32D CONG.....2D SESS. atious hindrances and inefficiency-besides it should be free from the local policy of a remote city. With the view to economy, dispatch, and other advantages, the Mint system of the United States might be varied. In France the coinage is very well executed by contract, under supervision and verification by the Government. In England an association of chartered companies performs the work of refining, coining, &c., under similar govern. mental control. And the contract system, as in France, may be found that best suited for California. Very truly, yours, R. S. McCULLOH. Hon. W. M. GWIN, U. S. Senate. On the 9th of May, 1850, the Senator from Connecticut [Mr. SMITH] offered a resolution of inquiry, contemplating a change of the system of coinage, to wit: that authority be given to the Mint of the United States to issue coin without separating the silver from the gold of California-to let the alloy be entirely of silver, instead of silver and copper. On the 17th of July, the chairman of the Committee on Finance, to which that resolution was referred, reported against it, and that for the reason that in commerce silver which enters into gold coin is not considered of any value, and that, if the alloy was of silver only, the producers of gold in California would therefore lose the value of their silver. For this, and other good and valid reasons, the committee were discharged from the further consideration of the resolution. In July, the bill establishing a branch Mint of the United States in California passed this body, before I was a member of it, and in it was incorporated the power of appointing immediately an assayer in California, and permitting him to assay gold. Soon after this I was admitted to my seat, and not looking upon that as a proper mode of accomplishing the object I had in view, I introduced two bills on the 19th of September, one providing for assay offices in Stockton and Sacramento City, and the other for the manufacture of large gold coins in the Mint, its branches, and assay offices. The bills were drawn up with great care and attention, and I shall publish them with these remarks. nia. Gold Coin in California-Mr. Gwin. could lead to so gross an usurpation as that of the These memorialists say that we intended to give It was SENATE. speak in the name of the people of California. Why, all these memorials originated at this assay office, and those of the last session were sent to me after the Mint bill passed the Senate. They sought to connect the two together in public estimation, and thus help their speculation of the assay office through the popularity of the Mint. As to the views of the people of California, they are not given in these memorials, for they never came from the people. They were got up by interested parties, who have reaped enormous profits from the order issued by the Secretary of the Treasury. But with all their exertions, sending them by express through the country as a Whig electioneering document, they could not get the signatures of more than a thousand out of the seventy thousand votes cast in the late election. No coin is receivable for the public dues except that which is made so by authority of law; and no foreign coin can be received unless its value is regulated by law, and it particularly specified. The coining is one of the highest powers of this Now, I will state what our object was. and other Governments; and if we had intended to restrain the exercise of a legislative power that this assay office should issue coin, do you usurped by the Secretary of the Treasury, to wit: suppose that we would not have provided a penthe sovereign power of coinage; and to reduce the alty for counterfeiting, debasing, or mutilating it? charge for doing what the law had authorized, to Could we have given this power without prescribing wit: the assaying of bars from two and three penalties for violations of the high trust devolved? fourths per cent. to one per cent.; and to arrest The act, I repeat, was merely intended to furnish the substitution and augmentation of a debased commercial facilities, to determine and stamp the metallic currency for the lawful coins of the land, fineness of gold bullion in bars, instead of leaving to their exclusion. We never intended to confer it in grains and lumps, and it was designed to acthe coining power upon the Secretary of the Treas-complish this object, authorize this, and only this. ury in the provision of 1850, otherwise we would not have passed the act during the last session of Congress prohibiting the receipt of ingots made under the aforesaid provision, because that would have been a violation of contract. We never intended that any coin should be made and issued by the assaying office. We wished merely that bars should be prepared for commercial purposes. officer shall neglect, evade, or violate this law, he The memorialists refer to the sub-treasury act for the authority for making these assayed bars After my bills reached the Committee on Fi- receivable; but that law expressly enacts that all nance, I ascertained that the Mint of the United public dues "shall be paid in gold and silver coin States at Philadelphia was hostile to the establish-only;" and it goes further, and enacts that if any ment of a large Mint and assay offices in CaliforNo sooner had I introduced my bill for large coins, than the Director of the Mint opened a correspondence with me, assuming that I was wrong, and that I did not understand the subject. He sent me a substitute for my bill, and a letter explaining how it was wrong, and his right. I found that mine met with no favor in the Committee on Finance; and the session passed without action on it. To the letter of the Director I replied, though not immediately, because I had not time at the close of the session of Congress; and in said reply I showed, I think, that his views, not mine, were erroneous. That correspondence, or extracts from it, I will also append to these remarks, as I do not wish to detain the Senate by reading it. Inasmuch as I could not get my own bills, nor any Mint bill through Congress, at the close of the session of 1850, a law authorizing the establishment of an assaying office at San Francisco, as the only alternative, and the only legislation we could have, was passed. It was proposed to employ temporarily an assaying establishment in California, for the purpose of assaying gold. I wished to have bars, which should be of prescribed fineness and weight, stamped with legends and tracery, of given denominations, legalized and protected as coins of the United States; but the Director of the Mint denied that they could be made, and urged that gold in bars should be merely assayed, and that they should not be coins, nor be protected by penal statutes. When, towards the close of the session, chiefly, I believe, because of the interference of the Director of the Mint, this opposition to my bills, authorizing the making of gold coin in bars, I became convinced that I could not get such an act passed before the adjournment, and the proposition to employ an assay office by contract on the most reasonable terms for the assaying of gold in bars at San Francisco, was presented to me as all that could be enacted for the gold industry of California before the end of that session. I deemed it expedient to accede to that enactment, which might give some commercial facilities, but without any thought that it Here is a palpable violation of the sub-treasury It may be proper to make these slugs receivable which came here last session in favor of a Mint con- I am prepared to show that there was plenty of Coin In 1848 and 1849, there was a great scarcity of coin, but it afterwards became abundant. Ånd in my opinion, if it had not been for this usurpation of power, it would have remained so, and we should have got along very well until a Mint was established. But by the substitution consequent upon that usurpation of an inferior and debased currency, for the coins expressly and exclusively authorized by the laws of the United States to be received in payment of public dues, the coin was shipped out of the country. I will now declare that I am entirely opposed to the manner in which the Treasury Department has proposed to construct a Mint in California, with all due deference to those to whom the progress of that work is intrusted. A new state of affairs has arisen in the bullion trade of the world, since the Mint in Philadelphia was planned and built; and the whole arrangements of a new Mint ought to be adapted to this change. The plan of the Mint projected is servilely copied from that in Philadelphia, with all its incongruities, and would not be suitable to my State at all. By the leave of the Senate, I will, on a fit occasion, ask their consideration of the question whether we had not better suspend the building of a Mint on the plan proposed, until we can ascertain from those who understand the subject, what kind of a Mint is best calculated for California. This can be better done after the fourth of March next, when those shall come into power who will hold themselves, and be held by others, to be fully responsible to the people for the manner in which