its duties were transferred to the office of Third Auditor-for particulars of which see the chapter on the Third Auditor's office.

On the 3d March, 1817, an act "to provide for the prompt settlement of public accounts," abolished the offices of Accountant and Assistant Accountant of the War Department, and the Accountant of the Navy Department; and in lieu thereof created three Auditors, styled the Second, Third, and Fourth Auditors; it also added a Fifth Auditor, to whom was assigned a portion of the duties of the Auditor then existing, and now, by said act, called First Auditor; it also created a Second Comptroller of the Treasury; prescribing the duties proper to each, as may be seen in the caption of their respective chapters in the sequel.

On the 15th May, 1820, "an act to provide for the better organization of the Treasury Department" created the office of Agent of the Treasury, in these words: "Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That it shall be the duty of such officer of the Treasury Department as the President of the United States shall, from time to time, designate for that purpose, as AGENT OF THE TREASURY, to direct and superintend all orders, suits, or proceedings, in law or equity, for the recovery of money, chattels, lands, &c., in the name and for the use of the United States:" to which office the First Comptroller was designated in the first instance, and afterwards the Fifth Auditor, who acted until the establishment of the office of Solicitor of the Treasury.

On the 31st. January, 1823, "an act concerning the disbursement of public money," after making a general prohibition of advances of public money to contractors, agents, &c., provided, "that it shall be lawful, [for the Secretary of the Treasury,] under the special direction of the President of the United States, to make such advances to disbursing officers and agents of the government, as may be necessary to the faithful discharge of their respective duties," &c.

On the 29th May, 1830, "an act for the appointment of a Solicitor of the Treasury" created the said office, "with all and singular the powers and duties which are [by law of the 15th May, 1820] vested in the Agent of the Treasury, together with so much of the duties heretofore belonging to office of Commissioner of the Revenue as relates to the superintendence of the collection of outstanding direct taxes and internal duties," &c.

On the 2d July, 1836, "an act to change the organization of the Post Office Department, and to provide more effectually for the settlement of the accounts thereof," provided and established the office of a Sixth Auditor, in these words: "There shall be appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate, an Auditor of the Treasury for the Post Office Department, whose duty it shall be to receive all accounts arising in the said Department, or relative thereto, to audit and settle the same, and certify the balances to the Postmaster General," &c. For further particulars of which, see the appropriate chapter, sequel.

As to the act of the 20th April, 1836, "to carry into effect" the two treaties with the Chickasaw Indians, of the 20th October, 1832, and 24th May, 1834, although it does not institue an agency for the Treasury Department adverse to, or conflicting with, the established routine of Treasury organization and operations, yet, the agency itself is an anomaly; and in that sense requires to be noted under this general head of organization, which it might seem to affect, more than a mere anomalous agency can do. The conditions of the "CESSION" of the Chickasaw lands prescribed by the 1st, 2d, and 3d articles of the Treaty of 1832, are not only peculiar to that Treaty, as a departure from the usage of all "treaties of cession," by which Indian lands (as well as the lands formerly of France and Spain in Louisiana and Florida) are wont to become the absolute property of the United States, but, in order to execute those conditions, they call for an act of Congress requiring the Secretary (under the direction of the President) to establish a specific and isolated system of accounting in the several Bureaus on which it devolves (though corresponding in all its parts with that practised in the like operations proper to the government.) The consideration and conditions of the cession of the Chickasaw lands east of the Mississippi, preparatory to their removal beyond that river, being chiefly these, viz: First, that the United States shall cause the whole country thus ceded to be surveyed, as the public lands of the United States are surveyed, &c.; Secondly, that those lands shall be offered for sale in the same manner, and on the same terms, as other public lands are, &c.; Thirdly, that as a full compensation to the Chickasaw nation for the country thus ceded, the United States agree to pay over to them, all the money arising from the sale of the lands, from time to time, after deducting the costs, &c.-it follows, that were the like conditions generally adopted in the numerous other treaties of cession of Indian lands, they would ultimately convert the whole Land Office into an agency for the disposal of the public (or Indian) lands on Indian account, attended with a corresponding extension of the operations of the cooperating Bureaus: whereas, the consideration for which other cessions of lands are generally made, is, the agreement of the United States to pay, in so many instalments, a specific sum, without any contingencies of surveys and sales, for the account and benefit of the party making the cession, but at once transfering (with the exception of partial "reservations") the absolute property therein to the United States. For the different Bureaus to which the execution of these unique conditions of the Chickasaw Treaty, see the items marked thus* in the subjoined "Tabular Organization." There are other anomalies (perhaps unavoidably incident to the Financial System) which apply to the Secretary's office proper, and to the different Bureaus of the Department, which are noticed in their proper places in the appropriate chapters of each.

