amounts drawn by requisitions on the Treasury in that year, and finally, the balances on the 31st December of that year, with the sums applicable to the "surplus fund," &c., specifically designated, as to each; prepared in pursuance of act of Congress, &c.

(D)-BOOKS AND FILES KEPT IN THE SECOND COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE. VI. Of Books appertaining to the Second Comptroller's Office, exclusive of the Books kept on Chickasaw account.

1. LEDGERS OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are Two of these books, one for the appropriations for the War Department, and one for the appropriations for the Navy Department; in each of which books a separate account is opened and kept with each of the numerous appropriations subject to be drawn and expended under the "requisitions" of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy on the Secretary of the Treasury.

2. REGISTERS OF REQUISITIONS. There are THREE of these books, one for the Second Auditor's office, one for the Third Auditor's office, and one for the Fourth Auditor's office; in which books are registered, respectively, all "requisitions" issued by the Secretaries of War and Navy on the Secretary of the Treasury for warrants on the Treasurer, of which the accounts of expenditure are settled by those several Auditors-showing the date of each "requisition," in whose favor drawn, for what purpose, the respective heads of appropriation, the separate sums under each head, and the total amount.

3. REGISTERS OF ACCOUNTS. There are also THREE of these books, one for the Second Auditor, one for the Third Auditor, and one for the Fourth Auditor; in which books are registered, respectively, the accounts examined and reported by each Auditor-showing the date of the Auditor's report, the No. of the account, (which Nos. are affixed to them in this office where the Comptroller's decision is made on each,) the names of the disbursing officer or claimant whose account is settled, the purpose for which the money is expended, by whom the account was examined in this office, when passed by the Comptroller, and the amount due to or from the United States.

4. RECONCILING STATEMENT BOOK. This book is applicable to accounts examined and reported by each of · the three Auditors-showing the items of difference between the balance declared on the official statement and report of an account, and that admitted, or claimed, on the account current of a disbursing officer. 5. DECISION BOOKS. There are two of these books, one for the War Department, and one for the Navy Department; in which books, respectively, are recorded the decisions of the Comptroller on all disputed claims in the War and Navy Departments, respectively.

6. STOPPAGES OF PAY BOOK. This book contains an abstract of all stoppages of pay ordered by the Comptroller showing the name of the officer against whose pay the stoppage is ordered, the date when it was directed, the rank of the officer, the amount ordered to be stopped, and the designation of the Auditor who reported the amount, with a column for remarks.

7. CONTRACT AND BOND BOOK. In this book, arranged alphabetically in reference to the names of the parties, are registered all contracts and bonds entered into by authority of the War and Navy Departments -showing the dates of the contracts (or bonds,) the names of the contractors (or obligors,) the articles contracted for (or amount of bond,) and the prices of the articles. The said contracts and bonds are filed in the Second Comptroller's office, within ninety days after they are made, under the provisions of the act.

8. REGISTER OF SUITS. In this book are registered all transcripts of accounts on balances from the books of this office, and transmitted to the Solicitor of the Treasury for suit-showing the date when the certified account and bond of a delinquent officer or agent was so transmitted, the name of the delinquent, his rank or agency, the balance due to the United States, and by what Auditor his account was reported, with a column for remarks.

9. PENSION BOOKS. In these books are entered the names of all persons who have been placed on the pension roll by the Commissioner of Pensions under various acts of Congress, whether naval or military pensioners, arranged under their proper and distinctive denominations respectively-showing their rank, rate of annual or monthly pension, and the evidence of payment, as derived from the quarterly accounts of the various pension agents.

VII. Of Books kept on Chickasaw Account.

1. REGISTER OF REQUISITIONS. This book contains a registry of all "requisitions" on the Chickasaw fund drawn by the Secretary of War on the Secretary of the Treasury, to meet the expenditures growing out of the wants and dues to the Chickasaw Indians, according to appropriations of the funds accruing under the Chickasaw treaty.

