not their duty to attend to such suits, and it is therefore necessary to make special contracts with them, in the same manner as if they were not in the public service, and to pay their fees from the contingent fund of the department. It would, in my opinion, be for the public interest that the district attorneys should be required by law to take charge of all suits involving the interests of this department; and that their fees for such service being regulated by law, should be audited and settled by the proper accounting officers.

The survey of the lakes, as it progresses, continues to afford results of practical usefulness.

No appropriations for military and geographical surveys west of the Mississipi have been made for some years past; but with the remains of former appropriations, some explorations, promising results of much value, have been undertaken. It is to be hoped that Congress will concur in the expediency of continuing these appropriations, which have afforded the means of obtaining that general information respecting the interior of the continent which is so necessary to the Government, and of such essential advantage to the population now spreading itself over those territories.

Contracts have been made for the continuation of roads in Minnesota, agreeably to the provisions of the Act of January 7, 1853, making appropriations therefor. An Act of the same date directs the construction of 2 military roads in Oregon. Each of these was placed in charge of a competent officer, with instructions (copies of which are annexed) to locate and mark the line of the road as speedily as possible, and so to direct his operations as to secure a practicable waggon road for the benefit of the fall emigration and other travel. The commencement of one of these works was delayed by the difficulty with the Rogue River Indians; but a contract was made for rendering the other, from Walla Walla to Steilacom, passable by the 15th of October last, and it is presumed its conditions have been fulfilled.

By the 3rd section of the Law, approved March 3, 1853, it is enacted, "that the Secretary of War be directed to report to Congress whether, in his opinion, it would not be more economical, proper, and advisable, to cause all the arms of The United States to be made by contract." In complying with this requirement, I shall exclude all political considerations involved in the question of manufactures by the general Government; and, as I suppose was intended, confine the expression of opinion to the relations the subject bears to the military service, and to the relative merit of the existing system, and that of contracting for the manufacture of all arms. Viewing the armouries as a part of the military preparations for the common defence, it is deemed essential that they should be under the control of the War Department, and advantageous, if not neces

sary, that such establishments should exist under the charge of competent and experienced officers of the army, to the end that a uniformity may be obtained, and all the improvements and efficiency secured, which professional zeal and skill would seek and produce. To this, the existing state of the case, as a standard, I have referred the proposition to make all arms by contract, and have reached the following conclusions:

1. As to the economy of the measure. Under a proper administration of a national armoury, it is believed that arms can be obtained cheaper by Government manufacture than by contract. Labour and all materials may be obtained upon as good if not better terms by the public than by private armouries, because of the greater promptness and security of payment. The permanence of employment must constitute an inducement to workmen to enter the national workshops. But suppose these things to be equal, and the disadvantage cannot certainly be on the side of the Government, it follows that the original cost would not be greater in the public than in the private armoury. To this, in the case of the Government manufacture, there is nothing to add; but in the case of the private contractor there must be a profit on the manufacture, not only sufficient to cover the interest on the investment, but also the hazard which will attend a contract necessarily made for a short period. Experience has established several facts which seem to my mind conclusive as to the economy of the present mode of manufacturing small arms. Since the year 1840 the cost of making muskets has been so much reduced as to exclude competition, and no contracts for them have since that year been made. The price paid for those then contracted for was as high as 16 dollars 25 cents for some, and not less than 14 dollars 50 cents for the residue. At the national armouries the prices averaged about 10 dollars for muskets. Since 1840 the contract prices for rifles, based on the cost at the national armouries, has been reduced from 14 dollars 50 cents to 11 dollars 62 cents each, which exceeds the cost of that arm at Harper's Ferry armoury, during the last fiscal year, by 1 dollar 60 cents.

Without the practical knowledge of the actual cost of manufacturing arms now secured to the Government by the results at the national armouries, there would be no standard for determining proper rates for contracts, and without the means which these armouries afford to supply the wants of Government, there is reason to believe it might be subjected to extraordinary prices for arms required from time to time.

2. As to the propriety of the measure. It is believed that national establishments for the manufacture of arms are necessary, to improve their models and to keep up the standard of materials

and workmanship. Whilst the interest and professional reputation of an officer of the army in charge of a national armoury would impel him to introduce all improvements, his military associations would lead him to learn, and his military experience teach him, the value of new modifications, made either in his own or other countries. On the other hand, the interest of the private contractor would be to reproduce indefinitely the model originally furnished to him; because every change would require either the abandonment of his tools, machinery, &c., or a modification to adapt them to the manufacture of the improved model. For this reason, and also because his workmen would be less expert upon a new modification than upon a form to which they were accustomed, every change would be to the contractor an evil in which he would see increased trouble and diminished profits.

The national armouries are also necessary to keep up the standard of workmanship and finish in the contract establishments. The arms made by contract are subjected to inspection by workmen detached from the national armouries for that purpose. These inspectors, when not employed in the contract service, resume their positions at the national armouries, and return to each contract inspection with a refreshed recollection of the standard of excellence of the Government work. This advantage would be lost if all arms were made by contract; and the tendency would be steady deterioration by the slow and imperceptible sinking of the standard, instead of the improvement which has resulted from the furnishing of new models and constant improvements in the Government manufactures, to which the inspectors require the contract arms to

conform.

