Captain Mullan, then a lieutenant in the United States Navy off the coast of Chile, was sent by Commander J. A. Howell, of the Navy, then in command of the U. S. S. Adams, to visit the headquarters of the Chilean army and request that he be permitted to accompany the staff of the Army during the operations near Lima. The request was granted by the Chilean Government, and Lieutenant Mullan observed the operations of the Chilean army during two or three important battles.

On the 14th of October, 1885, the minister of war of the Chilean Government addressed a letter to W. R. Roberts, then representing the United States Government near the Government of Chile, conveying to him a medal for Captain Mullan, which the minister of war says is intended in the character of simply a memento, and not as a military recompense, etc.

From the whole case it appears that Captain Mullan was detailed by authority of our own Government to visit and remain for the time at the headquarters of the Chilean army to observe its military operations. In that capacity he had no right to render any service to the Chilean Government or to take any part whatever in the military operations then being conducted. He was simply there, by the courtesy of that Government, to observe its military operations. It is not pretended that he rendered any service to the Chilean Government or that he did anything to the detriment of the Peruvian Government, and it seems that the medal is intended simply as a memento of what he saw at the battles which were fought while he was at the headquarters of the Chilean army.

While your committee are of the opinion that Congress should authorize the acceptance by American officers of medals or decorations or other presents, where they were in condition properly to render and did render important services to a foreign government, or perform acts of gallantry or humanity which in the opinion of the foreign government entitled them to marked consideration, your committee think that this practice is carried too far, and that Congress should not as a matter of course, without regard to the merits of the case, pass an act authorizing every officer of the United States to whom a decoration or medal may be tendered by a foreign government to accept.

In this case your committee do not see from an examination of the papers that any important service was rendered to the Chilean Government or any act of humanity performed which would entitle Captain Mullan to any special consideration at the hands of the Government of Chile. They are therefore of the opinion that no act of Congress should be passed authorizing the acceptance of the medal above referred to.

March 3, 1886.

[Senate Report No. 187.]

Mr. Brown, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, submitted the following report:

This is an application made to the State Department by Mr. E. J. Smithers, chargé d'affaires ad interim at Perkin, informing the State Department that Li Hung Chang, viceroy of China, has informed him that His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of China has conferred upon

Lieut. D. Pratt Mannix, of the United States Marine Corps, the decoration of the third class of the Double Dragon, on account of distinguished services rendered by him to China as torpedo instructor. The viceroy states that he displayed the utmost ability, and that all the soldiers under his tuition have become proficient, which has been a service of great satisfaction to the viceroy.

As this was a service rendered the Emperor of China by a citizen of the United States, which was eminently satisfactory to His Majesty, and as the Secretary of State of the United States joins in the recommendation that he be permitted to accept the decoration tendered by the Emperor, your committee report the accompanying joint resolution and recommend that it do pass.

March 17, 1886.

[Senate Report No. 237.]

Mr. Frye, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, submitted the following report:

The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the application of Augustus J. Cassard to be permitted to accept a gold medal conferred on him by the Government of France, submit the following report:

An examination of the facts in this case, as appears from the communications of the Secretary of State, shows that for eight months prior to February, 1881, Mr. Cassard, our consul at Tampico, rendered valuable services to the French Government by taking charge of its consular archives and interests, there being during that period no French consul in that district. For this service Mr. Cassard could receive no compensation, and therefore the French Government desired to present a medal as a mark of its appreciation therefor. A gold medal has been prepared by the French Government and forwarded through the proper diplomatic channels, but as it can not be delivered to or accepted by Mr. Cassard without the permission of Congress, your committee present the joint resolution accompanying this report and recommend its passage.

June 5, 1886.

[Senate Report No. 1280.]

Mr. Sherman, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, submitted the following report:

The Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the message of the President relating to the acceptance and inauguration of the colossal statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, having considered the same, beg leave to report herewith an amendment intended to be proposed to the bill making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government, providing for an appropriation of $106,100, to be used as recommended in the message of the President cited, which they ask may be referred to the Committee on Appropriations, with accompanying documents.

[Message from the President of the United States, relating to the acceptance and inauguration of the colossal statue of Liberty Enlightening the World.]

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

By a joint resolution of Congress approved March 3, 1877, the President was authorized and directed to accept the colossal statue of Liberty Enlightening the World when presented by the citizens of the French Republic, and to designate and set apart for the erection thereof a suitable site upon either Governors or Bedloes Island, in the harbor of New York, and upon the completion thereof to cause the statue "to be inaugurated with such ceremonies as will serve to testify the gratitude of our people for this expressive and felicitous memorial of the sympathy of the citizens of our sister Republic."

The President was further thereby "authorized to cause suitable regulations to be made for its future maintenance as a beacon, and for the permanent care and preservation thereof as a monument of art and the continued good will of the great nation which aided us in our struggle for freedom."

