papers relating to the settlement of any account between the United States and an individual, entitles such copies, when annexed to the transcript, to equal validity, as evidence in court, with the originals. (R. S., § 886.)

676. It is the duty of the Register to cancel certificates of the registry of vessels, when such certificates are delivered to him, as required by law, on the sale, transfer, or alteration of the vessel. (R. S., § 4170.)

677. Also when a certificate of registry has been surrendered to the collector of the port and transmitted to the Register, because of the loss, destruction, capture, or transfer to a foreigner of the vessel. (R. S., § 4174.)

678. The Register receives from the collectors of the several ports copies of all certificates of registry of vessels granted by them; also duplicates of all entries on the collector's records showing a change in the master or name of a vessel. (R. S., §§ 4176, 4183.)

THE OFFICE OF THE REGISTER OF THE TREASURY.

679. In addition to the head of the office, before referred to, the statutes make provision for an Assistant Register of the Treasury, who is required to perform such duties as may be assigned him by the Register, and in the absence of the latter to act in his stead. (R. S., §§ 314, 315.)

680. Any official record, certificate, or other document, excepting warrants, bonds, and drafts, signed by the Assistant Register, has the same effect in law as if signed by the Register. (R. S., § 315.)

681. This office is also provided with five heads of divisions, and a force of clerks distributed to each.

The divisions into which the Register's office has been organized are as follow:

1. Division of Receipts and Expenditures.

2. Loan Division.

3. Note and Coupon Division.

4. Note and Fractional Currency Division.

5. Tonnage Division.

I. DIVISION OF RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES.

682. In this division all warrants are registered which are issued by the Secretary of the Treasury for the pay. ment of civil, diplomatic, miscellaneous, internal revenue, and public-debt expenditures and repayments; also for payments and repayments of War, Navy, Pension, and Indian expenditures; also all warrants so issued for covering into the Treasury receipts of moneys from customs, lands, internal revenue, direct taxes, and miscellaneous sources.

683. This division also registers all drafts drawn by the Treasurer of the United States in payment of warrants issued by the Secretary for expenditures.

684. This division also makes entry of all accounts received after final adjustment from the accounting officers relating to civil, diplomatic, internal revenue, miscellaneous, and public-debt receipts and expenditures.

685. This division also furnishes to the Secretary of the Treasury certificates of balances of accounts adjusted by the accounting officers and put on file in the Register's office.

686. It also furnishes for the finance report of the Secretary of the Treasury the itemized report of the receipts and expenditures of the Government for each fiscal year. It also has charge of the arrangement of the files of the office.

II. THE LOAN DIVISION.

687. This division has charge of the books containing the accounts of bonds issued and the accounts kept with

parties owning registered bonds. It has charge also of the issue and entry of all United States bonds.

688. It also makes up the quarterly and annual schedules of persons holding registered bonds to whom interest is due. These schedules, at the times of the quarterly or semi-annual payments of interest on the bonded debt, are placed in the hands of the Treasurer, or Assistant Treasurers, or depositaries at the places where the interest is payable; and persons entitled to payment of the amounts stated thereon against their names receive their interest on call, upon being properly identified.

689. As is generally well understood, the bonds of the United States are divided into coupon and registered bonds, the distinction being, that coupon bonds are transferable from hand to hand by delivery and are payable to the bearer, while registered bonds are made payable to the person whose name is inserted in the body of the bond, and are only transferable by an assignment on the back and by an entry of transfer on the books of the Register of the Treasury. In other words, the owners of coupon bonds are only known by their possession of the bonds, while the holders of the registered bonds are known by the register of their names on the books of the department.

690. It is among the duties of the Loan Division of the Register's office to transfer, on proper authority, the ownership of the registered bonds from one person to another, by making the proper entries on the books and by issuing a new bond, on the surrender of the old one, in the name of the transferee. In order to effect this transfer there is a blank form of assignment on the back of the bond, which should be filled in with the name of the assignee and properly signed and acknowledged before competent authority by the assignor. The new holder of the bond should now send it to the Register of the Treasury, with a letter giving

explicit directions as to the denomination of the certificate or certificates he desires to be issued to him in exchange, his full name to which he desires the transfer made on the books, and indicating the United States depositary by whom he desires the interest paid.

691. Upon the receipt of such bond and directions it becomes the duty of the Loan Division to cancel such bond and to issue a new one of the same loan or series in the name of the assignee, and at the same time to place the name of the latter on the books, the name of the former holder being cancelled. Upon this being done the new bond is transmitted to the owner according to the directions previously given by him.

692. This division also, among its other duties, converts coupon bonds, when desired, into registered bonds of the same issue or series. In order to effect this the owner should send his bond to the Secretary of the Treasury, with directions explicitly as in the case of a desired transfer, as mentioned above. The coupon bond is cancelled in this division, and a registered bond is issued in the name of the party who desires the conversion, and the name is placed in the books in like manner.

III. THE NOTE AND COUPON DIVISION.

693. This division is charged with the assorting, arranging, counting, and registering of interest-bearing Treasury notes, and coupons of interest-bearing bonds which have been paid by the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurers of the United States. In addition to this, all redeemed and exchanged bonds are examined, registered, and filed by this division.

694. The notes which have been redeemed are received in the Treasurer's office, where they are carefully counted, cut in halves, and tied in packages properly marked. The

upper halves are sent to the Loan Division of the Register's office, while the lower halves go to the Loan branch of the office of the Secretary of the Treasury. In the Register's Loan Division the upper halves are carefully counted and arranged according to their letters A, B, C, D, and again counted in their respective letters; then arranged numerically, each note according to its number and denomination; after which they are registered and then delivered to a committee which is generally composed, by appointment of the Secretary of the Treasury, of a member from each of several bureaus,—it may be from the offices of the Secretary, the Register, and the Treasurer, or from two of these offices, with the addition of a gentleman not in the employ ment of the Government. This committee makes a final examination previous to the entire destruction of the mass intrusted to it.

695. This division receives also cancelled seven-thirty notes, which are arranged according to their series and denominations; then according to their numbers; then counted, and entered upon the records of the office aceording to their series, numbers, and denominations. After this they are deposited in the files room.

696. This division also receives the paid coupons of United States bonds, which are first assorted with regard to their respective loans, series, and denominations. After this they are carefully counted, in order to verify the schedule which accompanies them; then they are arranged numerically, recounted, and entered upon the record according to their numbers, denominations, series, and loans, and then deposited on file in the files room of the office.

697. The redeemed and exchanged bonds, having been previously cancelled, are received by this division from the Loan Division of the Register's office, and are arranged, counted, and registered. Their registration is compared