thanksgiving for blessings we may unite prayers for the cessation of local and temporary sufferings.

I therefore recommend that on Thursday, the 27th day of November next, the people meet in their respective places of worship to make their acknowledgments to Almighty God for His bounties and His protection, and to offer to Him prayers for their continuance.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

[SEAL.]

Done at the city of Washington, this 14th day of October, A. D. 1873, and of the Independence of the United States the ninety-eighth.

By the President:

HAMILTON FISH, Secretary of State.

U. S. GRANT.

EXECUTIVE ORDERS.

WASHINGTON, March 14, 1873.

In consequence of the peculiar and confidential relations which from the nature of the service must exist and be maintained between the Department of State and its clerks, rules 2, 3, and 4 of the rules and regulations for the civil service promulgated by the President 19th of December, 1871, as amended by the Executive order 16th of April, 1872, shall in their application to that Department be modified as follows, namely:

Vacancies occurring in any grade of consulates or clerkships in the Department may be filled either by transfer from some other grade or service—clerical, consular, or diplomatic-under the Department of State, or by the appointment of some person who has previously served under the Department of State to its satisfaction, or by the appointment of some person who has made application to the Secretary of State, with proper certificates of character, responsibility, and capacity, in the manner provided for applications for consulates of which the lawful annual compensation is more than $1,000 and less than $3,000, and who has on examination been found qualified for the position.

U. S. GRANT.

[From the New-York Daily Tribune, May 10, 1873.]

WASHINGTON, May 9, 1873.

The President announces with deep regret the death of the Hon. Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the United States, who closed a life of long public service, in the city of New York, on the 7th instant, having filled

the offices of Senator of the United States, governor of Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury, and crowning a long career in the exalted position of Chief Justice of the United States. The President directs that the public offices in Washington be closed on Saturday, the roth instant, the day of his funeral, and that they be draped in mourning for the period of thirty days, and that the flags be displayed at half-mast on the public buildings and forts and on the national vessels on the day of the funeral, in honor of the memory of the illustrious dead.

By order of the President:

HAMILTON FISH,

Secretary of State.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington, D. C., May 21, 1873.

SIR: The President directs me to say that the several Departments of the Government will be closed on the 30th instant, in order to enable the employees of the Government to participate, in connection with the Grand Army of the Republic, in the decoration of the graves of the soldiers who fell during the rebellion.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

O. E. BABCOCK,

Secretary.

WASHINGTON, August 5, 1873.

The Civil Service Commission, at its session at Washington which terminated June 4, 1873, recommended certain further rules to be prescribed by the President for the government of the civil service of the United States. These rules as herewith published are approved, and their provisions will be enforced as rapidly as the proper arrangements can be made. U. S. GRANT.

By the President:

HAMILTON FISH,

Secretary of State.

FURTHER RULES FOR PROMOTING THE EFFICIENCY OF THE CIVIL SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES.

Rule 1.-It being essential to the public welfare to maintain in the Executive the exercise of the power of nomination and appointment vested by the Constitution, and thereby to secure that measure of independence and separate responsibility which is contemplated by that instrument; and it being needful, in making such nominations and appointments, that the appointing power should obtain and in the proper Department preserve the evidence of fitness in reference to which all such nominations and appointments should be made: Therefore recommendations concerning any nomination or appointment to office or place in the civil service can not * Addressed to the heads of the Executive Departments, etc.

be considered unless made in writing, signed by the person making them, setting forth the character of the person recommended and his qualifications for the office in reference to which the recommendation is made; nor, when the recommendation is by a person holding an office or station in or under the Government of the United States, can such written recommendation, except when made in response to a written request by the officer making the appointment, or in the discharge of an official duty imposed by the Constitution or the laws, be considered as entitled to any greater weight than if made by such person as a private individual. But this rule shall not apply to recommendations made by officers as to their own subordinates.

