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. ~ ^ j* ~m <?.**- ,.*??-? IT.' ' r - , .--!- I .? .? "/ - - . >VL-U. ' - - - I? -???? v lewis m. grist, proprietor, ^.n Inbqpitart .familj |tctospaper: Jar tjjt ^rotnfftian of t|it political, Sfftial, Agricultural anir Cmmnercial Interests af % jJratji. |TERMS?$3.00 A YEAR, IIABTASCE. VOL. 22. YORKYILLE, S. O., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1876. NO. 50. '.t- ;.*? * > ,::)>, :*^ . - . i .- * [ __!____L_ ! : ; ??m^^4 1 I j. ... ! __ ? _i_;n j_ 15 Jforg idle*. ? A DEAD-LETTER ROMANCE. It vu very long ago?as far back as 1835, \ if the old clerks of the New York Post\ office remember correctly?that she first bei gan to oome to the general delivery window? \ a modest, plainly-clad lady, with a sweet, soI ber face, and a gentle manner. She was as \ regalar aa the moon, and like the moon came I monthly, generally on the first Saturday of / the month, and always found a letter await/ ing her, folded in the same sort of an envelope; always addressed in the same cramped, angular hand to MARIA H. RUSSELL, j NEW YORK POST-OFFCE. It was always a "drop-letter," one of the many thousands that found their way through the little crevice iu the wall daily, and no one ever knew who brought it; although when, the regularity of her visits began to attract attention, the unknown correspondent wa* carefully watched for about the first Fri\ day of every month. But it was never known who brought that strauge, yellow envelope, f nor did any one ever get a glimpse of its confjngh its outside was examined curireat many times. And the myster passed along like the thousands essages of love and hate, of mortiid pleasure, of good cheer and evil ;he duns and remittances and prom: _ f[ ' '' y. . >assed. The delivery clerks were >ne after another; some of them ;rs were promoted; some went to loyment; bnt as each left he told >f the strange woman to his succesrt of the instructions of the office, and the new clerks soon,i>ecame familiar with her visits as the months went hy. hl *3 j . : _i_? one WHOIKU (]U6HIUUC<1 j lUljUiOItJ vo glances were often cast into her face and several times she wim followed by curiousfellows; but no one ever discovered whence Bhe came or whither she \?eut. One day'a new clerk, who-had conceived a scheme to discover her identity, told her he was not sore the letter belonged to ber, as be knew other ladies in tbh city of the sapie name, and asked her if there was not some one in the neighborhood whom she could call in-to identify her. MI am a stranger in this part of the city, tfr," was her quiet, dignified reply, "but I have been here a good many times and never before was asked to prove my identity. If it will be of any satisfaction to you I will describe the appearance of the letter I* expectbut wait; I am quite sure it will correspond with this one"?and she took from the little reticulethe one she bad receivedsa month before. v A whole generation had passed away. - Men and women bad been born and buried, but still the queer letters came, and were called for by the queer woman. The clerks in tbajibst'offica bad beard of her from those who preceded tbem, and ber mysterious aplUMraiiM ka/4 uoino/) a rnMnnr>0 tvif.il ft era K"?"v" e? ? -o-> and strange stories that bad been invented by the clerks long before, were told of ber as true.: Her face was smooth and ropndand placid ? bnt it, wai<ganing wrin. time, only once for twenty-years, as nearly as could berpi&o<nbered, she failed to come, aad"qnw;fwo7three letters were waiting her in jnie pigeon-hole. The clerk did not advertise i^them nor send them to the Dead-Letter /Office with the rest, tor he know it Maria Jttussell was living she would come for them in time, and if she was dead nothing could be gained by hurrying them off* to the great mail morgue where all unclaimed letters go. But after four months her familiar face appeared at the window again, and the clerk was as glad to see her as if she had been an old friend. But it was not the face he used to see. Its calm smoothness, its fullness, was wasted; there were deep-drawn lines around the mouth and eyes, and the fresh flush had turned to a wan of paleness. A friendly greeting was on the tougue of the clerk as he turned to meet her, but when he saw bow pale she was, how the calm expression of her face had been erased and covered with the autograph of pain, he suppressed the cordial words that were pushing his lips open, and simply remarked : "You have been sick 1" "Yes, I have been sick," she said, and gathering her letters in her hand, she left the window, and, like a snow-flake in the sea, melted away into the surging wave of humanity that was roaring in the street outside. A a??L:~ U.,t Aliw iuib sue usiiio icgujbiij njjbiu, uui the paleness never left ber face, and the wrinkles lengthened and deepened instead of growing I ess. The clerks began to talk of her changed appearance, and concluded that she was suffering from some cause, they could not decide just what, although there were plenty of reasons suggested, and it was concluded at an informal meeting behind the wall of boxes in the poet-office one day, that the next time she oame it was their duty to find out if she was needing anything that they with their ill-filled purses. could supply. So when she came the clerk who happened to be at the window held her letter in bis band a moment to delay her, and said with a great deal of trepidation?for the mystery of her life and the distant selfpossession of her manner discouraged any inquisitive attacks: pray you to excuse me, madam; but I thought if you were in any sort of need?" "I am very well cared for, thank you," she interrupted. "You have a letter for me, I see." And she was gone again. The clerk went back to his fellows, and being a person of pride, related the incident, with some details that were not supplied in the occurrence. He said he had tendered the lartir in fVmir namp as dpliratelv as DOSsible. any aid that she might need, explaining that they had learned from, long association to feel an interest in her, and hoped if she was in want of any of the necessaries of life, or if she needed assistance of any kind, that they would assist her to the extent of their abilities. The clerks applanded the deftness with which their fellow bad performed the dnty, and inquired anxiously for her reply. "She told me," he said, "that she was in good circumstances, and was not just now in want of any assistance, but, with our permission she would remember our kind offer, and if ever in need would not hesitate to call upon us.'