Considering it necessary to take with me a reliable force, I respectfully nominate the following gentlemen as inspectors, who will, on our arrival at San Francisco, be located at the several ports of entry, or delivery, as may be thought advisable after looking over the ground, to wit: Abraham Bartol, Sheldon W. McDonnell, William Smyth, Alexander A. Marshall, Andrew Randal, John C. Fulton, Charles Pixley, Heland R. Hulburd, Jesse O. Goodwin, John A. McDonnell, Edward S. Tremain, John Myers, Joseph Adams, jr., Albert G. Lawrence, W. N. Jackson, Levi Beardsley, jr., Abraham Kentzing, jr., William Wood. Should you approve of these nominations, may I ask you to say by telegraph at St. Louis, "approved." I enclose the oaths of office administered to E. D. Collier and John A. Collier. I will advise you previous to our departure from Fort Levenworth. Hon. W. M. MEREDITH, Secretary of the Treasury. J. COLLIER, Collector, &c. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, May 2, 1849. SIR: Your letter of the 26th ultimo, dated at Cincinnati, Ohio, submitting a list of nominations of inspectors of the customs for the district of Upper California, is received. The nomination of Abraham Kentzing, jr., as inspector of the customs for the district mentioned, is approved. It is not deemed expedient to approve the other nominations submitted, for the following reasons: The act of 3d of March, 1849, "requiring all money receivable from customs and from all other sources to be paid immediately into the treasury, without abatement or reduction, and for other purposes," prohibits the expenses of collecting the entire revenue from customs from exceeding a certain specified sum per annum; it consequently becomes the duty of the department to take care that the expenses of the respective districts shall be placed on such a footing as to preclude any probable excess of expenditure for collecting the revenue beyond the sum designated and appropriated for the object by the act referred to.. The appointment of the complement of the subordinate officers, already sanctioned, to accompany you hence to California, was authorized by the department, in view of the peculiar circumstances connected with this new district, and in order to avoid any embarrassment or delay on reaching your destination, for a prompt entry on the discharge of your official duties. Whatever additional inspectors or other subordinate officers of the customs, after entering on the discharge of your duties, you shall find necessary for the due collection and security of the revenue in your district, may be selected from suitable persons residing in said district; as likewise in regard to filling any vacancies that may occur in the complement already authorized. In making such appointinents you will be governed by the directions given in my instructions to yourself under date of the 3d ultimo. Very respectfully, JAMES COLLIER, Esq., W. M. MEREDITH, Secretary of the Treasury. Collector of the district of Upper California, now at St. Louis, Mo. COLLECTOR'S OFFICE, SAN FRANCISCO, SIR: This office has never as yet been supplied with any locks for ships" hatches, nor with any gauging or weighing machines, nor measures of any kind; and this being a new country, it is impossible to purchase such things here. There should be sent here from three to five hundred locks for ships' hatches and storehouses: these should be of various sizes; some fifty pair of scales and balances, of different kinds and sizes; and a quantity of measures, of different kinds, &c., and sizes; and also a quantity of gauging rods, &c. All of these articles are much wanted; also, want a few copies each of the different revenue laws, tariffs, &c., and all blanks, such as registers, crew lists, &c., that are furnished by the government; and also sea letters. The business of this office is of much more importance than the department at Washington has any conception of, and there are many things here that need regulating and advising about, and which I should have addressed the department about long since, but have been expecting the collector (Col. Collier) daily for the last three months. If Col. Collier does not arrive before the departure of the next steamer, I shall take the liberty to report upon many points of importance; the present. system adopted here makes it impossible to conform with the law in many respects. Shall the mail steamers, running from this to Panama, be allowed to purchase coal, intended for consumption on the route from this to Panama, free of duty? So far they have been doing so, but I can find no law which will justify the course pursued. The department here is suffering much for the want of the articles I have asked for in this letter. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. W. M. MEREDITH, J. D. CARR, Acting Deputy Collector. Secretary of the Treasury, Washington city, D. C. SAN FRANCISCo, November 13, 1849. SIR: I am at last at my post. The delay attendant upon my arrival has : been to me a source of great anxiety, and given me much trouble. I can only say that I have been in the hands of others, over whose movements I had no control. Remonstrances and importunities were alike disregarded. I have suffered much of hardship, of privation, and toil, and encountered no little of peril. We were compelled, for several days in succession, to fight our way through hostile bands of Indians, but escaped without the loss of life on our part, and with but one man wounded, he having both bones of his arm broken. It is with great regret that I have to state, also, that in crossing the Colorado four persons were drowned, and that one of the number was Captain Thorn, of