2. REGISTER OF REPAYMENTS. This book contains a registry of all requisitions on Indian agents, &c., to repay (or deposite balances) to Chickasaw account, and requisitions on the Secretary of the Treasury for his warrant and counter warrant, to adjust the credit and debit of said balances to the proper heads of appropriation on the books of the Treasury.

3. REGISTER OF ACCOUNTS. This book contains a registry of all accounts of agents growing out of their expenditures of the Chickasaw fund, as adjusted and reported to this office by the Second Auditor.

4. LEDGER OF CHICKASAW FUND. This book contains the posted accounts or statements of the Chickasaw fund-showing the condition of that fund, under the heads of receipts from land sales, and interest on investments of said funds in trust of the United States, on their account, and the expenditures of the same according to appropriations, and distributions or divisions of the fund, made in pursuance of treaty stipulations with the Chickasaw nation.

5. LETTER BOOK. This book contains the general correspondence on Chickasaw account-together with the semi-annual reports by the Comptroller to the Secretary of War (as trustee of the Indian tribes) of the receipts and expenditures of the Chickasaw fund.

CHAPTER VI.

FIRST AUDITOR OF THE TREASURY.

THE ORIGIN, FUNCTIONS, AND OPERATIONS, OF THE FIRST AUDITOR'S OFFICE.

Summary of the Laws relating thereto.

By the 5th section of the act of the 2d September, 1789, establishing the Treasury Department, the duties of the Auditor of the Treasury (created, with other officers, by the 1st section of that act) were defined in these few words, viz: "It shall be the duty of the Auditor to receive all PUBLIC ACCOUNTS, and after examination, to certify the balance, and transmit the accounts, with the vouchers and certificate, to the Comptroller, for his decision thereon: Provided, that if any person whose account shall be so audited, be dissatisfied therewith, he may, within six months, appeal to the Comptroller against such settlement." This privilege of appeal obviously contemplates the possibility of adducing further evidence on the part of the claimant, which might affect the Comptroller's decision already made in the regular course of his revision of the Auditor's first settlement, otherwise the appeal would be needless.

After the above, sundry provisions occur in other acts, which tended to lighten the increasing burdens of the Auditor, as well as to enlarge the authority of the Comptroller over his official action by expediting the settlements of accounts. In the first place, the settlement of the public accounts connected with the War Department, was taken off of his charge, by the act of the 8th May, 1792, "making alteration in the Treasury and War Departments," which created the office of "Accountant to the Department of War"-to which the "supplementary act of the 29th April, 1816, made an additional accountant." Also, the act of the 16th July, 1798, "to alter and amend the several acts for the establishment and regulation of the Treasury, War, and Navy Departments, created the office of "Accountant of the Navy"-thereby relieving the Auditor of the burden of settling those accounts. And the 2d section of the act of the 3d March, 1809, authorized the Comptroller of the Treasury, "in every case wherein he may be of opinion that further delay will be injurious to the United States, to direct the Auditor of the Treasury, and the Accountants of the War and Navy Departments, at any time, forthwith to audit and settle any particular account which the said officers may be, respectively, authorized to audit and settle, and to report such settlements for his revision and final decision."

By the act of the 3d March, 1817, "to provide for the prompt settlement of public accounts"-declaring that all claims or demands whatever, by the United States, or against them, and all accounts whatever, in which the United States are concerned, either as debtors or as creditors, shall be settled and adjusted in the Treasury Department"-the THREE ACCOUNTANTS of the War and Navy Departments were abolished, and THREE AUDITORS of the Treasury Department substituted in their places; but, in fact, making no other alteration in this respect, than to change the style of the officers, and transfer their offices from the authority of the Secretaries of War and Navy, to that of the Secretary of the Treasury, the same duties being continued to be performed, and the same persons appointed to perform them. Also, a fifth Auditor of the Treasury was created, by which the settlement of the public accounts connected with the Department of State, the General Post Office, and those arising out of Indian Affairs, were now likewise taken off of the accountability of the Auditor of the Treasury, as before constituted; and his title was at the same time changed to that of "First Auditor;" and his duties were again defined, in the 4th section of the act, thus: "That it shall be the duty of the First Auditor to receive all accounts accruing in the TREASURY DEPARTMENT, and, after examination, to certify the balances and transmit the accounts, with the vouchers and certificate, to the First Comptroller, for his decision thereon." And by the 12th section of the said act, he is empowered, in common with the other Auditors, "to administer oaths to witnesses, in any case in which he may deem it necessary in the due examination of accounts." And the said Auditor is, as before, subject to be directed by the First Comptroller, "to settle and report forthwith, any of said accounts for his final decision thereon, if further delay thereof be, in his opinion, prejudicial to the public interest."