TO THE ORGANIZATION AND

KEY

FUNCTIONS OF THE TREASURY OR FINANCIAL

DEPARTMENT, WITH ITS SIX SUBORDINATE FISCAL PROVINCES.

[THIS Key displays the outlines of the Organization and Functions of the Treasury or Financial Department, with its six subordinate Fiscal Provinces, which, in the aggregate, embody and elucidate the elementary principles on which the immense and complicated machinery of National Finance is based, and its operations are conducted. This Key also shows, summarily, the occasional interferences of those Provinces with each other, or the fusion of portions of them together, whether by legislation or otherwise, notwithstanding the great desideratum to preserve sacred their distinctness from one another, by maintaining the limits of each Province inviolate, whether against their trespassing or being trespassed upon. For though it be apparent that each Province is susceptible of subdivision or distribution into auxiliary hands, to meet all the exigencies of increasing details in each, yet no two portions of separate Provinces should be mixed up or united in the same officer; nor should the Provinces of the Treasury trespass on those of any other Department, or any of those trespass on the Provinces of the Treasury. ]

THE FINANCIAL DEPARTMENT.

The Functions of the Treasury or Financial Department, proper, are: The DEVISING the means and the mode of acquiring or creating Revenue, for the information of Congress; and the ORDERING the Collection, the Deposite, the Transfer, the Safe-Keeping, and the Disbursement of the Revenue; and the DIRECTING the Auditing and Settling the accounts thereof, respectively; including the incidental Instructions, Regulations, and Forms, requisite to insure uniformity, accuracy, and despatch, in the execution of the same, according to law.

These Functions necessarily appertain to, or are under the superintendence and direction of the Head of the Department, the Secretary of the Treasury: that is to say, in DEVISING the means and mode of acquiring or creating Revenue, and in ORDERING the deposites, the transfers, and the disbursements thereof, the Secretary has little or no legally responsible participants or auxiliaries, except so far as these measures may be based on the statistics of productive and commercial resources touching the former, and on the returns, the requisitions, and other information justifying the latter; but in ORDERING the collection of the Revenue, and the receiving into, and the disbursing the same from the Treasury; and in DIRECTING the auditing and settling the accounts thereof, respectively; and in the collecting and registering the Statistics, special and miscellaneous, of commercial, manufacturing, and agricultural operations; and in the custody of the archives of the Department-he has, by provisions of law, the aid of a corps of Bureau officers under his superintendence and direction-the functions of which auxiliaries naturally form, or resolve themselves into six subordinate Provinces.*

PROVINCE I.

The First Province is, That of ORDERING the collection of the Revenue, from whatever sources derived; including the incidental Instructions, Regulations, and Forms, requisite to secure uniformity, accuracy, and despatch, in the same, by subordinate officers officiating therein.

The execution of this Province is not confined to a single supervising Bureau officer of the Treasury Department; but is participated in by several of them, and by officers of other Departments, viz: 1st, by the First Comptroller, acting, as it were, in virtue of Commissioner of the Revenue, derived from the Customs; 2d, by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, acting also in virtue of Commissioner of the Revenue, derived from Land sales; 3d, by the Solicitor of the Treasury, acting in virtue of Attorney General, for ordering the prosecution of claims by suit; 4th, by the Cominissioner of Patents, (though not an officer of the Treasury,) acting in virtue of Commissioner of the Revenue, derived from Patent Fees; 5th, by the Postmaster General, acting in virtue of Commissioner of the Revenue, derived from Postage Duties, made by law to be an independent branch of Revenue. There being at present no Direct Taxes and Internal Revenue, the office proper of Commissioner of the Revenue for those branches has been abolished.

For particulars, see the following Table of the "Organization of the Treasury Department," and more especially examine the subsequent series of chapters and tables, which exhibit the details of that organization, as they respectively appertain to the several Provinces, and their subdivisions.

PROVINCE II.

The Second Province is, That of RECEIVING into the Treasury, Safe-KEEPING, and DISBURSING the Revenue, derived from whatever sources, and applied by appropriation to whatever purposes, under warrants of the Secretary of the Treasury-except as to the Revenue from Postage Duties.

