Thomas Jefferson Papers
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To Thomas Jefferson from Albert Gallatin, 12 February 1802

From Albert Gallatin

Treasury department February 12th: 1802

Sir,

I have the honor to enclose the list of the several officers of Government with their salaries or emoluments as compiled in this or received from the other Departments, and arranged in the following manner.

They may be considered as forming two general classes: One consists of all those who are employed in the collection of the public revenue and receive their compensations by deducting the amount thereof from the monies collected by them. The other embraces all the other officers who receive their compensations from monies drawn out of the Treasury.

The first class is arranged under four general heads—Viz: 1st. officers employed in the collection of the external revenues, 2d: Officers employed in the collection of the internal revenues, 3d. Receivers and Registers of the Land offices—4th. Deputy Post Masters.

1st. The officers employed in the collection of the external revenue are the Collectors, Naval officers, Surveyors, masters and mates of Revenue Cutters appointed by the President, and the port Inspectors, measurers, weighers and Gaugers who are appointed by the Collectors with the approbation of the Secretary of the Treasury, to which may be added the Bargemen employed by Collectors.

A few of the Collectors, Naval Officers and Surveyors, all the officers of the Revenue Cutters and the Port Inspectors receive a yearly, monthly or daily allowance. The greater part of the compensations received by the Collectors, naval officers and Surveyors arises, however, from commissions paid out of the revenue, and fees paid by the individuals. The measurers, weighers and Gaugers receive certain fees or allowances, determined by the specific services rendered, and paid out of the Revenue.

2d:—Officers employed in the Collection of the internal revenues, consist of Supervisors and two inspectors whose office still subsist, appointed by the President, collectors & auxiliary officers appointed by the Supervisors. The pay of all those officers, which consists partly of Salaries, partly of fees, and partly of commissions is paid out of the revenue. The emoluments in the enclosed List are (for both those classes), those received during the year 1800, although the names of those officers appointed by the President who were in office on the 31:st day of December 1801 have been inserted.

3dly. Receivers and Registers of the Land Offices, are appointed by the President. The Receivers receive one per cent, and the Registers one half ⅌er cent on all monies collected; besides which the Registers receive certain fees from individuals.

4th: Deputy Post Masters are appointed by the Post Master General and paid by Commissions out of the monies collected. It must be observed that the amount of emoluments returned is the gross sum received by them, and includes the expenses of Store rent and Clerks.

The second class is arranged under the four heads of Civil, Foreign, Military and Naval Departments.

1st. Civil Establishment includes the President & Vice President, the Legislature and Officers atttached to the same, the Judiciary, the Departments at the Seat of Government, the territorial officers, and the several general establishments of Commissioners of Loans, Purveyor of public supplies, Mint, Surveying and Light Houses.

2d: The Foreign intercourse Establishment includes the Diplomatic establishment, Commissioners and Agents under or in relation to the British Treaty, and Consuls.

3d: The Military establishment includes the officers of the Army, the Agents of the Quarter Masters Department, the Superintendants and other officers of the Armories, the Superintendant and Store Keepers of the Military Stores, the Superintendants and other Agents of the Indian Department, and the Agents for Fortifications.

4th: The naval Establishment includes the Officers of the Navy and of the Marine Corps, the Navy Agents and the Superintendants of the Navy Yards.—

I have the honor to be Very respectfully Sir, Your mo. Obedt: Servt:

Albert Gallatin

RC (DNA: RG 46, LPPM, 7th Cong., 1st sess.); in a clerk’s hand, signed by Gallatin; at foot of text: “The President of the United States”; endorsed by TJ as received from the Treasury Department on 13 Feb. and so recorded in SJL with notation “officers”; endorsed by a Senate clerk. Enclosure: “Report from the Secy. of the Treasury shewing, the names, salaries &c, of the Officers of Government” (MS in same; in various clerks’ hands; divided into eight sections by cover sheets with titles in Gallatin’s hand, beginning with No. 3, “External Revenues,” Nos. 4 and 5, “Internal Revenue & [Land] Offices,” No. 6, “Deputy Postmasters,” No. 7, “Civil establishment,” No. 8, “Foreign,” No. 9, “Military establishment,” and No. 10, “Naval establishment”; with an emendation in Gallatin’s hand in the list of external revenue officers, noting at the entry for the collector at Savannah that Thomas de Mattos Johnson was “appointed in Decer. 1801” and, after “no return” in a clerk’s hand, adding “has been furnished by his predecessor Mr Powell”; with the section on postmasters introduced by Granger, see below). Transmitted to Congress with TJ’s message of 16 Feb. and printed in ASP description begins American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive, of the Congress of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1832–61, 38 vols. description ends , Miscellaneous, 1:260–319.

Post master general: a letter from Gideon Granger at the General Post Office to an unnamed recipient, dated 5 Jan., appears at the head of the list of deputy postmasters in the roll of government officers submitted to Congress. Granger noted that he had compiled the list “in obedience to instructions received from the President through the Secretary of State.” He reported that the people listed were “Deputy Postmasters at the places written against their names and that they received as a compensation for their services for the year 1800 the sums set against their names respectively.” In cases where accounts had not been returned for 1800, Granger noted that “the best light has been given which the state of the Office admits of” (RC in DNA: RG 46, LPPM, 7th Cong., 1st sess.; in a clerk’s hand, signed and dated by Granger; list of postmasters subjoined in a clerk’s hand). Before Granger’s letter and the list of postmasters were submitted to Congress on 16 Feb., TJ had Meriwether Lewis transcribe Granger’s letter and the entire list (Tr in DLC; entirely in Lewis’s hand). While Granger had arranged the information in alphabetical order according to the city or site of the post office, beginning with Aaronsburg, Pennsylvania, Lewis arranged them according to states, beginning with Vermont. The list submitted by Granger concluded with post offices established in 1801. Lewis integrated the newly established post offices at the end of the appropriate states and noted that they were “established in 1801.” While Granger’s clerk used a separate column for remarks (often the last date when delinquent accounts had been received or the phrase “no accounts rendered”), Lewis interlined the information under the name of the postmaster. For the instructions Granger received for compiling the list, see TJ to Madison, 29 Dec. 1801.

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