* ' And if she bad been a heroine formerly she became a goddess from that hour out?a goddess in an old-fashioned, shabby Leghorn bonnet, a rusty broche shawl, and a reticule like the ones their grandmothers carried. But she waaaa divine to those habit-hardened post-office clerks as ever was St. Cecilia to the tone poets of the mediaeval, or St Agatha to the sufenng womau of the church. The gray hair had grown much thinner in Imm^p^P^ars, her eyes were sinking back atMW ftejydfyples and growing dim, and the hMpfc&g! cli8ped the letter as each month Vere gettiug very gaunt acid War (Mime on, the mails were laden Hpi?D with messages of sorrow and bereavethe clerks were hurried off* as soldiers, Mb widows and sisters of those places they fill came along into the post-office to do the public service; but the wad old woman came just the same as ever, and the yellow wrapped letter was always waiting her there. The war was over; the clerks who went out to fightcame back limping and armless, to inquire after their mysterious friend. She was still coming, but soon after, in March, 1865, she was seen the last time. The letter came as usual, one of the first days of April, but no one called for it The clerk, who was a lady, then put it aside as if it was too good for its company, and kept it near the window, so that it would be ready when Maria Russell came. Another month went by, and another came, which was put away with its mate. Two more months and two more letters, and four of them were lying there in a pile, waiting for the queer old woman?"the mysterious woman of the delivery window" they called her now? to come fqg them. How often those letters were examined. How closely the address and the seal were scanned, bow they were held up to the light so that maybe a word of their Contents might be discovered. What a temptation they were. The chief of the delivery office ordered, them advertised. "No," said the clerks. "She will come for them, She knows they are here. She must be sick, or something. She has come for them for thirty years, and they never have been advertised yet. Let them wait another month." So they waited another month, two more, I and still the queer old woman didn't come. ! And they had to be advertised. On a long | list in the newspapers, near the bottom, uuder the head of "Ladies' Letters," were these [ words: "Russell, Maria H., 6." People glanced at thera?almost everybody looks over the list of advertised letters to see if by some chance one belonging to them bad strayed among the vagabonds, and people remarked : "I wonder who Maria H. Russell is; she has six letters advertised." To the clerks in the post-office it seemed a shame that old Mrs. or Miss (perhaps she was an old maid) Russell's letters should be advertised aud stuck off into a dirty corner with a lot of soiled envelopes, and there was quite an indignation meeting held over the matter. But still the queer old woman did not come. "Perhaps she is dead," they said, "poor thing. Perhaps she is dead." But if there were whispers of displeasure wheu the letters were advertised, there was a | storm of wrath with them when the clerk announced that they must be seut to the DeadLetter Office. The postmaster was appealed to. He was a man of business, aud didn't care much for romance,'so he said the letters must go, and the rules of the department be carried out, and that the seventh letter, which had come in since the six were advertised, muBt go with them. But through all the sorrow there was gleam ing the suushioe of relief. At the Dead-Letter Office it would be found out what these mysterious envelopes contained. And the lady who made up the packages for the DeadLetter Office pinned this note to Maria Russell's seven letters: These are very peculiar letters. They belong to a woman who has been coming to the post-offloeregularly every month for thirty years; but she has ceased to come, and wo think she is dead. Whoever opens these letters will confer a great favor by informing the clerks of the New York post-office of their contents, as we have a great curiosity to know, who Maria Russell is, or was, and something about the person whb has been sending her these letters regularly for so long! -This- note was submitted to a convention of? olorho, nnd-tlovloictl unanimously to be the proper thing. A reply was awaited anxiously. Before it came two more letters had followed their fellows in, and were awaiting for Maria Russell; but she never came to get them, and they were seut off like the rest to have their secrets revealed in the great mail morgue at Washington. Finally there came au envelope addressed to "The clerks of the New York post-office," and it was oDened bv the first Derson included ; ? ' "i ? i in that category into whose hands it came. That person read the inclosure hurriedly through, and called a conveution to which he read the following: Although it is directly against the rules of the office, I take the responsibility of gratifying your curiosity. Nine letters addressed to Maria U. Russell have come to my hands. Each one contained a brief note, calling attention to an inclosure, without date or signature. Each inclosure was a tive-dollar bill. We have a great deal of curiosity ourselves here to learn something about this strange matter. Won't some of you write us what you think ? And if any further disclosures are made we will inform you. Here was a romance indeed. Nine unsigned notes, each with a similar enclosure of money. | Was it possible, they thought, that for thirty ; years these same sort of letters, with the same | enclosures, had been coming to Maria Russell, i And why didn't they stop, if she was dead, as | she certainly must be. The whole post-office. | was excited and perplexed in its efforts to find a solution of this mystery. But there was no clue to Mrs. or Miss Russell; no clue to her mysterious correspondent. I cannot repeat the many theories that were advanced, or the many speculations that were put out to explain the matter; but each was a different one, I and each had as good grouud for believing . U!n tVtsv Imha ao anit /tfkoi* knnoiion nnno nf 1113 11JC bl UC UUC UO OUT V/bU^I J VVVUUOW IIVUV Wi them had any ground at all. To add to the mystery, some one brought in a daily paper which contained the following advertisement: PERSONAL.?Any person having any knowledge of the whereabout of Maria H. Russell, who has been a resident of this city for thirty years will relieve a terrible anxiety "by communicating with C. B. R., Post-office. What a sensation that personal made in the post-office department. Here at last was a clue to the unknown correspondent who was wondering why he bad received no acknowledgement to his letters for nine months ; and to add to