 hour (not Forfeiture of 50 cents; corporal, $1; including absence from sergeant, $2. a roll call)

Less than 1 hour Forfeiture of $1; corporal, $2; (including absence from sergeant, $3; first sergeant or a roll call) noncommissioned officer of higher grade, $4.

From 1 to 6 hours Forfeiture of $2; corporal, $3; sergeant, $4; first sergeant or noncommissioned officer of higher grade, $5.

From 6 to 12 hours Forfeiture of $3; corporal, $4; sergeant, $6; first sergeant or noncommissioned officer of higher grade, $7.

From 12 to 24 hours Forfeiture of $5; corporal, $6; sergeant, $7; first sergeant or noncommissioned officer of higher grade, $10.

From 24 to 48 hours Forfeiture of $6 and 5 days' confinement at hard labor. For corporal, forfeiture of $8; sergeant, $10; first sergeant or noncommissioned officer of higher grade, $12; or for all noncommissioned officers, reduction.

From 2 to 9 days Forfeiture of $10 and 10 days' confinement at hard labor; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

From 10 to 29 days Forfeiture of $20 and 1 month's confinement at hard labor; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

From 30 to 90 days Three months' confinement at hard labor and forfeiture of $10 per month for same period; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

For more than 90 days Dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all pay and allowances and 3 months' confinement at hard labor.

Under thirty-third article of war.

Failure to repair at the time fixed, etc., to the place of parade for--

Reveille or retreat roll call Forfeiture of 50 cents; corporal, $1; sergeant, $2; first sergeant, $3.

Guard detail Forfeiture of $5; corporal, $8; sergeant, $10.

Fatigue detail } Dress parade } The weekly inspection } Target practice } Forfeiture of $2; corporal, $3; Drill } sergeant, $5. Guard mounting (by musician) } Stable duty }

Under thirty-eighth article of war.

Drunkenness on--

Guard Six months' confinement at hard labor and forfeiture of $10 per month for the same period; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

Duty as company cook Forfeiture of $10.

Extra or special duty } At drill } At target practice } At parade } Forfeiture of $6; for At inspection } noncommissioned officer, reduction At inspection of company guard } and forfeiture of $10. detail } At stable duty }

Under fortieth article of war.

Quitting guard Six months' confinement at hard labor and forfeiture of $10 per month for the same period; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

Under fifty-first article of war.

Persuading soldiers to desert Six months' confinement at hard labor and forfeiture of $10 per month for the same period; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

Under sixtieth article of war Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 4 years' imprisonment.

Under sixty-second article of war.

Manslaughter Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 10 years' imprisonment.

Assault with intent to kill Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 10 years' imprisonment.

Burglary Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 5 years' imprisonment.

Forgery Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 4 years' imprisonment.

Perjury Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 4 years' imprisonment.

False swearing Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 2 years' imprisonment.

Robbery Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 6 years' imprisonment.

Larceny or embezzlement of property of the value of--

More than $100 Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 4 years' imprisonment.

$100 or less and more than $50 Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 3 years' imprisonment.

$50 or less and more than $20 Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 2 years' imprisonment.

$20 or less Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and 1 year's imprisonment.

Disobedience of orders, Six months' confinement at hard involving willful defiance labor and forfeiture of $10 per of the authority of a month for the same period; for noncommissioned officer in noncommissioned officer, reduction charge of a guard or party in addition thereto.

Using threatening or insulting One month's confinement at hard language or behaving in an labor and forfeiture of $10; for insubordinate manner to a noncommissioned officer, reduction noncommissioned officer while in addition thereto. in the execution of his office

Absence from fatigue duty Forfeiture of $4; corporal, $5; sergeant, $6.

Absence from extra or special Forfeiture of $4; corporal, $5; duty sergeant, $6.

Absence from duty as company Forfeiture of $10. or hospital cook

Introducing liquor into post or Forfeiture of $3; for noncommissioned camp in violation of standing officer, reduction and forfeiture orders of $5.

Drunkenness at post or Forfeiture of $3; for noncommissioned in quarters officer, reduction and forfeiture of $5.

Drunkenness and disorderly Forfeiture of $10 and 7 days' conduct, causing the offender's confinement at hard labor; for arrest and conviction by civil noncommissioned officer, reduction authorities at a place within and forfeiture of $12. 10 miles of his station

Noisy or disorderly conduct in Forfeiture of $4; corporal, $7; quarters sergeant, $10.

Abuse by noncommissioned Reduction, 3 months' confinement at officer of his authority over hard labor, and forfeiture of $10 per an inferior month for the same period.

Noncommissioned officer Reduction and forfeiture of $5. encouraging gambling

Noncommissioned officer making Reduction, forfeiture of $8, and 10 false report days' confinement at hard labor.

Sentinel allowing a prisoner Six months' confinement at hard labor under his charge to escape and forfeiture of $10 per month for through neglect the same period.

Sentinel willfully suffering Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of prisoner under his charge to all pay and allowances, and 1 year's escape imprisonment.

Sentinel allowing a prisoner Two months' confinement at hard labor under his charge to obtain and forfeiture of $10 per month for liquor the same period.

Sentinel or member of guard Two months' confinement at hard labor drinking liquor with prisoners and forfeiture of $10 per month for the same period.

Disrespect or affront to Two month's confinement at hard labor a sentinel and forfeiture of $10 per month for the same period; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

Resisting or disobeying sentinel Six months' confinement at hard labor in lawful execution of his duty and forfeiture of $10 per month for the same period; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

Lewd or indecent exposure of Three month's confinement at hard person labor and forfeiture of $10 per month for the same period; for noncommissioned officer, reduction in addition thereto.

