of the new ships, the number of our ships fit for sea duty grows very
slowly. We had on the 4th of March last 37 serviceable ships, and though
4 have since been added to the list, the total has not been increased,
because in the meantime 4 have been lost or condemned. Twenty-six
additional vessels have been authorized and appropriated for; but it is
probable that when they are completed our list will only be increased to
42--a gain of 5. The old wooden-ships are disappearing almost as fast as
the new vessels are added. These facts carry their own argument. One of
the new ships may in fighting strength be equal to two of the old, but
it can not do the cruising duty of two. It is important, therefore, that
we should have a more rapid increase in the number of serviceable ships.
I concur in the recommendation of the Secretary that the construction of
8 armored ships, 3 gunboats, and 5 torpedo boats be authorized.

An appalling calamity befell three of our naval vessels on duty at the
Samoan Islands, in the harbor of Apia, in March last, involving the
loss of 4 officers and 47 seamen, of two vessels, the _Trenton_ and the
_Vandalia_, and the disabling of a third, the _Nipsic_. Three vessels of
the German navy, also in the harbor, shared with our ships the force of
the hurricane and suffered even more heavily. While mourning the brave
officers and men who died facing with high resolve perils greater than
those of battle, it is most gratifying to state that the credit of the
American Navy for seamanship, courage, and generosity was magnificently
sustained in the storm-beaten harbor of Apia.

The report of the Secretary of the Interior exhibits the transactions
of the Government with the Indian tribes. Substantial progress has been
made in the education of the children of school age and in the allotment
of lands to adult Indians. It is to be regretted that the policy of
breaking up the tribal relation and of dealing with the Indian as an