the excitement another letter, in the same pale-yellow style of envelope, addressed in the same familiar chirography, was tossed with hundreds of others to the distributor's table, where it came to light. Fifty letters were addressed to "C. B. R.," each of which stated that they had important information concerning Maria H. Russellbut before nt nrttf /\T tkam nrorn moiln^ if Inal/Oii A11t that luailj VI tliviu ncit luauvu aw iwunvu vuv viimv the personal was put in the papers by one of the clerks, who hoped to reach in advance of his fellows a clue to the mystery. But nothing satisfactory resulted from the personal, i Several Maria Russclls turned up to answer j it, and were very much disgusted to find that | they weren't the person wanted; but it brought j no clue to the curious old lady and her curious j correspondent. Four, five, six years went by, and each month brought as regularly as the month came around a letter for Maria H. Russell. The reverence with which these letters were treated was a new feature in the post-office department. It was a satisfaction even to handle them and feel of the thin, litupsy inclosure, and with what agony of interest tbey were ad* ? " il ? . 1 T\ 1 vertised, ana nnauy sent away to ine JL?eauLetter office each thirty days, to be deposited with the others just like them that had gone before. One day, nearly two years ago, a clerk in the post-office told a friend who was connected with a newspaper of the circumstances, aud a brief statement of facts was published. The paragraph was widely quoted?republished in almost every paper in the United States. And with this publication the letters stopped coming. The last one was postmarked March 4,1875. It is thought that the mysterious correspondent saw the paragraph, and knew in that way Maria Russell was dead?for she must be dead, or she would have called for her letters in the years that had gone since she got the last. But it may be asked why the unknown correspondent dosen't send to the Dead-Letter of fice and claim his money?the money he sent so faithfully each month to Maria Russell, < even for ten years after she was dead and I gone. A large number of claims have been I made for the money Rince' the publication last i year, and a variety of singular stories have 1 been told to account for the manner in which i the correspodence was conducted. I Oae man wrote to inform the post-office de- i partrneut tbat he was the person who had been I sending the money to Maria Russell these < forty years agone, but as bis manuscript was 1 in every way dissimilar from that in the orig- i inal letters he was at once pronounced an im- 1 postor. < A man in Sturgis; 'Mich., has told the atranrraat otnro onrl nilt in thft OtrnnOMt. < U.U.J 0 claim. He says that he is one of a family of 1 five children, four brothers and one daughter. In 1835 his father and mother separated, the father takiug the boys, and the mother the girl, and the father agreeing to pay five dollars a month for his daughter's support as long as he lived, but to have no communication with her in any way whatever. He says, this man in Michigan, that his father used to send the money in the manner described "as long as he lived with him, but haviug some differences about 1846 they, the father and son, separated, the latter going West, where he has resided ever since, without having beard once from the rest of his family. He said he was in no need of money, but would like very much to know if the strange correspondents were his father and sister. He would identify the writing, he thought, if they would send him one of the letters. Mr. Russell's letter was strongly indorsed by several prominent residents of Sturgis who bore testimony to his good character and ' general worthiness. " Mr. Dallas, the Superintendent of the Dead-Letter Office, replied that while he desired to oblige Mr. Russell, it was not permitted to send any of the letters out of the office; but if Mr. Russell was ever in Washington c he would be glad to give any information in t his power and show hitn papers in the depart- c ment relating to the case. .The law required e that these letters and their contents be re- t claimed within three years, at the end of t which time the money inclosuresrevert to the ] United States Treasury, from which they can- f not be recovered without a special act of Con- c gress. . 8 ! On a recent visit to the Dead-Letter Office r I saw the silent, inanimate relics of this strange mystery. A pile of plain, yellow envelopes, marked with some hieroglyphics peculiar to f the dead-letter men, indicating their reference ^ to the books of the bureau. If they could t talk what a story they might tell. What a t theme for romance are these dead letters? c dead in every respect. Forlorn, too, the speechless wanderers, with neither their wri- g ters nor their intended recipients to reclaim c them. I opened one of them?there was no j date, no siguature ; and written in the centre of the page of blue note paper, with pale ink, in an old fashioned hand that appeared to ^ have been uncertain with age, were these few suggestive words: r "I enclose you the money as usual. I will a send more the first of next month. You need ( not write." patiaaal glattm. j ~ ? t THE PRWHENT'S MESSAGE.]? , - ' t To the Senate and House of Representatives: ' In submitting my eighth annual message to [ Congress, it seems proper that I should refer to, and in some degree, recapitulate the events ^ and official acts of the past eight years. It f was my fortune or misfortune, to be called to the office of Chief Executive without any tc previous political training. From the age of c seventeen I had never even witnessed the ex- 8 citement attending a Presidential campaign e but twice antecedent to my own candidacy, c and at but one of them was I eligible as a j voter. Under such circumstances it is but 8 reasonable to suppose that errors of judgment t must have occurred. Even had they not, dif- . ferences of opinion between the Executive, t bound by an oath to the strict performance of j his duties, and writers and debaters must have c arisen. It is not necessarily an evidence of j blunder on the part of the Executive because t there are these differences of ideas. Mistakes f llano Kocn moita a a nil r?nn um> nnrl f admit I J U T V WVU WMUV| WW Wi< VMM WVV| wu\4 A ?" J g but, it seems to me, oftener in the selections c made of the assistance appointed to aid in car- j rying out the various duties of administering j the government. In nearly every case they t were selected without a personal acquaintance g with the appoint^, but upon recommendations r of the representatives, chosen directly by