Under the authority of this resolution, on the 4th day of July, 1884, the minister of the United States to the French Republic, by direction of the President of the United States, accepted the statue and received a deed of presentation from the Franco-American Union, which is now preserved in the archives of the Department of State.

I now transmit to Congress a letter to the Secretary of State from Joseph W. Drexel, esq., chairman of the executive committee of "the American committee on the pedestal of the great statue of Liberty Enlightening the World,'" dated the 27th of April, 1886, suggesting the propriety of the further execution by the President of the joint resolution referred to, by prescribing the ceremonies of inauguration to be observed upon the complete erection of the statue upon its site on Bedloes Island, in the harbor of New York.

Thursday, the 3d of September, being the anniversary of the signing of the treaty of peace at Paris by which the Independence of these United States was recognized and secured, has been suggested by this committee, under whose auspices and agency the pedestal for the statue has been constructed, as an appropriate day for the ceremonies of inauguration.

The international character which has been impressed upon this work by the joint resolution of 1877 makes it incumbent upon Congress to provide means to carry their resolution into effect. Therefore I recommend the appropriation of such sum of money as in the judgment of Congress shall be deemed adequate and proper to defray the cost of the inauguration of this statue.

I have been informed by the committee that certain expenses have been incurred in the care and custody of the statue since it was deposited on Bedloes Island, and the phraseology of the joint resolution providing for "the permanent care and preservation thereof as a monument of art” would seem to include the payment by the United States of the expense so incurred since the reception of the statue in this country.

The action of the French Government and people in relation to the presentation of this statue to the United States will, I hope, meet with hearty and responsive action upon the part of Congress, in which the Executive will be most happy to cooperate.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, May 11, 1886.

GROVER CLEveland.

To the President:

I transmit to you herewith a letter dated April 27, 1886, addressed to this Department by Joseph W. Drexel, esq., chairman of the executive committee of "the American committee on the pedestal of the great statue of Liberty Enlightening the World.' Mr. Drexel's letter, after referring to the joint resolution of Congress approved March 3, 1877, in accordance with which the statue was accepted by this Government, suggests the propriety of taking measures for its proper inauguration upon its completion, and asks for the payment of certain expenses incurred in taking care of the statue.

I recommend that the subject be submitted to Congress for its consideration. Respectfully submitted.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

T. F. BAYARD.

Washington, May 7, 1886.

NEW YORK, April 27, 1886.

DEAR SIR: I am instructed by the executive committee of the American committee on the pedestal of the great statue of Liberty Enlightening the World" to lay before you an account of the progress and present condition of their enterprise, together with a suggestion of the duties devolving upon the Government of the United States under the existing circumstances.

In order, however, that you may clearly understand the subject, it may be well to recall its history.

You will doubtless remember that during the year 1875, when the people of the United States were making preparations for the celebration, in 1876, of the hundredth anniversary of their national independence, the people of the sister Republic of France desired to give some token of their sympathy in the occasion. As their ancestors had been in alliance with our fathers in the great Revolutionary struggle which ended in the establishment of our independence, it was natural and appropriate that they should desire to take part in its centennial commemoration. A committee was accordingly formed, called the "Union FrancoAméricaine de France," to devise the modes in which they could best give expression to their feelings. Among the members of this committee were many of the most eminent citizens of France, including Oscar de Lafayette, the Marquis de Noailles, the Marquis de Rochambeau, Count de Tocqueville, Cornelius De Witt, Paul de Rémusat. Edward Laboulaye, and Henri Martin; some of them descendants of the heroes who helped us in the times that tried men's souls," and others distinguished for their lifelong devotion to republican principles. It was decided by the Union to present to the people of this country a colossal statue of “Liberty Enlightening the World," of which the models had just been made by an eminent French artist, M. Félix Bartholdi. In their address to the people of France, soliciting funds for the construction of this statue, the committee said:

"Our design is to raise a monument, in remembrance of a glorious anniversary, which shall be unequaled in its kind. We propose the erection of it in the harbor of the metropolitan city of New York, on an island belonging to the United States of the American Union, and in face of Long Island, where some of the most memorable battles of independence were fought. This gigantic statue, whose frame on the horizon will be the good cities of New York, Brooklyn, and Jersey City, will rise from the bosom of the waves, and on the threshold of a continent so full of new life, where vessels from all parts of the globe are constantly passing, represent the Goddess of Liberty as the enlightener of the world."

The money for this purpose was raised by voluntary subscription from all classes of the people of France.

