collisions with alien Indians.

The presence at the Yorktown celebration of representatives of the
French Republic and descendants of Lafayette and of his gallant
compatriots who were our allies in the Revolution has served to
strengthen the spirit of good will which has always existed between
the two nations.

You will be furnished with the proceedings of the Bimetallic Conference
held during the summer at the city of Paris. No accord was reached, but
a valuable interchange of views was had, and the conference will next
year be renewed.

At the Electrical Exhibition and Congress, also held at Paris, this
country was creditably represented by eminent specialists, who, in the
absence of an appropriation, generously lent their efficient aid at the
instance of the State Department. While our exhibitors in this almost
distinctively American field of achievement have won several valuable
awards, I recommend that Congress provide for the repayment of the
personal expenses incurred in the public interest by the honorary
commissioners and delegates.

No new questions respecting the status of our naturalized citizens
in Germany have arisen during the year, and the causes of complaint,
especially in Alsace and Lorraine, have practically ceased through
the liberal action of the Imperial Government in accepting our
often-expressed views on the subject. The application of the treaty of
1868 to the lately acquired Rhenish provinces has received very earnest
attention, and a definite and lasting agreement on this point is
confidently expected. The participation of the descendants of Baron von
Steuben in the Yorktown festivities, and their subsequent reception by
their American kinsmen, strikingly evinced the ties of good will which
unite the German people and our own.

Our intercourse with Spain has been friendly. An agreement concluded in
February last fixes a term for the labors of the Spanish and American
Claims Commission. The Spanish Government has been requested to pay the
late awards of that Commission, and will, it is believed, accede to the
request as promptly and courteously as on former occasions.

By recent legislation onerous fines have been imposed upon American
shipping in Spanish and colonial ports for slight irregularities in
manifests. One case of hardship is specially worthy of attention. The
bark _Masonic_, bound for Japan, entered Manila in distress, and is
there sought to be confiscated under Spanish reve