the 8 people. It is impossible, where so many , trusts are to be allotted, that the right par- g ties should be chosen in every instance. His- fl tory shows that no administration, from the j time of Washington to the present, has been t free from these mistakes. But I leave com- c parison to history, claiming only that I have t acted in every instance from a conscientious a desire to do what was right, constitutional, 8 within the law, and for the very best interests t of the whole people. Failures have been errors of judgment, not of intent. My civil career, too, oommenced at a most critical and difficult time. Less than four years before c the country had emerged from a conflict 0 such as no other nation had ever survived. ^ Nearly one-half of the States had revolted ' against the government, and of those remain- ^ inp faithful to the Union a laree Dercentape r o # " -- O- I CP . of the population sympathized with the rebel- J lion, and made an "enemy in the rear" almost ' as dangerous as the more honorable enemy in front. The latter committed errors of judg- ^ meut, but they maintained them openly and ? courageously. The former received the pro- 1 teation of the government they would see des- 1 troyed, and reaped all the pecuniary ad van- c tages to be gained out of the then existing c state of affairs, many of them by obtaining e contracts, and by swindling the government f in the delivery of their goods. Immediately on the cessation of hostilities the then noble President, who had carried the country so far j through its perils, fell, a martyr to his patriot- [ ism, at the hands of an assassin. The inter- j veniugtirae to my Bret inauguration was filled ? un with wrandinps between Congress and the \ new Executive, as to the best mode of reconstruction; or, to speak plainly, aB to whether the control of the government should be immediately thrown into the hands of those who had so recently and persistently tried to destroy it, or whether the victors should continue to have an equal voice with them in this control. Reconstruction, as finally agreed upon, means this and only this, except that the late slave was enfranchised, giving an increase, as was supposed, to the Union-loving and Unionsupporting votes. If free, in the full sense of the word, they would not disappoint this expectation. Hence, at the beginning of ray first administration the work of reconstruction was much embarrasred by the long delay virtually commenced. It was the work of the legislative branch of the Government. My province was wholly in approving their acts, which I did heartily, urging the Legislatures of the States that had not yet done so to ratify the Fifteeuth amendment to the constitution. FINANCES. The country was laboring under an enormous debt contracted in the suppression of the rebellion, and taxation was so oppressive as to discourage production. Another danger also threatened us?a foreign war. The last difficulty had to be adjusted, and was adjusted without a war, and in a manner highly hou- m arable to all parties concerned. Taxes have, ti been reduced within the last seven years near- ai ly three hundred millions of dollars, and the of national debt has been reduced in tbe same fe Lime over four hundred and thirty-five mill- w ions of dollars. By refunding the six per cent ai bonded debt for bonds bearing five and four aj and one-half per cent interest respectively, th the annual interest has been reduced from sa over one hundred and thirty millions of dol- of lars in 1869, to but little over one hundred Si millions of dollars in 1876. Tbe balance of th Lrade has been changed from over oue bun- ai ired and thirty millions of dollars against the of United States in 1869, to more than one bun- in ired and twenty millions of dollars in our fa- th ror in 1876. It is confidently believed that la /if trorio in nf the United CC states will increase, not diminish, and that be ;he pledge of Congress to resume specie' pay- vc neuts in 1879 will be easily accomplished, bt ;ven in the absence of mnch desired further U legislation on the spbject m TH? INDIANS. A policy has been adopted towards the In- ?c lian tribes inhabiting a large portion of the ne erritory of the United States which has been lumane, and has substantially ended Indian lostilities in the whole land except in a portion * >f Nebraska and Dakota, Wyoming and Monana Territories, and the Black Hills region Dl md approaches thereto. Hostilities there have ;rown out of the avarice of the white man, who 10 ias violated our treaty stipulation in his greed or gold. The question might be asked why he government has not enforced obedience to he terms of the treaty prohibiting the occupa- j Pl ion of the Black Hills region by the whites. Dhe answer is simple. The first immigrants ' o the Black Hills were removed by troops, tic mt rumors of rich discoveries of gold took in- tic o that region increased numbers. Gold has au teen found in paying quantity, and an effort eh o remove the miners would only result in the so lesertion of the bulk of the troops that might U te sent there to remove them. All the diffi- wl lulty in this matter has, however, been remov- la d, subject to the approval of Congress, by a of reaty cediug the Black Hills and approaches tei o settlement by citizens. The subject of the in ndian policy and treatment is so fully set co orth by the secretary of the interior and the na lommissioner of Indian affairs, and my views pe o fully expressed therein, that I refer to their tic eports and recommendations as my own. an FOREIGN RELATIONS. th The relations of the United States with ^0I oreign powers continue on a friendly footing. Questions have arisen, from time to time, in *, he foreign relations of the government, but ' he United 8tates have been happily free, ?. luring the past year, from the complications ind embarrassments which have surrounded ze. ome of the foreigu powers. The diplomatic V1 :orrespondence submitted herewith contains ne formation as to certain of the matters which tave occupied the government. The cordiality which attends our relations ^ vitb the powers of the earth has been plainly hown by the general participation of foreign Pr latioug in the exhibition which has just closed, AWA?