Illinois, appointed ad interim,

ART. V.- NAVY DEPARTMENT.

§ 1. Originally, by act of Congress, Sept. 15, 1789, the Navy Department was included with the War Department, and both branches were called the War Department. They were separated, however, April 30, 1789; when the navy division was established as a distinct department,

§ 2. The Navy Department was divided Aug. 21, 1842, at which time it was re-organized into five bureaus :

1. Bureau of navy-yards and docks.

2. Bureau of construction, equipment, and repair.

3. Bureau of provisions and clothing.

4. Bureau of ordnance and hydrography.

5. Bureau of medicine and surgery.

§ 3. Under the general direction of the President of the United States, the Secretary of the Navy has control of every thing connected with the naval establishment, and the execution of the laws relating to it. All instructions to the subordinate officers of the navy, the enlistment and discharge of seamen, and orders to all the different bureaus, are issued by authority of the Secretary of the Navy.

§ 4. The first officers of the different bureaus are styled the chiefs of the bureaus. As in the bureaus of other departments, there are a large number of clerks employed in these. The bureau of navy-yards and dock-yards has charge of these yards, and all wharves, buildings, and machinery belonging to them; and also of the naval asylum.

§ 5. The second bureau named has charge of the building and repairs of all vessels of the navy, and every thing connected with their outfit and completion. The third sees to the provisions, supplies, and clothing of the seamen; the fourth bureau superintends the ordnance and ordnance-stores, and attends to the purchase of all necessary naval equipments; and the fifth bureau attends to every thing relating to medical stores, the treatment of the sick and wounded, and the management of the hospitals.

§ 6. The following is a list of the names of the Secretaries of the Navy since its organization as a distinct department, with the dates of their appointments:

ART. VI.-POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT.

§ 1. The Post-office Department was established by act of Congress, Sept. 22, 1789. It is under the general direction of the Postmaster-General. For convenience, the business is distributed through several bureaus. The appointment office is in the care of the first Assistant Postmaster-General. To his bureau are referred all questions relating to the names, establishment, and discontinuance of post-offices, and the appointment and removal of postmasters. In offices where the salary of the postmaster is a thousand dollars a year or over, the appointments are made by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Instructions to postmasters, and the distribution of blanks and stationery for the use of the department, are from this bureau. branch has charge of all international postal affairs.

This

§ 2. The second Assistant Postmaster-General has charge of the contract-office. He lets the contracts for carrying the mail; directs in regard to the mode of conveyance, and the time of arrival and departure of the mails on each route; and advertises for bids for carrying the mails on all routes open to competition.

§ 3. The third Assistant Postmaster-General has the supervision of the financial interests and business of the department, except what comes more properly under the care of the auditor. Postagestamps and stamped envelopes are issued from this bureau. All quarterly returns from the post-offices throughout the United States are made to the third Assistant Postmaster-General. He also has charge of the dead-letter office.

§ 4. The bureau of the chief clerk attends to the reports of the arrivals and departures of the mails, noting all failures and delinquencies on the part of contractors, and prepares all such cases for the action of the Postmaster-General. This bureau provides the mail bags and the mail locks and keys.

The three Assistant Postmasters-General are appointed by the Postmaster-General. The following is a list of the PostmastersGeneral from the establishment of the department, with dates of appointment: