A patriotic and valiant defender of his country, an able and heroic solclier, a spotless axid accomplished gentleman, crowned alike with the laurels of military renown and the highest tribute of his fellow-country- men to his worth as a citizen, he has gone to his reward. It is fitting that every mark of public respect should be paid to his memory. Therefore it is now ordered by the President that the national flag be clisplayed athalf-mast upon al1 the buildings of the Execiitive Depart- niexits in this city iintil after his funeral shall have takeu -place. By directiori of the President: DANIEL S. LAMONT, Iii the exercise of the power vested in the President by the Constitu- tion, and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-third section of the Revised Statutes and of tlie civil-service act approved January 16, 1883, the following rule for the regulation and improvement of the executive- civil service is hereby ainended and promulgated, as follows: RULli: XXII. Aiiy person in tiie classified departmental service may be transferred and appoirited to aiiy other place therein upon the followiiig conditions: I. Tliat he is riot debarred by clause 2 of Rule XXI. 2. That the head of a Department has, in a written statement tu-brí%d with the Comniission, requested such transfer to a place in said Department, to be designated in tlie statement. 3. That said person is shown in the statement or by other evidence satisfactory to the Corriniission to have been during six coiisecutive months in such service since January 16, 1383. 4. That such person has passed at the required grade one or more examinations under tiie Comrnission which are together equal to that required for the place to which the transfer is to be made. But any person who has for three years last preceding served as a clerk in the office of the President of the United States may be transferred or appoitited to aiiy place in the classified service without exaniin a t'ion. Approved, April I 2, 1886. GROVER CLEVELAND. Utlder the provisions of sectiori 4 of the act approved March 3, 1883, it is lierel~yordered that the several I3xeciitive Departments, the Depart- xnerit of Agriculture, and the Goveriiment Printirig Office be closed on Monday, the 31st instant, to enable the employees to participate in the decoratiou of the graves of the soldiers who fe11 during the rebellion. GROVER CLEVELAND. 494 Messages and Pajers ofthe Pmidents - EXECUTLVEMANSION, JuZy 3, 1886. To iYeads of the Goveri~nzentDepartmenfs: Inasmuch as the 4th of July of the present year falls upon Sunday and the celebration of Independence Day is to be generally observed upon Monday, July 5, it is hereby ordered that the severa1 Executive Depart- ments, the Department of Agriculture, and the Government Printing Office be closed on Monday. the 5th instant. GROVER CLEVELAND. EXECUTIVEMANSION, Washington, Ju& rq, 1886. To fhe Neads ofL3e$arfments i?z the Service of tlte General Government: 1 deem this a proper time to especially warn al1 subordinates in the severa1 Departments and al1 officeholders under the General Government against the use of their official positions in attempts to control political movements in their localities. Officeholders are the agents of the people, no-ir masters. Not only is their time and labor due to the Government, but they should scrupu- loiisly avoid in their political action, as well as itl the discharge of theii official--.- duty, offending by a display of obtrusive partisanship their neigh bors wb-kwerelations with them as public officials. They should also constantly remember that their party friends fron~ whom they have received preferment have not invested them with tht- power of arbitrarily managing their political affairs. They have no right as officeholders to dictate the political action of their party associates or to throttle freedom of action within party lines by methods and practices which pervert every useful and justifiable purpose of party organization. The influence of Federal officeholders should not be felt in the manip- ulation of political primary meetings and nominating conventions. The use by these officials of their positions to compass their selection as dele- gates to political conventions is indecent and unfair; and proper regard for the proprieties and 1-equirements of official place will also prevent their assurniilg the active conduct of political campaigns. Individual iilterest and activity in political affairs are by no means con- demned. Officeholders are neither disfranchised nor forbidden the exer- cise of political privileges, but their privileges are xiot enlarged nor is their duty to party increased to pernicious activity by officeholding. A just discrimination in this regard between the things a citizen inay properly do and the purposes for which a public office should not be used is easy in the light of a correct appreciatioii of the relation between the people and those intrusted with official place and a consideratiotl of