*if\na mh/Ia rliaionf nntonrfl klJU \JJ tno CACl IIUIJO mailt? i?j moiuui/ ^/vnv?w # o show their interest in, and friendly feelings ,ei owards, the United States, in the commem- !n iration of the Centennial of the Nation. The ;overnment and people of the United States 81C lave not only fully appreciated this exbibiion of kindly feeling, but it may be justly ind fairly expected that no email-benefits irift" coult both to ourselves and other nations g0 roni a better acquaintance and a better ap- 5? ireciation of our mutual advantages and i ru nutual wants. Congress, at its last session, saw fit to re- aD luce the amount usually appropriated for ?? oreign intercourse, by withholding appropri- . e itions from representatives of the United 18 States in certain foreign countries, and for n.? lertain consular officers, and by reducing the e,J imounts usually appropriated for certain oth- ? r diplomatic posts, and thus necessitating a 1Zi ihange in the grade of the representatives. e< <V>r these reasons, immediately upon the pasage of the bill making appropriations for he diplomatic and consular service for the 9" >resent fiscal year, instructions were issued to he representatives of the United States at . bolivar, Ecuador and Columbia, and for the lzi cnsular officers, for whom no appropriation 8 1 lad been made, to close their respective lega- 01 ions and consulates and cease from the per- Pa brmance of their duties, and, in like manner, a.n teps were immediately taken to substitute r" harges d'affaires for ministers resident in ^ ?nr!iirral T^onmovlr Droapa Stcif7.<?rl?ind ?nd " VXVV.V, ? 'araguay. While thoroughly impressed with T he wisdom of sound economy in the foreign " ervice, as in other branches of the govern* Dent, I cannot escape the conclusion that, in a.n ome instances, the withholding of the appro* S,1 >riations will prove an expensive economy, ind that the small retrenchment secured by ?n l change of grade of certain" diplomatic posts Jj s not an adequate consideration for the loss if influenceand importance which will attend an lur foreign representatives under this reduc- Pr ion. I am of the opinion that a re-exarain- W? ition of the subject will cause a change in 8U ome instances in the conclusions reached on hese subjects at the last session of Congress. ? ALABAMA CLAIMS. The Court of Commissioners of Alabama th ilairns, whose functions were continued by aD Ui ictof the last session of Congress, until the pr st day of January, 1877, has carried on its toi abors with diligence and general satisfaction. 3y a report from the clerk of the court transnitted herewith, bearing date November 14th, ^ 876, it appears that, within the time now al* owed by law, the court will have disposed of ^ ill the claims presented for adjudication. gj( Dhis report also contains a statement of the feneral results of the labors of the court to ?0 he date thereof. It is a cause of satisfaction 24 hat the methods adopted for the satisfaction 8U if the classes of claims submitted to the ar :ourt, which are of long standing and justly ja] ntitled to early consideration, should have nn >roven successful and acceptable. ~~ MEXICO. I, The commotions which have been prevalent co n Mexico for some time past, and which, un- co lappily, seem to be not yet wholly quiet, have th ed to complaints of citizens of the Uuited gr states of injuries by persons in authority. It ha s hoped, however, that these will ultimately ra >e adjusted to the satisfaction of both govern- de nents. The frontier of the United States in mi hat quarter has not been exempt from acta of Js rlolence b) citizens of one republic on those if the other, l he frequency or these is sup- gu >osed to be increased and their adjustment uc nade more difficult by the considerable be ihanges in the course of the lower part of the re Etio Grande, which river is a part of the boun- sh lary between the two countries. These th changes have placed on either side of that fo: iver portions of land which by existing con- wi mentions belong to the jurisdiction of the gov- ed :rnment on the opposite side of the river. The th lubject of adjustment of this cause of difficulty sti s under consideration between the two re- in publics. di The government of the United States of Co- rii umbia has paid the award in the case of the de iteamer Montijo, seized by the authorities of nil he government Borne years since, and the re imount has been transmitted to the claimants, a* [t is with satisfaction that I am able to a*-'16 e lounce that the Joint Commission for tw8 ustment of claims between the Un5"*? ex" Wlt^ tnd Mexico, under the conven*-5^ * close, and e Juration of which has ben* United caliti ended, has brought "lhe Wn tran* aPP* Prom the report* States, itted herewith, it will be seen that within the me limited by the commission one thousand id seventeen claims on the part of citizens ' the United States against Mexico were rerred to the commission. Of the claims 831 ere dismissed or disallowed, and in 186 cases vards were made in favor of claimants gainst the Mexican Republic, amounting in te aggregate to $4,125,622.20. Within the ,me period 998 claims on the part of citizens ' the Mexican Republic against the United iates were referred to tbd commission. Of iese claims 831 were dismissed or disallowed, id in 167 cases awards were made in favor 'claimants against the United States, amountg in the aggregate to one hundred and fifty ousand four hundred and ninety-eight dolrs and forty-one cents. . By the terms of the invention the amount of these awards is to i deducted from the amount awarded in fair of our citizens against Mexico, and the ilance only to be paid by Mexico to tne nited States, leaving the United States to ake provision for this proportion of the vards in favor of its own. citizens. I invite >ur attention to the legislation which will be icessary to provide for the payment. In this nnection I am pleased to be able to express e acknowledgements doe to Sir Edward hornton, the umpire of the commission, who is given to the consideration of the large imber of claims submitted to him much time id unwearied patience, and that fairness and telligence which are well known to belong the accomplished representative of Great ritain, and which are likewise recognized by e representative in this country of the Reiblic of Mexico. FOREIGN-BORN CITIZENS. In former messages I have called the atten>n of Congress to the necessity of legislate with regard to fraudulent naturalization id to the subject oi expatriation and the sction of nationality. The number of perns of foreign birth seeking a home in the nited States, the ease and facility with lich the honest emigrant may, after the pse of a reasonable time, become possessed all the privileges of citizenship of the Uni1 States, and the frequent occasions which duce such adopted citizens to return to the untry of their birth, render the subject of ituralization and the safeguards which ex>rionro Vina nrnveri nppe.asa.rv for the iirotec > of the honest naturalized citizen of parnount importance. The very simplicity in e requirements