Summary and Classification of Functions.

Before summing up the accounts actually received and audited by the First Auditor, it is proper to remark, that although that officer is required by the aforesaid act of 1817, to receive and audit all accounts accruing in

the Treasury Department, which would seem to be a limitation of his sphere of accounting to the accounts accruing in that department only, yet he continues, in practice, to receive and audit the accounts of salaries and contingent expenses of all the other departments, perhaps as a justifiable latitude of construction, there being no other provision made for auditing those accounts, (just as if the act had said he shall receive and audit all the accounts accruing in the civil department, except those assigned to the Fifth Auditor;) which practice, nevertheless, is attended with two or three exceptions, growing perhaps out of a like remissness of the law or official regul ations, in relation to certain incidental and contingent accounts of the Department of State, the Patent Office, and the General Post Office, the same being settled by the Fifth Auditor, without being specifically or generally assigned to him, and without any other assignable reason, instead of following the destination of the analogous accounts to the First Auditor. But the reason above conjectured why the great body of these accounts do go to the First Auditor, as well as why the whole of them should do so, seems to be further sustained by the fact, that, notwithstanding the Post Office act of 1836, re-organizing the department, which requires the Auditor of the Treasury for that department to receive and audit all accounts accruing in, or relative to the said department, the salary accounts for the Postinaster General, his assistants, and clerks, &c., still take their original course.

