for this proportion of the awards in favor of its own citizens.

I invite your attention to the legislation which will be necessary to provide for the payment.

In this connection I am pleased to be able to express the acknowledgments due to Sir Edward Thornton, the umpire of the commission, who has given to the consideration of the large number of claims submitted to him much time, unwearied patience, and that firmness and intelligence which are well known to belong to the accomplished representative of Great Britain, and which are likewise recognized by the representative in this country of the republic of Mexico.

Monthly payments of a very small part of the amount due by the Government of Venezuela to citizens of the United States on account of claims of the latter against that Government continue to be made with reasonable punctuality. That Government has proposed to change the system which it has hitherto pursued in this respect, by issuing bonds for part of the amount of the several claims. The proposition, however, could not, it is supposed, properly be accepted, at least without the consent of the holders of certificates of the indebtedness of Venezuela. These are so much dispersed that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain their disposition on the subject.

In former messages I have called the attention of Congress to the necessity of legislation with regard to fraudulent naturalization and to the subject of expatriation and the election of nationality.

The number of persons of foreign birth seeking a home in the United States, the ease and facility with which the honest immigrant may after the lapse of a reasonable time become possessed of all the privileges of citizenship of the United States, and the frequent occasions which induce such adopted citizens to return to the country of their birth, render the subject of naturalization and the safeguards which experience has proved necessary for the protection of the honest naturalized citizen of paramount importance. The very simplicity in the requirements of law on this question affords opportunity for fraud, and the want of uniformity in the proceedings and records of the various courts, and in the forms of the certificates of naturalization issued, affords a constant source of difficulty.

I suggest no additional requirements to the acquisition of citizenship beyond those now existing, but I invite the earnest attention of Congress to the necessity and wisdom of some provisions regarding uniformity in the records and certificates, and providing against the frauds which frequently take place, and for the vacating of a record of naturalization obtained in fraud.

These provisions are needed in aid and for the protection of the honest citizen of foreign birth, and for the want of which he is made to suffer not infrequently. The United States has insisted upon the right of expatriation, and has obtained after a long struggle an admission of the principle contended for by acquiescence therein on the part of many foreign powers and by the conclusion of treaties on that subject. It is, however, but justice to the government to which such naturalized citizens have formerly owed allegiance, as well as to the United States, that certain fixed and definite rules should be adopted governing such cases, and providing how expatriation may be accomplished.

While immigrants in large numbers become citizens of the United States, it is also true that persons, both native-born and naturalized, once citizens of the United States either by formal acts or as the effect of a series of facts and circumstances, abandon their citizenship and cease to be entitled to the protection of the United States, but continue on convenient occasions to assert a claim to protection in the absence of provisions on these questions.

And in this connection I again invite your atten

tion to the necessity of legislation concerning the marriages of American citizens contracted abroad, and concerning the status of American women who may marry foreigners, and of children born of American parents in a foreign country.

The delicate and complicated questions continually occurring with reference to naturalization, expatriation, and the status of such persons as I have above referred to, induce me to earnestly direct your attention again to these subjects.

In like manner, I repeat my recommendation that some means be provided for the hearing and determination of the just and subsisting claims of aliens upon the Government of the United States within a reasonable limitation, and of such as may hereafter arise. While, by existing provisions of law, the Court of Claims may in certain cases be resorted to by an alien claimant, the absence of any general provisions governing all such cases, and the want of a tribunal skilled in the disposition of such cases upon recognized fixed and settled principles, either provides no remedy in many deserving cases or compels a consideration of such claims by Congress or the Executive Department of the Government.

It is believed that other governments are in advance of the United States upon this question, and that the practice now adopted is entirely unsatisfactory.

Congress by an act approved the 3d day of March, 1875, authorized the inhabitants of the Territory of Colorado to form a State gavernment, with the name of the State of Colorado, and therein provided for the admission of said State, when formed, into the Union, upon an equal footing with the original States.