The execution of this Province (the three parts of which are constructively inseparable) appertains necessarily to the Treasurer of the United States. But, in regard to the Receiving and Safe-Keeping of the Revenue, that burden is, in fact, transferred chiefly to Depositaries, (now Assistant Treasurers by the recent Sub-Treasury act,) under the order of the Secretary of the Treasury, (having reference to the General Revenue,) directing the same to be placed to the credit of the Treasurer. And in regard to the Disbursements thereof by the Treasurer, under warrants of the Secretary, this also applies to the General Revenue, (distinguished from the Revenue from Postage Duties, which are collected under the direction, and disbursed by the warrants (3) or drafts of the Postmaster General.) But of Disbursements in detail, of the General Revenue, the greater portion is done at second hand, by pay agents of all the Departments, to whom advances are generally made by the Treasurer under warrants of the Secretary of the Treasury, in pursuance of requisitions addressed to him by officers or heads of Departments authorized to make such requisitions; and said agents, being held responsible for the fidelity of their several agencies, are liable to proscecution by the Treasury Department, through the Solicitor, for any default.

PROVINCE III.

The Third Province is, That of AUDITING or Adjusting and Settling the Accounts of the Receipts and Disbursements of the Revenue, from whatever sources derived, and on whatever account expended, rendered at stated periods, by Receiving and Disbursing officers-including those of the Post Office Department.

The execution of this Province is distributed among six Auditors of the Treasury, viz: the First Auditor settles the accounts of Receipts and Disbursements of Collectors of the Customs, and of the disbursements in detail by the Treasurer, and a great number of pay agents of the Treasury Department, for the Civil expenses of the government. The Second and Third Auditors settle the accounts of disbursements by pay agents of the War Department, for the Army, including Pensions, and the expenditures of the Indian Department. The Fourth Auditor settles the Accounts of Disbursements by pay agents of the Navy Department, for the current expenses, and increase of the Navy. The Fifth Auditor settles the accounts of disbursements for the Diplomatic Corps, &c., and for the Light-House establishment, &c. The Sixth Auditor, styled the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post Office Department, settles the accounts of receipts and disbursements of the Post Office establishment. Also, the Commissioner of the General Land Office, in virtue of Auditor, settles the accounts of the receipts and disbursements of Receivers, Registers, and Surveyors General. (For the details of all which accounting and auditing, see the respective Chapters and Tables of "SEQUEL."

PROVINCE IV.

The Fourth Province is, That of REVISION, or of CONTROLLING and CHECKING, in various appropriate modes, the official actions, to a certain extent, had and done under the three foregoing Provinces.

The execution of this Province is distributed, in different respects and in different degrees, between the First and Second Comptrollers, and the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post Office Departinent, viz: The First Comptroller examines and countersigns warrants of the Secretary of the Treasury, and revises all accounts audited and settled by the First and Fifth Auditors, and the Commissioner of the Land Office; and has final jurisdiction only in cases of appeal from the settlements of accounts by the Sixth Auditor. The Second Comptroller examines and countersigns the requisitions of the Secretary of War, and the Secretary of the Navy, and revises all accounts audited and settled by the Second, Third, and Fourth Auditors. The Sixth Auditor, styled Auditor of the Treasury for the Post Office Department, (in virtue of Comptroller,) examines and countersigns the warrants of the Postmaster General, and makes final settlement of the accounts he audits, without revision of either Comptroller, except in cases of appeal to the First Comptroller. (For details and additional particu lars, see the respective Chapters and Tables of the "SEQUEL."

PROVINCE V.

The Fifth Province is, That of the REGISTRY of STATISTICS, consisting of four classes, viz: 1. The elementary statistics of the Property, Prosperity, and Thrift of the country, embracing the statistics of real and personal property-the statistics of Agriculture and Manufactures in all their various branches-the statistics of Commerce and Navigation, or Imports, Exports, and Tonnage also the statistics of Currency and Exchanges

(3) These disbursements by warrants of the Postmaster General on the Treasurer as his agent, are merely nominal or constructive, as the disbursements of the Post Office Revenue are, for the most part, made in detail by Postmasters under the drafts of the Postmaster General, without ever being deposited to the credit of the Treasurer.

together with other miscellaneous matters appertaining to the thrift, the resources, and the ultimate Revenue of the country. 2. The statistics of the Revenue Receipts from the Customs, Direct Taxes, and Internal Duties, Postage Duties, sales of Public Lands, and various other sources of Revenue. 3. The statistics of Expenditures on the various objects and institutions of the Government in pursuance of appropriations by law. 4. The supplementary statistics of Loans, certificates of Stock, Treasury Notes, Scrip, and other evidences of Public Debt, issued to supply deficiency of Revenue.