they expend money appropriated by Congress. Ever since I took my seat I have had to contend with the Philadelphia Mint, closely connected with this assay office, and attempting to establish a local monopoly, injurious alike to the interests of my constituents and of the commerce of the country. And I intend shortly to bring to the notice of the Senate abuses in the management of this Mint and its branches. They have resorted to falsehood to mislead legislation, by misrepresenting the capacity of the Mint; and to conceal this imposture, they even neglected to separate silver from the gold, coining it without parting, contrary to the report of the Committee on Finance to which I have referred; thereby depriving the depositors of their silver, whom they, at the same time, charged for its extraction; and therein they defrauded them of that which legally belonged to them. The poor miner who brings with him his savings 32D CONG.....2D SESS. on his return to the Atlantic coast, unless he deposits so many ounces-I believe about seventyas will pay the Mint for parting, and leave five dollars of silver over and above their charges, has his silver filched from him. It would be of no advantage to him, in the belief of the Mint officers, to have any sum less than five dollars in silver coin, yet by these filchings of small sums they augment their contingent fund annually to the amount of thousands of dollars. The rich depositor, who makes large profits from the miners of California, by speculating in their gold dust, and sends his accumulations to the Mint to the extent of thousands or millions of dollars, receives the silver from his bullion; but the humble owner of a few ounces, which he has earned by hard toil and kept by rigid economy, can receive no benefit from the parting process; his silver must go to the contingent fund of the Mint. The legislation of the country has been in all respects liberal, just, and considerate. According to the existing laws, the depositor is entitled to have his gold coined without charge, and the silver separated therefrom for his benefit, and at cost of materials and labor only. The Mint, however, in the administration of those laws, makes the meanest exactions from him, taking that which he should receive to augment a fund for their expenditure, and avoid the disagreeable and dreaded duty of asking Congress for appropriations. Lastly: I know, and am prepared to show, that the coin of the United States has been debased; and that the issue of gold coined during one year in one of the Mints, amounting to millions of dollars, was so much debased that it was under serious consideration whether it should not be entirely withdrawn from circulation. APPENDIX. MINT OF THE UNITED STATES, Sept. 24, 1850. SIR: Adverting to my letter of yesterday, on the subject of your bill "to facilitate commerce by authorizing the manufacture of large rectangular coins or ingots at the Mint of the United States and its branches," and reasserting my approval of the object expressed in that letter, I beg leave to offer some remarks upon its chief provisions. The shortness of the time debars me from entering into as much detail as would otherwise be proper. Permit me to say, that the third and thirteenth sections are not as free from ambiguity as is desirable in an enactment of law, and that the second, sixth, eighth, twelfth and fifteenth sections contain provisions, which, in my judgment, are not expedient, or are unsuitably parceled out to the officers of the Mint. Without waiting to give my reasons for these criticisms, as being of secondary importance, I come at once to the sections which I believe to be impracticable in their operations. The second, fourth, seventh, and tenth sections taken together, provide for the casting of coins or ingots of specific denominations and values, from one hundred dollars to ten thousand dollars, (I hope you will excuse me here for pointing out the impropriety of the idea of "casting a coin," which runs through the entire bill: the word ingot is proper and sufficient.) It requires that those ingots shall be adjusted with an accuracy of fineness and weight, far more critical and refined than is required for our coinsnamely, the half thousandth part in fineness, and the two one hundred thousandth part in weight. Lastly, it provides, that those ingots shall be subjected to an impression or coinage on each of their six sides and over the whole surface of them. The practice of European nations proves that it does facilitate commerce to have large ingots or bars of gold, of an assured weight and fineness. And in respect to the State of California, it is manifestly desirable that her staple product, so far as it is intended for exportation, or for very large dealings, might be legally put into this form, just as the cotton of Louisiana is concentrated into bales; but then how does it become necessary or desirable to adjust them to a round value? Such bars are mainly, almost entirely an international currency, and any stamps or "tracery" we would put upon them, at whatever pains or expense, would not save them from being subjected to a fresh weighing, assay, and valuation-our troy ounces would be figured into kilogrammes or marks-our thousandths into carats, and carat grains our even sum of dollars into pounds, franes or rix dollars, and their fractions; and not only so, but there might be found an irreconcilable variance of ten or twenty dollars in an ingot of ten thousand. We have never been able to take the commercial bars of Europe, any more than their coins, at their face. The argument from this is, that all that the miner or trader wants is the assurance that his bar will pass in all lands for so many thousand dollars, exact money; but that it possesses a definite Mint value, resulting from a known weight and fineness; consequently it is not necessary nor desirable to adjust these bars to any given standard of fineness, nor to a specific weight, nor to a round value; they may be of any weight, any fineness, any value, according as the banker or miner has bullion to be put into that form. As to the stringent limits of weight and fineness stated in the bill, I assure you they are quite unattainable in business operations; and although I will not undertake to say, that to coin the whole surface of a large six-sided ingot would be an impossibility, provided there were an unlimited amount of time and Gold Coin in California-Mr. Gwin. money; yet I do not hesitate to pronounce it an impracticable measure, and if practicable, useless. The peculiar exterior aspect of a gold casting, is a better preservative against the arts of cutting and filing, than the most skillful and costly tracery that could be expended upon it. Trusting that you will receive these criticisms in a candid and courteous spirit, in which they are intended, and that the experience of the Mint in such a matter would be regarded as important, I now beg leave to offer a substitute to the whole bill. I have only to add, that I have omitted all the penal provisions, except as to the assayer, as entirely unnecessary; and happily so, as it would be next to impossible to prosecute such felonies to conviction. I have also omitted "assay offices," as none have been created by law separate from Mints, and when they are, they will, of course, be made to participate in the duties of this act. Very respectfully, yours, R. M. PATTERSON, Director. Hon. W. M. GWIN, United States Senate. A BILL to facilitate commerce, by authorizing the manufacture and issue of large ingots of gold, at the Mint of the United States and its branches. 1. Be it enacted, That it shall be lawful to manufacture ingots of gold at the Mint of the United States and its branches, whenever the same shall be requested by the depositors of gold bullion, which ingots shall be issued to such depositors in payment thereof: Provided, That such ingots shall not be of less value than ten thousand dollars. 2. Be it further enacted, That such ingots, before they are issued, shall be impressed with the words "MINT OF THE UNITED STATES," with the addition of the name of the place of the branch Mint, in case of issue from a branch Mint, with such further stamps as shall indicate the registered number and date, the fineness in thousandths, the weight in troy ounces, and the decimal parts of an ounce, and the net value in dollars and cents. Every such ingot shall also be accompanied with a memorandum from the Treasurer of the Mint, or branch Mint, stating the particulars in respect to the deposit, as is now customary in respect to deposits for coinage. 3. Be it further enacted, That the respective duties to be performed in execution of this act, shall be assigned by the Director of the Mint, to the subordinate officers of the Mint, or branch Mint, with the approbation of the Secretary of the Treasury, in such division and order as is most compatible with the duties now assigned by law to such officers: Provided, That the only accounting officer in this case shall be the Treasurer. 4. Be it further enacted, That gold bullion deposited for the purpose contemplated in this act, shall be subject to such charges and deductions, and no other, as are imposed by law upon bullion deposited for coinage. 