involved the title to the San Miguel del Bado land grant, including 315,000 acres of land in New Mexico. The court held that at the date of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo neither the settlers nor the town on the grant could have demanded the legal title to the land in question from the former Government, and the Court of Private Land Claims was not empowered to pass the title, and that it was for the political department to deal with the equitable rights involved. The court affirmed the decision of the Court of Private Land Claims in the case of the Chama Spanish land grant, Rio Arriba Land and Cattle Company vs. United States, involving title to 472,763 acres in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. The decision was favorable to the contention of the Government. These decisions are decisive of several cases still pending in the Court of Private Land Claims, and will save to the public domain hundreds of thousands of acres. high, with floors of white marble, each stack having a capacity for 800,000 volumes. The floor area of the library on the first story is 110,000 square feet. UNITED STATES, FINANCES OF THE. The receipts of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1897, were $20,911,759 in excess of those for the previous year, the increase in the revenues from customs alone being $16,532,375, due mainly to the increased importations of dutiable goods near the close of the year to avoid increased tariff rates under the bill then pending in Congress, and which became a law July 24, 1897. Nothwithstanding the increased revenues, there was a deficit made up from the cash in the Treasury of $18,052,455. The several items of receipts and expenditures for 1897 compared with like items for 1896 are shown below: SOURCES OF RECEIPT. In Dunlop vs. United States several important questions of evidence in connection with the offense of depositing in the mails a newspaper containing Internal revenue.. obscene and indecent matter were passed upon unfavorably to the accused, the publisher of the paper, and the definition of such matter was considered. Postal service. Sales of public land. Tax on circulation of national Repayment of interest on Pacific lands.. Fees, consular, letters patent, and Revenues, District of Columbia Premium on public debt. Grand total... ITEMS OF EXPENDITURE, Congress.. Postal service.. Deficiency in postal service.. The Congressional Library.—The new building for the library of Congress, authorized by the act of April 15, 1886. was completed and opened in 1897. It is 470 X 340 feet, built of white New Hampshire granite in the style of the Italian Renaissance, with four projecting corner pavilions and one in the center, these having ornate columns and capitals, and the main building window casings carved in high relief. In the keystones of 33 windows are carved human heads representing various race types. Colossal statues of Atlas are carved below the roof of the central pavilion, surmounted by a pediment with an emblematic group in granite and sculptured American eagles. Above the arches of the three entrance doors are spandrels representing "Art," "Science," and "Letters." There is a carved balustrade surmounting the whole building, and in the center a gilded dome, the apex of which is 195 feet above the ground, while the walls are 69 feet high. There are three stories, the lower one of rustic stone, the others of a smooth bush-hammered finish, with vermiculated ornamentation at the corners. The entrance has massive granite approaches and wide staircases with heavy balustrades. In the ornamental parterre in front is a large bronze fountain. The pumps, boilers, and machinery for heating the building are in an annex in the rear. The interior is decorated with sculptures by Frederick McMonnies, Augustus St. Gaudens, Philip Martiny, and others; and with paintings by E. H. Blashfield, Constructing public buildings, inGeorge W. Maynard, Walter Shirlaw, Kenyon Cox, W. L. Dodge, Robert Reid, and other American artists. The public reading-room is octagonal, with a diameter of 100 feet, the dome being supported by arches with massive pillars of Tennessee and Numidian marble, the arches intersected by an upper and lower arched gallery. The original plans for thebuilding were submitted by Smithmeyer and Pelz, and Mr. Smithmeyer was appointed architect. Before the building was begun Gen. Thomas L. Casey was placed in charge, with Bernard R. Green as superintendent of construction, while the limit of cost was increased from $4,000,000 to $6,300,000. The designs for the interior architecture and decoration were made by Edward Pearce Casey. The capacity of the library as now shelved is sufficient for 1,900,000 volumes, and there is room to store more than 4,000,000. Opening out of the central reading-room on each side are two iron book stacks made from Mr. Green's designs, each nine stories Foreign intercourse.. ment.... ment. Indians. Pensions cluding sites.. Bounty on sugar. Revenue-cutter service.. Engraving and printing revenue.... Total ordinary. Grand total... No new loans were issued during the year except for refunding 4-per-cent. certificates, but