A constitution having been adopted and ratified by the people of that State and the acting Governor having certified to me the facts as provided by said act, together with a copy of such constitution and ordinances as provided for in the said act, and the provisions of the said act of Congress having been duly complied with, I issued a proclamation upon the 1st of August, 1876, a copy of which is hereto annexed.

The report of the Secretary of War shows that the Army has been actively employed during the year in subduing, at the request of the Indian Bureau, certain wild bands of the Sioux Indian nation and in preserving the peace at the South during the elec tion. The commission constituted under the act of July 24, 1876, to consider and report on the "whole subject of the reform and reorganization of the Army" met in August last, and has collected a large mass of statistics and opinions bearing on the subject before it. These are now under consideration, and their report is progressing. I am advised, though, by the president of the commission that it will be impracticable to comply with the clause of the act requiring the report to be presented, through me, to Congress on the first day of this session, as there has not yet been time for that mature deliberation which the importance of the subject demands. Therefore, I ask that the time of making the report be extended to the 29th day of January, 1877.

In accordance with the resolution of August 15, 1876, the Army regulations prepared under the act of March 1, 1875, have not been promulgated, but are held until after the report of the above-mentioned commission shall have been received and acted on.

By the act of August 15, 1876, the cavalry force of the Army was increased by 2,500 men, with the proviso that they should be discharged on the expiration of hostilities. Under this authority, the cavalry regiments have been strengthened, and a portion of them are now in the field pursuing the remnants of the Indians with whom they have been engaged during the summer.

The estimates of the War Department are made up on the basis of the number of men authorized by

law, and their requirements, as shown by years of experience; and also with the purpose on the part of the bureau officers to provide for all contingencies that may arise during the time for which the estimates are made. Exclusive of engineer estimates (presented in accordance with acts of Congress calling for surveys and estimates for improvements at various localities), the estimates now presented are about six millions in excess of the appropriations for the years 1874-75 and 1875-76. This increase is asked in order to provide for the increased cavalry force (should their services be necessary), to prosecute, economically, work upon important public buildings, to provide for armament of fortifications and 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 to the following recommendations of the Secretary of War:

1. That the claims under the act of July 4, 1864, for supplies taken by the Army during the war be removed from the offices of the Quartermaster and Commissary Generals and transferred to the Southern Claims Commission. These claims are of precisely similar nature to those now before the Southern Claims Commission, and the War Department bureaus have not the clerical force for their examination nor proper machinery for investigating the loyalty of the claimants.

2. That Congress sanction the scheme of an annuity-fund for the benefit of the families of deceased officers; and that it also provide for the permanent organization of the Signal Service; both of which were recommended in my last annual message.

3. 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 proceeds applied to this object by the Ordnance Department.

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 new 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 the present time there is a channel of twenty and three-tenths (20.8) feet in depth between the jetties at the mouth of the pass, and eighteen and one-half (184) 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 report of the Secretary of the Navy shows that branch of the service to be in condition as effective as it is possible to keep it within the means and authority given the Department. It is, of course, not possible to rival the costly and progressive establishments of 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, and 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 a condition more powerful and effective than it ever has been in time of peace.

The complete repairs of our five heavy iron-clads are only delayed on account of the inadequacy of the appropriations made last year for the working bureaus of the Department, which were actually less in amount than those made before the war, notwithstanding the greatly enhanced price of labor and materials, and 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, and it will be powerful for puposes of defense, 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 Navy, by persons who at the same time criticise and complain of Lis endeavors to bring the Navy that we have to it best and most efficient condition; but the good sense of the country will understand that it is reall due to his practical action that we have at this time any effective naval force at command.

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 30, 1876, to be 84,151,988.66. Estimated expenditures for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1878, are $36,723,432.43.

Estimated revenue for the same period is $30,645,165, leaving estimated excess of expenditure, to be appropriated as a deficiency, of $6,078,267.43.

The Postmaster-General, 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 the Government, and urgently recom mends 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 Auditor of stamps canceled.