of law on this question afrd opportunity for fraud, and the want of liformity in the proceedings and records of e various courts and in the forms of the cer* icates of naturalization issued afford a couint source of difficulty. I suggest no addimal requirements to the acquisition of citiDsbip beyond those now existing, but I inte the earnest attention of Congress to the cessity and wisdom of some provisions rerding uniformity in the records, and proding against the frauds which frequently ke place, and for the vacating of a record naturalization obtained in fraud. These ovisions are needed in aid and for the proction of the honest citizen of foreign birth, id for the want of which he is made to suf: not unfrequently. The United States has siated upon the right of expatriation, and a obtained, after a long struggle, an adrais>n of the principle contended for by an acliescence therein on the part of many foreign were, and by the conclusion of treaties on at ailhject Tf in, hr.tpppor hnt jnqti/?fl tr> fhp ernment to which such naturalized citi-L. L J _11 us nave lorroerjy oweu uuegiuuce, us iu tuc nited States, that certain fixed and definite les should be adopted governing such cases id providiug how expatriation may be acraplished. While emigrants, in large numrs, become citizens of the United States, it also true that persons, both native born and .turalized, once citizens of the United States her by formal acts or as the effect of a series facts and circumstances, abandon their citiuship and cease to be, entitled to the proetion of the United States, but continue on nvenient occasions to assert a claim to pro;tion. In the absence of provisions on these estions, and in this connection, I again inte your attention to the necessity of legislain concerning the marriages of American cittns contracted abroad, and concerning the itus of American women who may marry reigners, and of children born of American rents in a foreign country. The delicate d complicated questions continually occurlg with reference to naturalization, expatriion and the status of such persons as I have ove referred to induce me to earnestly diet your attention again to these subjects, like manner I repeat my recommendation at some means be provided for the hearing d determination of the just and subsisting nf alinno iinnn tkn irmwrnmpnt nf t.hp ?UUO Ul UlftUUO U|/V/U VUW gv* Vi UMWMW w- VMW aited States, within a reasonable limitation, d of such as may hereafter arise. While, existing provisions of law, the Court of aims may in certain cases be resorted to by alien claimant, the absence of any general ovisions governing all such cases, and the tnt of a tribunal skilled in the disposition of ch cases upon recognized, fixed and settled inciples, either provides no remedy in many serving cases, or compels a consideration of ch claims by Congress or the Executive dertments of the government. It is believed at other governments are in advance of the aited States upon this question, and that the actice now adopted is entirely unsatisfacpy? the army. The report of the Secretary of War shows at the army has been actively employed duig the year, in subduing, at the request of e Indian bureau, certain wild bands of the dux Indian nation, and in preserving the ace at the South during the election. The mmission constituted under the act of July , 1876, to consider the report on the "whole bject of reform and re organization of the my," met in August last, and collected a rge mass of statistics and opinions bearing the subject before it. These are now under nsideration, and their report is progressing. ?m Rilvispf? thnucrh. hv the Dresident of the -?' ~o~~? j K ; -mmission, that it will be impracticable to mply with the clause of the act requiring e report to be presented through rae to Coness on the first day of this session, as there is not yet been time for that mature delibetion which the importance of the subject mand8. Therefore, I ask that the time of aking the report be extended to the 29th of inuary, 1877. In accordance with the resolution of Auist 15th, 1876, the army regulations prepared ider the act of March 1st, 1875, have not en promulgated, but are held until after the port of the above mentioned commission all have been received and acted on. By e act of August 15th, 1876, the cavalry rce of the army was increased by 2,500 men, th the proviso that they should be discharge, on the expiration of hostilities. Uj^ d is authority the cavalry regiraentajjfe Jn. r< egthened, and a portion of tbgaged du- P1 the field, pursuing the ruffes of the war *' ans, with whom they in the basis of the ^ ig the summer. .rTzed by law, and their 11 partment a^uown by years of experience, ^ imber pf- the purpose, on the part of the qujr/tricers, to provide for all contingen- at uat may arise during the time for which Btimates are made. Exclusive of engi, the estimates presented in accordance ad the acts of Congress calling for surveys on etimates for improvements at various lo- pe es are about six millions in excess of the no and 1876. This increase is asked in order to provide' for the increased cavalry force, should their services be necessary; to prosecute work upon important buildings; to provide for the armament of fortifications an<f manufacture of small arms, and to replenish the working stock in the supply departments. The appropriations for these last named "have, for the past few years, been so limited that the accumulations in store will be entirely exhausted during the present year, and it will be necessary to* at once begin to replenish them. I invite your special attention t6 the following recommendations of the Secretary of War First. That the claims under the act of July 4, 1864, for supplies taken by the army during the war, be rempved from the offices of the quartermaster and commissary-generals and transferred to the Southern Claims Commission. These claims are precisely similar in nature to those now before the Southern Claims Commission, and the war department bureau have not the clerical force for their examination nor the proper machinery for investigating the loyalty of the claimants. Second. That Congress sanction the scheme of an annuity fund for the benefit of the*farailies of deceased officers, and that it also pro* vide for the permanent organization of the signal service, both of which were recommended in my last annual message. Third. That the manufacturing operations of the ordnance department be concentrated at three arsenals and an armory, and that the remaining arsenals be sold .and the price ap-' plied to this object by the ordnance department. BIVER AND HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS. The