5. Be it further enacted, That to secure a due accuracy and uniformity in the assay of such ingots, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury, from time to time, to cause check assays to be made, under the supervision of the Director of the Mint, of samples from ingots which may be received into the Treasury of the United States, and if, in repeated instances, the error is found to exceed two thousandths, said Director shall certify the fact to the Secretary of the Treasury, and the President of the United States, and the assayer in fault, shall thenceforth be disqualified from exercising that office. 6. Be it further enacted, That all such ingots shall be receivable for debts due to the United States, of every sort, at the Treasury of the United States, or any of its offices or custom-houses, at the net Mint value stamped upon them, and attested by the accompanying memorandum. VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI, October, 1850. SIR: I have received your letter of the 24th ultimo, with the proposed substitute for my bill; and I have considered the criticisms and views they contain in that "candid and courteous spirit" which you invoke for them, and in which I am assured they were intended. It is evident that, while we agree in the general object of facilitating commerce, we differ, perhaps irreconcilably, as to some of the means most desirable or requisite to prepare the gold bullion of California for that purpose; and that advantages sought by me have been by you overlooked. Under such circumstances, I shall discuss the subject generally, and further criticisms, or suggestions, from you, in reply, will be fairly considered. You should believe that I have not submitted a bill, upon so important a subject, to the consideration of Congress, without having obtained and availed myself of full information concerning both the commercial and technical facts and provisions embraced in it, even to their more minute details. The object of your proposed substitute appears to be to introduce, into our country, the crude, imperfect, and limited ingot system of European bankers, designed chiefly for international exchanges-a system which I consider antiquated, and wholly inadequate and inadmissible; and for which I propose to substitute, and by law establish, an improvement, which shall virtually consist in the fabrication of large gold coins, adapted alike to domestic and international payments of considerable amount. You have justly compared the casting of gold into crude ingots, such as those proposed by you, to the packing of cotton in bales of any weight and quality. But the large coins which I desire to have made, by legislative direction, are analogous to the barrel of flour, of one hundred and ninety-six pounds weight, and of superfine, fine, or other specific denomination; or to the barrel, of two hundred pounds, of mess, prime, or cargo beef or pork; and other uniform packages of staple productions, of definite weight and specific quality, which are most conveniently and commonly bought and sold by tale, or by reason of the faith reposed in the brand of their inspection; which is by the Constitution of the United States left with the States respectively. As gold is the staple production of California, and as the Constitution prohibits coining by the States, it SENATE. is fit and proper that the United States should extend to that State every facility requisite for the definite inspection in weight and quality, and for the stamping of this most valuable commercial article. Having presented these preliminary considerations which will perhaps serve to indicate the points upon which we differ, I shall comment upon your remarks and criticisms, and the features of your proposed substitute for the bill, with freedom, but with justice and entire frankness. I did not expect verbal criticisms; but as you have seen fit to question the correctness of the phrase, to cast a coin, I would remark, that the sand dollars of Mexico are castings; and that legally, as well as in fact, a coin is any piece of either of the more precious metals, of adjusted weight and fineness, which by law is made tender of payment for its nominal value in the country to which it belongs. And if ingots be not coins, they can be so made to be by suitable legislative enactments, whether the same be cast, hammered, rolled, or in any other way manufactured. If you will turn again to the third and thirteenth sections of the bill, and read them more attentively, you will, perhaps, cease to consider them ambiguous. It is a matter of arithmetic to calculate from the gold now required by law to be contained in the eagle, or coin of ten dollars, the quantity which should be in an ingot or coin of one thousand dollars, or of any other given denomination. And there can be no difficulty of ascertaining the meaning of an enactment which authorizes the exchange of small coins for ingots of equal value, and the conversion of such ingots into such coins, at the Mint and its branches, by the recoinage thereof; thus providing a legally-authorized means for the redemption of those ingots, and for their recoinage into small pieces suitable for diffused circulation, and for minor commercial and domestic purposes. With reference to the sections of the bill allotting to the different officers their respective portions of the work required for the fabrication of the large coins or ingots, I am not aware that there is in them anything incompatible with the proper functions of those officers. It is known to me that the bill would add to the judicial responsibility, and slightly to the labor of the assayer, by requiring him to verify the weights as well as the fineness of the ingots, and to certify the same by stamping thereon the said weight and fineness, and a discriminating mark, which shall indicate not only the place of issue, but also, privately, to the Director of the Mint, the individual assayer. Thus the assayer would become the only judicial officer, and might be held, as he should be, to the strictest responsibility. The Treasurer does not appear to be the proper officer to act judicially upon the work of the coiner, as he is required to do by section twenty-six of the act approved January 18, 1837; and it seems to be both fit and expedient that such a transfer of duty from the treasurer to the assayer, as I propose, should be one of the provisions of the bill. When the above modifications of the bill shall have been made, it will, I think, conform to the present allotments of work in the Mint, based upon the act approved 18th January, 1837, except in the aforesaid transfer of judicial duty from the treasurer to the assayer. And as the said act was framed, and is, as I am informed, in close accordance with the practice of the Mint and your own views, I trust that, when so modified, the distribution of official duties to the respective officers will meet with your approbation. I have endeavored, in preparing the bill, to be guided by the act of January 18th, 1837, as much as possible, consistently with the ends to be attained. And if you can point out any in-. consistency, impropriety, or imperfection, in its working features, I should be happy to have you do so, and will make the proper correction or alteration. In your proposed substitute, you leave the allotment of the work of the respective officers undefined, and subject to the administrative regulation of the Director, approved by the Secretary of the Treasury,-instead of prescribing the same by legislative enactment. To all such arrangements I am utterly opposed, for the reasons: that, when an officer takes an oath faithfully to perform the duties of his office, as prescribed by law, he has the right to know definitely what those duties are; and when his securities give bond, jointly with him, to the United States, they have a similar right to know, precisely, what are the conditions of their bond: that when power is delegated, by legislation, to any administrative officer, it is fit and wise that, if practicable, it be explicitly defined: that when discretionary authority is granted loosely, or vaguely, it is apt to lead to negligence or abuse; and even if this should not happen, the most conscientious exercise of such authority by an officer may, if attended with accidental loss or failure, involve him in difficulty and unmerited censure; against which contingency precise legislation alone can protect him: finally, that any want of harmony between officers in their coordinate duties may give rise to embarrassing difficulties, unless said duties shall be fixed by law. Having presented you my views upon those provisions of the bill which relate to the distribution of the work to the respective officers, and which you treat as of secondary importance, I shall now discuss your criticisms and remarks upon those features which you pronounce to be impracticable and of no utility. I cannot concur with you in believing it "impracticable, and, if practicable, useless," to cover the six surfaces of a rectangular ingot with impressions and tracery. It may he deemed impracticable by the coiner of a Mint, and that