III. (1) When a soldier shall be found guilty of an offense cognizable when committed for the first time by an inferior court-martial, his punishment therefor may exceed the prescribed limit by one-half if it shall appear that during his current enlistment and within two years preceding his trial he has been once convicted of one offense or more; it may be doubled if he has been twice so convicted, and it may be increased by one-half of the prescribed limit for every such previous conviction: Provided, That upon proof of five or more previous convictions the punishment may be that authorized for a fifth conviction, or dishonorable discharge with forfeiture of all pay and allowances. When found guilty of an offense cognizable only by a general court-martial, and on proof of five or more previous convictions within the two years, dishonorable discharge with forfeiture of all pay and allowances may be added to any confinement at hard labor. And when a noncommissioned officer shall be found guilty of an offense not punishable by reduction, reduction may be added to the punishment if it shall appear that he has been convicted of a military offense within one year and during his current enlistment.

(2) After arriving at the findings a court-martial may be opened to receive evidence of previous convictions. These convictions must be proved by the records of previous trials or by duly authenticated orders promulgating the same, showing the actual offenses of which the soldier was convicted, except in the cases of convictions by summary court, when a duly authenticated copy of the record of said court shall be deemed sufficient proof. Charges forwarded to the authority ordering a general court-martial or submitted to a summary garrison or regimental court must be accompanied by the proper evidence of such previous convictions as may have to be considered in determining upon a sentence. Paragraphs 1017 and 1018 of the Regulations are superseded by this order.

IV. This order prescribes the maximum limit of punishment for the offenses named, and this limit is intended for those cases where the severest punishment should be awarded. In other cases the punishment must be graded down according to the extenuating circumstances. Offenses not herein provided for remain punishable as authorized by the Articles of War and the custom of the service.

V. Summary courts are subject to the restrictions named in the eighty-third article of war. Soldiers against whom charges may be preferred for trial by summary court shall not be confined in the guardhouse, but shall be placed in arrest in quarters before and during trial and while awaiting sentence, unless in particular cases restraint may be deemed necessary.

VI. The following substitutions for punishments named in Section II of this order are authorized, at the discretion of the court:

Detention of pay to the extent of four times the amount of the forfeiture; two days' confinement at hard labor for $1 of forfeited pay; one day's solitary confinement on bread and water diet for two days' confinement at hard labor or for $1 of forfeited pay: Provided, That a noncommissioned officer not sentenced to reduction shall not be subject to confinement: And provided, That solitary confinement shall not exceed fourteen days at one time nor be repeated until fourteen days have elapsed, and shall not exceed eighty-four days in one year. Wherever the limit herein prescribed for an offense or offenses may be brought within the punishing power of inferior courts-martial, as defined by the eighty-third article of war, by substitution of punishment under the provisions of this section, the aforesaid courts shall be deemed to have jurisdiction of such offense or offenses.

VII. Sergeants shall not if they object thereto be brought to trial before regimental, garrison, or summary courts-martial without the authority of the officer competent to order their trial by general court-martial; nor shall sergeants of the post noncommissioned staff be reduced, but they may be dishonorably discharged whenever reduction is included in the limit of punishment. Paragraphs 105 and 254 of the Regulations, the latter as amended by General Orders, No. 67, series of 1890, Adjutant-General's Office, are modified accordingly.

BENJ. HARRISON.

By the President: REDFIELD PROCTOR, Secretary of War.

AMENDMENT OF CIVIL-SERVICE RULES.

MARCH 4, 1891.

Special Departmental Rule No. 1 is hereby amended so as to include among the places excepted from examination therein the following:

In the Department of Agriculture, in the office of the Secretary: Clerk to act as appointment clerk.

BENJ. HARRISON.

AMENDMENT OF CIVIL-SERVICE RULES.

MARCH 16, 1891.

Special Departmental Rule No. 1 is hereby amended so as to include among the places excepted from examination therein the following:

In the Post-Office Department, office of the First Assistant Postmaster-General: Assistant superintendent of free delivery.

BENJ. HARRISON.

AMENDMENT OF CIVIL-SERVICE RULES.

APRIL 3, 1891.

Special Departmental Rule No. 1 is hereby amended so as to include among the places excepted from examination therein the following:

In the Treasury Department, office of the Secretary: One clerk in the office of the disbursing clerk.

BENJ. HARRISON.

CIVIL SERVICE--CLASSIFICATION OF INDIAN SERVICE.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Washington, April 13, 1891.

By direction of the President of the United States and in accordance with the third clause of section 6 of an act entitled "An act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United States," approved January 16, 1883--

It is ordered, That all physicians, school superintendents and assistant superintendents, school-teachers, and matrons in the Indian service be, and they are hereby, arranged in the following classes, without regard to salary or compensation:

Class 1. Physicians.

Class 2. School superintendents and assistant superintendents.

Class 3. School-teachers.

Class 4. Matrons.

Provided, That no person who may be required by law to be appointed to an office by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and that no person who may be employed merely as a laborer or workman or in connection with any contract schools, shall be considered as within this classification, and no person so employed shall be assigned to the duties of a classified place.

It is further ordered, That no person shall be admitted to any place not excepted from examination by the civil-service rules in any of the classes above designated until he or she shall have passed an appropriate examination under the United States Civil Service Commission and his or her eligibility has been certified to by said Commission or the appropriate board of examiners.

JOHN W. NOBLE, Secretary.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, April 13, 1891.

The Secretary of the Interior:

I approve of the within classification, and if you see no reason to suggest any further modification you will please put it in force.

BENJ. HARRISON.

AMENDMENTS OF CIVIL-SERVICE RULES.

APRIL 13, 1891.

Clause (c) of section 2 of General Rule III is hereby revoked, and clauses (d), (e), (f), (g) and (h) are lettered, respectively, (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g).