there was redeemed from the cash on hand of old matured loans $252,092, of which $6,192 was for fractional paper currency, of which there still remains outstanding $6,886,937, besides $8,375,934 estimated loss or destroyed, and struck from the debt statement in 1879. There was also a net increase in the ordinary payments during the year of $13,594,713, of which $5,086,908 was for an increase of the navy, $4,759,940 for increased bounty on sugar, and $1,849,206 for an increased deficiency in the postal service. Of the debt for which no reserve is required by law to be held there has been little change during the year except that the liability of the Treasury to the national bank redemption account was increased $13,336,376. Legal-tender notes to meet the entire amount of the liability in this account, whatever it may be, have been received by the Treasury, and if not still in its cash have been paid out in current disbursement, and any increase or decrease in the liability is of no special moment. The several items of debt without reserve for 1897 and 1896 are as below shown: that no marked change in the items of liabilities has taken place, except in Treasury notes and silver certificates, the cause of which change has already been explained. On Dec. 31, 1897, there were demand obligations against the Treasury of $861,391.370, to meet which the Treasury held an equiv alent in actual cash, The aggregate assets increased during the year $17,927,818, gold coin and bullion having considerably increased, also the balances held by national bank depositaries. The latter increase is owing to the temporary deposit in the banks of the proceeds arising from the reimbursement to the Government of the indebtedness of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, amounting in all to $58,448,223.75, but the transaction did not occur until after the close of the fiscal year, hence does not show on the statement of receipts and expenditures. Funded loan continued at 2 per cent.. Silver certificates. 387.925,504 370,883,504 $25,364,500 $25,364,500 Currency certificates (1872) . 44,555,000 50,830,000 Treasury notes (1890)... 106,348,280 119,816,280 Refunding certificates, 4 per Redemption national bank notes... cent.. Public disbursing officers. Any changes in the debt having a reserve dollar for dollar should have no special bearing upon the financial condition of the country. It will be seen, however, from the table herewith that during the fiscal year there was a decrease in the amount of Treasury notes outstanding of $13,468,000, and an increase in the amount of silver certificates of $17,042,000. The decrease mentioned is permanent, there being no authority for an increased issue of Treasury notes. The decrease in the amount of these notes has been brought about by coining the silver bullion bought with the notes into silver dollars, retiring the notes, and issuing in their place silver certificates, and also issuing such certificates on the dollars arising from the "profit on coinage" in the transaction. The original issue of the Treasury notes was $155,931,002, but through coining the bullion to pay for which they were issued at par with gold, and redeeming the notes in manner as stated, the amount has been reduced to $106,348,280, and the reduction is still going on, and in time, if not stopped, the entire issue of Treasury notes will have disappeared, silver certificates taking their place. National bank notes.. Balances in national bank depositaries Gold certificates Silver certificates Total....... 10,679,899 $861,391,370 $853,463,552 United States notes (green backs)... Currency certificates (1872) National bank notes.. 1896. $59,804,820 $51,874,460 4,157,490 8,043,010 3,739,010 59,865 2,816,640 29,900 $71,646,705 $58,878,490 $21,203,701 1,370,887 1,228,885 524,314 $7,500,822 1,805,032 2,005,705 129,082 $24,327,787 $11,440,641 superintendent at its head; introduced the checkbook system, to curtail the prevailing extravagance of cadets; reduced the expense of educating pupils to less than half the cost at the Woolwich Military Academy, in England; had the officer of the day dine with him, enabling him thereby to learn all that was taking place in camp or barracks; required cadets to obtain a permit from him for almost everything, even to a letter from the post office, thus maintaining such constant intercourse as enabled him to call every one by name, and to understand their characters and habits. The Academy of to-day is merely the development of that of 1833. Nothing has been added to the requirements for admission except geography and United States history. These, with reading, $407,653 writing, spelling, arithmetic, and grammar, complete the list. These requirements are so simple that hundreds of boys who would never dream of being able to enter college obtain appointments to the academy. 