2d Session. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. APRIL 21, 1830.-Ordered to be printed. No. 511. Mr. TELLER, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the following REPORT: [To accompany bill S. 1476.] The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (S. 1476) for the relief of the heirs of William Selden, deceased, late United States marshal for the District of Columbia, respectfully submit the following report: The act of Congress, approved 3d March, 1873, for the relief of William Selden, late United States marshal for the District of Columbia, authorizing the adjustment of his accounts, evidently was intended to embrace those accounts for his entire term of office. The facts and nature of the case, as shown by the report to which the act was sequent, preclude as irrational any other assumption. Indeed, as conclusive of this, the act specified the sum, $11,220, which the accounting officers of the Treasury certified would be due for said entire term; and they furnished the official statement of the transactions upon which the report was based; said statement enumerating the dates on which the marshal's several accounts were rendered. It is very apparent that his first account, or any subsequent account, could not have been rendered until after the period had elapsed which the account covered. His first account was received 30th July, 1858, and comprised the interval from the date of his oath of office and entrance upon his duties on 31st March, 1858, to 30th June, 1858, a period of three months. The act as worded, however, recited "from 30th July, 1858," the date when the first account was presented, instead of from 31st March, 1858, the date when it commenced-certainly an error; but an error which the Comptroller, construing the literal text of the act, did not feel authorized to corre ct, and he accordingly stated an account in favor of the beneficiary in the sum of $10,096.82 instead of for $11,220, the sum appropriated by the act, thereby excluding the whole time prior to 30th July, 1858, making a difference of $1,123.28. And with reference to this difference between the sum appropriated and the sum allowed by him, the Comptroller certifies, 18th February, 1879 Said allowance was made for the time specified in the act, and did not include the period from the marshal's appointment to and including 29th July, 1858. The object of the bill under consideration is therefore to rectify a manifest error. It appropriates no additional amount of money over the amount appropriated in the act of 1873. To fully explain this case, we quote the House report heretofore referred to, and which was adopted by the Senate without amendment: [S. Report No. 418, Forty-second Congress, third session. J The committee to whom was referred the petition of William Selden, late United States marshal of the District of Columbia, asking an additional allowance at the hands of Congress for his maintenance and support of public prisoners confined in the jail of said District, respectfully submit the following report: The petitioner's account, duly certified and allowed by the judge of the criminal court of the District of Columbia, was rendered at the rate of thirty-four cents per diem for the maintenance and support of each public prisoner confined in the District jail between the 30th day of July, 1858, and the 17th day of May, 1861, making an aggregate sum of $29,342.56. Upon this account he was allowed and paid by the accounting-officers at the Treasury at the rate of twenty-one cents per diem, making an aggregate of $18,122.46. The petitioner claims the difference between these amounts, which is the sum of $11,220.10. By act of Congress 24th September, 1789, section 27 (1 Stat., 87), a marshal was authorized in and for each judicial district of the United States. By act of Congress May 8, 1792, section 4 (1 Id., 227), the marshal was authorized to include in his account his expenses "for the maintenance of prisoners confined in jail for any criminal offense;" and it was further provided that the account, "having been examined and certified by the court or one of the judges" thereof in which the service had been rendered, should be "passed in the usual manner, and the amount thereof paid out of the Treasury of the United States to the marshal." With entire unanimity, the legislative, executive, and judicial departments of the government have united in the opinion that by the true construction of the last abovementioned enactment "the certificate of the judge, upon the examination of the marshal's accounts, was conclusive, and that the items therein were not to be examined in any manner by the officers of the Treasury Department.”—(1 Opin., 443; 5 Id., 191; Sen. Doc., 1st sess. 29th Cong., 393; Rep. H. R. 2d sess. 30th Cong., 132; U. S. vs. Smith, 1 Woodson, 184.) By act of Congress 27th February, 1801, sections 7 and 9 (2 Stat., 106), the marshal of the District of Columbia was placed, both in respect to his duties and compensation, on the same footing with the marshal of the United States for the judicial district of Maryland. Your committee are aware that the operation of the fourth section of the act of Congress of May 8, 1792, was modified, to some extent, by the first section of the act of Congress of August 16, 1856 (11 Stat., 49); but that such modification had no application to the District of Columbia is incontestably demonstrated, in their opinion, as well by the peculiar phraseology of such first section and its evident contrast with the language employed in the eighth section of the act of 1856, as by the fidelity with which the legislature seem to have adhered to the scope of the first section of the act of Congress of 26th February, 1853 (10 Stat., 161), as amended by act of Congress of March 2, 1855 (Id., 671), after their attention had been specially and directly called to the subject. Your committee are constrained, therefore, to the conclusion that the account presented by the petitioner to the accounting-officers of the Treasury was not re-examinable by them upon its merits. Your committee deem it proper to further report that the sum of thirty-four cents