The First Auditor receives and audits accounts appertaining to the civil department, under these general descriptions, viz: 1st. Quarterly accounts current of revenue realized and expenses deducted, embracing impost duties, internal revenue, and direct taxes, mint account of coinage, and the accounts current of the Treasurer of the United States, showing the details of these, and the further accessions of revenue from loans, treasury notes, and from all other sources, and the deductions therefrom of quarterly and yearly expenditures, the respective balances whereof, severally, are carried to their next quarterly accounts. 2dly. Quarterly accounts current of advances to, and disbursements by DISBURSING AGENTS, under particular heads of appropriation, for the CIVIL LIST proper, embracing the legislative, executive, and judicial departments, territorial governments, and institutions at the seat of government or elsewhere, appertaining to the civil department, the respective balances whereof are carried to their next quarterly accounts: also, the salary accounts of certain officers, who are paid (incidentally but not necessarily without the intervention of a disbursing agent) directly from the Treasury, on the settlement of the Auditor, approved and certified by the First Comptroller to the Register of the Treasury, who certifies a copy to the Secretary of the Treasury for his warrant on the Treasurer to pay the same. 3dly. Quarterly accounts current of advances to, and disbursements by, DISBURSING AGENTS, under particular heads of appropriation, for the redemption of the PUBLIC DEBT proper, the respective balances whereof are carried to their next quarterly accounts: also, the accounts or claims of individuals, paid (incidentally but not necessarily without the intervention of a disbursing agent) directly from the Treasury, on the settlement thereof by the Auditor, approved and certified by the Comptroller to the Register, who certifies a copy to the Secretary of the Treasury for his warrant on the Treasurer to pay the same. *4thly. Quarterly accounts of collectors, as disbursing agents, under the authority of "indefinite" appropriations, presented in behalf of excess of duties deposited, in behalf of extra compensation to officers of the customs, in behalf of contractors and others connected with the marine hospital establishments, in behalf of contractors and others in connection with the light house establishments, and in behalf of the superintendent of the coast survey, for preparing standard weights and measures; which are paid severally under settlement of the Auditor, approved and certified by the Comptroller, to the Register, who certifies a copy, severally, to the Secretary of the Treasury for his warrant on the Treasurer to pay the same. 5thly. Quarterly accounts of the Commissioner of Patents, as disbursing agent in behalf of certain claimants to have two thirds of the fee paid upon making their application for a patent refunded to them on withdrawing the same, and certain patent fees deposited by mistake to the credit of the Treasurer-which repayments the Commissioner is placed in funds to make, quarterly, on settlement of the Auditor, approved and certified by the Comptroller to the Register, who certifies a copy to the Secretary of the Treasury for his warrant on the Treasurer to pay the same out of the Patent Office fund; also, claims of individuals to have refunded to them money they have paid for lands erroneously sold to them by the United States; which repayments are made to them severally under settlement of the Auditor, approved and certified by the Comptroller to the Register, who certifies a copy to the Secretary for his warrant on the Treasurer to pay. 6thly. The claims of individuals for relief under special acts of Congress, making appropriations therefor (definite or indefinite, but on principles of equity)-payments of which are made under settlement of the Auditor, approved and certified by the Comptroller to the Register, who certifies a copy to the Secretary of the Treasury for his warrant on the Treasurer to pay; also, claims of soldiers for their unsettled accounts against the War Department subsequent to 1790, and anterior to the 1st July, 1815, which are paid under settlement of the Third Auditor, approved and certified by the Second Comptroller, and then transmitted to the First Auditor for his examination and report, to be approved and certified by the First Comptroller to the Register, who certifies a copy to the Secretary for his warrant on the Treasurer to pay the same; also, claims of individuals, soldiers, militia, and others, for military services, and for property lost in the service of the United States, since the 18th June, 1812, which are paid under settlement of the Third Auditor, approved and certified by the Second Comptroller, and For the sake of distinction, the five remaining descriptions of accounts are regarded in the "Tables of Details,” as a quasi Public Debt.-See notes (45) and (16).

then transmitted to the First Auditor for his further examination, to be further approved and certified by the First Comptroller to the Register, who certifies a copy in each case to the Secretary for his warrant on the Treasurer to pay the same; also, claims of indemnity by individuals, designated as Spanish claimants under the treaty of cession of Florida of 1819, for certain losses sustained by the operations of the American army; which are paid in pursuance of adjudication by the district Judge of East Florida, approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, and referred by him to the First Auditor for his examination and report, to be approved and certified by the First Comptroller to the Register, who certifies a copy to the Secretary for his warrant on the Treasurer to pay the same. 7thly. The clainis of officers or individuals, for any transactions with, or services rendered to the government, under an appropriation "for objects not otherwise provided for," which claims are referred, by special direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, to the First Auditor, and are paid, on settlement of the Auditor, approved and certified by the Comptroller to the Register, who certifies a copy to the Secretary for his warrant on the Treasurer to pay the same. 8thly. Certain claims, or items, in the accounts of officers or individuals, for whatever objects the Comptroller may have decided (with or without the opinion of the Attorney General, or the instructions of the Secretary of the Treasury) to appertain to the revenue charge, or to an agent's current disbursements, but for which there may be no appropriation clearly defined, affording the pretext for bringing such cases before the Comptroller previous to their payment, and which the Comptroller thereupon has directed a collector to pay out of the revenue of the customs in his hands before making deposite, and to charge it to the revenue, in his quarterly account current, or has directed a disbursing agent to pay, and charge the same in his quarterly account, as the nature of the case may seem to indicate-in which accounts they make their first appearance before the Auditor, who may be thereby placed in the embarrassing position of reporting against such items and their vouchers, though, in this inverted order of accounting, they have received the initiative sanction of the Comptroller, who is naturally committed, by the preliminary action in his administrative capacity, to maintain a corresponding action in his accounting capacity, and set aside or overrule the authority of the Auditor, and thereby propagate, to an injurious extent, the alternative choice with disbursing officers, or claimants, to bring any number of cases or items, without limitation, before the Comptroller in his administrative capacity in the first instance, instead of giving them the usual routine of accounting through the Auditor. The First Auditor also makes reports, and keeps the proper books of record, &c., all of which, and the foregoing summary, are minutely set forth in the subjoined Tables of Details."

