the
President to invite other nations to such a conference at any time when
there should be a fair prospect of accomplishing an international
agreement on the subject of coinage.

I desire also to earnestly suggest the wisdom of amending the existing
statutes in regard to the issuance of Government bonds. The authority
now vested in the Secretary of the Treasury to issue bonds is not as
clear as it should be, and the bonds authorized are disadvantageous to
the Government both as to the time of their maturity and rate of
interest.

The Superintendent of Immigration, through the Secretary of the
Treasury, reports that during the last fiscal year there arrived at our
ports 440,793 immigrants. Of these, 1,063 were not permitted to land
under the limitations of the law and 577 were returned to the countries
from whence they came by reason of their having become public charges.
The total arrivals were 141,034 less than for the previous year.

The Secretary in his report gives an account of the operation of the
Marine-Hospital Service and of the good work done under its supervision
in preventing the entrance and spread of contagious diseases.

The admonitions of the last two years touching our public health and the
demonstrated danger of the introduction of contagious diseases from
foreign ports have invested the subject of national quarantine with
increased interest. A more general and harmonious system than now
exists, acting promptly and directly everywhere and constantly operating
by preventive means to shield our country from the invasion of disease,
and at the same time having due regard to the rights and duties of local
agencies, would, I believe, add greatly to the safety of our people.

The Secretary of War reports that the strength of the Army on the 30th
day of September last was 25,778 enlisted men and 2,144 officers.

The total expenditures of the Department for the year ending June 30,
1893, amounted to $51,966,074.89. Of this sum $1,992,581.95 was for
salaries and contingent expenses, $23,377,828.35 for the support of the
military establishment, $6,077,033.18 for miscellaneous objects, and
$20,518,631.41 for public works. This latter sum includes $15,296,876.46
for river and harbor improvements and $3,266,141.20 for fortifications
and other works of defense.

The total enrollment of the militia of the several States was on the
31st of October of the current year 112,597 officers and enlisted men.
The of