An appropriation for the payment of the expenses of two commissioners appointed from civil life on the military prison board.

FEBRUARY 16, 1874.-Referred to the Committee on Appropriations and ordered to be

printed.

WAR DEPARTMENT, February 14, 1874. The Secretary of War has the honor to recommend to the United States Senate that an appropriation be passed for payment of two (2) commissioners from civil life appointed on the military prison board, under section 2 of the act approved March 3, 1873, from the date of their appointment, October 4, 1873; also an amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) to cover the traveling expenses of these two commissioners from the date of entry upon their duties to June 30, 1875. WM. W. BELKNAP, Secretary of War.

The PRESIDENT of the United States Senate.

A copy of the report of John M. Thacher, a delegate to the Vienna Exposition, held in August, 1873, on the subject of the protection of patents.

FEBRUARY 18, 1874.-Read, ordered to lie on the table and be printed.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of State and accompanying papers.

WASHINGTON, February 17, 1874.

U. S. GRANT.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, February 17, 1874.

Herewith I have the honor to transmit a copy of the report of Mr. John M. Thacher, 'who was appointed, in June last, as a delegate to represent the United States at the International Congress which was held at Vienna in August last for the consideration of the question of the protection of patents.

Respectfully submitted.

The PRESIDENT.

HAMILTON FISH.

Mr. Thacher to Mr. Fish.

WASHINGTON, January 30, 1874. SIR: In the letter of instructions accompanying my appointment by the President as one of the representatives of the Government of the United States to an International Patent-Congress, convened last August in Vienna during the progress of the international exposition, I am directed to report to the Secretary of State.

When this appointment was made it was supposed that the proposed convention would have an official character, and that representatives of different governments, especially that of Austria-Hungary, would be present to participate in its deliberations.

Upon arriving in Vienna a few days before the congress was to con

vene, I immediately sought our minister to Austria-Hungary, Mr. Jay, with whom I was associated in the duty of representing the United States in the proposed convention. To my great surprise he informed me, not only that he had declined to act as a representative, but also that the government of Austria-Hungary had withdrawn from the congress all official sanction and would not be represented therein by officially accredited delegates. Information was also received that, with the exception of the United States, no government had appointed representatives to the congress, and that as far as known the official notice requesting an international convention on the subject of patents received by our Government, and supposed to have come from that of Austria-Hungary, had not been transmitted to the governments of other nations. The friends of the movement, however, determined not to be thwarted in their purpose, had devised a plan for assembling in convention those interested in this subject, under the auspices of the pres ident, Archduke Regnier, and the director-general, Baron Schwarz Senborn, of the Vienna Exhibition, who had joined in issuing the original ogramme (see Exhibit A) on which the congress was founded, and in response to which it was supposed many would be present in Vienna at the time proposed for the purpose of discussing the subject of patentprotection. By this arrangement the so-called congress became a kind of mass-convention, open to any one desiring to participate in its deliberations and willing to pay the price fixed for a ticket of admission.

Under these circumstances I concluded, after consulting with Mr. Jay, that, as the congress had lost its official character, it would not comport with the dignity of my Government to present my credentials from the President of the United States to this unofficial body and become an active member thereof.

No attempt will be made here to discuss the question of responsibility for the unfortunate misunderstanding which thus placed the official delegate of the United States in an embarrassing and somewhat humiliating position at Vienna. It is a diplomatic question, with which I have no concern. I have deemed it necessary, however, to state the condition of affairs, as it was found, in justification of the course subsequently taken.

It appeared that a convention, more or less international in its composition, would be held, in which subjects of great importance to citizens of the United States would be discussed, and conclusions reached which might or might not be for their advantage. It seemed desirable, therefore, that I should remain in Vienna to watch the proceedings of this assembly, to give such explanations and advice as occasion might demand and circumstances permit, and to endeavor to secure through others such action as would forward the interests of American inventors and patentees. My presence in Vienna being known to many members of the congress, a resolution was adopted at the third session inviting me to address the assembly on the following day. This invitation presented a favorable opportunity to explain our patent-system, and to present some statements as to its effect upon the material interests of our country. I willingly acceded to the request, therefore; but, with this exception, I took no active part in the proceedings of the convention. (A copy of the "Official Gazette of the Patent-Office" containing the address is attached, and marked Exhibit B.)

The convention, or congress, assembled August 4, and continued in session five days, a final adjournment having been reached August 9, 73. A respectable number of gentlemen, representing several nationalities, were present, among whom were some noted as inventors, and