Rule 2.—While it is not the purpose of the rules and regulations prescribed for the government of the civil service either to restrict the power of removal or to extend the tenure of service, such power will not be exercised arbitrarily, and therefore applications must not be entertained by any authority having the duty of nomination or appointment for the removal of any person in the civil service, nor will any person be removed for the mere purpose of making a place for any other person.

Rule 3.-To prevent any misapprehension in the public mind in regard to the functions of the members of the Civil Service Commission and of the members of any board of examiners, it is declared not to be any part of the duty or authority of any such member to act upon, take part in, or in any way entertain any recommendation, application, or question concerning appointments or removals in respect of the civil service, otherwise than in the strict discharge of their respective duties as prescribed by the rules and regulations; and for the same purpose it is further declared that the functions of the members of said Commission as to the matters aforesaid extend only to the question of the proper rules and regulations to be made and to supervising their application, and that the functions of the examiners as to said matters extend only to preparing for, conducting, rating, and making reports concerning examinations required to be made under such rules and regulations.

Rule 4.-The grouping heretofore made for the Executive Departments at Washington is hereby modified by striking out the words "female clerks, copyists, and counters, at $900 a year," these places being below the grade of clerkships of class 1; and all applicants for such positions shall be examined in (1) penmanship, (2) copying, (3) elements of English grammar, chiefly orthography, and (4) fundamental rules of arithmetic, except that mere counters may be examined only in the fundamental rules of arithmetic and as to their facility in counting money; and those found competent by such examination shall be reported in the order of their excellence as eligible for appointment, and selections may be made by the appointing power, at discretion, from the list of those so reported, being at liberty to give preference to such as may be justly regarded as having the highest claims to public consideration by reason of loss of support or of property occasioned by the death or disability of any person in the defense of the Union in war or in other public service of the Government. And in the notices of the examination of females to fill vacancies among those last mentioned it shall be stated as follows: "That from among all those who shall pass a satisfactory examination the head of the Department will be at liberty to select such persons for the vacancies as may be justly regarded as having the highest claims to public consideration.”

Rule 5.-The notices to appear at any examinations other than those referred to in the fourth rule of this series, so far as practicable and necessary to prevent misapprehension, shall advise female applicants to whom they may be sent of any limitation which the law or the necessities of the public service impose upon such applicants entering the vacancies for which the examinations are to take place.

Rule 6.-That it shall be the duty of the respective boards of examiners, on the written request of heads of Departments, to hold examinations in anticipation of vacancies, as well as to fill vacancies, and to prepare lists showing the results of competition, so that when any such vacancy may happen there shall be those thus

shown to be eligible to nomination or appointment, from whom the proper selection shall be made according to the provisions of the rules and regulations relating to competitive examination; and examinations upon like request shall be held in reference to vacancies to be filled under the fourth rule of this series.

Rule 7.-Applicants for appointment as cashiers of collectors of customs, cashiers of assistant treasurers, cashiers of postmasters, superintendents of money-order divisions in post-offices, and other custodians of large sums of public money for whose fidelity another officer has given official bonds may be appointed at discretion; but this rule shall not apply to any appointment to a position grouped below the grade of assistant teller.

Rule 8.-In cases of defalcation or embezzlement of public money, or other emergency calling for immediate action, where the public service would be materially injured unless the vacancy is promptly filled without resorting to the methods of selection and appointment prescribed by the rules and regulations, or when a vacancy happens at a place remote and difficult of access and the methods prescribed for filling it can not be applied without causing delay injurious to the public service, the appointment may be made at discretion; but this rule shall not apply to any place which is provided to be filled under the rules of competitive examination.

Rule 9.-For the purpose of bringing the examinations for the civil service as near to the residences of those desiring to be examined as the appropriation at the command of the President will warrant, and for the further purpose of facilitating as far as practicable the making of selections for such service equably from the several portions of the Union, while at the same time preserving the principle of promoting merit as tested by fair competition, it is provided as follows:

(1) That the several States and Territories are grouped into five divisions, to be designated as civil-service districts, the said districts to be numbered consecutively from one to five, as follows:

I. The first district embraces the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York; and the examinations therein shall be held alternately at the city of New York and the city of Boston, but first at the city of New York.

