To such
objects of permanent improvement to the condition of the country, of
real addition to the wealth as well as to the comfort of the people by
whose authority and resources they have been effected, from three to
four millions of the annual income of the nation have, by laws enacted
at the three most recent sessions of Congress, been applied, without
intrenching upon the necessities of the Treasury, without adding a
dollar to the taxes or debts of the community, without suspending even
the steady and regular discharge of the debts contracted in former days,
which within the same three years have been diminished by the amount of
nearly $16,000,000.
The same observations are in a great degree applicable to the
appropriations made for fortifications upon the coasts and harbors of
the United States, for the maintenance of the Military Academy at West
Point, and for the various objects under the superintendence of the
Department of the Navy. The report from the Secretary of the Navy and
those from the subordinate branches of both the military departments
exhibit to Congress in minute detail the present condition of the public
establishments dependent upon them, the execution of the acts of
Congress relating to them, and the views of the officers engaged in the
several branches of the service concerning the improvements which may
tend to their perfection.
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