Statement showing the number and class of vessels built, and the tonnage thereof, in the several States and Territories of the United States, from 1815 to 1875, inclusive. REPORT OF THE SOLICITOR OF THE TREASURY. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR OF THE TREASURY, Washington, D. C., November 18, 1875. SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith seven tabular statements, exhibiting the amount, character, and results of the litigation, under the direction of this Office, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875, so far as the same are shown by the reports received from the United States attorneys for the several districts. These tables embrace respectively 1. Suits on custom-house bonds. 2. Suits on transcripts of accounts of defaulting public officers, excepting those of the Post-Office Department, adjusted by the accountingofficers of the Treasury Department. 3. Post-Office suits, embracing those against officers of the Post-Office Department, and cases of fines, penalties, and forfeitures for violation of the postal laws. 4. Suits for the recovery of fines, penalties, and forfeitures under the customs-revenue and navigation-laws. 5. Suits against collectors of customs, and other agents of the Government, for refund of duties and acts done in the line of their official duty. 6. Suits in which the United States is interested, not embraced in the other classes. 7. A general summary or abstract of all the other tables. An examination of this summary will show that the whole number of suits commenced within the year was 2,734, of which— Of the whole number of suits brought, 653 were decided in favor of the United States; 12 were adversely decided; 537 were settled and dismissed; in 5, penalties were remitted by the Secretary of the Treasury; leaving 1,527 still pending. Of those pending at the commencement of the year, 450 were decided for the United States; 124 were decided adversely; 701 were settled and dismissed; and in 20, penalties were remitted by the Secretary of the Treasury. The entire number of suits decided or otherwise disposed of during the year was 2,502; the whole amount for which judgments were obtained, exclusive of decrees in rem, was $1,290,503; and the entire amount collected from all sources was $621,950.11. The collections in suits for violation of the customs and navigation laws during the year, it will be noticed, are very much less than in the preceding year. The accompanying tabular statement, based upon returns from the principal customs-districts of the country, will give you a comparative view of the collections from this source for the years 1872, 1873, 1874, and 1875, showing in the districts mentioned a falling off, in comparison with the collections of the preceding year, of $359,500.53. As the disbursement of the $125,000 appropriated for the prevention of counterfeiting and other frauds upon the Government has been made largely under your direction, and always with your advice, I have not deemed it proper to include in this report a detailed statement of the operations of this Office predicated upon that appropriation. If, hereafter, it is thought desirable, a special report in the premises can be made to you. It is, perhaps, proper to remark that, in addition to the ordinary operations for the detection, prevention, and punishment of counterfeit ing, a large portion of the fund has been used in what has proved to be a successful movement against corrupt combinations and conspiracies to defraud the United States of its internal revenue. In this counection I should also state that a portion of the fund has been used, under your direction, in a like successful movement against a similar combination to defraud the Government of its customs-revenue at the port of New York. I am, sir, very respectfully, Hon. B. H. BRISTOW, Secretary of the Treasury. BLUFORD WILSON, Comparative statement of collections in suits for violations of customs and navigation laws. |