The execution of this Province properly appertains to the Register of the Treasury. But certain portions of it are distributed among other Bureaus, however contrary to rules of analogy, viz: a considerable part of the elementary statistics of the products of labor out of which Revenue may be derived, has for several years past been confided to the charge of the Commissioner of Patents under the direction of the Department of State, and temporaily participated in by a Sub-Bureau of statistics under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, but recently abolished. That portion which relates to Postage Duties, levied on the transportation of mail matter, is in charge of the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post Office Department, except a very brief summary of it made by the Register.

tire subject of statistics will ever be concentrated in the Register's office, as properly constituting the great mirror of the Fiscal Department, or be further subdivided and distributed into the hands of adjunct or auxiliary Bureaus, would be difficult to conjecture, though the latter may be the most probable, seeing that the spirit of the times is for multiplying the subdivisions of the different Provinces of the Treasury Department among superfluous auxiliary Bureaus.

PROVINCE VI.

The Sixth Province is, That of ARCHIVES, for the concentration, the custody, and the preservation of the Files of the various results of the foregoing Provinces, and all other Documents of the Treasury Department.

This Province is as yet but very imperfectly formed. So far as it has been organized, the Register of the Treasury is the custodian of it. But most of the Bureaus are the custodians of their own files and documents; and, so far as relates to the Files of the Accounts of disbursements of the War and Navy Departments, audited and settled by the Second, Third, and Fourth Auditors, and revised by the Second Comptroller, the anomaly has been introduced by the act of 3d March, 1817, sec. 5, to entrust those Auditors with the keeping of the Files of their own settlements! And a still greater anomaly has been introduced, indirectly, into the Organization of the Treasury Department, by the Post Office act of 2d July, 1836, which not only makes the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post Office Department the custodian of the Files of receipts and disbursements audited and settled by himself, but concentrates in that officer the charge of a considerable portion of all the Provinces here sketched out, so far as they are applicable to the fiscal transactions of the Post Office Department.

[ The following note refers to the subjoined tables, and particularly the last.]

(4) The details of the existing exceptions to this uniform routine of the Secretary's official action, would be too prolix for a note here, and must therefore be reserved for another occasion; as also must the particulars of the distribution of the functions of the Fourth Province, and the details of the peculiar functions of each Province, as contemplated by this 2d Theorem, be omitted here; though, to any one who is conversant with the Treasury operations, each would be perfectly comprehensible, upon a careful review of the whole of the foregoing analytical exposé. It may be questioned, however, whether any benefit would result from that portion of this distribution which relates to the examining and countersigning of Warrants, Requisitions, Drafts, and all other treasury issues and government securities, as these functions evidently constitute a very prominent feature of the theory of checks and balances, and personate nearly the whole of the practical operations of that theory. Contradistinguished from that portion of the proposed distribution which assigns to Auditors General the supervision and approval of accounts and claims adjusted by the different Auditors, though evidently in some sense a portion of the theory of checks and balances, as well as the examining and countersigning of treasury issues, the latter, perhaps, ought not to bo blended with the former, or any other class of functions, but may be more properly retained, as constituting, exclusively, the FOURTH PROVINCE. In this connection it is proper, also, to remark, that that function of Auditors acting in virtue of Commissioners of Claims, as distinguished from the auditing of the accounts of disbursing agents, and accounts for salaries and other compensations of officers of the government, has been permitted, in the following Tables, to retain its connection with the Province of Auditing, instead of being assigned to a separate Province; because, whilst this continues to be an executive function, the general affinity of those claims to the matters of disbursing agents' accounts, and account for salaries and other compensations of officers and persons employed by the Government would make it a very questionable policy to separate them by assigning them to distinct Provinces; and, because, so soon as the adjudication of claims shall be separated from the settlement of accounts, properly so called, by a law establishing a Board of Commissioners, their chancery jurisdiction will constitute them a judicial tribunal, instead of an executive bureau-a chancery court, in fact, which is greatly wanted, not only for the relief of the executive bureaus, but of both houses of Congress, from the great mass of claims that are continually infesting those bodies; which, being frequently decided favorably in one and rejected in the other, cost more for reiterated hearing and discussion than they are worth.