For the purpose of settling these ACCOUNTS and CLAIMS, on the principles of analogy that associate or distinguish them in groups, and for conducting the official correspondence, making reports, keeping the books of record, and performing any other clerical duties incident thereto, they seem to indicate an arrangement or distribution into four sub-bureaus, divisions, classes, or branches of business, under the immediate superintendence of a responsible head of division, with the clerical aid requisite to each, though very onerous, from the wide field of accounting necessarily attached to each division, as follows, viz: (45)

1. BUREAU RELATING TO THE ACCOUNTS OF REVENUE FROM CUSTOMS, &C.-Comprising accounts current of receipts and disbursements by collectors of the customs previous to depositing the nett residuum of revenue to the credit of the Treasurer; receipts and disbursements by collectors of outstanding balances of old internal revenue; proceeds and expenses of coinage by the mint and branches; and the detailed and aggregate receipts and disbursements by the Treasurer of the United States, on account of the General Treasurytogether with the conducting the official correspondence, making reports, keeping the books of record, and performing other clerical duties incident to each. See Tables of Details, (A) Revenue Accounts, (a) I; (b) II. Ill; (c) IV; (b) V: (C) Reports, IX. 1: (D) Books, I. 1. 2. 3.

2. BUREAU RELATING TO THE ACCOUNTS OF DISBURSING AGENTS FOR THE CIVIL DEPARTMENTS-For settling the quarterly accounts current of advances to, and disbursements by disbursing agents, or otherwise, of amounts ascertained, by specific appropriations, FOR THE CIVIL LIST PROPER-embracing the legislative, executive, and judicial departments, the territorial governments, and the civil institutions at the seat of government; including the salary accounts of certain civil officers paid directly from the (45) These four bureaus, or classes of functions, might have been subdivided into several sections each, after the manner of those suggested in the classification of the functions of the Register's office, chapter XIII, as follows, viz: "BUREAU 1, RELATING TO ACCOUNTS OF REVENUE, might be divided into six sections: 1st. On revenue from customs; 2d. On revenue from internal duties; 3d. On revenue from direct taxes; 4th. On revenue from the profits of coinage at the mint and branches; 5th. On revenue from miscellaneous sources; 6th. On the revenue receipts and disbursements of the Treasurer of the United States on account of the General Treasury.' BUREAU 2, RELATING TO EXPENDITURES FOR THE CIVIL DEPARTMENTS, might be divided into five sections: 1st. On expenditures for the legislative department; 2d. On expenditures for the executive departments; 3d. On expenditures for the judicial department; 4th. On expendi. tures for the territorial governments; 5th. On expenditures for the civil institutions at the seat of government, &c. BUREAU 3, relating TO EXPENDITURES IN REDEMPTION OF THE PUBLIC DEBT, may be divided into two sections: 1st. On expenditures for the redemption of certificates of stock, &c.; 2d. On expenditures for the redemption of treasury notes, &c. BUREAU 4, RELATING TO UNASCERTAINED CLAIMS, AS A QUASI PUBLIC DEBT, may be divided into a number of sections corresponding to the five different classes of those claims, which, however, are very fluctuating, as stated in the text, and therefore need no further specification of them here, than what has already been given in the above summary and classification of functions,' and more particularly in the 'Tables of Details,' under the head of quasi public debt"-making nineteen subdivisions in all, besides the four bureaus.