Mr. DOOLITTLE. Yes, sir; and this is the Commissioner’s letter explaining the cir cu“mstances: On enteringon the position ofhead of the bureau I foupd a.large number of unsettledpapers on (i hero, issuedby various aggntsin Oregonand Washington Territory in 1860, 1 1. and1862. They amount in the aggregateto $7, 94090in Oregonand $21, 35343 in WashingtonTerritory. Therecords of the officedo not show clearly why this indebtedness accrued; but it appearsthat during the vcurs 1860, 1861, and 1862. owing to chaugnci’ns the 0 cuefor the dept of Oregonand ashington.fundswerenot regularly transmitted to defru the current expensesof the service. Superinten cutsandagents, notbeing fully advisedas to the amountof the funds applicable to the sorvrcc there, and being necessarily obligcif to depart from the rules of the dept against in curring any indebtedness.issuedvouchers for whatever articles they purchasedor whateverlabor they hired, without referenceto the funds at the disposal of the deptto meetthem. It is certain that Vouchers were issued duringthoseyearsto an amount greatly exceeding the op propriations then applicable to their payment. hey have been presented andpaid from time to time since, partly out of funds originally applicable to their)ayment, and partly out of funds made applicable y virtue of the not of March 3, 1563ant orizing not exceeding$681100 of unexpended balances of appropriations for the dian service in Oregon and ashington to be so used. There ure now no funds applicable to the paymentof theseoutstanding claims, and none appropriated for the Indian service in Oregon and VnshingtonTUITIU)TYwhich couldbediverted to that objcct without seriously embarrassing the service there; yet the claims should be paid. Alsrge portion of them are for labor done under the direction of officersof the Government, while others are for goods or provisions sold to the Government. The pilrties have lived out of their just dum for 4 or 5 years.some of them even longer, and this dept is continually in receipt of urgent appeals for the paymentoffheso vouchers. I “I have stated above the amount of these claims now on his in this office. Othershave beenfiled by the claimants and withdrawn again, after a vain cudeavor to procure their money; and Occasionally a new claim is presented' so that it is impossibleto say exactly what sumwill be required to myall the just claims now remaining unpaid. It ink, however, that at least $40,000will be required for the object. I have thereforepreparedan estimate, ”ke. Now, Mr. President, it is not satisfactoryto the committee that this thing should be so; but the facts are, that in consequence of the changes from time to time of the officers on that coast, and the length of time required to make out their bonds there and send them to the office here, before any mone could be remitted, the necessities of the In ian service there had to go on, or did go on, and the officers, without waiting for the funds to come, actually incurred expenditures for labor, goods, &c. This indebtedness accrued against the Government in this way, and the dept here is charged with it, and annoyed continu ally by it; and the nestion is, what shall be done? Shall the debt he repudiated, because in consequence of that state of things the agents on that coast transcended, really, their legal powers from the necessity of the case? The Senfrom Oregon can explain more particularly how the matter transpired there, if it is necessary or desirable.