appropriations for river and harbor improvements for the current year were $5,015,000. With my approval, the secretary of war directed that of this amount $2,000,000 should be expended and no more Work should be begun and none prosecuted which were not of national importance. Subsequently this amount was increased to $2,237,600, and the works are now progressing on this basis. The improvement of the South Pass of the Mississippi river, under James B. Eads and his associates, is progressing favorably. At tbe present time there is a channel of twenty and three tenths feet in death between the ietties at the mouth of the pass, and eighteen and one half feet at the head of the pass. Neither channel, however, has the width required before payments can be made by the United States. A commission of engineer officers is now examining these works, and their reports will be presented as soon as received. THE NAVY. The department of the secretary of the navy shows that branch of the service to be in a condition as effective as is possible to keep it with the means and authority given the department. It is, of coarse, not possible to rival the costly and progressive establishments of the great European powers with the old material of our navy to which no increase has been authorized since the war, except the eight small cruisers built to supply the place of others which had gone to decay. Yet the most has been done that was possible with the means at command, and by substantially'rebuilding some of our old ships with durable material, aod completely repairing and refitting our monitor fleet, the navy has been gradually so brought up that though it does not maintain its relative position among the progressive navies of the World, it* is now in arcondlttoDTnore powerful ami effective than it has ever been in time of peace. The com* plete repairs of our five heavy iron-clads are only delayed on account of the inadequacy of the appropriation made last year for the working bureaus of the departments, which were actually less in amount than those made before the war, notwithstanding the greatly enhanced price of labor and materials ana the increase in the cost of the naval service growing out of the universal use and great expense of steam machinery. The money necessary for these repairs should be provided at once, that they may be completed without further unnecessary delay and expense. When this is done, all the strength that there is in our navy will be developed and useful to its full capacity, aud it will be powerful for purnoses of defence, and also for offensive action, should the necessity for that arise, within a reasonable distance from our shores. The fact that our navy is not more modern and powerful than it is has been made a cause of complaint against the secretary, of the Davy by persons who at the same time criticise and complain of his endeavors to bring the navy that we have to its best and most efficient condition. But the good sense of the country will understand that it is really due to his practical action that we have at this time any effective naval force at command. THE P08T0FFICE. The report of the postmaster-general shows the excess of expenditures, excluding expenditures on account of previous years, over receipts for the fiscal year ended June 3d, 1876, to be $4,151,988.66. The estimated expendifnroa fnp tho fianal vPAr enriincr .Tune 30.1876. are $36,723,432.43; estimated revenue for the same period $30,645,166, leaving an estimated excess of expenditures to be appropriated as a deficiency of $6,078,267.43. The postmastergeneral, like his predecessor, is convinced that a change in the basis of adjusting the salaries of postmasters of the fourth class is necessary for the.good of the service as well as for the interests of government, and urgently recommends that the compensation of the class of postmasters above mentioned be based upon | the business of their respective offices, as ascertained from the sworn returns to the audi| tor of stamps cancelled. A few postmasters in the Southern States have expressed great apprehension of their personal safety on account of their connection with the postal service, and have specially requested that their reports of apprehended danger should not be made public lest it should result in the loss of their lives; but no positive testimony of interference has been submitted except in the case of a mail messenger at Spartanburg, in South Carolina, who reported that he had been vio- lently driven away while in charge of the mails on account of bis political affiliations. An assistant superintendent of the railway mail service investigated this case, and reportv . .i _ i . j J! j r ea tnai me messenger nau uisappeareu iruiu his post, leaving his work to be performed by a substitute. The postmaster-general thinks this case is sufficiently suggestive to justi v him in recommending that a more severe-' of t] ishment should be provided for the ? mails, w assaulting any person in charw-^'Dg them ^ or of retarding or otherwise A very grati- a by threats of personal>u 'he 'bat the fying result is prp^rtment during the last w deficiency K081 790.18, ac J fiscal yern: ' d8,r ?J th? preceding year, agaj* ,l^Dce c.an he traced to the large in- M rrKtI in Its ordinary receipts, which greatlv !? xceeded the estimates therefor, and a slivht ecrease in its expenditures. The ordinary 2 jceipts of the postoffice department for the hsi seven nscai years have increased at an ^ verage of over 8 per cent, per annum, while at le inorease of expenditures for the same pe- j ( od has been but 51 per cent, per annnm, and m ie decrease of deficiency in the revenues has ne :en at the rate of nearly 2 per cent. , per m. juum. pg THE CENTENNIAL. ^ The International Exhibition heldJn Phil- lip lelphia this year, in commemoration of the fro ie'hnndrfcdth anniversary of American Inde- pel odence, has proven'a great success, 6bd will, hoi doubt, be of enduring advantage to the lan the arts, sciences una meonamcai ruu umuo in a single century, and demonstrated that we are bat little behind older nations ia any one branch, while in some wescarcely have a rival. It has served, too, not only to bring people and the products of skill and labor from all parts of 'the world together, bat in bringing together people from all sections of oar own coantnr, which mast prove a great benefit in the information of the country. It has been suggested by scientists interested in and eon* nectedVith the Smithsonian Institution, in a communication herewith enclosed, chat the government exhibit be removed to the Capital and a suitable building be erected