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62 "The following letter from the Secretary of the Navy, and extracts from our own States Papers, will serve to show the light in which Mr. Maury's labours have been, and are, regarded by our own Government:—

Your communication of the 20th inst., requesting information as to the benefits which commerce and navigation have derived from Lieutenant Maury's Wind and Current Charts, has been received.

The information contained in the accompanying extracts from the files of the department upon the subject appears to leave no doubt that they are of very great value, and, in referring to the opinion expressed in the last annual report of the department, I avail myself of the occasion to repeat expressions of my decided conviction that this officer, by his ability and enthusiasm in the cause in which he has been engaged, has not only added to the honour of his country, but saved millions of dollars for his country-men.

"The operations at the National Observatory and Hydrographical Office continue to be conducted in a manner highly satisfactory, and are adding much to the stores of knowledge and the facilities of ocean navigation. By virtue of the authority contained in the Act of Congress, approved March 3rd, 1849, I have recently appointed an agent in the City of London to make sale of the copies of the charts prepared at the Hydrographical Office for the cost of printing them, with the charges of transportation and a reasonable commission, so as to diffuse the information afforded by them to nautical persons generally.' (Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy, November 30th, 1850.)

"'The advantages of science in nautical affairs have rarely