The citizens of New York, whose harbor had been designated as the proper site for this magnificent monument, promptly responded to the movement abroad, and at a meeting held in 1877 appointed a committee, of which Mr. William M. Evarts was chosen chairman, Mr. H. F. Spaulding treasurer, and Mr. Richard Butler secretary, to receive the noble gift, to provide a proper pedestal for the statue, and to secure from the Congress of the nation whatever legislation might be necessary and appropriate. In pursuance of a special message of President Grant, the Congress, on the 22d of February, 1877, passed unanimously the following joint resolution:

JOINT RESOLUTION authorizing the President to designate and set apart a site for the colossal statue of Liberty Enlightening the World," and to provide for the permanent maintenance and preservation thereof.

Whereas the President has communicated to Congress the information that citizens of the French Republic propose to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of our independence by erecting at their own cost a colossal bronze statue of Liberty Enlightening the World," upon a pedestal of suitable proportions, to be built by private subscription upon one of the islands belonging to the United States in the harbor of New York: and

Whereas it is proper to provide for the care and preservation of this grand monument of art and of the abiding friendship of our ancient ally: Therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to accept the colossal statue of "Liberty Enlightening the World," when presented by citizens of the French Republic, and to designate and set apart for the erection therefor a suitable site upon either Governors or Bedloes Island, in the harbor of New York: and upon the completion thereof shall cause the same to be inaugurated with such ceremonies as will serve to testify the gratitude of our people for this expressive and felicitous memorial of the sympathy of the citizens of our sister Republic; and he is hereby authorized to cause suitable regulations to be made for its future maintenance as a beacon, and for the permanent care and preservation thereof as a monument of

art and of the continued good will of the great nation which aided us in our struggle for freedom."

In exercise of the power thus intrusted to him, President Hayes requested Gen. William T. Sherman to determine which of the two places mentioned in the resolution was best adapted to the purpose in view. General Sherman chose the island known as Bedloes Island, which was no longer needed for military uses, as a position admirably fitted for the statue, regarded either as an ornament or a beacon. That island was thereupon transferred by the War Department to the temporary occupation of the American committee, which proceeded immediately to divest it of the few useless buildings upon it and to prepare the ground for the foundation of the pedestal. Gen. Charles P. Stone, a military engineer of the highest qualifications and great experience, was chosen by the committee, on the recommendation of Generals Grant, Sherman, and others, as their responsible and active agent in the prosecution of the work of erecting the pedestal, which was found to be one of unexampled magnitude and difficulty. As the funds required were to be raised, according to the joint resolution, by voluntary subscription, the committee addressed their appeals to all parts of the Republic, and in the end succeeded in getting the amount of money which was necessary-over $311,000. The expenditures were increased considerably beyond the original estimates of the committee by the slowness with which the subscriptions came in, which necessitated prolongations and delays of labor, and by the unexpected outlays incurred in the reception and unloading of the vessels in which the great statue was borne across the seas. The statue was completed in 1884, and formally received by the United States minister, Hon. Levi P. Morton, in Paris, under the instructions of the State Department, and it was dispatched to the United States in vessels of the French Republic, which has always manifested the profoundest interest in the subject. The arrival of these vessels in the harbor of New York, in the month of June, 1885, was made the occasion of a brilliant aquatic display and civic festivities that were alike honorable to the givers and receivers of the munificent present, which has been well called a new wonder of the world.

The expenses of this reception were borne by the committee, aided by the municipal government and the Chamber of Commerce of the city of New York.

The executive committee are happy to report that this gigantic pedestal has been finished according to the designs of the distinguished architect, Mr. Richard M. Hunt, and that the only work remaining to be done is to raise the statue itself to its proper position. This work they hope to accomplish in the course of the coming summer, when the entire monument will be handed over to the possession and disposal of the Federal Government.

It will be seen by the joint resolution of 1877, cited above, that the President of the United States is authorized "to cause the said statue to be inaugurated with such ceremonies as will serve to testify the gratitude of our people for this expressive and felicitous memorial of the sympathy of the citizens of our sister Republic;" and the executive committee would therefore beg leave to suggest to the President, through you, his first minister, that the said ceremonies of inauguration might be observed with signal propriety on the 3d of Sep ember next, the hundredth anniversary of the signing of the treaty of peace at Paris, which consummated the glorious work begun in 1776. It is understood that at that time the French Government will be willing to participate in the event by a suitable representative delegation. As the occasion will require the expenditure of some money, I need hardly remind you that the appropriation of it must be made by the Congress now in session.

I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,

Hon. THOMAS F. BAYARD,

Secretary of State of the United States.

Jos. W. DREXEL, Chairman Executive Committee.

Hon. JOHN SHERMAN,

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, May 25, 1886.

Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Senate: SIR: In response to the inquiry contained in your communication of the 20th instant, I have the honor to transmit to you herewith a copy of a letter to this Department from the Secretary of War furnishing the information desired by your committee in relation to the probable expense of the inauguration of the statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, and to the cost of the completion of that work. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

JAS. D. PORTER,
Acting Secretary.