such is the case, if you have spoken as its official head, I do not doubt. But I cannot do to the ingenious and skillful artisans of your city the injustice to believe that it would be impracticable for them to contrive machinery adapted to the purpose, which shall be neither very complex nor very costly. And I am assured, by accomplished mechanicians, that I am correct in believing the art and mechanical skill of our country fully adequate to, and prepared for, the fab. rication or coinage of such rectangular ingots or coins, covered with impressions and tracery, with a degree of beauty and perfection far surpassing that of any of the coins hitherto struck in the Mint; and that such work can readily be done in New York, if not in your Mint or city. 46 32D CONG.....2D SESS. APPENDIX TO THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE. With reference to the supposed uselessness which you have been pleased to ascribe to the execution of such work, if practicable, for reasons assigned by you, I would remark, that your objections apply as well to the coins of the United States now in use, as to the new and much larger coins which I propose to have created. It is equally true of both, if they find their way, by international commerce, into foreign countries, that they would be expressed in ac counts, or actually converted by recoinage, into such weights, denominations and technical finenesses, as may be customary and legal in said countries. And so long as every nation or government, whether powerful or weak, important or insignificant, shall arbitrarily and capriciously vary, adopt, and fix for its own use and purposes, peculiar standards of weight, measure and value, will commerce have to tolerate, as it now does, in international exchanges and accounts, for all commodities and coins whatever, that complexity and variety of terms which you have adduced, as if it would belong only, and were a valid objection to such large coins as are provided for in the bill-an objec tion which, if it prove what you design, must also prove that all foreign commerce should cease, and which, therefore, is nugatory and absurd. Meanwhile, the SpanishAmerican dollar, wisely adopted by our country, will continue to be, as it has long been, the commercial unit of value of the world. And if the gold of California should take the place, even but in part, of the silver of Spanish America, large coins or ingots of definite denominations, in dollars, will circulate familiarly throughout the length and breadth of our land, and coextensively with our commerce and that of other nations over the globe. You profess to be unable to see why ingots should not be of any weight, any fineness, any value whatever. Excuse me, then, for asking you why the gold coins at present struck at the Mint, may not also be of any weight, any fineness, any value whatever? Why might not each be only a piece of weighed and assayed, though crude metal,-protected against mutilation only by "the peculiar exterior aspect of a gold casting, "-stamped "with the words, MINT OF THE UNITED STATES," and "such further stamp as shall indicate the registered number and date, the fineness in thousandths, the weight in troy ounces, and the decimal parts of an ounce and the net Mint value in dollars and cents," the silver dollar being the standard unit, "accompanied with a memorandum from the treasurer of the Mint, or branch Mint, stating the particulars in respect to the deposit," and unpro tected against counterfeiting, either by skillful workmanship or by penal statutes? If the paper memorandum should be lost or destroyed, as all of them sooner or later would be, coins of gold would still be precious metal, and they might be carried back to the Mint, at considerable expense and inconvenience, for reissue of memorandum or refabrication. There would no longer be decimal denominations, or round sums; and we would possess a coinage system of such plasticity and generality, that it might be suited to any caprice of circumstance or individual fancy; and their net Mint values" would also fluctuate with every change in the rates of charges to depositors at the Mint. With reference to the "unlimited amount of time and money "which you appear to think would be necessary to prevent the "impossibility" of coining the whole surface of a large six sided ingot, permit me say, that you will find it difficult to persuade either myself or others, that any great mechanical trouble or expense is to be apprehended in the execution of such work. You will, I presume, scarcely venture to assert that it will be more costly and laborious to adjust and impress one single coin of ten thousand dollars, than a thousand pieces of ten dollars each, or ten thousand pieces of one dollar each. And, certainly, you have not found it more convenient, expeditious, and economical to convert a large amount of gold into little dollar pieces, than to manufacture the same into double eagles. Concerning the limits of deviation in fineness and weight which you pronounce to be "quite unattainable in business operations," to wit: the half of a thousandth part in fineness, and two hundred thousandth parts in weight, I certainly cannot be mistaken in the information I have re ceived. I have learned that the alloying and assaying of gold may be, and that it is, performed with almost mathematical exactness: that the gold coins of the British Mint are of the uniform average fineness of 915.5 thousandths, and that at this rate you have been in the habit of receiving them at the Mint, and of paying for them without previously assaying each parcel of them: that the gold coins of France, Italy, and Holland are uniformly of the fineness of eight hundred and ninety-nine thousandths, and so received hitherto by you without assaying each lot: that the average quality of our own gold coins struck at the Philadelphia Mint of late years, scarcely varies appreciably from nine hundred thousandths, the legal standard. the coordinate operations of the melting and assaying deAlso, that in partments of the Mint, the usual variations from the exact standard do not exceed the limits of 899.8 thousandths, and 900.2 thousandths, within which limits errors of workinanship are ordinarily confined that the limits of 899.5 thousandths, and 900.5 thousandths are rarely attained: that the Mint practice is to condemn any ingot as unfit for coinage, of which the deviation from the standard fineness considerably transcends either of these limits. If this be so, and the assayer of the Mint can testify whether it is or not, I can see no reason why the deviation in fineness of two thousandths, which you propose in your substitute for the bill, should ever be allowed by law; on the contrary, I can see strong reasons why it should not be done. A dishonest melter and refiner, through the connivance of a faithless, or the indifference of an incompetent assayer, might avail himself fraudulently of such loose legislation to commit with impunity the crime of embezzlement. It may, perhaps, be that the limits of 899.5 thousandths and 900.5 thousandths are too stringent for any but experienced and the most skillful officers. If this be so in the judgment of the chemical officers of the Mint, and you inform me thereof, I will willingly extend the legally allowed deviation, from the half to one thousandth part, so as sufficiently to protect honest though inexperienced Mint officers; but no greater allowance than one thousandth should be made, for the Government has the Gold Coin in California-Mr. Gwin. right to command not only fidelity but skill in the perform- Of the limits of deviation in weight for the large gold to pass to the other. It should be borne in mind, that it is the effect of small In conclusion, permit me to say of your expressed "trust of coining large ingots, entirely new and untried, commer- Very respectfully, your obedient servant, A BILL to facilitate commerce, by authorizing the manu- SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the standard fine- SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the respective weights of the rectangular gold coins or ingots of the United States shall be such that they shall each contain the same quantity of pure gold that is now required by law to be contained in small gold coins of the legal standard of the United States, and of equal amount in value. Szo. 4. And be it further enacted, That upon the rec [Dec. 29, SENATE. tangular gold coins or ingots of the United States there shall be stamped upon one side or face of each of said rectangular coins or ingots, the year, weight, and fineness, with an impression emblematic of liberty, and an inseription of the word "liberty," also some discriminating mark to designate the particular assayer by whom it was assayed, and the place where it was issued; and upon the other side there shall be stamped the denomination or value, with the figure or representation of an eagle, and the inscription, "United States of America ;" and that the portion of each and every of the six surfaces, or faces, of said rectangular gold coins or ingots, which shall not be unimpressed as aforesaid, shall be covered with skillfully-devised tracery of grooved lines. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That all the dies that shall be used to stamp rectangular gold coins or ingots of the United States shall be prepared and registered by the engraver of the Mint of the United States. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the rectangular gold coins or ingots of the United States to be thus prepared, shall be assayed by the assayer; and if they prove to be within the limits allowed for deviation from the standard fineness, he shall return them, with a certificate, to the melter and refiner to be delivered to the treasurer. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That every rectangu lar gold ingot shall be condemned by the assayer of which the fineness differs more than the half of one thousandth from the legal standard. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That when the coiner shall have adjusted the weight of the ingots, the assayer shall weigh them, and if they prove to be within the limits allowed for deviation from the standard weight, the assayer shall stamp each with his discriminating mark, and the coiner shall deliver them to the treasurer. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the treasurer shall deliver to the coiner the gold ingots received from the melter and refiner; and it shall be the duty of the coiner to take and stamp or strike upon each of them, the year, weight, fineness, legend, device, and tracery, with its denomination or value in conspicuous characters, before he shall deliver it to the treasurer. And at the assay offices this duty of stamping or striking upon the rectangular gold coins or ingots their proper years, weights, finenesses, legends, devices, tracery, and values shall be performed by the melter and refiner before he shall deliver the same to the treasurer. And in the settlement of the respective accounts of the melter and refiner and of the coiner with the treasurer, they shall each be allowed a credit for such necessary waste of gold bullion delivered to them to be manufactured into rectangular gold coins or ingots as shall have actually occurred in the operations employed for that purpose: Provided, That this allowance shall not exceed one thousandth part of the amount of gold bullion so delivered to each of those officers. SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That in adjusting the respective weights of the rectangular gold coins or ingots of the United States, no ingot shall differ more than one ten thousandth part in weight from its legal standard. SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That for rectangular gold coins or ingots of the United States, the only subjects of charge to the depositor shall be the following: For refining when the bullion is below standard; for toughening when metals are contained in it which render it brittle or unfit for coinage; and for separating the gold and silver when these metals exist together in the bullion: and that the rate of these charges shall be fixed, from time to time, by the director of the Mint and the Secretary of the Treas ury, and shall be the same as the rate of charges, for the same operations, performed upon bullion deposited in the Mint and its branches for coinage into small gold coins. SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That no charge shall hereafter be made to the depositor of gold bullion for copper used for alloy of gold coins or ingots. SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the Treasurer of the United States, the Assistant Treasurers of the United States, the Treasurers of the Mint, its branches, and a-say offices, and the designated depositories of the Treasury, may at any time receive rectangular gold coins or ingots of the United States in exchange for small gold or silver coins of the United States. And it shall be lawful for the Mint of the United States and its branches, to convert rectangular gold coins or ingots of the United States into small coins, but the same shall be delivered to the melter and refiner as bullion, by weight and actual assay. SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That for all sums whatever, rectangular gold coins or ingots of the United States, made in pursuance of the provisions of this act, shall be legal tenders of payment, according to the nominal value. SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That to secure a due conformity in the rectangular gold coins or ingots of the United States to their respective standards of weight and fineness, specimens thereof shall be selected, transmitted to the Director of the Mint, and examined before the commissioners of assay, who shall meet annually at the Mint, in the manner and in pursuance of the regulations prescribed by sections twenty seven and thirty two of the act supplementary to the act establishing a Mint and regulating the coins of the United States, approved January eighteen, eighteen hundred and thirty seven. And the better to secure the said conformity, it shall be the duty of the Director of the Mint, from time to time, to take indiscriminately from the circulation of the country, rectangular gold coins or ingots of the United States, and cause such examination thereof to be made as he may consider fit and requisite. SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That if any of the rectangular gold coins or ingots of the United States which shall be made at the Mint, or at either of its branches or assay offices, shall be debased, or made worse as to the proportion of pure gold that ought to be therein contained; or shall be of less weight or value than the same ought to be pursuant to this act, through the default or with the connivance of one or more of the officers or persons who shall be employed at the Mint, or at either of its branches or assay offices, with the purpose of profit or gain, or otherwise with a fraudulent intent; every such officer or person, who shall 32D CONG.....2D SESS. Fortification of Key West and the Tortugas-Mr. Cabell, of Florida. commit any or either of said offenses, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and on conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment at hard labor for not exceeding ten years, and by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars, according to the aggravation of the offense. SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons who shall be employed in the Mint of the United States or in either of its branches or assay offices, shall fraudulently take, embezzle, steal, or carry away any bullion deposited therein, or any ingots made or deposited therein, or which shall have come into his possession or custody, by virtue of such employment, every person so offending shall be deemed guilty of felony; and on conviction thereof, he shall be punished by imprisonment at hard labor for not exceeding ten years, and by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars, according to the aggravation of the offense. SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons shall fraudulently, and for gain sake, by any art, way, or means whatsoever, impair, diminish, falsify, scale, or lighten any rectangular gold coin or ingot of the United States, which has been made, or may hereafter be made, at the Mint of the United States, or at either of its branches or assay offices, or shall cause or procure either of said acts to be done, or shall willingly aid or assist in doing, or in causing or procuring to be done, either of said acts, every person so offending shall be deemed guilty of felony, and on conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment at hard labor for not exceeding ten years, and by a fine not exceeding $10,000, according to the aggravation of the of fense. SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons shall falsely make, forge, or counterfeit ; or cause or procure to be falsely made, forged, or counterfeited; or willingly aid or assist in falsely making, forging, or counterfeiting any coin or ingot in the resemblance or similitude of the rectangular gold coin or ingot which has been, or may hereafter be made, at the Mint of the United States, or at either of its branches or assay offices; or shall pass, utter, publish, or sell, or shall bring into the United States from any foreign place, with the intent to pass, utter, publish or sell, as true, any such false, forged, or counterfeit coin or ingot, knowing the same to be false, forged, or counterfeit, with intent to defraud any body politic or corporate, or any person or persons whatever; every person so offending shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment at hard labor for not exceeding ten years, and by a fine not exceeding $10,000, according to the aggravation of the offense; Provided always, That it shall be lawful for any person to make ingots of gold or silver, or of gold and silver, and to certify, by durable impression thereon, the true weight and value of the gold or silver, or of the gold and silver, contained in each ingot, with some private legend and device, and with his proper name, after he shall have delivered a copy of such legend, device, and name, to the director of the Mint, or to the superintendent of either of its branches, or to the treasurer of one of its assay offices, who shall record the same, together with his place of business and residence, or cause it to be done in books to be kept for such purpose in the Mint, and in each of its branches and assay offices. SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to deprive the courts of individual States, of jurisdiction, under the laws of the several States, over offenses made punishable by this act. A BILL to establish Assay Offices of the Mint of the United States at Stockton and Sacramento City, in California, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That offices of the Mint of the United States shall be es tablished at Stockton and at Sacramento City, in California, for the purpose of assaying and refining gold bullion not intended for coinage, and of casting the same into ingots or bars of fine gold, or into bars of gold and silver. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That for the purpose of purchasing sites, erecting suitable buildings, and completing the necessary combinations of machinery for the aforesaid assay offices, the sum of one hundred thousand dollars is hereby appropriated. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That temporary buildings shall be procured or erected immediately, for carrying on the business of the aforesaid offices, and that the following officers shall be appointed, upon the nomination of the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen. ate, to wit: one treasurer, one assayer, and one melter and refiner. And the said treasurer shall engage and employ as many clerks and subordinate workmen and servants as shall be provided for by law. And the salaries of said of ficers and clerks shall be as follows: to the treasurer, the sum of five thousand dollars; to the assayer and to the melter and refiner, the sum of four thousand dollars each; to the clerks, the sum of three thousand dollars each; and to the subordinate workmen and servants, not exceeding fifteen in each office, such wages and allowances as are customary and reasonable according to their respective stations and occupations. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That said offices shall be depositories for such public moneys as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct to be deposited therein; and the treasurers of said offices shall have the custody of the same, and shall perform the duties of assistant treasurers, and for that purpose shall be subject to all the provisions contained in the act entitled "An act to provide for the better organi zation of the Treasury, and for the collection, safe-keeping, transfer, and disbursement of the public revenue," approved August sixth, eighteen hundred and forty-six, which relate to the treasurer of the branch Mint at New Orleans. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the officers and clerks to be appointed under this act shall, before entering upon the duties of their offices, take an oath or affirmation before some judge of the United States, or judge of the su perior court of any court of record of any State, faithfully and diligently to perform said duties; and they shall each become bound to the United States of America, with one or more sureties, to the satisfaction of the Director of the Mint and the Secretary of the Treasury, with condition for the faithful and diligent performance of the duties of their offices. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the general direc tion of the business of the said assay offices of the Mint of the United States, shall be under the control and regulation of the Director of the Mint, subject to the approbation of the Secretary of the Treasury; and for that purpose, it shall be the duty of the said Director, to prescribe such regulations, and require such returns, periodically and occasionally, as shall appear to him to be necessary, for the purpose of carrying into effect the intention of this act, in establishing the said assay offices; also, for the purpose of discriminating the bars or ingots which shall be stamped at each office; also, for the purpose of preserving accuracy of weight and fineness in the bars stamped at each place; and to require the transmission and delivery to him at the Mint, from time to time, such bars or ingots of each office as he shall think proper to be subjected to such assays and tests as he shall direct. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That all the laws and parts of laws made for the regulation of the Mint of the United States, and for the government of the officers and persons employed therein, and for the punishment of all offenses committed by persons connected with the Mint shall be, and the same are hereby, declared to be in full force, in relation to each of the assay offices by this act established, so far as the same shall be applicable thereto. KEY WEST AND TORTUGAS. SPEECH OF HON. E. C. CABELL, OF FLORIDA, On the subject of fortifying Key West and Tortugas: prepared from notes of remarks made by him in the House of Representatives, December 21, 1852. The House being in the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, on the resolutions to refer the annual message of the President of the United States, Mr. CABELL, of Florida, offered the following resolution: Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom has been referred so much of the President's message as relates to fortifications, be instructed to inquire into the expediency of appropriating the amount necessary to complete the fortifications at Key West and Tortugas, known as Fort Jefferson and Fort Taylor. Which being read, Mr. CABELL said: The proposition I submit for the consideration of the committee does not involve the question of the merits or demerits of that "magnificent," and which in reference to the advanced stage of military science, nautical skill, and steam power, has been styled that "absurd system of coast defense,' about which so much has been written and spoken, and which was so decidedly condemned by the present House of Representatives at its last session. I acquiesce, to some extent, in the propriety of some of the denunciations of certain "wild and extravagant schemes," which have, in times past, been recommended by high official authority. The language used by an able writer on this subject, that "these schemes are Utopian in the extreme, and fit only to be discussed by the inmates of a mad house," is not perhaps too strong in reference to some of them. I will not, however, discuss this topic at this time. But whatever objection may be made to the subject of fortifications generally, or to any particular system, I think that the public mind is satisfied that there is great propriety in fortifying the points to which I have called the attention of the committee-Key West and Tortugas. Every consideration of national policy demands that the construction of the works, commenced more than five years ago, at these points, should be continued and prosecuted to completion as soon as possible. I speak not now as the representative of Florida, for this is a matter in which my own State has comparatively less direct interest than even New York and Massachusetts. It is a question deeply affecting the trade, commerce, and navigation of every section of the United States, and indeed of the world. But these important points are in the State I have the honor to represent, and it is perhaps most appropriately my duty to urge upon Congress the necessity of taking prompt measures with reference to them. Their importance and the interests involved in their complete fortification, cannot be too highly estimated. They are the keys to the Gulf of Mexico, to the West Indies and the Caribbean sea. Being in the direct line of navigation, the entire Gulf commerce must pass near and in sight of them. A large portion of the export and import trade of Georgia, the whole trade of Alabama and the other Gulf States, and of the valley of the Mississippi, of Mexico, of the Caribbean sea, HO. OF REPS. and of the eastern coast of South America, as far down as La Plata, including the rich and almost unexplored country watered by the Amazon," the King of Rivers," navigable for three thousand miles, and its tributaries, said to be capable of sustaining a population of two hundred millions, must pass through the Florida Straits. In a late publication I stated that "property of upwards of $200,000,000 in value, it is estimated, annually passes along a large portion of the Florida coast. وو In making this estimate I was controlled by an estimate of the Treasury Department, made in a communication to the Senate at last session, (Sen. Doc. No. -, in relation to the Florida Ship Canal,) in which the value of the merchandise, annually shipped to and from the Gulf ports, was put down at $250,000,000. Though I believed then it was an under estimate, I deducted $50,000,000 from it, to avoid any charge of extravagance, which I had heard made against the Treasury estimate. Since then I have investigated this matter with care, and am now fully convinced that the value of our Gulf trade, commerce and navigation, was