New York, who was in command of the dragoons. At some future period I hope to give you some account of my pilgrimage, and of the miserable country we have passed over. At present, owing to the early departure of the steamer, I have barely sufficient time to advise you of the condition of things in the "State of California," and of the business of this office. You are no doubt already advised that the people of California, in convention, have adopted a constitution of State government; and the election for governor and for other officers is this day being held. Our friend T. Butler King is a candidate for the United States Senate, with some prospect of being elected by the legislature. He has been, I am informed, quite ill. I have not had the pleasure of seeing him, as he is at present located at Benicia. I am perfectly astounded at the amount of business in this office ! took possession of it on yesterday, and during so short a period have been unable to make all the inquires and examination necessary to put me in possession of all the information desirable. The amount of tonnage, however, on the 10th instant in port, was 120,317 tons; of which 87,494 were American, and 32,823 were foreign. Number of vessels in the harbor on that day, 10th instant, 312, and the whole number of arrivals since the first of April, 697; of which 401 were American, and 296 foreign. This state of things, so unexpected, has greatly surprised me. Desirous as I am of conforming to the instru tions received from the Treasury Department, yet you will see from what follows, that so far as the salaries of the various officers employed in this office is concerned it will be wholly impossible. The clerks, for instance, are receiving from $1,800 to $3,000 per annum, and there is not a sufficient number to transact the business. More must be employed, and that, too, with like salaries. The inspectors are receiving four dollars per day, and a large number are employed. The necessity for the payment of such salaries arises from the fact that the expenses of living justify the payment. For example: Flour is this day selling for forty dollars per barrel, and pork at $60. For boarding the average is $5 per day, without rooms or lodging. A small room, barely sufficient to contain a single bed, rents readily at $150 per month. Wood is $40 per cord, and every article of food is at a like rate. It is impossible, therefore, to retain clerks or other officers without the payment of salaries corresponding with the expenses of living. So much for the expenses of the office. The business is now daily on the increase, and my whole attention day and night will be required. I shall be compelled also to employ additional clerks. One difficulty, however, presents itself; and that is, where to put them. I am occupying what was the old Mexican custom-house, constructed of unburut brick. It is a long, dark, one story building, in miserable condition. The roof leaks so badly, that during a rain our papers are liable to be wet. The doors are some of them off the hinges, and all are insecure. I have no vault for the safe-keeping of the public money. Owing to the rates for rent, I am afraid to lease a building. One for myself, containing four rooms, two below and two above, without fireplaces, were offered to me on yesterday at $2,400 per month. I am so remote from Washington, that under these circumstances I shall be compelled to" take the responsibility" of making repairs, even at present prices, to wit: shingles at $60 per thousand, and lumber at $300, and shall have to pay the carpenters from $12 to $16 per day. These facts may startle you, but such is the true state of things. I hope, therefore, that in ordering these indispensable repairs without waiting for these instructions, I shall not be censured. custom-house must be built, and ought to be immediately contracted for and sent around. One of cast iron will be the best, if it can be built. There should be no delay. The business will justify it, and it is indispen sable. Great inconvenience is felt, and no little risk incurred, from the fact that we have not a house nor a room for stowing goods. I have been compelled to continue a practice which I found existing, of stowing goods and for warehousing on board of vessels. There are now nineteen thus employed. This is a hazardous and most inconvenient practice, and opens a broad door for smuggling. Several warehouses (not less than four) should be immediately sent out. You will see from a paper adessed to me by the merchants of this city (containing thirty thousand people) that they deem it indispensable. I may, nay, I probably shall be compelled, before I can hear from you, to rent a building for a warehouse. Should I do so, it will be at a price that may astonish you, and yet the government will not be the loser. The charge for storage must correspond with the price paid, and in the end the building or buildings thus employed will be a source of revenue. I have written by the steamer to Messrs. Saffarrans & Co., urging them to push forward, without delay, the building already contracted for, and desiring them to call upon you in relation to the construction of four others of the same dimensions. We have not now a room for the appraisers or inspectors. Goods that have to be appraised are either exposed on board the ships, or deposited in the store of the owner or consignee. When it is known that, in a commercial point of view, this port is equal to that of Philadelphia, the necessity of providing suitable buildings without delay must be seen and acknowledged. I should be doing great injustice not only to the government, but to all concerned in commerce, were