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 violently driven away while in charge of the mails, on account of his political affiliations. An assistant superintendent of the railway mail service investigated this case, and reported that the messenger had disappeared from his post, leav ing his work to be performed by a substitute. The Postmaster-General thinks this case is sufficiently suggestive to justify him in recommending that a more severe punishment should be provided for the offense of assaulting any person in charge of the mails, or of retarding or otherwise obstructing them by threats of personal injury.

"A very gratifying result is presented in the fait that the deficiency of this Department during the last fiscal year was reduced to $4,081,790.18, as against $6,169,938.88 of the preceding year. The difference can be traced to the large increase in its ordinary receipts (which greatly exceed the estimates therefor and a slight decrease in its expenditures."

The ordinary receipts of the Post-Office Depart ment for the past seven fiscal years have increased at an average of over eight per cent. per annum, while the increase of expenditures for the same period has been but about 5.50 per cent. per annum, and the decrease of deficiency in the revenues has been at the rate of nearly two per cent. per annum.

The report of the Commissioner of Agriculture accompanying this message will be found one of great interest, marking, as it does, the great progress of the last century in the variety of products of the soil, increased knowledge and skill in the labor of producing, saving, and manipulating the same to prepare them for the use of man; in the improvements in machinery to aid the agriculturist in his labors, and a knowledge of those scientific subjects necessary to a thorough system of economy in agricultural production, namely, chemistry, botany, entomology, etc. A study of this report by those interested in agriculture and deriving their support from it will find it of value, in pointing out those articles which are raised in greater quantity than the needs of the world require, and must sell, therefore, for less than the cost of production, and those which command a profit over cost of production because there is not an over-production.

I call special attention to the need of the Department for a new gallery for the reception of the exhibits returned from the Centennial Exhibition, including the exhibits donated by very many foreign nations; and to the recommendations of the Commissioner of Agriculture generally.

The reports of the District Commissioners and the Board of Health are just received-too late to read them and to make recommendations thereonand are herewith submitted.

The International Exhibition held in Philadelphia this year, in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of American independence, has proved a great success, and will, no doubt, be of enduring advantage to the country. It has shown the great progress in the arts, sciences, and mechanical skill, made in a single century, and demonstrated that we are but little behind older nations in any one branch, while in some we scarcely have a rival. It has served, too, not only to bring peoples and products of skill and labor from all parts of the world together, but in bringing together people from all sections of our own country, which must prove a great benefit in the information imparted and pride of country engendered.

It has been suggested by scientists interested in and connected with the Smithsonian Institution, in a communication herewith, that the Government exhibit be removed to the capital and a suitable building be erected or purchased for its accommodation as a permanent exhibit. I earnestly recommend this, and believing that Congress would second this view, I directed that all Government exhibits at the Centennial Exhibition should remain where they are, except such as might be injured by romaining in a building not intended as a protection in inclement weather, or such as may be wanted by the Department furnishing them, until the question of permanent exhibition is acted on.

Although the moneys appropriated by Congress to enable the participation of the several Executive Departments in the International Exhibition of 1876 were not sufficient to carry out the undertaking to the full extent at first contemplated, it gives me pleasure to refer to the very efficient and creditable manner in which the board appointed from these several Departments to provide an exhibition on the part of the Government have discharged their duties with the funds placed at their command. Without a precedent to guide them in the preparation of such a display, the success of their labors was amply attested by the sustained attention which the contents of the Government Building attracted during the period of the Exhibition from both foreign and native visitors.

I am strongly impressed with the value of the collection made by the Government for the purposes of the Exhibition, illustrating, as it does, the mineral resources of the country, the statistical and practical evidences of our growth as a nation, and the uses of the mechanical arts and the applications of ap