BENJ. HARRISON.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

EXECUTIVE ORDER.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, May 25, 1891.

It is hereby ordered, That the several Executive Departments and the Government Printing Office be closed on Saturday, the 30th instant, to enable the employees to participate in the decoration of the graves of the soldiers and sailors who fell in defense of the Union during the War of the Rebellion.

BENJ. HARRISON.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D.C., July 6, 1891.

To the People of the United States:

The President, with a profound feeling of sorrow, announces the death of Hannibal Hamlin, at one time Vice-President of the United States, who died at Bangor, Me., on the evening of Saturday, July 4.

Few men in this country have filled more important and more distinguished public positions than Mr. Hamlin, and in recognition of his many eminent and varied services and as an expression of the great respect and reverence which are felt for his memory it is ordered that the national flag be displayed at half-mast upon the public buildings of the United States on the day of his funeral.

BENJ. HARRISON.

By the President: WILLIAM F. WHARTON, Acting Secretary of State.

AMENDMENTS OF CIVIL-SERVICE RULES.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, August 6, 1891.

The civil-service rules are hereby amended as follows:

GENERAL RULE II.

In line 1 strike out the word "four" and insert in lieu thereof the word "five." Add at the end of the rule the following:

5. The classified Indian service.

GENERAL RULE III.

Strike out paragraphs 1 and 2 of section 6 of General Rule III and insert in lieu thereof the following:

So far as practicable and useful, competitive examinations shall be established in the classified civil service to test fitness for promotion, under such regulations as the Commission may make. Until such regulations have been applied to any part of the classified service promotions therein shall be made in the manner prescribed by the rule applicable thereto.

DEPARTMENTAL RULE VI.

Strike out the first sentence of section 6 and transfer the remaining sentence to section 5. Change the numbers of sections 7, 8, 9, and 10 to 6, 7, 8, and 9, respectively.

CUSTOMS RULE III.

Strike out the first sentence of section 5 and transfer the remaining sentence to section 4. Change the numbers of sections 6, 7, 8, and 9 to 5, 6, 7, and 8, respectively.

POSTAL RULE III.

Strike out the first sentence of section 5 and transfer the remaining sentence to section 4. Change the numbers of sections 6, 7, 8, and 9 to 5, 6, 7, and 8, respectively.

RAILWAY MAIL RULE III.

Strike out the first sentence of section 7 and transfer the remaining sentence to section 4. Change the numbers of sections 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 to 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, respectively.

RAILWAY MAIL RULE II.

Insert an additional clause to section 5, as follows:

(f) Transfer clerks at junction points or stations where not more than two such clerks are employed.

RAILWAY MAIL RULE IV.

Insert an additional proviso at the end of clause (b) of section 2, as follows:

Provided further, That on a line on which the service does not require the full time of a clerk, and one can be employed jointly with the railroad company, the appointment may be made without examination and certification, with the consent of the Commission, upon a statement of the facts by the General Superintendent; but no clerk so appointed shall be eligible for transfer or appointment to any other place in the service.

In section 6, line 3, strike out the word "twenty" and insert in lieu thereof the word "ten."

In section 7, line 6, strike out the word "thirty" and insert in lieu thereof the word "sixty;" in the same line strike out the word "to" and insert in lieu thereof the words "in periods of;" in line 7 strike out the words "who have been in the railway mail service."

BENJ. HARRISON.

CIVIL SERVICE--INDIAN RULES.

INDIAN RULE I.

The classified Indian service shall include all the physicians, school superintendents, assistant superintendents, school-teachers, and matrons in that service, classified under the provisions of section 6 of the act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United States, approved January 16, 1883.

INDIAN RULE II.

1. To test fitness for admission to the classified Indian service examinations of a practical character shall be provided on such subjects as the Commission may direct for physician, superintendent, assistant superintendent, teachers, and matrons.

2. The following age limitations shall apply to applicants for examination for the classified Indian service: For physician, not under 25 years of age nor over 45; for superintendent, not under 25 nor over 50; for assistant superintendent and for teacher, not under 20 nor over 50; for matron, not under 25 nor over 55: Provided, That these limitations shall not apply to the wives of superintendents of Indian schools who apply for the position of matron, nor shall the maximum limitations apply to persons allowed preference under section 1754, Revised Statutes, by the Commission.

3. Blank forms of application shall be furnished by the Commission, and the date of reception and also of approval by the Commission of each application shall be noted on the application paper.

INDIAN RULE III.

1. The papers of every examination shall be marked under regulations made by the Commission. Bach competitor shall be graded on a scale of 100, according to the general average determined by the markings.

2. Immediately after the general average shall have been ascertained each competitor shall be notified that he has passed or has failed to pass.

3. A competitor who has failed to pass an examination may, with the consent of the Commission, be allowed reexamination at any time within six months from the date of failure without filing a new application; but if he be not allowed reexamination within six months he shall be required to file a new application before being again examined.

4. No eligible shall be allowed reexamination during the period of his eligibility unless he shall furnish satisfactory evidence to the Commission that at the time of his examination, because of illness or other good cause, he was incapable of doing himself justice; and his rating on such reexamination shall cancel and be a substitute for his rating on his former examination.

5. All competitors whose claim to preference under section 1754 of the Revised Statutes have been allowed by the Commission who attain a general average of 65 per cent or over, and all other competitors who attain a general average of 70 per cent or over, shall be eligible for appointment to the place for which they were examined. The names of all the competitors thus rendered eligible shall be entered in the order of grade on the proper register of eligibles.

6. When two or more eligibles are of the same grade, preference in certification shall be determined by the order in which the application papers are filed.

