of the works themselves. All of the records, books, maps, charts, etc., were, by Act of February 5, 1859, turned over to the Department of the Interior, and later to the Library of Congress, under whose supervision the business now is. Another of the earlier functions of the Department of State was the superintendence of the census enumeration, the first one being required, by Act of March 3, 1790, to be made by the several United States Marshals. The returns were filed with the Clerks of the Federal District Courts, and by them transmitted to the President, by whom, in turn, they were sent to Congress. They were then printed by order of Congress, under the supervision of the Secretary of State; and the Act of February 28, 1800, authorizing the second census, ordered the Clerks of the District Courts to send the returns direct to the Secretary of State, who was authorized to furnish the Marshals with necessary instructions. He was also authorized in 1810 to print the returns. His duties were thus supervisory and appellate. This system continued in vogue until 1849, when the business was turned over to the Department of the Interior, under the provisions of the act creating that Department. In the absence of any home department, the affairs of the Territories fell in the beginning under the supervision of the Secretary of State. When the Constitution was formed the Territory Northwest of the Ohio was the only one. Its government, which had been organized under the Articles of Confederation, was continued under the Constitution by the Act of August 7, 1789. The communications from the Territorial Governor intended for Congress were transmitted through the President, and the correspondence between the President and Governor was conducted through the Department of State. The Secretary of State was directed, by Act of May 8, 1792, to have the laws of the Territory printed, and to provide seals for the Territorial officers. As the Territory came, in course of time, to be divided into several separate governments, the labors of the Department of State necessarily increased. When the Department of the Interior was created in 1849, the business was transferred to its jurisdiction. Questions concerning the public lands, although intimately related to Territorial affairs, were, in the days immediately following the organization of the Government, under the supervision of the Treasury Department; but an exception must be noted in the famous "Yazoo claims case." Under Act of March 3, 1803, claims for the Yazoo lands were filed with the Secretary of State and recorded in books in his Department, the claimants paying at the rate of 122 cents per hundred words for the recording. By Act of March 31, 1814, the Secretaries of State and of the Treasury and the Attorney-General were constituted a Board of Commissioners to adjudge these claims, the releases, assignments, and powers to be depos ited in the office of the Secretary of State. All the papers are now a part of the Department of State archives. There have at various times been assigned to the Department of State duties of a lesser degree of importance which have either terminated absolutely or been transferred to other Departments. Among these, it will be sufficient to mention the biennial register, or "Blue Book," the issuance of which came under the Department's charge by a resolution of Congress of April 27, 1816, which required that there should be issued once in two years a correct list of all persons in the civil, military, and naval service of the Government of the United States. The resolution also specified to whom the volume was to be sent. The Department continued the regular publication of this volume until, by Act of February 20, 1861, it was placed under the charge of the Department of the Interior. Having disposed of the duties which are no longer under the Department of State, those |