461,684 $609,819 374,690 $984,509 $96,959,001 $71,188,468 $869,337 UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY. The United States Military Academy is at West Point, Orange County, N. Y., on the Hudson river, 52 miles north of New York city. The eastern side of the Point is a nearly straight, precipitous shore, while the northern side, curving and forming a bay at its western extremity, has a comparatively gentle slope, and commands a view of the river. The academy is on a level terrace 160 feet above the water, flanked on the west by rocky heights; of these, the one on which stand the ruins of Fort Putnam is the nearest and most prominent. The principal buildings of the Academy are at the southern end of the terrace; the quarters of the officers and professors are on the west side and along the roads leading southward and westward. The Military Academy, established for the fundamental education of the officers of the army, is the foundation on which our whole military system rests. It is believed that George Washington first broached the subject as a desirable matter for national legislation prior to 1793. He proposed prompt action to Congress during that year. In his last message, issued in December, 1796, President Washington declared that "the desirableness of this institution has constantly increased with every new view I have taken of the subject." The act of Congress establishing the Academy was not signed until March 16, 1802. During the first ten years of its existence the Academy record was far from creditable; but this was proved to be largely due to negligence, mismanagement, and apathy on the part of the Federal authorities. Abuses became so flagrant that reorganization was ordered by an act of April 29, 1812. With the appointment of Brevet-Major Sylvanus Thayer, who was known afterward as the Great Superintendent" and "Father of the Military Academy," on July 28, 1817, came a change. He organized the cadets into a battalion of two companies, officered by members of their own body, with a colonel at its head and an adjutant and a sergeant major for his staff: appointed an officer of the army as commandant of cadets, responsible for their tactical instruction and soldierly discipline; transacted business with members of his command only at stated office hours; classified all cadets according to their proficiency in studies; divided classes into small sections for more thorough instruction; required weekly reports, showing the daily progress of students according to a scale of marks; directed more thorough recitations and a freer use of the blackboard; greatly improved the curriculum of studies, according to a well-digested programme; reorganized a proper academic board, with the The Academy aims at what no military institution has accomplished, to furnish our whole army with a body of well-educated officers, by instructing every pupil in all branches of scientific and military knowledge, regardless of the corps or arm to which he may be assigned. How far success has been met with in this endeavor to provide useful soldiers and creditable citizens for the republic is well told by Gen. George W. Cullom, in his "Biographical Register of the Graduates of the Military Academy": "West Point has filled every arm of the military service with talent, efficiency, and integrity; has materially aided in successfully conducting three great wars, extending our national domain and preserving the Union; has perpetually pushed the wild savage from our borders, and been the pioneer of advancing civilization; has constructed and armed our fortifications, improved our harbors, lakes, and rivers, defined our boundaries, surveyed and lighted our coasts, and explored the length and breadth of our land; has given to our militia and volunteers large numbers of valuable officers, and to our colleges able presidents and professors; has furnished distinguished civil engineers, who have bound our territory together with a network of railways and canals; has supplied valuable city, State, and Government functionaries; has improved our workshops and the cultivation of the soil; has added its mite to the countinghouse, the bar, and the pulpit; and, through the contributions and text-books of its graduates, has greatly elevated the scientific standard of most of the educational institutions throughout our country, and even extended its influence abroad." Gen. Winfield Scott, from observation and experience during the war with Mexico, thus expresses his views as to capability of West Point graduates in times of war: "I give it as my fixed opinion that, but for our graduated cadets, the war between the United States and Mexico might, and probably would, have lasted four or five years, with, in its first half, more defeats than victories falling to our share; whereas, in less than two campaigns we conquered a great country and a peace, without the loss of a single battle or skirmish." To this Gen. Michie, Professor of Philosophy in the Academy, adds his testimony: "The records of the civil war sufficiently attest that the graduates of West Point, in loyalty, integrity, and ability, were equal to the vast responsibilities so suddenly thrust upon them by that great uprising. I say loyalty with deliberate purpose; for, though the Southern-born graduates were cradled and reared in the belief of paramount allegiance to the State, yet 162, or nearly half of their number, remained true to the teachings of their alma mater, fighting |