7. For the Indian service there shall be four districts and a separate register of eligibles for each grade of examination for each district, the names of males and females being listed separately on each register. The districts shall be comprised as follows: No. 1, of the States of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming; No. 2, of the States of Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and that part of California lying north of the thirty-seventh parallel of latitude, and the Territory of Utah; No. 3, of that part of California lying south of the thirty-seventh parallel of latitude, the Territories of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, the Indian Territory, and the States of Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas; No. 4, of all the States of the United States not embraced in any of the foregoing districts, together with the District of Columbia. Upon the written request of any eligible his name shall be entered upon the register of any one or more of the districts other than that in which he resides: Provided, That he shall state in writing his willingness to accept service wherever assigned in any such district.

8. The period of eligibility to appointment shall be one year from the date on which the name of the eligible is entered on the register unless otherwise determined by regulation of the Commission.

INDIAN RULE IV.

1. All vacancies, unless filled by promotion, transfer, or reappointment, shall be filled in the following manner:

(a) The Commissioner of Indian Affairs, through the Secretary of the Interior, shall, in form and manner to be prescribed by the Commission, request the certification to him of male or female eligibles from the district in which the vacancy exists.

(b) If fitness for the vacant place is tested by competitive examination, the Commission shall certify from the proper register of the district in which the vacancy exists the names of the three eligibles thereon of the sex called for having the highest averages: Provided, That the eligibles upon any register who have been allowed preference under section 1754 of the Revised Statutes shall be certified according to their grade before all other eligibles thereon: And provided further, That if the vacancy is in the grade of matron or teacher, and the wife of the superintendent of the school in which the vacancy exists is an eligible, she may be given preference in certification if the appointing officer so requests.

2. Of the three names certified to him the appointing officer shall select one, and if at the time of making this selection there are more vacancies than one he may select more than one: Provided, That if the appointing officer to whom certification has been made shall object in writing to any eligible named in the certificate, stating that because of physical incapacity or for other good cause particularly specified such eligible is not capable of properly performing the duties of the vacant place, the Commission may, upon investigation and ascertainment of the fact that the objection made is good and well founded, direct the certification of another eligible in place of the one objected to.

3. Each person thus designated for appointment shall be notified, and upon indicating acceptance shall be appointed for a probationary period--if a physician, for six months, and if a school employee, to expire at the end of the then current school year--at the end of which period, if his conduct and capacity be satisfactory to the appointing officer, he shall receive absolute appointment; but if his conduct and capacity be not satisfactory to said officer he shall be so notified, and this notification shall be his discharge from the service: Provided, That any probationer may be discharged during probation for misconduct or evident unfitness or incapacity.

4. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall require the officer under whom a probationer may be serving to carefully observe and report in writing upon the services rendered by and the character and qualifications of such probationer as to punctuality, industry, habits, ability, and adaptability. These reports shall be preserved on file, and the Commission may prescribe the form and manner in which they shall be made.

5. In case of the sudden occurrence of a vacancy in any school during a school term which the public interest requires to be immediately filled, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs is authorized, in his discretion, to provide for the temporary filling of the same until a regular appointment can be made under the provisions of sections 1, 2, and 3 of this rule, and when such regular appointment is made the temporary appointment shall terminate. All temporary appointments made under this authority and their termination shall at once be reported to the Commission.

INDIAN RULE V.

Until promotion regulations shall have been applied to the classified Indian service promotions therein may be made upon any test of fitness determined upon by the promoting officer if not disapproved by the Commission: Provided, That preference in promotion in any school shall be given to those longest in the service unless there are good reasons to the contrary; and when such reasons prevail they shall, through the proper channels, be reported to the Commission: And provided further, That no one shall be promoted to any grade he could not enter by original appointment under the minimum age limitation applied thereto by Indian Rule II, section 2, and that no one shall be promoted to the grade of physician from any other grade.

INDIAN RULE VI.

Subject to the conditions stated in Rule IV, transfers may be made after absolute appointment from one school to another and from one district to another under such regulations as the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, may prescribe.

INDIAN RULE VII.

Upon the requisition of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, through the Secretary of the Interior, the Commission shall certify for reinstatement in a grade or class no higher than that in which he was formerly employed any person who within one year next preceding the date of the requisition has through no delinquency or misconduct been separated from the classified Indian service: Provided, That certification may be made, subject to the other conditions of this rule, for the reinstatement of any person who served in the military or naval service of the United States in the late War of the Rebellion and was honorably discharged therefrom, without regard to the length of time he has been separated from the service.

INDIAN RULE VIII.

The Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall report to the Commission--

(a) Every probational and every absolute appointment in the classified Indian service.

(b) Every refusal to make an absolute appointment and the reason therefor, and every refusal to accept an appointment.

(c) Every separation from the classified Indian service and the cause of such separation, whether death, resignation, or dismissal.

(d) Every restoration to the classified Indian service.

These rules shall take effect October 1, 1891.

BENJ. HARRISON.

AMENDMENT OF CIVIL SERVICE RULES.

OCTOBER 9, 1891.

General Rule III, clause 6, is hereby amended by striking out the words "under such regulations as the Commission may make" and substituting therefor the following: "under regulations to be approved by the President;" so that as amended the clause will read as follows:

So far as practicable and useful competitive examinations shall be established in the classified civil service to test fitness for promotion under regulations to be approved by the President.

BENJ. HARRISON.

Whereas civil-service rules for the Indian service were approved to take effect October 1, 1891; and

Whereas it is represented to me by the Civil Service Commission in a communication of this date that no persons have as yet been examined for appointment to that service, and that it seems probable that complete arrangements for putting said rules into full effect will not be made sooner than March 1, 1892:

It is therefore ordered, That said Indian rules shall take effect March 1, 1892, instead of October 1, 1891: Provided, That said rules shall become operative and take effect in any district of the Indian service as soon as an eligible register for such district shall be provided, if it shall be prior to the date above fixed.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, October 13, 1891.