or pur*, chased for its acoommodation as a permanent exhibition. I earnestly recommend this, and believing that Congress would so endorse this view, I directed that all government exhibits at the Centennial Exhibition should remain where they are, except such as might be injured by remaining in a building hot intended as a protection in inolement weather, or such as may be wanted by the department jfurnisning them, until the question of a permanent > exhibition is acted on. Although the money appropriated by Congress to enaple the participation of the several executive departments in the international Exhibition of 1876, was not sufficient to carry out the undjrtahing to the full extent at first contemplated, it gives me pleasure to refer to the very efficient.and creditable manner in which the boards appointed from those several departments to provide an exhibition on the part of the govera men t have discharged their duties With the. funds plaoed at their command. Without a precedent to guide them in the preparation of such a display, the sucoess of their labors was I amply sii^sioq oy mo dusmhuw , amutiuu which the contents of the government buildI ing at jracted daring the exhibition, from both foreign and native visitors. I am strongly impressed with the value of the collection ! made by the government! for the exhibition, illustrating the mineral resouroeszQf the country, the statistical and practical evidences of our growth as a nation, and the ases of the mechanical arts and the applications of applied science in the administration of the government Many nations have voluntarily contributed their exhibits to the United States to increase the interest in any permanent exhibition Congress may provide for. For this generosity they should receive the thanks of the people, and I most respectfully suggest that a resolution of Congress to that effect be adopted. RECOMMENDATIONS. The attention of Congress can not be too earnestly called to the necessity of having some greater safeguard over the method of choosing end declaring>' the election of a President Under the present system there * ? * ? aJ? ?%?i aanf/uH*. seems to De no provuieu ruuicuj iiwg iog the election in any one State, The rem* edy is partially, no doubt, in the enlightenment of electors. The compulsory support of the free schools, and disfranchisement of all who cannot read-and -write the English language, after a fixed probation, would meet my hearty approval. I would not make this apply, hggraver, to those already voters, but I would to \fll becoming so after the expiration of the probation .fixed upon. Foreigners coming to this country to become citizens, who are educated in their own language, would acquire thUrequisite knowledge of ours darrag^the necessary residence to obtain oat* ura 1 izatiog>~4i-ibey did not take interest enough in our language to ^cqui^dHSSUfc -? knowledge of it to enable them to study the institutions and laws of the country intelligibly, I woe Id not confer upon them the right to make such laws nor to select those who do. I append to this message, for convenient reference, a synopsis of the admininistraiiye events and of all recommendations to Congress made by me for the last seven years. . 8T. DOMINGO AND CUBA, Time may show some of these recommendations hot to have been wisely conceived, but I believe the larger part will do no discredit to the administration. One of these recommen-' dations met with the united opposition of one political party in the Senate ana with a strong opposition from the other, namely, the treaty for the annexation of St; Domihgo to the United States, to which I will specially iafer, maintaining, as I do, that if my viewB had been concurrred in, the country would be in a more prosperous condition to-dfay, both politi ~ TN; _ /? -AtV_ cally and financially. oc. uomiago u iwure and upon its soil may be grown just those products of which the United States use bo much, and which are produced or prepared for market now by slave labor almost exclusively, namely: Sugar, coffee, dye woods, mahogany, tropical fruits, tobacco, &o. About seventy-five percent, of the exports of Cuba are consumed in the United 8tates. A large percentage of the exports of Brazil, also, find the 8ame market. These are paid for almost exclusively in coin, legislation, particularly in Cuba, being unfavorable to a mutual exchange of the products of each coontry. Flour shipped from the Mississippi- river to Havana can pass by the very ei trance to the city on its way to a port in Spain, then pays a duty fixed upon articles to be reexported, transferred to a Spanish vessel and brought back almost to the point of starting, paying a second duty and still leaving a profit over what would btf received by direct shipment. All that is produced in Cuba could be produced in Santo Dpmingo. Being a-pafT of the United States, the commerce between the island and the main land would be free. There would be no export duties oh her shipments, nor import duties on those coming here. There would be' no export duties upon the supplies, machinery, Ac., going from the States. The effect that would have been produced upon Cuban commerce with these advantages to a rival is observed at a glance. The Cuban question would have been settled long ago in favor of ''Free Cuba." Hundreds of American vessels would now be advantageously used in transporting the valoable woods and other "products7 of the soil^* the island to market, andin carrying and emigrants to it. The ' sparsely settled, while it has several millions ^ for profitable emplpyrojpfd have soon fallen^* of people. The soj3tiited States-capftal^^^M into the handte so valuable in comra<n^^| The pro^wtion there woald have been en^^j that Jed; ?ne emancipated race of the South ^ c/uld have found there, a congenial home, /here their civil rights would not be dispu2d, and where their labor would be so much Hight after that the poorest among them Duld have found the meanB to go. Thus, in 2868 of oppression and oruelty, such as have sen practiced upon them in many places ithin the.last eleven years, whole communis ea would have sought refuge in Santo Doingo. I do not suppose that the whole ,ce would have gone, nor is it desirhble that ey should go. Their labor is desirable, , dispensable almost, where' they ccm^are. J at the possession of this territory would ive left the negro "master of the .sit-^JB tioD," by enabling him to demand bis rights home on pain of finding them elsewher^^H lo not present these views now M a nidation for a renewal of xation. But I do refer to it r previous action in reg&rd With the present Congre^l minates. It U not prcM ^ Wiipwsj? me, al