the necessity under our form of government of political actiou free from official coercion. you are reqiiesteci to communicate the substaiice of tliese views to those for whose guidance they are inteuded. GROVER CLEVELAND. In tl-ie exercise of the power vested in the President by the Constitu- tiori, and by virtue of the seventeen hundred and fifty-tliird section of the Revised Statutes atidof the civil-service act approved January 16, 1883, tlie followiiig rule for the regulation and improvement of the executive civil service is Iiereby ameiided and prouiulgated, as follows: RULE IX. Al1 applications for regular competitive examinations for admission to the classi- fied civil service niust be made on blank forriis to be prescribed by tlie Commission. Kequests for blank fornis of application for competitive examinatioii for admissiori to tlie classified civil service and al1 regular applications for such examination chal1 he riiade- I. If for the classiiie<l dcpartinerital service, to the United States Civil Service Corririiíssioii at T\'ashirigtori, D. C. 2. If for the classified ciistoms service, to ti16 civil-service board of examiriers for the ciistoitis district in which the persoii desiriiig to be exaniined wisl~esto enter the ciistorris service. 3. If for tlie classified postal service, to the civil-service board o£exarniiiers for the post-office at which the persori desiring to be exaniined wishes to eiiter the postal service. Reqiiests for blatik fornis of applicatioil to customs and postal boards of examin- ers rii~istbe made in writing by the persohs desiring examinatiori, and sucli blarik- fortris sliall iiot be furnished to any other persons. Approved, August 13, 1886. GROVER CLEVELAND. DISR: Iti pitrsuance of a joirit resolittion of the Congrcss approvecl Mal-ch 3, 1877, :liitliorizirig the Presicterit to cause suitable regulatiotis to be iriatle for the tnaixlteiiance of the statue of "Liberty 13tiligliterii1igtlie \Vorlcl," now located oii Bedloes Islalid, in the harbor of New York, as n beacoii, 1 hereby direct that said statue be at once placecl under tlie care aiid superiritencieilce o£ the Light-IIoiise Board, arirl that it be frorli heticeforth rriairitained by said board as n beacon, aild that it be so riiairi- taiiied, lighted, and tended iii accorclnrice with such riiles arid regulatioris as now exist applicable thereto, or such otlier and differerit rules and reg- iilatioris as said board xnay deem necessary to carry oitt the design of said joiiit 1-esolutioii aud this order. GROVER CLEVELAND. Grover CZevela'and - 497 The date and hour of the funeral will be communicated to department coinmanders by telegraph, and by them to their subordinate commanders. By command of Lieutenant-General Sheridan: R. C. DRUM, Adjufanf-GeneraZ. The President of theunited States announces the death of ex-President Chester Alati Arthur in the following proclamation [order] : [For order see precedirlg page.] It is hereby ctirected, in pursuance of tlie instructiorls of the President, that on tlie day of the funeral, where this order may be received in time, otherwise on the day after its receipt, the ensign at each naval station and of each of the vessels of the United States Navy in commission be hoisted at half-mast from sunrise to sunset, and that also, at each naval station and on board of flagships and vessels acting singly, a gun be fired at ititervals o£ every lialf hour from sunrise to sunset. Tlie officers of the Navy andmneCorps will wear the usual badge of moiirning attached to the sword hilt and on the left arm for a period of thirty days. WILLIAM C. WHITNEY, Secrefary of fhe Navy. EXECUTIVEMANSION, Washington, Novenzber zo, 1886. It is heve6y o7dereá, That the Department of Agricult~~re,the Govern- ment Printing Office, and al1 other Government offices iii the District of Columbia be closed on Monday, the 22d instant, the day of the funeral of the late Chester Alan Arthur, ex-President of tlie United States. GROVER CLEVELAND. SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE. WASHINGTON,December 6, 1886. Tu fhe Con~yessof the U?zifedSta fes: In discharge of a constitutional duty, and following a tvell-established prececlerit in the Executive office, I lieren,ith transmit to the Cougress at its reassernbliug certaii~information concerning the state of the Union, together with silch recotrlmendations for legislative consideration as ap- pear necessary arid expedierit. Our Government has consistently maintaíned its relations of friendship nf P-VOL VIII-3s 498 Messages and Pajers of ihe Presz'dents toward al1 other powers and of neighborly interest toward those whose possessions are contiguous to our own. Few questions have arisen dur- ing the past year with other governments, and none of those ar; beyond the reach of settlement in friendly counsel. We are as yet without provision for the settlement of claims of citizens of the United States against Chile for injustice during the late war with Peru and Bolivia.