I to refrain from expressing my opinion frankly upon these important subjects. On my voyage to this port from San Diego, I had an opportunity of visiting some of the points on the coast, which, in a commercial point of view, are of no little importance, and to which your attention is solicited. One of them is San Pedro. I am fully of opinion that more goods are landed at San Pedro than at any other point, excepting only San Francisco. A large amount of smuggling is carried on at that place. It is distant from Los Angeles some twenty-five miles, and from the latter the Mexicans obtain all their goods for trade in the interior of Mexico. These goods are generally of high price and rich fabric. I met several large parties of these traders on my way to the Pacific, and in every instance was advised by them that they purchased their goods at Los Angeles. I saw, while at San Pedro, (which contains but three buildings,) in a warehouse, a large amount of goods from China. I have been unable to ascertain where they were entered. The collector resides at Los Angeles; and these goods, together with most if not all that have been landed, have escaped the payment of duties. I recommend that it should be made a port of delivery, and that a deputy should be stationed there. Santa Barbara is also a place of some importance, and should be made a port of delivery. As a town, the latter is far superior to San Diego. These are the only points where I landed on the coast. To enforce the revenue laws in this district, and to cut up and prevent. smuggling, which has been and is now carried to a great extent, it seems to be necessary that an additional cutter should be sent out, or that the Ewing, now in this port, should be assigned to that duty. Do all that you can, I fear it cannot be prevented; but it may be greatly curtailed. In connexion with this service, permit me to suggest the propriety, nay, the necessity, of shipping, as soon as possible, a sufficient amount (for at least one year of supplies for the Lawrence, and for any other vessel that may be assigned to the revenue service. I have advertised for proposals for furnishing provisions, but cannot take the responsibility of entering into a contract at the present prices. It would be an immense saving to the government to despatch forthwith an ample supply from the Atlantic. I presume that no proposal will be offered at less than $50 or $60 per barrel for pork, and not less than $30 per barrel for flour. Under these circumstances, I must purchase a temporary supply, and wait your instructions upon the subject. You are aware that the duties collected on this coast have been hitherto collected under military authority, and that the money has been paid over to the pay and quartermaster's departments. have already been inquired of, whether I would cash the drafts of these departments. This I cannot do without your instructions. Situated as I am, I should like to be relieved from the responsibility of retaining the money in my hands for any considerable length of time. The duties will amount to a large sum; and I have no secure or safe place of keeping it. There is another subject to which I desire to call your attention that of the establishment of a marine hospital. Almost daily applications are made for relief or assistance by sick and disabled seamen. I do not know anything that I can do without your instructions. A suitable building, even could one be procured, could not be rented for any reasonable sum. And yet humanity requires that this class should be provided for. A physician could not be procured by the offer of three times the present fees. I had hoped to have found on my arrival letters from the department, but was disappointed. It is extremely difficult to institute and carry on a suit commenced against a vessel seized for violating the revenue laws. Two seizures have been made since I took possession of the office. These suits are to be instituted in Oregon or Louisiana. How is process to be served? Can the marshal in either district serve process without special authority to do so by act of Congress? Can he appoint a deputy for California? It seems to me that great difficulty will be found in carrying out the law in this particular. The act of Congress making California a collection district requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a port of delivery as near as may be to the junction of the rivers Gila and Colorado, at the head of the gulf of California. The establishment of such an office I do not consider as at all practicable. The Colorado will never, in my opinion, become navigable to the point. It is far off from civilization, on the borders of the great desert, and in the midst of numerous tribes of Indians. The line between the United States and Mexico will not be more than two or three miles from the junction of the rivers. The valley of the Gila is utterly worthless, and I would not take a deed of the whole country to-morrow. It is true that here and there a spot may be found susceptible of cultivation, but they are "few and far between." I presume that no white man could be found willing to become deputy collector in a port where a flag would never flutter. I have had possession of this office but two days, and have hardly yet recovered from the toils of my long and weary pilgrimage. What I have written has been done in great haste. The early departure of the steamer, however, will be my excuse. I beg you to be assured that this port is of the first importance to the country, and deserves, and will no doubt receive, the prompt attention of the department. In the discharge of the responsibilities of this office, I may, and no |