ws an improvement in the
number and efficiency of the naval force, without material increase in
the expense of supporting it. This is due to the policy which has been
adopted, and is being extended as fast as our material will admit, of
using smaller vessels as cruisers on the several stations. By this means
we have been enabled to occupy at once a larger extent of cruising
grounds, to visit more frequently the ports where the presence of our
flag is desirable, and generally to discharge more efficiently the
appropriate duties of the Navy in time of peace, without exceeding the
number of men or the expenditure authorized by law.

During the past year the Navy has, in addition to its regular service,
supplied the men and officers for the vessels of the Coast Survey, and
has completed the surveys authorized by Congress of the isthmuses of
Darien and Tehuantepec, and, under like authority, has sent out an
expedition, completely furnished and equipped, to explore the unknown
ocean of the north.

The suggestions of the report as to the necessity for increasing and
improving the _materiel_ of the Navy, and the plan recommended for
reducing the _personnel_ of the service to a peace standard, by the
gradual abolition of certain grades of officers, the reduction of
others, and the employment of some in the service of the commercial
marine, are well considered and deserve the thoughtful attention of
Congress.

I also recommend that all promotions in the Navy above the rank of
captain be by selection instead of by seniority. This course will secure
in the higher grades greater efficiency and hold out an incentive to
young officers to improve themselves in the knowledge of their
profession.

The present cost of maintaining the Navy, its cost compared with that of
the preceding year, and the estimates for the ensuing year are contained
in the accompanying report of the Secretary of the Navy.

The enlarged receipts of the Post-Office Department, as shown by the
accompanying report of the Postmaster-General, exhibit a gratifying
increase in that branch of the public service. It is the index of the
growth of education and of the prosperity of the people, two elements
highly conducive to the vigor and stability of republics. With a vast
territory like ours, much of it sparsely populated, but all requiring
the services of the mail, it is not at present to be expected that this
Department can be made self-sustaining. But a gradual a