the understanding that it was the will of Congress that the higher style of finish should be introduced into the whole building, an estimate for the current year's expenditure was transmitted to Congress, and an appropriation was made in accordance with it. I have this year caused estimates to be made on the hypothesis that the building is to be completed, both as to material and workmanship, so as to conform throughout to those parts which have already been constructed; and it appears that the additional sum which will thus be required is 2,100,000 dollars, of which a portion is asked in the annual estimate for the next fiscal year.

The work upon the new dome, suspended during the session of Congress, has been resumed. The machinery for the removal of the masonry of the old dome and construction of the new has been erected, and the old dome has been completely demolished.

Great care is necessary in forming upon the old walls the foundations to support the iron work, and the means adopted and described in the report of the officer in charge seem well adapted to insure success.

The design which was originally adopted by Congress appears to have been in advance of a study of its details and an estimate of its cost. Inquiries by the committees of the House of Representatives, and to which the department replied, indicated a probable change in the plan of the dome; and under these circumstances, it has been deemed advisable to await further action. Therefore, no estimate is presented by this department for the continuation of that structure, as the amount that will be required must depend upon the plan to be executed.

The continuation of the General Post Office building has been urged as rapidly as the supply of materials allowed. A large part of the cellar and basement story is constructed, and much marble has been worked, and is ready to be set in the upper stories as soon as the granite to complete the basement is received.

The workmanship of the Post Office and Capitol extension is such as to reflect credit upon the mechanics of our country.

These buildings promise to be enduring monuments of the present state of the arts in The United States.

The work upon the Washington aqueduct was suspended in July for the want of means, and the appropriation made in August did not, on account of the season, then allow of, if indeed it was intended for, a resumption of operations.

The terms of that appropriation, as construed by the department, limited its application to the payment of existing liabilities and the preservation of the work. The doubt thus suggested as to the future policy of Congress in reference to the further prosecution of the work, has prevented me from submitting an estimate for that purpose.

The Naval Academy continues to prosper and demonstrate its usefulness, by annually furnishing the service with a number of accomplished young officers, whose ambition animates them to solicit the department to give them an opportunity of going to sea. a view of improving the pupils in practical seamanship, 52 were sent to sea in the sloop-of-war Plymouth, and, after cruizing during the summer months, returned to the academy. The report of Commander Green is very favourable to the zeal and attainments during the cruize of the youths under his command. At the next annual examination I recommend that, in addition to the Naval Board of Examiners, a Board of Visitors, composed of civilians, be appointed. It will stimulate the midshipmen, and at the same time inform our leading men of the excellent character of the institution. The Naval Observatory is sustaining its high reputation, and, by its suggestions and compilations, doing much indeed, not merely for those who follow the sea, but for science generally.

I renew the expressions of my opinion of the usefulness of the Marine Corps. I have so often made recommendations for its enlargement, and for the adoption of some plan for appointing officers of military education, that I forbear to do more than to refer to my former reports. Attention is called to the detailed report of the commandant of the corps.

An act passed at the last session of Congress, directing that notice be given to E. K. Collins and his associates of the modification of the law of July 21, 1852, in reference to compensation for the transportation of the mails between New York and Liverpool, has been carried into execution. The notice was issued immediately after the passage of the law.

The compensation of nearly all the public officers in the service of the Government has, within the last few years, been increased, with the exception of that of the officers of the army and the navy. While I am of opinion that the pay of a portion of the officers of the navy is sufficient, I deem it my duty, also, to express my conviction that the pay of some of the grades is entirely inadequate, and not properly regulated by considerations of the character of their services. I recommend legislation on this subject. The estimates for the support of the Navy and Marine Corps, for the year ending June 30, 1858, and for all other objects coming under the control of this department, are, in the aggregate (being a little over 1,000,000 less than the aggregate for the present fiscal year) From which deduct special objects, including transportation of the mail in steam-ships

Leaves for the support of the Navy and Marine Corps

Dols. Cts.

12,418,023 27

3,505,044 22

8,912,979 05

it. Should the civil authorities, aided by a posse, at any time be insufficient to enforce obedience to the laws, the nature of our institutions seems to indicate as the next step the employment of the militia. The authority conferred to employ the army and navy was not granted in the first instance, but after a lapse of years was added to that for the employment of the militia, and would seem to be the remedy for such extraordinary cases as justify a resort to the additional means granted; but the occurrence of such cases must in no small degree depend upon the perfection of the organization and discipline of the militia.

Since my last annual report the unhappy condition of affairs in the territory of Kansas has caused the troops stationed there to be diverted from the campaign in which it was designed to employ them against the Cheyenne Indians, and devolved upon them the delicate and most ungracious task of intervening to suppress insurrectionary movements by citizens of The United States against the organized Government of the territory. To maintain the supremacy of law, and to sustain the regularly constituted authorities of the Government, they were compelled to take the field against those whom it is their habit to regard not only with feelings of kindness, but with protective care. Energy tempered with forbearance, and firmness directed by more than ordinary judgment, have enabled them to check civil strife, and to restore order and tranquillity, without shedding one drop of blood.

In aid of the civil authorities they have arrested violators of the peace; have expelled lawless bands from the territory; and, vigilantly guarding its borders, have met and disarmed bodies of men organized, armed, equipped, and advancing for aggressive invasion, whilst the actual use of their own weapons has been reserved for the common enemies of The United States.