Upon the recommendation of the Commission the foregoing order is approved.

BENJ. HARRISON.

AMENDMENT OF CIVIL-SERVICE RULES.

NOVEMBER 24, 1891.

Special Departmental Rule No. 1 is hereby amended so as to include among the places excepted from examination the following:

In the Department of the Treasury, in the Bureau of Statistics: One confidential clerk to the Chief of the Bureau.

BENJ. HARRISON.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, December 4, 1891.

SIR: In my message to the first session of the Fifty-first Congress I said:

I have suggested to the heads of the Executive Departments that they consider whether a record might not be kept in each bureau of all those elements that are covered by the terms "faithfulness" and "efficiency," and a rating made showing the relative merits of the clerks of each class, this rating to be regarded as a test of merit in making promotions.

In some of the Departments this suggestion has been acted upon in part at least, and I now direct that in your Department a plan be at once devised and put in operation for keeping an efficiency record of all persons within the classified service, with a view to placing promotions wholly upon the basis of merit.

It is intended to make provision for carrying into effect the stipulations of the civil-service law in relation to promotions in the classified service. To that end the rule requiring compulsory examination has been rescinded. In my opinion the examination for promotion of those who present themselves should be chiefly, if not wholly, upon their knowledge of the work of the bureau or Department to which they belong and the record of efficiency made by them during their previous service. I think the records of efficiency kept from day to day should be open to the inspection of the clerks.

Very respectfully, yours,

BENJ. HARRISON.

THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, December 9, 1891.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

The reports of the heads of the several Executive Departments, required by law to be submitted to me, which are herewith transmitted, and the reports of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney-General, made directly to Congress, furnish a comprehensive view of the administrative work of the last fiscal year relating to internal affairs. It would be of great advantage if these reports could have an attentive perusal by every member of Congress and by all who take an interest in public affairs. Such a perusal could not fail to excite a higher appreciation of the vast labor and conscientious effort which are given to the conduct of our civil administration.

The reports will, I believe, show that every question has been approached, considered, and decided from the standpoint of public duty and upon considerations affecting the public interests alone. Again I invite to every branch of the service the attention and scrutiny of Congress.

The work of the State Department during the last year has been characterized by an unusual number of important negotiations and by diplomatic results of a notable and highly beneficial character. Among these are the reciprocal trade arrangements which have been concluded, in the exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the tariff law, with the Republic of Brazil, with Spain for its West India possessions, and with Santo Domingo. Like negotiations with other countries have been much advanced, and it is hoped that before the close of the year further definitive trade arrangements of great value will be concluded.

In view of the reports which had been received as to the diminution of the seal herds in the Bering Sea, I deemed it wise to propose to Her Majesty's Government in February last that an agreement for a closed season should be made pending the negotiations for arbitration, which then seemed to be approaching a favorable conclusion. After much correspondence and delays, for which this Government was not responsible, an agreement was reached and signed on the 15th of June, by which Great Britain undertook from that date and until May 1, 1892, to prohibit the killing by her subjects of seals in the Bering Sea, and the Government of the United States during the same period to enforce its existing prohibition against pelagic sealing and to limit the catch by the fur-seal company upon the islands to 7,500 skins. If this agreement could have been reached earlier in response to the strenuous endeavors of this Government, it would have been more effective; but coming even as late as it did it unquestionably resulted in greatly diminishing the destruction of the seals by the Canadian sealers.

In my last annual message I stated that the basis of arbitration proposed by Her Majesty's Government for the adjustment of the long-pending controversy as to the seal fisheries was not acceptable. I am glad now to be able to announce that terms satisfactory to this Government have been agreed upon and that an agreement as to the arbitrators is all that is necessary to the completion of the convention. In view of the advanced position which this Government has taken upon the subject of international arbitration, this renewed expression of our adherence to this method for the settlement of disputes such as have arisen in the Bering Sea will, I doubt not, meet with the concurrence of Congress.

Provision should be made for a joint demarcation of the frontier line between Canada and the United States wherever required by the increasing border settlements, and especially for the exact location of the water boundary in the straits and rivers.

I should have been glad to announce some favorable disposition of the boundary dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela touching the western frontier of British Guiana, but the friendly efforts of the United States in that direction have thus far been unavailing. This Government will continue to express its concern at any appearance of foreign encroachment on territories long under the administrative control of American States. The determination of a disputed boundary is easily attainable by amicable arbitration where the rights of the respective parties rest, as here, on historic facts readily ascertainable.

The law of the last Congress providing a system of inspection for our meats intended for export, and clothing the President with power to exclude foreign products from our market in case the country sending them should perpetuate unjust discriminations against any product of the United States, placed this Government in a position to effectively urge the removal of such discriminations against our meats. It is gratifying to be able to state that Germany, Denmark, Italy, Austria, and France, in the order named, have opened their ports to inspected American pork products. The removal of these restrictions in every instance was asked for and given solely upon the ground that we have now provided a meat inspection that should be accepted as adequate to the complete removal of the dangers, real or fancied, which had been previously urged. The State Department, our ministers abroad, and the Secretary of Agriculture have cooperated with unflagging and intelligent zeal for the accomplishment of this great result. The outlines of an agreement have been reached with Germany looking to equitable trade concessions in consideration of the continued free importation of her sugars, but the time has not yet arrived when this correspondence can be submitted to Congress.

The recent political disturbances in the Republic of Brazil have excited regret and solicitude. The information we possessed was too meager to enable us to form a satisfactory judgment of the causes leading to the temporary assumption of supreme power by President Fonseca; but this Government did not fail to express to him its anxious solicitude for the peace of Brazil and for the maintenance of the free political institutions which had recently been established there, nor to offer our advice that great moderation should be observed in the clash of parties and the contest for leadership. These counsels were received in the most friendly spirit, and the latest information is that constitutional government has been reestablished without bloodshed.