per diem for the maintenance and support of each public prisoner, as claimed by the petitioner, was in itself but a fair and reasonable compensation; that, without any known exception, his predecessors in office, from the year 1816, had at that rate been allowed and paid at the Treasury; and that, without any change in the law whatever, the immediate successor in office of Mr. Selden was allowed and paid for the same description of service, at the rate of thirty-six cents per diem-the case of the petitioner furnishing the solitary example, in a period of forty years, of a final settlement of the accounts of the marshal of the District of Columbia on the basis of any less allowance than thirty-four cents a day for the maintenance and support of a public prisoner confined in jail. It may be added that, since 1861, the custody of public prisoners in the District of Columbia has ceased to belong to the marshal, and, under existing laws, can furnish no ground for future claim against the government. Upon a full and careful examination of the subject, your committee are unanimously of the opinion that the claim of the petitioner is valid and obligatory upon the government, and that it should be fully discharged. In these conclusions your committee concur, and recommend the passage of the bill (S. 1476) herewith reported. 2d Session. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. APRIL 21, 1880.-Ordered to be printed. No. 512. Mr. MCPHERSON, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, submitted the following REPORT: [To accompany bill H. R. 3534.] The Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 3534) to authorize and equip an expedition to the Arctic Seas, report the same back, and ask the favorable consideration of the Senate thereon. The committee having adopted the House report as expressive of its views, herewith submit the same to the Senate. [H. Report No. 453, Forty-sixth Congress, second session.] The Committee on Naval Affairs report back to the House the bill (H. R. 3534) "to authorize and equip an expedition to the Arctic Seas," with a recommendation that it do pass. In submitting this recommendation, the committee refer to and accept the reasons set forth in a former report made by them, to wit, Report No. 89, second session Fortysixth Congress. [H. Report No. 89, Forty-sixth Congress, second session.] Mr. WHITTHORNE, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, submitted the following report (to accompany bill H. R. 3534): The Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred House bill No. 1823, "to authorize and equip an expedition to the Arctic Seas," having had the same under consideration, have directed the same to be reported back to the House with a substitute therefor, and thereupon do recommend the adoption and passage of the substitute herewith submitted. In making this report the committee respectfully state and report that the object of the bill, as is shown by its terms, is to authorize a temporary station to be selected within the Arctic Circle, for the purpose of making scientific discoveries, explorations, and observations, obtaining all possible facts and knowledge in relation to the magnetic currents of the earth, the influence of ice-floes therefrom upon the winds and seasons and upon the currents of the ocean, as well as other matters incidental thereto, developing and discovering at the same time other and new whale-fisheries, now so material in many respects to this country. It is, again, the object of this bill that this expedition, having such scientific observations in view, shall be regularly made for a series of years, under such restrictions of military discipline as will insure regularity and accuracy, and give the fullest possible return for the necessary expenditure; and, again, in view of the fact that either the governments directly, or scientific corps under their authority, of Germany, Holland, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, and Russia, have concurrently agreed to establish similar stations, with like object, during the year 1880, it is believed that the interests and policy of our people concur in demanding that the United States should co-operate in the grand efforts to be thus made in the solution of the mysteries and secrets of the North Polar Seas, upon which, in the opinion of scientists, depends so much that affects the health and wealth of the human race. This subject has for many years, and especially during this century, engrossed a very large share of the attention of the scientific world. The enthusiasm of those who have ventured so much, in a region where naught of individual profit could be an inducement, and the sole motive could only be "the good of mankind," is worthy of our highest regard and admiration. Congress has at different times and in different ways given the sanction and encouragement of the Government of the United States to expeditions and explorations into this region, and always, as your committee believe, with the approbation of the people, and lately, with singular unanimity, to the expedition fitted out by a distinguished, wealthy, and liberal citizen of the United States, Mr. Bennett, whose vessel, the Jeannette, now under command of Commander De Long, of the United States Navy, sailing under the national flag by authority of Congress, is penetrating this ice-bound region by way of Behring's Strait; and no well-informed citizen but hopes with pride that success shall mark the venture, and that in its beneficent results to science and humanity the generous liberality of the owner of the Jeannette shall find his deserved reward. Your committee, aware of the deep interest felt in these explorations, and particularly that which has been manifested in the plan known to the American public as the "Howgate plan," as is manifest in the petitions and memorials from scientific and commercial bodies of all parts of the country sent to this and preceding Congresses, and desiring that its friends should briefly explain its history, purposes, and expected results, sought, by addressing them the following queries, to elicit this information and so to present it to the House, and which they here now present. On behalf of the committee, it was requested that it should be shown I. Chronologically a brief of the various expeditions to the Polar Seas, and under what auspices made. II. A brief of the alleged scientific results of these expeditions, and references. III. What are the expected and hoped for results from the proposed expedition, scientific and economic. IV. The special reasons, &c., for the plan proposed by the bill H. R. No. 1823. I.