plied science in the administration of the affairs of 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 act of generosity they should receive the thanks of the people, and I respectfully suggest that a resolution of Congress to that effect be adopted. The attention of Congress cannot be too earnestly called to the necessity of throwing some greater safeguard over the method of choosing and declaring the election of a President. Under the present system there seems to be no provided remedy for contesting the election in any one State. The remedy is partially, no doubt, in the enlightenment of electors. The compulsory support of the free school, and the 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, however, to those already voters, but I would to all becoming so after the expiration of the probation fixed upon. Foreigners coming to the country to become citizens, who are educated in their own language, should acquire the requisite knowledge of ours during the necessary residence to obtain naturalization. If they did not take interest enough in our language to acquire sufficient knowledge of it to enable them to study the institutions and laws of the country intelligently, I would 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 administrative events and of all recommendations to Congress made by me during the last seven years. Time may show some of these recommendations not to have been wisely conceived, but I believe the larger part will do no discredit to the Administration. One of these recommendations met with the united opposition of one political party in the Senate, and with a strong opposition from the other, namely, the treaty for the annexation of Santo Domingo to the United States, to which I will specially refer, maintaining, as I do, that if my views had been concurred in, the country would be in a more prosperous condition to-day, both politically and financially.

Santo Domingo is fertile, and upon its soil may be grown just those tropical products of which the United States use so much, and which are produced or prepared for market now by slave-labor almost exclusively; namely, sugar, coffee, dye-woods, mahogany, tropical fruits, tobacco, etc. About seventyfive per cent. of the exports of Cuba are consumed by the United States. A large percentage of the exports of Brazil also find the same market. These are paid for almost exclusively in coin-legislation, particularly in Cuba, being unfavorable to a mutual exchange of the products of each country. Flour shipped from the Mississippi River to Havana can pass by the very entrance to the city on its way to a port in Spain, there pay 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 leave a profit over what would be received by direct shipment. All that is produced in Cuba could be produced in Santo Domingo. Being a part of the United States, commerce between the island and mainland would be free. There would be no export duties on her shipments nor import duties on those coming here. There would be no import duties upon the supplies, machinery, etc., going from the States. The effect that would have been produced upon Cuban commerce, with these advantages to a rival, is observable 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 valuable woods, and other products of the soil of the island, to a market, and in carrying supplies and emigrants to it. The island

is but sparsely settled, while it has an area sufficient for the profitable employment of several millions of people. The soil would have soon fallen into the hands of United States capitalists. The products are so valuable in commerce that emigration there would have been encouraged; the emancipated race of the South would have found there a congenial home where their civil rights would not be disputed, and where their labor would be so much sought after that the poorest among them could have found the means to go. Thus in cases of great oppression and cruelty, such as has been practised upon them in many places within the last eleven years, whole communities would have sought refuge in Santo Domingo. I do not suppose the whole race would have gone, nor is it desirable that they should go. Their labor is desirable-indispensable almostwhere they now are. But the possession of this territory would have left the negro "master of the situation" by enabling him to demand his rights at home on pain of finding them elsewhere.

I do not present these views now as a recommendation for a renewal of the subject of annexation, but I do refer to it to vindicate my previous action in regard to it.

With the present term of Congress my official life terminates. It is not probable that public affairs will ever again receive attention from me further than as a citizen of the republic, always taking a deep interest in the honor, integrity, and prosperity of the whole land. U. S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, December 5, 1876.

Impeachment of William W. Belknap. On the 2d of March, 1876, Mr. Clymer, of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the War Department, submitted to the House of Representatives the following resolutions:

Resolved, That William W. Belknap, late Secretary of War, be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors while in office.

Resolved, That the testimony in the case of William W. Belknap, late Secretary of War, be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, with instructions to prepare and report without unnecessary delay suitable articles of impeachment of said William W. Belknap, late Secretary of War.

Resolved, That a committee of five members of this House be appointed and instructed to proceed immediately to the bar of the Senate, and there impeach William W. Belknap, late Secretary of War, in the name of the House of Representatives and of all the people of the United States of America, of high crimes and misdemeanors while in office, and to inform that body that formal articles of impeachment will in due time be presented, and to request the Senate to take such order in the premises as they deem appropriate.

The resolutions were unanimously adopted, and the Speaker appointed, as the committee called for in the second resolution, Mr. Clymer, Mr. Robbins, of North Carolina, Mr. Blackburn, Mr. Bass, and Mr. Danford.

March 3d.-A message was received by the Senate notifying it of the action of the House, and thereafter the committee of the House, having appeared at the bar of the Senate, demanded that the Senate take order for the appearance of the said William W. Belknap to answer said impeachment.

