I would also make the following recommendations:

First. That a board of three competent persons be appointed by the President to superintend the laying out and building of roads and bridges and to make plans for further improvements, and to make the necessary contracts, and to audit the accounts therefor; the members of such board to receive no salary, but to have their actual expenses allowed while engaged in the discharge of their duties; that this board be authorized to employ a competent person as custodian of the park, at a salary of dollars, and also to organize a police force of at least ten members, to afford visitors the necessary protection and aid, to protect the craters of the geysers and basins of the hot springs from destruction and deface ment, and to enforce the regulations mentioned below.

Secondly. That the Secretary of the Interior be authorized to invite the Academy of Science to designate a proper person to observe the extra ordinary volcanic phenomena in the park, to analyze its waters, and t make a report thereon, a suitable compensation therefor to be fixed by this department.

In view of the fact that the destruction of game is going on in th Western country at a rapid rate; that some of the valleys of the Nationa Park have for years been favorite places for the wholesale slaughter o elk and deer; that it would be desirable to preserve in some localit specimens of the more notable wild animals of that region, and that th Yellowstone Park appears to be a very suitable place for that purpose I have deemed it proper, under the law authorizing the Secretary of th Interior to make regulations for the government of the park, to prohibit th hunting and killing of game in it altogether; while fishing, except wit nets and seines, is to be left free. Regulations have also been mad concerning the grazing of cattle on the pasture lands of the park. A the enforcement of some of these regulations will require the enactmen of a law providing a penalty for their violation, a draught of a bill t that end will be submitted to the consideration of Congress.

GAS COMPANIES.

The report of the inspector of gas and meters shows that the gas con panies of the District of Columbia have generally during the year fu nished gas in purity and illuminating power equal to the requiremen of the act of June 23, 1874.

The report of the inspector sets forth the results of experiments mad in the early part of the present year to determine the quantity of ligl given by different burners consuming the same amount of gas, whic will be of interest to the public.

The inspector suggests that the law should be so modified as to requi the gas companies of the District, within a specified time, to replace a meters now in use which have not been inspected with meters whi have been inspected, proved, and sealed, and, also, to require that whe for any purpose whatever, the heads of meters which have been inspect

are removed by the company to which they belong, such meters should again be inspected before being placed in service.

It is suggested that the law does not specify the person whose duty it shall be to institute proceedings to recover the penalty for failure to supply gas of the required purity and illuminating power. The law should be amended in this respect, and also should set forth more particularly the manner in which the penalty should be recovered.

Receipts and expenditures of the office :

Cash on hand July 1, 1879..

Received during the year .......

Expended on the laboratory and apparatus..

Cash on hand July 1, 1880..........

$1,057 07

716 36 1, 141 59

631 84

PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS.

The report of the Architect of the Capitol sets forth the improvements which have been made during the year in the Capitol, the Capitol grounds, the Government Printing Office, and the City Hall.

He calls attention to the fact that it was not possible to execute the act passed at the last session of Congress providing for the construction of an elevator for the south wing of the Capitol, for the reason that the proviso to this act required that it should be so located as not to interfere in anywise with the lighting and ventilation of the building, and it was found that it could not be so located as to comply with these conditions. He expresses the hope that Congress will so amend the law as to remove the restriction referred to, so that the appropriation made for the elevator can be used during the present fiscal year, there being a necessity for its construction.

The Architect recommends that the police of the Capitol grounds be attached as special police to the Metropolitan department.

He renews his recommendations that the old hall of the House of Representatives and rooms adjoining be made fire-proof.

The Electrician to the House of Representatives reports that the method of lighting the gas by the dynamo-electrical machines effects an annual saving of $1,000 or $1,200 over the old method of lighting by batteries. The experiments made with the electric light do not warrant him in recommending it for the legislative halls. He recommends its use in the Capitol grounds and adjoining parks.

The amount expended on the Capitol Extension for the year ending June 30, 1880, was $50,000, the amount appropriated for this purpose. The expenditures on account of improvement of the ventilation of the Hall of the House of Representatives were $30,000, the amount of the appropriation.

The expenditures on account of the heating apparatus for Senate Chamber were $4,000, the amount appropriated.

The expenditures for lighting the United States Capitol and grounds

were $30,516.01. The appropriation was $32,400. Balance to be returned to the Treasury, $1,883.99.

The expenditures on account of the Capitol grounds were $60,000, the amount of the appropriation.

The expenditures during the year on account of the extension of the Government Printing Office, which is now finished, were $29,039.24. The amount expended during the previous year was $14,244.57. O the appropriation ($43,800), $516.19 remain to be returned to the Treasury.

NEW PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

The Interior Department has in the course of time grown to be so large an institution that the Patent-Office building is altogether too small to accommodate more than one-half of its records and its clerical force. The inconveniences suffered on account of the insufficiency of room are a constant source of complaint. Only four of the eight bureaus of the Interior Department are accommodated in the building. namely, the Patent Office, the Land Office, the Indian Bureau, and the Bureau of Railroad Accounts. And even these four are so cramped for room that the halls and corridors must be used for the storing of valuable records, some of which are in daily use, and that the crowding together of the clerical force is such as not only to cause very serious discomfort but also to interfere with the transaction of the public busi ness. Four bureaus of the Interior Department, namely, the Pension Office, the Census Office, the Bureau of Education, and the Office of the Geological Survey are located in different parts of the city, in building rented for that purpose. The Interior Department, inclusive of the Census Office, pays this year $44,900 in rents. The scattering of the different bureaus constituting this department in widely separated loca tions causes much delay and circumstance in the correspondence betwee the bureau chiefs and the head of the department, which should alway be easy and rapid. A large correspondence and valuable papers hav to be carried to and fro for signature and inspection, and are in thei transit liable to be lost or damaged. The crowding together of a large number of clerks in small rooms is dangerous to health, and sometime seriously interferes with the performance of duty. The file rooms a so packed that we find it sometimes difficult to get at documents neces sary for the prosecution of business. Almost every foot of space, no only in the halls and corridors, but under stairs and arches, and in nook and corners from the basement to the roof of the building has ha to be used for storing papers and records. We have been obliged t use even one of the new model halls recently restored for the accommo dation of the copying force, putting in wooden partitions and coverin the room destined for the exhibition of models with desks and offic furniture. It is evident that the erection of a new edifice for the a commodation of the Interior Department will soon be recognized as a