-Chronological. RUSSIA. 1820. Two expeditions were sent out by the Russian Government in 1820, commanded by Admiral von Wrangell and Lieutenant Anjou, to explore the regions north of Siberia. ENGLAND. The following expeditions were sent out by the British Government in the years named: 1818.-Captains Ross and Parry, in 1818, to discover the northwest passage, and Captain Buchan and Lieutenant (afterward Sir John) Franklin, in the same year, with a thoroughly equipped expedition, to reach the Pole. 1819.-Captain Parry, in 1819, was sent to explore the regions north of Hudson's Bay. 1820. Sir John Franklin sent out on a land expedition in 1820 to explore the north coast of America. 1821.-Captain Parry sent in 1821 to explore the regions north of and around Hudson's Bay. 1824.-Captain Parry was sent again in 1824. Captain Lyon sent out in 1824, via Hudson's Strait. Sir John Franklin made a second land expedition in 1824, via the Mackenzie River. 1825.-Captain Beechey was sent in 1825, via Cape Horn and Behring's Strait. 1827.-Captain Parry was sent in 1827 to reach the Pole, via Spitzbergen. 1833.-Lieutenant Back, in 1833, was sent in command of an overland expedition through the Hudson's Bay territory. 1836.-Captain Back was sent in 1836 to complete the survey of portions of the coast line north of Hudson's Bay. 1845.-Sir John Franklin was sent out in 1845 to search for the northwest passage. 1847.-In 1847 the British Government sent out three expeditions in search of Sir John Franklin. 1850.—In 1850 three other search expeditions were sent out by the British Govern ment. 1852.-In 1852 Sir Edward Belcher was sent out in command of five vessels to search for Sir John Franklin. In 1852 Captain Inglefield was also sent out to search for Sir John Franklin. 1875.--In 1875 Captains Nares and Stephenson were sent out to reach the Pole, via Smith's Sound. This was one of the best equipped expeditions of modern times. GERMANY. 1869.-In 1869 the German Government sent out an expedition in command of Captains Koldewey and Hegemann, towards the North Pole. AUSTRIA. 1872.-Austria sent out an expedition in 1872 in command of Lieutenants Weyprecht and Payer, to reach the Pole via Nova Zembla. UNITED STATES. 1871.-The United States sent out Captain Hall, in the Polaris, via Smith's Sound, in 1871. These comprise the principal governmental Arctic expeditions during the present century. During the same period a large number of private expeditions have been fitted out in this and most of the northern countries of Europe. The expeditions of De Haven, Kane, Hayes, and Hall, from the United States, and those of Professor Nordenskjold, from Sweden, received some slight aid from their governments, but their cost has been borne principally by private citizens. For detailed accounts, see the published naratives of the several expeditions. For brief account of work done before 1857, see a small work by Epes Sargent, called "Arctic Adventures." See, also, for this, the preliminary chapters of the "Narrative of the Second Arctic Expedition made by C. F. Hall, 1864-'69," prepared by Professor Nourse, United States Navy, under orders of the Secretary of the Navy. II.-Some geographical and scientific results of past Arctic voyages. 1. The discovery and survey of the vast territory lying north of the American continent between the sixtieth and eighty-third degrees of north latitude, and longitude 50° to 170° west of Greenwich. 2. The discovery of Francis Joseph Land and Wrangell's Land, north of Europe and Asia, and the survey of the northern coast lines of these continents. 3. The discovery of the magnetic pole, which has proved so valuable to commerce and navigation. 4. The discovery of new whaling grounds, notably by Captain Hall, in Cumberland Gulf and adjacent waters, by which millions of dollars were added to the commerce of the United States. 5. New species of birds, of animals, and of fishes have been discovered, some of them of commercial as well as scientific value. 6. New minerals of value have been found, some of which do not exist elsewhere. 7. Interesting studies in ethnography and kindred sciences have been made. 8. Our knowledge of magnetism, electricity, meteorology, and of ocean currents has been greatly increased by observations made within the Arctic regions. See, also, the narrative of Professor Nourse, before referred to. III. The expected and hoped-for results, scientific, philosophic, and economic. The following brief quotations from Professor Henry, the late distinguished head of the Smithsonian Institution and president of the National Academy of Sciences; from Professor Loomis, the distinguished meteorologist of Yale College; from the late Professor Maury, formerly at the head of the Naval Observatory of the United States; from Admiral Sherard Osborne, of the British navy, and from Sir John Barrow, formerly secretary of the British board of admiralty, set forth the advantages to be derived from Polar exploration in plain terms. [Letter of President Joseph Henry, LL. D.] SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, SIR: Your letter of the 30th instant, asking my opinion as to the plan of Captain Howgate for explorations in the Arctic regions, and its utility in regard to scientific and commercial results, has been received, and I have the honor to give you the following reply: From my connection with the Smithsonian Institution and the National Academy of Sciences, I am, of course, interested in every proposition which has for its object the extension of scientific knowledge, and, therefore, I am predisposed to advocate any rational plan for exploration and continued observations within the Arctic Circle. |