underrated perhaps one half of its true value. And since the Treasury report I have cited was made, the subject has undergone further and fuller investigation by Mr. Hodge, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and I have seen a letter addressed by him, some weeks ago, to Mr. Andrews, correcting his former report, and estimating our Gulf trade, commerce and navigation, as amounting annually to $325,000,000. This is of the Gulf ports of the United States only. All this must pass, wheresoever bound, within sight of Tortugas and Key West. In this estimate the $60,000,000 of gold annually received from California, by the Chagres and Nicaragua steamers, the value of the other property or merchandise carried both ways by these steamers, the value of the tonnage in that trade; our Cuba trade and tonnage, worth more than $30,000,000 annually; our trade and tonnage with other West Indies and with Honduras, amounting annually to at least $25,000,000 more; our annual trade and tonnage with Brazil, worth more than $20,000,000 more; and our trade and tonnage with all the eastern coast of South America, down to La Plata, are not included. Most of this trade, particularly on the homeward voyage, passes through the Florida Straits, and near to Tortugas and Key West. Considering all this trade, commerce and navigation, and estimating the tonnage at $50 per ton, (instead of $75, as stated by Mr. Hodge, which is perhaps too high an estimate for a series of years, though it may be reasonable at this time,) I hesitate not to say that the value of Ameriproperty," annually passing through these straits, instead of being but $200,000,000, actually exceeds $400,000,000. In this estimate none of the British, French, Dutch, Spanish, Mexican, or other foreign "commerce or navigation" passing through these straits is included. It amounts annually to at least $125,000,000. My information on this subject has been collected with very great care; I feel assured of the correctness of my statements, but will be happy to rectify them if shown to be erroneous. can " Where, I ask, Mr. Chairman, is there on the face of the globe a position belonging to any country so important for the defense of that country, and for attack upon the commerce of an enemy, and for the protection of its commercial and navigating interests to such an immense amount, as these facts show Key West and Tortugas to be to the United States? My estimates are in round numbers. No official returns of our coasting trade are received at the Treasury. Estimates of it, therefore, can only be approximated, and are to be gathered and compiled from statistics otherwise obtained. Our census returns of products and manufactures of the different States, and the statements in commercial magazines and newspapers prepared by the chambers of commerce, or other reliable local authorities of the different cities and ports, furnish the chief data. The value of our exports of raw cotton alone to foreign countries for the year ending 30th of June, 1851, was $112,315.317, more than two thirds of which was from the Gulf ports; to which should be added 405,108 bales consumed in this country, 32D Cong.....2D SESS. Fortification of Key West and the Tortugas-Mr. Cabell, of Florida. out of a crop of 2,355,257 bales. The whole cotton crop of the United States for the year ending September 1, 1852, was 3,015,029 bales, of which 603,029 bales were consumed in this country. The entire crop of the world for the same period is estimated at 3,448,000. The States of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, and part of Georgia, produced and shipped through the Gulf ports 2,175,464 bales, or 165,445 bales more than two thirds of the entire crop of the United States for the year ending September 1, 1852. Estimating the bales to average 450 pounds, the crop amounts to 978,958,800 pounds, which, at the average price of nine cents per pound, makes the value of the cotton crop alone from the States I have named $88,206,292; the whole of which, whether shipped to foreign ports or to the Atlantic cities, must pass through the Straits of Florida. Most of the merchandise, foreign or domestic, purchased with the proceeds of the sale of this crop goes back to the States which produced it by the same channel, and its value is generally quite equal to that of the cotton. So also is it with respect to the sugar, tobacco, hemp, lumber, rice, naval stores, and all the products of the same regions, and of other western and northwestern States, and the immense shipments, foreign and coastwise, of breadstuffs, pork, bacon, lard, beef, tallow, and other products of the whole Mississippi valley made through New Orleans, and the return merchandise, &c.; to which should be added the tonnage engaged in this immense trade, both outward and inward bound.* Examination and reflection, and a proper consideration of these matters, will not only verify my estimate, but will satisfy every one how vitally all the States and regions of country I have mentioned are interested in the measure I now propose. The construction of a ship-canal or railroad across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, or the completion of similar works elsewhere, at Nicaragua, at Panama, or Atrato, will secure much of the trade of China, of the East Indies, and the Asiatic seas generally, and of the Pacific ocean. An interoceanic railroad communication at Tehuantepec would probably, in a few years, double the value of the Gulf trade, and a ship-canal, through which would pass all the vessels engaged in the whale fisheries, and most of those owned in this country and in Europe, trading in the Pacific ocean and Asiatic seas, would more than quadruple the value of the present trade, commerce and navigation passing through the Florida Straits. what extent this value will be increased, when time and Anglo Saxon energy shall have developed the resources of the "Great West," and of that magnificent region embraced in the vast "Amazonian basin," the imagination can scarcely conceive. To All this commerce and navigation will be "at the mercy" of any strong naval power in possession of Key West and Tortugas. The attention of Congress has been repeatedly called to the importance of fortifying the places to which I have made reference: first by Mr. Monroe, who was President at the time of the acquisition of Florida, and since his time by most of the Presidents, Secretaries of War, and engineers who have examined the subject. In my investigations I have been greatly aided! by reference to a highly valuable document, communicated by the Treasury Department to Congress at the last session, respecting the trade, commerce, and navigation of the United States, which was prepared by J. D. Andrews, Esq., the intelligent and able United States Consul for St. John's, New Brunswick. It is now being printed by order of both Houses, and is, in my judgment, one of the most important reports ever laid before Congress. I have been allowed to make reference to, and extracts from some of the proof sheets, which, at my request, were politely furnished to me. An appendix to that report contains an important paper, prepared, as I learn, principally from data and notes furnished by one of the most intelligent engineer officers in the service, relating *Colonel Abert, Chief of Topographical Engineers, in a report to the Senate of the United States, estimates the trade of the Mississippi alone for the year 1850 at $274,000,000, and for the year 1860 at $494,000,000. A portion of it passes inland, by railroads and canals, to and from the Atlantic!! seaports. to the Gulf of Mexico and Straits of Florida. This document (Ex. Doc. H. No. 136, 1st sess. 32d Cong.) will soon be laid on our tables, and I solicit members to read the paper I refer to attentively. In the American State Papers, volume entitled Naval Affairs, page 871, there is a message of President Monroe, January 20, 1823, communicating a report from Smith Thompson, Secretary of the Navy, in which he says, speaking of Key West: "From the report of Lieutenant Commandant Perry, [now Commodore M. C. Perry,] who was charged with this duty, it has been satisfactorily ascertained that this po sition affords a safe, convenient, and extensive harbor for vessels of war and merchant vessels." * * "There can be no doubt, however, of the importance of this Island, and its contiguous waters in various points of view. The harbor affords a safe and convenient rendezvous for our public vessels, cruising in the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico; and the Island a very suitable depot for provisions and supplies. From the peculiar dangers of the navigation along the coast, and among the Florida keys, our merchant vessels are frequently driven by distress to seek a harbor; and for want of one in our own waters, are under the necessity of making a port in the Island of Cuba, which subjects them to considerable additional expense. This Isl and [Key West] also affords a very eligible depot for wrecked property, and which is highly necessary and advantageous where the navigation is attended with so many dangers and difficulties. We are at this time, in a great measure, de