The lynching at New Orleans in March last of eleven men of Italian nativity by a mob of citizens was a most deplorable and discreditable incident. It did not, however, have its origin in any general animosity to the Italian people, nor in any disrespect to the Government of Italy, with which our relations were of the most friendly character. The fury of the mob was directed against these men as the supposed participants or accessories in the murder of a city officer. I do not allude to this as mitigating in any degree this offense against law and humanity, but only as affecting the international questions which grew out of it. It was at once represented by the Italian minister that several of those whose lives had been taken by the mob were Italian subjects, and a demand was made for the punishment of the participants and for an indemnity to the families of those who were killed. It is to be regretted that the manner in which these claims were presented was not such as to promote a calm discussion of the questions involved; but this may well be attributed to the excitement and indignation which the crime naturally evoked. The views of this Government as to its obligations to foreigners domiciled here were fully stated in the correspondence, as well as its purpose to make an investigation of the affair with a view to determine whether there were present any circumstances that could under such rules of duty as we had indicated create an obligation upon the United States. The temporary absence of a minister plenipotentiary of Italy at this capital has retarded the further correspondence, but it is not doubted that a friendly conclusion is attainable.

Some suggestions growing out of this unhappy incident are worthy the attention of Congress. It would, I believe, be entirely competent for Congress to make offenses against the treaty rights of foreigners domiciled in the United States cognizable in the Federal courts. This has not, however, been done, and the Federal officers and courts have no power in such cases to intervene, either for the protection of a foreign citizen or for the punishment of his slayers. It seems to me to follow, in this state of the law, that the officers of the State charged with police and judicial powers in such cases must in the consideration of international questions growing out of such incidents be regarded in such sense as Federal agents as to make this Government answerable for their acts in cases where it would be answerable if the United States had used its constitutional power to define and punish crime against treaty rights.

The civil war in Chile, which began in January last, was continued, but fortunately with infrequent and not important armed collisions, until August 28, when the Congressional forces landed near Valparaiso and after a bloody engagement captured that city. President Balmaceda at once recognized that his cause was lost, and a Provisional Government was speedily established by the victorious party. Our minister was promptly directed to recognize and put himself in communication with this Government so soon as it should have established its de facto character, which was done. During the pendency of this civil contest frequent indirect appeals were made to this Government to extend belligerent rights to the insurgents and to give audience to their representatives. This was declined, and that policy was pursued throughout which this Government when wrenched by civil war so strenuously insisted upon on the part of European nations. The Itata, an armed vessel commanded by a naval officer of the insurgent fleet, manned by its sailors and with soldiers on board, was seized under process of the United States court at San Diego, Cal., for a violation of our neutrality laws. While in the custody of an officer of the court the vessel was forcibly wrested from his control and put to sea. It would have been inconsistent with the dignity and self-respect of this Government not to have insisted that the Itata should be returned to San Diego to abide the judgment of the court. This was so clear to the junta of the Congressional party, established at Iquique, that before the arrival of the Itata at that port the secretary of foreign relations of the Provisional Government addressed to Rear-Admiral Brown, commanding the United States naval forces, a communication, from which the following is an extract:

The Provisional Government has learned by the cablegrams of the Associated Press that the transport Itata, detained in San Diego by order of the United States for taking on board munitions of war, and in possession of the marshal, left the port, carrying on board this official, who was landed at a point near the coast, and then continued her voyage. * * * If this news be correct this Government would deplore the conduct of the Itata, and as an evidence that it is not disposed to support or agree to the infraction of the laws of the United States the undersigned takes advantage of the personal relations you have been good enough to maintain with him since your arrival in this port to declare to you that as soon as she is within reach of our orders his Government will put the Itata, with the arms and munitions she took on board in San Diego, at the disposition of the United States.

A trial in the district court of the United States for the southern district of California has recently resulted in a decision holding, among other things, that inasmuch as the Congressional party had not been recognized as a belligerent the acts done in its interest could not be a violation of our neutrality laws. From this judgment the United States has appealed, not that the condemnation of the vessel is a matter of importance, but that we may know what the present state of our law is; for if this construction of the statute is correct there is obvious necessity for revision and amendment.

During the progress of the war in Chile this Government tendered its good offices to bring about a peaceful adjustment, and it was at one time hoped that a good result might be reached; but in this we were disappointed.

The instructions to our naval officers and to our minister at Santiago from the first to the last of this struggle enjoined upon them the most impartial treatment and absolute noninterference. I am satisfied that these instructions were observed and that our representatives were always watchful to use their influence impartially in the interest of humanity, and on more than one occasion did so effectively. We could not forget, however, that this Government was in diplomatic relations with the then established Government of Chile, as it is now in such relations with the successor of that Government. I am quite sure that President Montt, who has, under circumstances of promise for the peace of Chile, been installed as President of that Republic, will not desire that in the unfortunate event of any revolt against his authority the policy of this Government should be other than that which we have recently observed. No official complaint of the conduct of our minister or of our naval officers during the struggle has been presented to this Government, and it is a matter of regret that so many of our own people should have given ear to unofficial charges and complaints that manifestly had their origin in rival interests and in a wish to pervert the relations of the United States with Chile.

The collapse of the Government of Balmaceda brought about a condition which is unfortunately too familiar in the history of the Central and South American States. With the overthrow of the Balmaceda Government he and many of his councilors and officers became at once fugitives for their lives, and appealed to the commanding officers of the foreign naval vessels in the harbor of Valparaiso and to the resident foreign ministers at Santiago for asylum. This asylum was freely given, according to my information, by the naval vessels of several foreign powers and by several of the legations at Santiago. The American minister as well as his colleagues, acting upon the impulse of humanity, extended asylum to political refugees whose lives were in peril. I have not been willing to direct the surrender of such of these persons as are still in the American legation without suitable conditions.