II. The second district embraces the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia; and the examinations therein shall be held at Washington.

III. The third district embraces the States of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Kentucky; and the examinations therein shall be held alternately at Cincinnati and Detroit, but first at Cincinnati.

IV. The fourth district embraces the States of Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, California, and Oregon, and also all the Territories except New Mexico and the District of Columbia; and the examinations therein shall be held at St. Louis.

V. The fifth district embraces the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Tennessee, together with the Territory of New Mexico; and the examinations therein shall be held alternately at the city of Savannah and the city of Memphis, but first at the city of Savannah.

(2) That in each of said districts examinations for admission to the civil service at Washington shall be conducted as hereinafter provided; and those whose residence is within any such district at the time of filing the application for examination shall be regarded as belonging to such district in reference both to competition and to appointments; and each district shall be treated as a sphere of competition, and those so residing therein, wherever examined, shall be regarded as competing only with each other; but a person residing in any district may be allowed or notified to be examined in any other district.

(3) All applications for examination for service at Washington must be addressed

to the head of the Department at that city which the applicant desires to enter, and be in conformity to the previous rules and regulations so far as the same are not modified by this series; and every such application must be dated, must give the town or municipality as well as the State or Territory where the applicant has his legal residence, and also his post-office address.

(4) Each of the heads of Departments will cause to be kept in permanent form a register of all such applicants for his Department, to be called a "Register of applicants," and will cause such applications to be preserved on file for convenient reference.

(5) The provisions of the former rules and regulations in reference to the examining boards in the Departments and in the other local offices in the various cities, so far as consistent herewith, are continued until otherwise ordered.

(6) The President will employ or designate a suitable person to be chief examiner, whose duty it will be, subject to the supervision of the Civil Service Commission, to promote uniformity in preparing for, conducting, reporting, and grading the examinations by said boards at Washington, and to prepare for, attend, supervise, and report the examinations herein provided to be held elsewhere than at Washington. (7) The several heads of Departments must also cause to be made in permanent form and to be preserved a "Record of persons eligible for appointment," arranging under separate headings those resident in each separate district, wherein shall be entered the names of the persons who have been examined within twelve months now last past, and who are still eligible to nomination or appointment; and to such record must from time to time be added the names of those persons who shall hereafter pass an examination which shall show them to be so eligible for nomination or appointment. And such "Record of persons eligible for appointment” shall be so kept and the names therein be so classified that all those whose residences appearing as aforesaid to be in the same districts shall be tabulated together, so as to show their relative excellence in each said district, except that the names of all those examined under the fourth rule of this series shall be separately entered upon the "Record of persons eligible for appointment" for each Department, so as to show where they reside.

(8) That the officer having the power of making nomination or appointment may resort for that purpose to those so entered in the "Record of persons eligible for appointment” as residing in either of said civil-service districts; but (except in respect of those examined under said rule 4) the method of competition heretofore provided must be regarded as applying among those so registered as residing in any such district, and as requiring the nomination and appointment to be made from some one of the three persons graded as the highest on some one of said five several arrangements of persons so eligible.

(9) At a reasonable time before any examination is to take place each head of Department will furnish the chief examiner with a list of those to be examined, and ten days before any examination is to take place in any said district, elsewhere than at Washington, notice shall be sent by mail by such chief examiner to all such applicants residing or allowed to be examined in such district, stating the time and place of such examination and the other matters of which the rules and regulations require notice to be given.

(10) For the purpose of the examinations last mentioned the said chief examiner shall receive from the several heads of Departments at Washington and from the head of any local office which may request to have any examinations made of persons for said offices the names of those who are to be examined at any place outside of Washington, and shall make a list of the same, showing the date of the filing of each application, which he shall produce at the place of examination; and the examination shall be held of all those on such list who shall duly appear and submit thereto, provided the number be not so great, in the opinion of the examining board,