The President pro tempore: “Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee of the House of Representatives, the Senate will take order in the premises."

The committee thereupon withdrew.

Mr. Edmunds offered the following order: Ordered, That the message of the House of Representatives relating to the impeachment of William W. Belknap be referred to a select committee, to consist of five Senators. The resolution was agreed to.

By unanimous consent, the President pro tempore was authorized to appoint the committee; and Messrs. Edmunds, Conkling, Frelinghuysen, Thurman, and Stevenson, were appointed.

resentatives herewith. Ordered, That the Secretary acquaint the House of Rep

March 8th.-As Mr. Caleb P. Marsh, the chief witness against the Secretary, had fled to Canada, în report of the Judiciary Committee the House recommitted the resolution to proceed with the impeachment, and instructed the committee to take further testimony. At the same time, a bill was passed to protect witnesses against being held to answer for any act concerning which they may testify.

March 30th.-The Committee on the Judiciary of the House reported articles of impeachment, which were ordered to be printed, and which were adopted on April 3d, with resolutions appointing managers on the part of the House, and directing the articles to be presented. On the same day the Clerk of the House appeared at the bar of the Senate, and said that the House had agreed to the articles of impeachment, and that the House had appointed Mr. Scott Lord, of New York; Mr. J. Proctor Knott, of Kentucky; Mr. William P. Lynde, of Wisconsin; Mr. John A. MacMahon, of Ohio; Mr. George A. Jenks, of Pennsylvania; Mr. Elbridge G. Lapham, of New York; and Mr. George F. Hoar, of Massachusetts, managers to conduct the impeachment against William W. Belknap, late Secretary of War.

April 4th.-The managers of the impeachment on the part of the House of Representatives appeared articles. Proclamation being made, Manager Lord at the bar of the Senate and exhibited the following

read the articles:

Articles exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America, in the names of themselves and of all the People of the United States of America, against William W. Belknap, late Secretary of War in maintenance and support of their impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors while in said office.

ARTICLE I. That William W. Belknap, while he was in of fice as Secretary of War of the United States of America, to wit, on the 8th day of October, 1870, had the power and su thority, under the laws of the United States, as Secretary of War as aforesaid, to appoint a person to maintain a trading establishment at Fort Sill, a military post of the United States; that said Belknap, as Secretary of War as aforesaid, on the day and year aforesaid, promised to appoint one Caleb P. Marsh to maintain said trading-establishment at said military post; that thereafter, to wit, on the day and year aforesa the said Caleb P. Marsh and one John S. Evans entered into an agreement in writing substantially as follows, to wit:

Articles of agreement made and entered into this Sth day of October, in the year of our Lord 1870, by and between John S. Evans, of Fort Sill, Indian Territory, United States of America, of the first part, and Caleb P. Marsh, of No. 5. West Thirty-fifth Street, of the city, county, and State of New York, of the second part, witnesseth, namely:

Whereas the said Caleb P. Marsh has received from General William W. Belknap, Secretary of War of the United States, the appointment of post-trader at Fort Sill aforesaid

and whereas the name of said John S. Evans is to be filled into the commission of appointment of said post-trader at Fort Sill aforesaid, by permission and at the instance and request of said Caleb P. Marsh, and for the purpose of carrying out the terms of this agreement; and whereas said Johr S. Evans is to hold said position of post-trader as aforesaid solely as the appointee of said Caleb P. Marsh, and for the purpose hereinafter stated:

Now, therefore, said John S. Evans, in consideration of said appointment and the sum of one dollar to him in band paid by said Caleb P. Marsh, the receipt of which is here! acknowledged, hereby covenants and agrees to pay to sid Caleb P. Marsh the sum of twelve thousand dollars annualy, payable quarterly in advance, in the city of New York aforesaid; said sum to be so payable during the first year of this hereinafter contained to the contrary notwithstanding; and agreement absolutely and under all circumstances, anything thereafter said sum shall be so payable, unless increased or reduced in amount, in accordance with the subsequent provisions of this agreement.

In consideration of the premises, it is mutually agreed between the parties aforesaid as follows, namely:

1. This agreement is made on the basis of seven cavalry companies of the United States Army, which are now stationed at Fort Sill aforesaid.

2. If at the end of the first year of this agreement the forces of the United States Army stationed at Fort Sill aforesaid shall be increased or diminished not to exceed one hundred (100) men, then this agreement shall remain in full force and unchanged for the next year. If, however, the said forces shall be increased or diminished beyond the number of one hundred (100) men, then the amount to be paid under this agreement by said John S. Evans to said Caleb P. Marsh shall be increased or reduced in accordance therewith and in proper proportion thereto. The above rule laid down for the continuation of this agreement at the close of the first year thereof shall be applied at the close of each succeeding year, so long as this agreement shall remain in force and effect.

8. This agreement shall remain in force and effect so long as said Caleb P. Marsh shall hold or control, directly or indirectly, the appointment and position of post-trader at Fort Sill aforesaid.

4. This agreement shall take effect from the date and day the Secretary of War aforesaid shall sign the commission of post-trader at Fort Sill aforesaid, said commission to be issued to said John S. Evans at the instance and request of said Caleb P. Marsh, and solely for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this agreement.

5. Exception is hereby made in regard to the first quarterly payment under this agreement, it being agreed and understood that the same may be paid at any time within the next thirty days after the said Secretary of War shall sign the aforesaid commission of post-trader at Fort Sill.

6. Said Caleb P. Marsh is at all times, at the request of said John S. Evans, to use any proper influence he may have with said Secretary of War for the protection of said John S. Evans while in the discharge of his legitimate duties in the conduct of the business as post-trader at Fort Sill aforesaid. 7. Said John S. Evans is to conduct the said business of post-trader at Fort Sill aforesaid solely on his own responsibility and in his own name; it being expressly agreed and understood that said Caleb P. Marsh shall assume no liability in the premises whatever.

8. And it is expressly understood and agreed that the stipulations and covenants aforesaid are to apply and bind the heirs, executors, and administrators of the respective parties.

In witness whereof the parties to these presents have hereunto set their hands and seals the day and year first above written.

JOHN S. EVANS, [SEAL.]
CALEB P. MARSH. [SEAL.]

Signed, sealed, and delivered, in presence of

E. J. BARTLETT.

That, thereafter, to wit, on the 10th day of October, 1870, said Belknap, as Secretary of War aforesaid, did, at the instance and request of said Marsh, at the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, appoint said John S. Evans to maintain said trading-establishment at Fort Sill, the military post aforesaid; and, in consideration of said appointment of said Evans so made by him as Secretary of War as aforesaid, the said Belknap did, on or about the 2d day of November, 1570, unlawfully and corruptly receive from said Caleb P. Marsh the sum of one thousand five hundred dollars; and that at divers times thereafter, to wit, on or about the 17th day of January, 1871, and at or about the end of each three months during the term of one whole year, the said William W. Belknap, while still in office as Secretary of War as aforesaid, did unlawfully receive from said Caleb P. Marsh like sums of one thousand five hundred dollars, in consideration of the appointment of the said John S. Evans by him, the said Belknap, as Secretary of War as aforesaid, and in consideration of his permitting said Evans to continue to maintain the said trading-establishment at said military post during that time. Whereby the said William W. Belknap, who was then Secretary of War as aforesaid, was guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors in office.

ART. II. That said William W. Belknap, while he was in office as Secretary of War of the United States of America, did, at the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, on the 4th day of November, 1873, willfully, corruptly, and unlawfully, take and receive from one Caleb P. Marsh the sum of one thousand five hundred dollars, in consideration that he would continue to permit one John S. Evans to maintain a trading-establishment at Fort Sill, a military post of the United States, which said establishment said Belknap, as Secretary of War as aforesaid, was authorized by law to permit to be maintained at said military post, and which the Raid Evans had been before that time appointed by said Belknap to maintain; and that said Belknap, as Secretary of

War as aforesaid, for said consideration, did corruptly permit the said Evans to continue to maintain the said tradingestablishment at said military post. And so the said Belknap was thereby guilty, while he was Secretary of War, of a high misdemeanor in his said office.