It is believed that the Government of Chile is not in a position, in view of the precedents with which it has been connected, to broadly deny the right of asylum, and the correspondence has not thus far presented any such denial. The treatment of our minister for a time was such as to call for a decided protest, and it was very gratifying to observe that unfriendly measures, which were undoubtedly the result of the prevailing excitement, were at once rescinded or suitably relaxed.

On the 16th of October an event occurred in Valparaiso so serious and tragic in its circumstances and results as to very justly excite the indignation of our people and to call for prompt and decided action on the part of this Government. A considerable number of the sailors of the United States steamship Baltimore, then in the harbor at Valparaiso, being upon shore leave and unarmed, were assaulted by armed men nearly simultaneously in different localities in the city. One petty officer was killed outright and seven or eight seamen were seriously wounded, one of whom has since died. So savage and brutal was the assault that several of our sailors received more than two and one as many as eighteen stab wounds. An investigation of the affair was promptly made by a board of officers of the Baltimore, and their report shows that these assaults were unprovoked, that our men were conducting themselves in a peaceable and orderly manner, and that some of the police of the city took part in the assault and used their weapons with fatal effect, while a few others, with some well-disposed citizens, endeavored to protect our men. Thirty-six of our sailors were arrested, and some of them while being taken to prison were cruelly beaten and maltreated. The fact that they were all discharged, no criminal charge being lodged against any one of them, shows very clearly that they were innocent of any breach of the peace.

So far as I have yet been able to learn no other explanation of this bloody work has been suggested than that it had its origin in hostility to those men as sailors of the United States, wearing the uniform of their Government, and not in any individual act or personal animosity. The attention of the Chilean Government was at once called to this affair, and a statement of the facts obtained by the investigation we had conducted was submitted, accompanied by a request to be advised of any other or qualifying facts in the possession of the Chilean Government that might tend to relieve this affair of the appearance of an insult to this Government. The Chilean Government was also advised that if such qualifying facts did not exist this Government would confidently expect full and prompt reparation.

It is to be regretted that the reply of the secretary for foreign affairs of the Provisional Government was couched in an offensive tone. To this no response has been made. This Government is now awaiting the result of an investigation which has been conducted by the criminal court at Valparaiso. It is reported unofficially that the investigation is about completed, and it is expected that the result will soon be communicated to this Government, together with some adequate and satisfactory response to the note by which the attention of Chile was called to this incident. If these just expectations should be disappointed or further needless delay intervene, I will by a special message bring this matter again to the attention of Congress for such action as may be necessary. The entire correspondence with the Government of Chile will at an early day be submitted to Congress.

I renew the recommendation of my special message dated January 16, 1890, for the adoption of the necessary legislation to enable this Government to apply in the case of Sweden and Norway the same rule in respect to the levying of tonnage dues as was claimed and secured to the shipping of the United States in 1828 under Article VIII of the treaty of 1827.

The adjournment of the Senate without action on the pending acts for the suppression of the slave traffic in Africa and for the reform of the revenue tariff of the Independent State of the Kongo left this Government unable to exchange those acts on the date fixed, July 2, 1891. A modus vivendi has been concluded by which the power of the Kongo State to levy duties on imports is left unimpaired, and by agreement of all the signatories to the general slave trade act the time for the exchange of ratifications on the part of the United States has been extended to February 2, 1892.

The late outbreak against foreigners in various parts of the Chinese Empire has been a cause of deep concern in view of the numerous establishments of our citizens in the interior of that country. This Government can do no less than insist upon a continuance of the protective and punitory measures which the Chinese Government has heretofore applied. No effort will be omitted to protect our citizens peaceably sojourning in China, but recent unofficial information indicates that what was at first regarded as an outbreak of mob violence against foreigners has assumed the larger form of an insurrection against public order.

The Chinese Government has declined to receive Mr. Blair as the minister of the United States on the ground that as a participant while a Senator in the enactment of the existing legislation against the introduction of Chinese laborers he has become unfriendly and objectionable to China. I have felt constrained to point out to the Chinese Government the untenableness of this position, which seems to rest as much on the unacceptability of our legislation as on that of the person chosen, and which if admitted would practically debar the selection of any representative so long as the existing laws remain in force.

You will be called upon to consider the expediency of making special provision by law for the temporary admission of some Chinese artisans and laborers in connection with the exhibit of Chinese industries at the approaching Columbian Exposition. I regard it as desirable that the Chinese exhibit be facilitated in every proper way.

A question has arisen with the Government of Spain touching the rights of American citizens in the Caroline Islands. Our citizens there long prior to the confirmation of Spain's claim to the islands had secured by settlement and purchase certain rights to the recognition and maintenance of which the faith of Spain was pledged. I have had reason within the past year very strongly to protest against the failure to carry out this pledge on the part of His Majesty's ministers, which has resulted in great injustice and injury to the American residents.

The Government and people of Spain propose to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America by holding an exposition at Madrid, which will open on the 12th of September and continue until the 31st of December, 1892. A cordial invitation has been extended to the United States to take part in this commemoration, and as Spain was one of the first nations to express the intention to participate in the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, it would be very appropriate for this Government to give this invitation its friendly promotion.

Surveys for the connecting links of the projected intercontinental railway are in progress, not only in Mexico, but at various points along the course mapped out. Three surveying parties are now in the field under the direction of the commission. Nearly 1,000 miles of the proposed road have been surveyed, including the most difficult part, that through Ecuador and the southern part of Colombia. The reports of the engineers are very satisfactory, and show that no insurmountable obstacles have been met with.