pendent on the wreckers of New Providence [in the Bahamas] for the protection of property in case of shipwreck. This not only gives employment to a great number of foreign vessels and seamen, but it subjects our m' chants to heavy expenses. These are some of the obvious benefits of this position in time of peace; but its advantages in time of war with any European Power having West India possessions, are still more important both as it respects the protection of enemy with a superior naval force occupying this position our own commerce and the annoyance of our enemy. An could completely intercept the whole trade between those parts of our country lying north and east of it, and those to the west, and seal up all our ports within the Gulf of Mex ico," &c. The late Commodore Rodgers, in an official letter, written November 24th, 1823, (ibid., p. 1121,) says of Key West: "As an auxiliary to an extensive and permanent southern naval depôt, (perhaps at Pensacola ;) such as a proper security for our commerce, and the permanent union of the States seem to render indispensable; it will be found, I am inclined to believe, that the Island in question will soon become an object worthy of the serious attention and consideration of the Government. Nature has made it the advance post from which to watch and guard our commerce passing to and from the Mississippi; while at the same time its peculiar situation, and the excellence of its harbor, point it out as the most certain key to the commerce of the Havana, to that of the Gulf of Mexico, and to the returning trade of Jamaica, and I venture to predict that the first important naval contest in which this country shall be engaged, will be in the neighborhood of this very Island," &c. The late Commodore David Porter, it is well known, repeatedly expressed his opinion that Key West and Tortugas were the most important points in the Gulf, and he unhesitatingly avowed, on all occasions, his decided preference for Key West as a naval station. Before he left our service, and while in command of "the Mosquito fleet" against and after he became Commander-in-Chief of the the Cuban pirates, he rendezvoused at Key West; Mexican Navy, he adopted the same course. In the "Appendix" referred to, it is stated that he effectually blockaded Havana and Matanzas, though protected by the Spanish Admiral Laborde with a superior force. Indeed, Key West and Tortugas are so situated as to command the Havana and Matanzas as effectually as they do the trade of the Gulf passing through the straits between the Island of Cuba and the Florida Keys. And they have an advantage over the Havana in two respects: The first is, that the very narrow entrance, and the eddies and rapid currents of the straits, sweeping along the rock-bound Cuban shore, render it difficult, and frequently impossible, to enter that port, if the wind is at all unfavorable; whereas no harbors perhaps in the world are more easy of approach and entrance than Key West and Tortugas. But the most important difference and advantage is, that it is impossible, except with a greatly superior force, to blockade either of these Keys, each having more than one pass to the Straits and the Gulf. In December, 1851, Secretary Conrad, in obedience to a call from Congress, made a communication to this House, on the subject of fortifications, replete with valuable information. On page 9, (Ex. Doc., No. 5, 1st sess. 32d Cong.,) he says: "The two remaining works now in course of construction, are those on Key West and the Tortugas. In relation HO. OF REPS. to these there can be but one opinion. These islands, sitnated directly in the narrow channel between the southern extremity of Florida and the Island of Cuba, may be said to command the northern gateway of the Gulf, as Jamaica does its southern. The latter is in possession of the only nation from whose naval power the United States have anything to apprehend. Were these Islands, with their fine harbors, also to fall into her hands, they would enable her to cut off all communication between our naval forces on the Gulf and those on the Atlantic, to obtain complete control over the Gulf, and block up the vast and increasing commerce of which it is the theater. A railroad across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, (the existence of which, at no distant period, can hardly be doubted,) would impart additional importance to the Gulf, as it would then become the main channel of communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific; and recent events admonish us that our progress in that quarter is watched with jealousy by more than one of the great Powers of Europe. "Iain, therefore, decidedly of opinion, not only that these two works should not be abandoned, but that they should be completed as soon as practicable." General Totten, in his report, (ibid., p. 52,) says: "A naval force designed to control the navigation of the Gulf, could desire no better position than Key West or the Tortugas. Upon the very way side of the only path through the Gulf, it is at the same time well situated as to all the great points therein. It overlooks Havana, Pensacola, Mobile, the mouths of the Mississippi, and both the inlet and outlet of the Gulf. "The Tortugas harbor and that of Key West affords perfect shelter for vessels of every class, with the greatest facility of ingress and egress. And there can be no doubt that an adversary in possession of large naval means, would, with great advantage, make them his habitual resort and his point of general rendezvous and concentration for all operations on this sea. With an enemy thus posted, the navigation of the Gulf by us would be eminently haz ardous, if not impossible, and nothing but absolute naval superiority would avail anything against him. Mere military means could approach no nearer than the nearest shore of the continent. There are no harbors in the Gulf at all comparable with these, that an enemy could resort to with his large vessels. To deprive him of these would, therefore, be interfering materially with any organized system of naval operations in this sea. The defense of these harbors would, however, do much more than this. It would secure to our own squadron, even should it be inferior, the use of these most valuable positions, and would afford a point of refuge to our Navy and our commerce at the very spot where it would be most necessary and useful. "I forbear to enlarge on this point, merely adding that certain and complete defense will be easily secured, and that we shall thereby possess ports of refuge in the middle of the Gulf whenever we have to fly, and points of rendezvous and refreshment in the very midst of all passing vessels whenever we hold the mastery. Every vessel that crosses the Gulf of Mexico passes within sight of the two forts commenced under the sanction of Congress and now in progress-one at Tortugas, and one at Key West." Lieutenant Maury, of the Navy, one of the most intelligent and scientific officers in the serwice-whose liberal and enlarged views show that he keeps pace with the improvements of the agewho, with nothing of old fogyism in his composition, is a man of wise and prudent progress-who has condemned in language stronger, perhaps, than has been used on this floor, that "system of fortifications" which found so little favor in this House, and whose recommendations are, therefore, entitled to credit with those who are not opposed to all works of defense-says at page 166, same document: "The only fortifications that are wanted along our Atlantic sea-board, except those at Key West and the Tortugas, at Ship Island, and at one or two more such places, are those which will protect our cities and towns from the broadsides of men-of-war. "The forts already completed, or well advanced towards completion, are believed to be sufficient for this. They should, however, be mounted with heavier ordnance, and pieces of the most effective caliber for throwing explosive shot and shells." The entire report of Lieutenant Maury possesses great interest, is full of useful information, and will amply repay perusal and study. From p. 179 to 184 inclusive, he treats of the defenses of the Gulf of Mexico, and proves in a masterly manner, that the measure I propose is not only important, and one that concerns the whole country, but that it is essentially necessary to protect the Commerce of the Gulf. So cogent and conclusive is his reasoning, and so valuable his suggestions, that I feel I would do injustice to the cause I advocate, were I not to ask special attention to them. Beginning at page 180, he says: "The plan, therefore, of providing permanent fortifications for the Gulf, seems to be this: that we should select a few of the points which would be most important for us as places of refuge and rendezvous, and which, if occupied by an enemy in war, would enable him the most to annoy us, and fortify them." These points are Key West and the Tortugas, and perhaps Ship and Cat Islands. In a commercial and military sense, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean sea are but an expansion of the Mississippi and Amazon rivers. In this view of the subject, the mouth of the Mississippi is not |