ART. III. That said William W. Belknap was Secretary of War of the United States of America before and during the month of October, 1870, and continued in office as such Secretary of War until the 2d day of March, 1876; that as Secretary of War as aforesaid said Belknap had authority, under the laws of the United States, to appoint a person to maintain a trading-establishment at Fort Sill, a military post of the United States, not in the vicinity of any city or town; that on the 10th day of October, 1870, said Belknap, as Secretary of War as aforesaid, did, at the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, appoint one John S. Evans to maintain said trading-establishment at said military post, and that said John S. Evans, by virtue of said appointment, has since, till the 2d day of March, 1876, maintained a tradingestablishment at said military post; and said Evans, on the 8th day of October, 1870, before he was so appointed to maintain said trading-establishment as aforesaid, and in order to procure said appointment and to be continued therein, agreed with one Caleb P. Marsh that, in consideration that said Belknap would appoint him, the said Evans, to maintain said trading-establishment at said military post, at the instance and request of said Marsh, he, the said Evans, would pay to him a large sum of money, quarterly, in advance, from the date of his said appointment by said Belknap, to wit, twelve thousand dollars during the year immediately following the 10th day of October, 1870, and other large sums of money, quarterly, during each year that he, the said Evans, should be permitted by said Belknap to maintain said trading-establishment at said post; that said Evans did pay to said Marsh said sum of money quarterly during each year after his said appointment, until the month of December, 1875, when the last of said payments was made; that said Marsh, upon the receipt of each of said payments, paid one-half thereof to him, the said Belknap. Yet the said Belknap, well knowing these facts, and having the power to remove said Evans from said position at any time, and to appoint some other person to maintain said trading-establishment, but criminally disregarding his duty as Secretary of War, and basely prostituting his high office to his lust for private gain, did unlawfully and corruptly continue said Evans in said position, and permit him to maintain said establishment at said military post during all of said time, to the great injury and damage of the officers and soldiers of the Army of the United States stationed at said post, as well as of emigrants, freighters, and other citizens of the United States, against public policy, and to the great disgrace and detriment of the public service. Whereby the said William W. Belknap was, as Secretary of War as aforesaid, guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors in office.

ART. IV. That said William W. Belknap, while he was in office and acting as Secretary of War of the United States of America, did, on the 10th day of October, 1870, in the exercise of the power and authority vested in him as Secretary of War as aforesaid by law, appoint one John S. Evans to maintain a trading-establishment at Fort Sill, a military post of the United States; and he, the said Belknap, did receive from one Caleb P. Marsh large sums of money, for and in consideration of his having so appointed said John S. Evans to maintain said trading-establishment at said military post, and for continuing him therein, whereby he has been guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors in his said office.

Specification 1. On or about the 2d day of November, 1870, said William W. Belknap, while Secretary of War as aforesaid, did receive from Caleb P. Marsh one thousand five hundred dollars, in consideration of his having appointed said John S. Evans to maintain a trading-establishment at Fort Sill aforesaid, and for continuing him therein.

Here follow sixteen similar specifications charging the receipt of money at various times, the whole amount being twenty-four thousand four hundred and fifty dollars.

ART. V. That one John S. Evans was, on the 10th day of October, in the year 1870, appointed by the said Belknap to maintain a trading-establishment at Fort Sill, a military post on the frontier, not in the vicinity of any city or town, and said Belknap did, from that day continuously to the 2d day of March, 1876, permit said Evans to maintain the same; and said Belknap was induced to make said appointment by the influence and request of one Caleb P. Marsh; and said Evans paid to said Marsh, in consideration of such influence and request and in consideration that he should thereby induce said Belknap to make said appointment, divers large sums of money at various times, amounting to about twelve thousand dollars a year, from the date of said appointment to the 25th day of March, 1872, and to about six thousand dollars a year thereafter until the 2d day of March, 1876, all