REPORT OF THE SECOND AUDITOR OF THE TREASURY. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, SECOND AUDITOR'S OFFICE, November 2, 1876. SIR: I have the honor to submit the following detailed report of the operations of this Bureau for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876: (Issued for the purpose of adjusting appropriations:) Transferring amounts from appropriations found to be chargeable to such as 13, 331, 869 61 145, 821 94 1,047 77 13, 478, 739 32 Total transfer Aggregate debits CREDIT REQUISITIONS. Deposit. 2,653 35, 091, 418 85 In favor of the Pay Department... In favor of the Ordnance Department. In favor of the Medical Department.. In favor of the Quartermaster's Department. 632 In favor of the Adjutant-General's Department.. In favor of appropriations under control of the Secretary of War In favor of appropriation under control of the General of the Army. In favor of the Indian Department 101 428, 256 43 89,864 90 429 26 125, 768 31 11,628 99 35 81 4,095 77 213, 340 32 Total deposit. 733 873, 419 79 Requisitions registered, journalized, and posted-Continued. On what account drawn. No. Amount. COUNTER-REQUISITIONS. (Issued for the purpose of adjusting appropriations :) Transferring amounts to appropriations entitled to credit from those found to be chargeable on the books of the Second Auditor's Office Transferring amounts as above from the books of the Third Auditor's to those of the Second Auditor's Office Transferring amounts as above from the Fifth Auditor's to the Second Auditor's books... Total counter..... $13, 336, 961 52 2, 481 47 152 56 Aggregate credits Aggregate debits and credits Deducting the credits from the debits the net amount drawn from the Treas ury through this Office is shown to be...... APPROPRIATION WARRANTS. Credits. In favor of appropriations of Pay Department In favor of appropriations of Ordnance Department.. In favor of appropriations of Medical Department.. In favor of appropriations of Adjutant-General's Department.. In favor of appropriations of Quartermaster's Department In favor of appropriations under control of Secretary of War 227, 997 25 356, 502 56 1,496, 455 57 183,994 68 In favor of appropriation under control of the General of the Army Balance to the credit of all appropriations on the books of this Office $4, 289, 488 69 Amount credited by appropriation-warrants during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876" Amount credited by requisitions during same period. 29, 825, 837 84 $6,994,727 44 3,636, 812 26 213, 340 32 Amount credited through Third Auditor's Office to appropriations used in common by both Offices.... 50,903 15 Total 48, 165, 904 70 10,844, 880 02 DEBIT. Amount debited to appropriations by transfer and surplus-fund war. Amount drawn through Third Auditor's Office from appropriations used in common by both Offices.. Amount remaining to the credit of all appropriations on the books of this Office June 30, 1876.. 1,486, 672 57 3,364, 524 70 Total 48, 165, 904 70 4,507, 619 08 10, 344, 880 02 The following settlements incidental to the work of the bookkeeper's division were made during the year: No. Amount. Transfer settlements for the adjustment of appropriations, and miscellaneous settlements.... 3 $117,553 41 Proceeds of Government property. Charges and credits to officers for overpayments, refundments, &c.. Medical.... Contingencies of the Army and of the Adjutant-General's Department 20 30 27 511 23 15 Freedmen's branch, Adjutant-General's Office. 12 Transfers to credit of disbursing-officers on Third Auditor's books.. 78 8 224 82 Miscellaneous Claims, Indian. Total Total 2,905 Twenty-one transcripts of accounts have been prepared for suit, fiftyfour bonds of disbursing officers have been registered, three hundred and nine certificates of non-indebtedness have been issued to officers out of service and to the Third Auditor, nine hundred and seventytwo certificates of deposit have been listed, and fourteen hundred and four letters have been written. Under the Senate resolution of February 9, 1876, calling for a detailed statement of balances from public officers and other parties, (no longer in the public service,) a report was prepared in this division embracing the names of more than three thousand officers and others who are indebted to the United States on the books of this Office. The preparation of this report, which demanded information not found on the journals and ledgers and therefore involved much extra search among the records and files of the Office, occupied a time equal to one hundred days' work of one clerk, a good portion of the work having to be attended to after office-hours in order to prevent the current business of the division from falling in arrear. The following statement in relation to accounts, appropriations, the withdrawal from the Treasury and the "covering in" of public moneys, &c., is submitted as containing information of general interest but not generally accessible. CLASSIFICATION OF ACCOUNTS. Three classes of accounts are kept on the books of this division, viz: Paymasters', Indian, and miscellaneous. The first class comprises the disbursing accounts of Army Paymas ters. The second class embraces the money-accounts of superintendents of Indian affairs, Indian inspectors, agents and special agents, and the disbursing clerk of the Interior Department; also the claims of Indian contractors and employés for goods supplied and services rendered at the various agencies. The third class includes the disbursing-accounts of officers of the Medical and Ordnance Departments; recruiting-officers; assistant adjutant-generals, (who disburse the contingent fund of their department;) officers paying bounties and arrears of pay to colored soldiers or their heirs; the disbursing-clerk of the War Department, who makes payments from the appropriations for "contingencies of the Army," "medals of honor," "publication of official records of the war of the rebellion," and "medical and surgical history and statistics;" and engineer officers and quartermasters who are supplied through this Office with funds from the appropriation for "contingencies of the Army." It also includes charges and credits to officers and enlisted men for overpayments, double payments, refundments, &c.; and all other accounts not specified as belonging to the first two classes. APPROPRIATIONS. There are 1,185 appropriations on the books of this Office, (excluding old appropriations that have once been closed, but are liable to be re-opened on the final adjustment of unbalanced accounts,) viz: on the paymasters' ledgers, 76; on the Indian ledgers, 786; and on the miscellaneous ledgers, 324. The books kept in connection with these appropriations are three warrant-books, in which all appropriation warrants are recorded; fifty-six requisition-books, (forty-seven debit and nine credit,) in which all requisitions on the Secretary of the Treasury are copied; eight appropriation ledgers, showing the amounts debited and credited to each appropriation, with the balances remaining unexpended at the close of each fiscal year; nine list-books, in which certificates of deposits made by disbursing-officers and others are entered, and nine indexes. It should be stated, as pertaining to this subject, that under the present system of making appropriations the keeping of the appropriationledgers involves twice as much work as under the system that obtained prior to 1870. The act of July 12, 1870, (section 3679 Revised Statutes,) prohibits any Department of the Government from expending in any one fiscal year any sum in excess of appropriations made by Congress for that year. Since 1870 appropriations have therefore been designated by fiscal years-a distinct appropriation for each year. Section 5, act March 3, 1875, enacts that whenever it may be necessary in the settlement of the accounts of disbursing officers for expenditures made in pursuance of law to use appropriations carried to the surplus fund, the Secretary of the Treasury may make the necessary entries on the books of the Department. Under the operation of this law, "transfer-accounts" have been opened under eighty appropriations. It has also been necessary in many cases that Congress should " re-appropriate" sums that had been carried to the surplus fund to pay amounts certified to be due by the accounting-officers of the Treasury Department. The effect of the above cited laws on the number of appropriations is illustrated by the following list of appropriations for "pay of the Army:" 1. Pay of the Army, 1871 and prior years... (Original appropriation.) 2. Pay of the Army, 1871 and prior years... 3. Pay of the Army, 1871 and prior years... 4. Pay of the Army, 1872... 5. Pay of the Army, 1872.. 6. Pay of the Army, 1872. 7. Pay of the Army, 1873. 8. Pay of the Army, 1873 Re-appropriated. |