(f4) Rights of aliens in the United States. (f5) International arbitrations, including mixed claims commission.14 (f6) Interpretation of treaties. 14 See Thorpe, Preparation of International Claims, West Pub. Co., 1924, chap. XV, and International Law Chiefly as Interpreted and Applied by the United States, by Charles Cheney Hyde. 43 * 1. Mission CHAPTER 4 THE DEPARTMENT IN GENERAL The Department of the Treasury has the management of the national finances; control over the construction and maintenance of public buildings, and the coinage and printing of money; the administration of the Coast Guard and Public Health Service; and the enforcement of the National Prohibition Act. 2. History The forerunners of the Treasury Department as it now exists were a Superintendent of Finance, created during the Revolutionary War, and a subsequent Board of the Treasury. Robert Morris was the first and only Superintendent of Finance, serving from 1781 to 1784. Upon his resignation, a Board of the Treasury consisting of three members was appointed. This Board handled the finances of the government until Alexander Hamilton assumed the newly created office of Secretary of the Treasury in 1789. The act creating the Treasury Department in 17891 made it the duty of the Secretary to prepare a report and estimates of public revenue and public expenditures and make a report and give information to Congress or either branch thereof in person or in writing, as required, respecting all matters referred to him by the Senate or House, which appertain to his office. Alexander Hamilton made no annual report, but submitted papers on the Public Unit, National Bank, Manufactures, and the Establishments of a Mint. However, Wolcott, who succeeded Hamilton, made two reports on the receipts and expenditures of the government, one to the Committee on Ways and Means, April 27, 1798, and the other to the House of Representatives, February 21, 1800. By the Act of May 10, 1800,2 it was made the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to prepare and lay before Congress at the commencement of every session a report on the subject of finance, to contain estimates of public revenue and public expenditures. The first regular annual report is that of Secretary Gallatin in 1801. When the Treasury Department was established, the duties of the Auditor were laid down in the first section of the act.1 When the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Auditors in the Treasury Department were created, the Auditor for the Treasury was given the title of First Auditor, and was made subject to the First Comptroller.3 The First Auditor became Auditor for the Treasury Department by the Act of July 31, 1894, and his duties were restricted to the settlement of accounts pertaining to the Treasury Department; the Second Auditor by the Act of March 3, 1817,3 was the Auditor for the War Department; the 1 Act Sept. 2, 1789 (1 Stat 65). 22 Stat. 79 (Comp. St. §§ 386, 6732). 33 Stat. 366. 428 Stat. 170. |