sible to collect. There should be a
penalty by imprisonment in such cases.

The separate organization of the Signal Service is urged by the
Secretary of War, and a full statement of the advantages of such
permanent organization is presented in the report of the Chief Signal
Officer. A detailed account of the useful work performed by the Signal
Corps and the Weather Bureau is also given in that report.

I ask attention to the statements of the Secretary of War regarding the
requisitions frequently made by the Indian Bureau upon the Subsistence
Department of the Army for the casual support of bands and tribes of
Indians whose appropriations are exhausted. The War Department should
not be left, by reason of inadequate provision for the Indian Bureau,
to contribute for the maintenance of Indians.

The report of the Chief of Engineers furnishes a detailed account of the
operations for the improvement of rivers and harbors.

I commend to your attention the suggestions contained in this report in
regard to the condition of our fortifications, especially our coast
defenses, and recommend an increase of the strength of the Engineer
Battalion, by which the efficiency of our torpedo system would be
improved.

I also call your attention to the remarks upon the improvement of the
South Pass of the Mississippi River, the proposed free bridge over the
Potomac River at Georgetown, the importance of completing at an early
day the north wing of the War Department building, and other
recommendations of the Secretary of War which appear in his report.

The actual expenditures of that Department for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1881, were $42,122,201.39. The appropriations for the year 1882
were $44,889,725.42. The estimates for 1883 are $44,541,276.91.

The report of the Secretary of the Navy exhibits the condition of
that branch of the service and presents valuable suggestions for its
improvement. I call your especial attention also to the appended report
of the Advisory Board which he convened to devise suitable measures for
increasing the efficiency of the Navy, and particularly to report as to
the character and number of vessels necessary to place it upon a footing
commensurate with the necessities of the Government.

I can not too strongly urge upon you my conviction that every
consideration of national safety, economy, and honor imperatively
demands a thorough rehabilitation of our Navy.

With a full appreciation of the