On November 12, 1884, a treaty was concluded with Mexico reaffirming the boundary between the two countries as described in the treaties of February 2, 1848, and December 30, 1853. March 1, 1889, a further treaty was negotiated to facilitate the carrying out of the principles of the treaty of 1884 and to avoid the difficulties occasioned by reason of the changes and alterations that take place from natural causes in the Rio Grande and Colorado rivers in the portions thereof constituting the boundary line between the two Republics. The International Boundary Commission provided for by the treaty of 1889 to have exclusive jurisdiction of any question that may arise has been named by the Mexican Government. An appropriation is necessary to enable the United States to fulfill its treaty obligations in this respect.

The death of King Kalakaua in the United States afforded occasion to testify our friendship for Hawaii by conveying the King's body to his own land in a naval vessel with all due honors. The Government of his successor, Queen Liliuokolani, is seeking to promote closer commercial relations with the United States. Surveys for the much-needed submarine cable from our Pacific coast to Honolulu are in progress, and this enterprise should have the suitable promotion of the two Governments. I strongly recommend that provision be made for improving the harbor of Pearl River and equipping it as a naval station.

The arbitration treaty formulated by the International American Conference lapsed by reason of the failure to exchange ratifications fully within the limit of time provided; but several of the Governments concerned have expressed a desire to save this important result of the conference by an extension of the period. It is, in my judgment, incumbent upon the United States to conserve the influential initiative it has taken in this measure by ratifying the instrument and by advocating the proposed extension of the time for exchange. These views have been made known to the other signatories.

This Government has found occasion to express in a friendly spirit, but with much earnestness, to the Government of the Czar its serious concern because of the harsh measures now being enforced against the Hebrews in Russia. By the revival of antisemitic laws, long in abeyance, great numbers of those unfortunate people have been constrained to abandon their homes and leave the Empire by reason of the impossibility of finding subsistence within the pale to which it is sought to confine them. The immigration of these people to the United States--many other countries being closed to them--is largely increasing and is likely to assume proportions which may make it difficult to find homes and employment for them here and to seriously affect the labor market. It is estimated that over 1,000,000 will be forced from Russia within a few years. The Hebrew is never a beggar; he has always kept the law--life by toil--often under severe and oppressive civil restrictions. It is also true that no race, sect, or class has more fully cared for its own than the Hebrew race. But the sudden transfer of such a multitude under conditions that tend to strip them of their small accumulations and to depress their energies and courage is neither good for them nor for us.

The banishment, whether by direct decree or by not less certain indirect methods, of so large a number of men and women is not a local question. A decree to leave one country is in the nature of things an order to enter another--some other. This consideration, as well as the suggestion of humanity, furnishes ample ground for the remonstrances which we have presented to Russia, while our historic friendship for that Government can not fail to give the assurance that our representations are those of a sincere wellwisher.

The annual report of the Maritime Canal Company of Nicaragua shows that much costly and necessary preparatory work has been done during the year in the construction of shops, railroad tracks, and harbor piers and breakwaters, and that the work of canal construction has made some progress.

I deem it to be a matter of the highest concern to the United States that this canal, connecting the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and giving to us a short water communication between our ports upon those two great seas, should be speedily constructed and at the smallest practicable limit of cost. The gain in freights to the people and the direct saving to the Government of the United States in the use of its naval vessels would pay the entire cost of this work within a short series of years. The report of the Secretary of the Navy shows the saving in our naval expenditures which would result.

The Senator from Alabama (Mr. Morgan) in his argument upon this subject before the Senate at the last session did not overestimate the importance of this work when he said that "the canal is the most important subject now connected with the commercial growth and progress of the United States."

If this work is to be promoted by the usual financial methods and without the aid of this Government, the expenditures in its interest-bearing securities and stock will probably be twice the actual cost. This will necessitate higher tolls and constitute a heavy and altogether needless burden upon our commerce and that of the world. Every dollar of the bonds and stock of the company should represent a dollar expended in the legitimate and economical prosecution of the work. This is only possible by giving to the bonds the guaranty of the United States Government. Such a guaranty would secure the ready sale at par of a 3 per cent bond from time to time as the money was needed. I do not doubt that built upon these business methods the canal would when fully inaugurated earn its fixed charges and operating expenses. But if its bonds are to be marketed at heavy discounts and every bond sold is to be accompanied by a gift of stock, as has come to be expected by investors in such enterprises, the traffic will be seriously burdened to pay interest and dividends. I am quite willing to recommend Government promotion in the prosecution of a work which, if no other means offered for securing its completion, is of such transcendent interest that the Government should, in my opinion, secure it by direct appropriations from its Treasury.

A guaranty of the bonds of the canal company to an amount necessary to the completion of the canal could, I think, be so given as not to involve any serious risk of ultimate loss. The things to be carefully guarded are the completion of the work within the limits of the guaranty, the subrogation of the United States to the rights of the first-mortgage bondholders for any amounts it may have to pay, and in the meantime a control of the stock of the company as a security against mismanagement and loss. I most sincerely hope that neither party nor sectional lines will be drawn upon this great American project, so full of interest to the people of all our States and so influential in its effects upon the prestige and prosperity of our common country.

The island of Navassa, in the West Indian group, has, under the provisions of Title VII of the Revised Statutes, been recognized by the President as appertaining to the United States. It contains guano deposits, is owned by the Navassa Phosphate Company, and is occupied solely by its employees. In September, 1889, a revolt took place among these laborers, resulting in the killing of some of the agents of the company, caused, as the laborers claimed, by cruel treatment. These men were arrested and tried in the United States court at Baltimore, under