I concur in the high commendation which the commanding general of the department of the west bestows on LieutenantColonel Cooke, commanding in the field, and to the officers and men who have thus satisfactorily performed the disagreeable duty which was imposed upon them; and I am sure they could receive no more grateful reward than an exemption from the future performance of such duty, and the assurance that their labours have contributed to the tranquillity and prosperity of the country in which they are stationed. Upon notice from the executive of the territory that peace has been restored, the troops have been withdrawn from the field and returned to winter quarters. I have, &c.

The President of The United States.

JEFF'N. DAVIS.

REPORT of the Secretary of the Navy to the President of The United States.-December 1, 1856.

SIR,

Navy Department, December 1, 1856. I HAVE the honour to submit the annual report from this department, showing the duties performed by the several squadrons, the present condition of the service, with recommendations of further legislation.

Squadrons.

The new steam-frigate Wabash, Captain Frederick Engle, the flag-ship, the sloops-of-war Saratoga, Commander E. G. Tilton, and Cyane, Commander R. G. Robb, form the Home Squadron, which is still under the command of Commodore Hiram Paulding. To this force the steamer Fulton will again be added so soon as repaired sufficiently for service. The frigate Potomac, recently the flag-ship of this squadron, has, since my last report, been put out of commission, and her crew and most of her officers transferred to the Wabash.

This ship, with Commodore Paulding on board, having visited San Juan del Norte, for which place she sailed from New York on the 28th November, 1855, for the purposes mentioned in the last report, arrived at Havana on the 20th of January, in company with the Fulton, which had also been dispatched to San Juan. On the 22nd of March they were joined by the Saratoga and Cyane, which had been on a cruize among the Windward Islands. The squadron, after making a short cruize, separated; the flag-ship, in company with the Saratoga, running down to windward as far as St. Thomas, whence the Potomac sailed to Key West, and the Saratoga to San Juan, and thence to Aspinwall, where she arrived July 23rd, and has been stationed for the purpose of protecting our interests in that region. She will be soon relieved by the Cyane, which sailed from Boston on the 5th of November. This latter vessel, after separating from the squadron at Havana, and making a cruize in the Gulf of Mexico, arrived at Boston on the 9th of August, to which port she returned on the 17th of October, after having been to the eastward as far as St. John's, Newfoundland. The Fulton having visited Belize and the Bay of Islands, touching at Key West, proceeded to Washington, and arriving there on the 30th of June, was temporarily put out of commission.

It having been represented that American citizens were arrested by a foreign naval force in their progress across the Isthmus, at San Juan del Norte, orders were issued to Commodore Paulding, on the 13th of May, to proceed to that port immediately. With a view to dispatch, the Commodore's flag was transferred to the steam-frigate

Susquehanna, Captain J. R. Sands, then fitted out for the Mediterranean. The delicate and important investigation was prosecuted at San Juan by Commodore Paulding with commendable zeal and prudence. The circumstances which gave rise to temporary misapprehension were satisfactorily explained, and Commodore Paulding returned to the Potomac, at Key West, after looking in at Aspinwall. The Susquehanna proceeded thence to the Mediterranean.

The Wabash left Philadelphia on a trial trip on the 8th of September, for New York, whence, having taken on board her supplies, she proceeded to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. At this place she received on board the President of The United States, and conveyed him to Annapolis, Maryland. She sailed from New York on the 28th of November for Aspinwall.

The Brazil squadron, Commodore French Forrest, consists of the flag-ship, the frigate St. Lawrence, Captain J. B. Hull, now on her way out, and the sloop-of-war Germantown, Commander Wm. F. Lynch, for whose return to The United States orders were sent on the 31st of October, ultimo. It is designed that the sloopof-war Falmouth shall join the squadron in a few weeks. The frigate Savannah, Commodore Samuel Mercer, late the flag-ship, for whose return orders were sent out on the 10th of July, arrived at New York on the 27th of November. The brig Bainbridge, which till lately formed a part of this squadron, returned to Norfolk, Virginia, on the 11th of September, under the command of Lieutenant C. M. F. Spotswood. The store-ship Relief, Lieutenant Commanding J. W. Cooke, returned to New York on the 12th of July, and sailed again for the station on the 6th of September with stores for the squadron. Nothing of material interest has occurred on the Brazil station during the past year, although the vessels have been actively cruizing.

Commander T. J. Page, having completed the survey of the River La Plata and its different affluents, returned with The United States' steamer Water Witch to The United States, entering the port of Washington on the 8th of May last. The very interesting accompanying synoptical report of Commander Page gives full information of the course of the surveys, the charts of which are now being prepared for publication.

The Mediterranean squadron, Commodore S. L. Breese, consists of the flag-ship, the frigate Congress, Commander Thomas T. Craven, the sloop-of-war Constellation, Captain Charles H. Bell, and the steam-frigate Susquehanna, Captain J. R. Sands. This last vessel joined the squadron in July. The steam-frigate Saranac, Captain J. C. Long, which has been on the station nearly 3 years, returned to The United States on the 26th of June, arriving at Philadelphia. The store-ship Supply, Lieutenant Commanding David D. Porter, is