absolute necessity. The Patent Office alone will in the course of time, with its accumulating records and models, occupy the whole of the present Interior Department building.

I am informed that similar complaints come from other departments of the government; that the Post-Office Department finds its present quarters insufficient; that a large portion of the force of the Treasury Department is located outside of the main building; that the Department of Justice is in a rented house; and that the new edifice erected for the Departments of State, War, and of the Navy will not be large enough to accommodate all the offices belonging to those branches of the public service. Under such circumstances it appears that the exigencies of the government call for the erection of not only one but of several public buildings, for the Interior Department, for the Post-Office Department, for the accommodation of the Department of Justice, and for different offices connected with the War and Navy Departments which do not find accommodation in the buildings now existing and in progress of construction.

In view of this fact I beg leave to repeat some remarks I had the honor to address to the Hon. George L. Converse, chairman of the Committee on Public Lands, House of Representatives, on the 18th of May last, in reply to a letter of inquiry from him:

If such public buildings are constructed upon a harmonious plan, they will contribute much to the public convenience, as well as to the beauty of the national capital. I would respectfully recommend, therefore, that the following suggestion be considered:

It being desirable that the executive departments should be located in as close proximity as possible to each other, as well as to the Executive Mansion, it would seem to me that no better place for the construction of new buildings for them could be found than the blocks surrounding Lafayette Square on the east, north, and west, opposite the Treasury, the Executive Mansion, and the State, War, and Navy Departments, leaving the square itself undisturbed. A group of four public buildings surrounding that square, erected upon an harmonious plan as to architecture, would, with the buildings now existing, probably become one of the most imposing and beautiful groups of public edifices in the world. The purchase of the lots surrounding Lafayette Square would indeed be somewhat costly, but the public convenience, as well as the architectural beauty of the group mentioned, would no doubt compensate for an expenditure but little larger than would be occasioned by the purchase of property in other parts of the city. These buildings could be erected one after another, as the necessities of the case may require, but a harmonious plan for the whole group should be made by competent architects and accepted by the government before commencing the erection of any one of them. I respectfully submit this suggestion to your consideration and that of Congress, believing as I do that the erection of the public buildings that are now and will become necessary, upon such a plan as here stated, will finally be more satisfactory to the people of the United States than would be the scattering of a number of public offices in places more or less accidentally chosen, and thus ng much of their architectural effect, while being but little less costly. I would add that if such a project be entertained it can be initiated and partly executed at mach less expense now than will be possible ten or fifteen years hence, when its non-adoption at a time like this might possibly become a matter of very general

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT BUILDING.

The reconstruction of that portion of the building which was destroyed by fire, is, with the exception of a few minor details, completed. The amount of money appropriated by Congress for this work was $250,000. The change of the plans originally authorized by Congress, June 20, 1878, necessitated certain expenditures which reduced the available balance to $244,920.48. The estimate submitted of the cost of the reconstruction under the plans authorized by act of March 3, 1879, was $250,000, and it is gratifying to state that the expenditures have not exceeded the available balance, above stated. The architect in charge estimates that $5,915 will be required to complete the ornamentation, construction of gallery-rails, furnishing rubber plates for steps, and for other necessary work which remains to be done.

The halls are a decided improvement over the old ones, being beauti ful in design and more commodious in general arrangement. The additional gallery adds one-third to the space hitherto available, while the light is better than before. Credit is due to the architects and engineer in charge, not only for the original design, but for the fidelity with which the work has been supervised.

The supervising board appointed by Congress, consisting of the Com missioner of Patents, the Architect of the Capitol, and the Engineer in charge of public buildings, is entitled to no less credit for keeping the expenditures within the appropriation, and for the general management of the work.

The south and east halls are at present in a very insecure condition Faulty construction has developed defects in the arches, which may prove of a serious character unless promptly remedied. In my las report I called attention to the insecure roof which now covers these tw wings. It is little better than a 'tinder-box, and covering imperfect and badly constructed flues, may at any time endanger the safety of th building. The changes necessary to construct a fire-proof roof, and remedy the evils growing out of a faulty plan, would be so radical an expensive that I deem it in the interest of public economy to recommen the reconstruction of both wings on the plan adopted in the rebuilding of the north and west halls.

The sum of $90,000 has been asked for to carry out this plan on th south wing, and I earnestly hope that Congress may deem it advisab to appropriate the amount.

The walls and ceilings of the halls and rooms immediately under th reconstructed model-halls were seriously damaged by heat and wate at the time of the fire.

The estimated cost for the necessary repairs is $10,000, and an appr priation of this amount is recommended.

An appropriation of $80,000 was made at the last session of Congres to be used in fitting up the model-halls with fire-proof cases. Contrac