3. As to the advisability of the measure. If the views taken under the 2 other heads be correct, it follows that it would not be advisable to make all arms by contract. Neither would I think it wise to restrict the manufacture of all arms to the national armouries, Pistols, for instance, are now made by contract, because the number required by Government is so small that it was deemed more economical to procure them by contract than to provide the separate machinery and tools required for their manufacture, at least until a model for that arm shall be adopted more satisfactory than the one now in use, and likely therefore to be more permanent. Also small numbers of particular arms are sometimes required; and, in such cases, it may be better to procure them by contract than to provide the machinery required for their peculiar construction. But it is still more important that the Government should have the power to contract for the manufacture of arms in the event of an exigency under which a greater number might be required than the public armouries, upon a scale adapted to ordinary circumstances, would be

able to supply. Instead of any conflict in the use of the 2 modes of supply, they are believed happily to harmonize in the production of cheap and effective firearms. In the last case supposed, the Government establishment would furnish the models to private contractors, and serve as a guide to fix the price which should be paid; whilst it would protect the Government from being driven by its necessity to submit to extraordinary demands, and, perhaps, injurious delays.

It is believed that the excellence of the Government manufacture has not been quite equalled by that of private contractors, even with all the advantages that now exist in supplying models and inspectors. Upon examination of a report made by the commander of the arsenal, to which the rifles used by the voltigeur regiment in the war with Mexico were returned, it appears that of the total number, 523, the 257 made at the national armoury required the repair of 45 of their parts-the 266 made by contract required the repair of 96 of their parts; showing a difference in favour of the Government arms of more than two to one. The case is believed to be a fair one, and to present conclusive proof of the higher standard of material and workmanship in the Government arms.

It is not known whether by the use of the term "all the arms of The United States," it was intended to include the heavy guns or cannon. I will, however, remark, that all cannon are now made by contract, Congress having made no provision for a national foundry ; and will take this occasion to recommend an appropriation for that object. The just admixture of metals, and the casting of bronze pieces require much mechanical skill and no little scientific attainment. The examination of ores, and the casting of iron into cannon, are subjects which have attracted much consideration from the Ordnance Department, and present a wide field for further investigation and experiment. The rigid inspection which such guns now receive has improved, and is still improving, their quality; but it is believed there would be a more rapid advance in knowledge, and a higher standard of excellence attained, if the advantage of a national foundry were possessed.

While on the subject of procuring arms for The United States, I deem it proper to refer to a matter which has heretofore received attention and been the subject of frequent inquiry-that is, the establishment of a national armoury on the western waters. The propriety of having such a national establishment in the west is generally conceded; and perhaps one reason why it has not been done is because the 2 United States' armouries at Springfield (Massachusetts) and Harper's Ferry (Virginia) are sufficient for the manufacture of all the arms required by the Government, and the wants of the country in this respect do not require a third. When the 2 armouries

were established, they were necessarily both located east of the Allegheny mountains, because the manufacturing facilities of the west were then undeveloped, and neither the material nor the labour requisite for them was of easy procurement there. Now, however, the case is just the reverse.

Besides the more equal and equitable distribution of these national establishments, geographically, the removal of one of them to some proper site on the western waters would be a more convenient and economical arrangement than that now existing. It would save the cost of transporting from a manufactory in the east all the arms required for use and distribution in the western part of the country, either for the Government or the militia of the western States. All the materials required for the manufacture of arms are more abundant and cheaper in many places of the west, where motive power, either by water or steam, is readily attainable, and where the services of skillful artisans are to be readily had to any desirable extent and on reasonable terms. These considerations alone seem to render it advisable to establish a western national armoury. But when to them is added the fact, that the eastern portion of the country has, for so many years enjoyed a monopoly of these Government manufactories, it appears to settle the question; and as but 2 armouries are wanted to supply all the small arms for The United States, the removal of one of them westward seems the best way of effecting the object. The tools, machinery, and many of the most costly parts requisite for manufacturing, are not difficult of transportation, and may easily and at little cost be sent from either of the armouries, and set up in suitable buildings previously constructed for the western armoury. The transfer will thus leave no. Government property behind, but the buildings which may be usefully applied to purposes of private manufacture, and can doubtless readily be disposed of.

The work for the extension of the capitol, which by your order of the 23rd of March was transferred from the Department of the Interior to the War Department, has been prosecuted with due diligence under the special charge of Captain M. C. Meigs of the corps of Engineers; and it gives me pleasure to bear testimony to the manner in which that officer has discharged his duty-fully sustaining his reputation for professional skill, zeal, and fidelity. He was placed upon this duty April 4, 1853, and directed specially to examine into the condition of the foundation, which had been previously laid, and minutely to inquire into the arrangements for warming, ventilating, speaking, and hearing.

A thorough examination of the foundation was made by excavating down to the soil upon which it rested, and by cutting at different points into or through the masonry, The result was a [1852-53.]

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