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Show XT, REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. PURCHASE OF ANNUITY GOODS AND SUPPLIES. All. goods and supplies for the Indian service are contracted for in the spring of each year, after due advertisement for bi& in the prinoi-pal nevspapers in different parts of the country, the contra,cts being awarded to the lowest and best bidders. The schedule of goods re-quiredfor the present fiscal year comprises over 1,800 different articles required to meet the wants of the Indians. There mere received at the opening vf bids in Nev York, May 9,1881, 301 bids; at a subsequent letting in this city for beef 12 bids were received, and in San Francisco 2*, making a total of 345 bids for furnishing goods required by t.11e de-partment for the. present fiscal gear ; 161 contracts were executd, made out in qnadrnplicate, ea,cll one accompanied with a bond for the faithful performance of the same. The contracts were awarded by me, with the assistance of the Board of Indian Commissioners, after the samples offered with t l ~ eb ids ha1 been properly examined by inspectors ap-pointed for that pwpose. The delivery, inspection, iuld shipment of goods is mostly dine in New York, in a warehouse rented for that purpose. .There all goods ' are delivered, properly marked with a nnmber which muat correspond x7itth the nnmber on the invoice of the articles furnished ; all invoices must be made out in quintuplicate, and mnst give the number, weight, and coiltents of each package charged for. After delivery of the goods they are inspected by a person appointedfor that purpose, and each package stamped by the inspector with his name. A copy of each in-voice is forwarded by first mail to the agent for whom the goods are in-tended, in order that he may comya,re. the quantities received with the articles invoiced. Acon~pletereoordo f all packages received is kept, giving the name of the articles, date of inspection, of shipment, &c. ; and when it is considered that from May 2, 1881, to October 15,1881, there were shipped from the New York warehoi~se2 5,893 packages, weigh-ing 4,536,092 pounds, not one of which is unaccounted for, the mapi- 'tude of the business will be. nnclerstood and appreciated. No attempts have this year been made so far by contractors to de-liver goods inferior to the wample npon which the contract was awarded, and I can say that all goocls and supplie~f,t wnished during t,he present fiscal yead were of good qnality and entirely satisfactory to this office. CASH ANNUITIES. Wimebagoe8.-At its last session Oongress passed an act, whicli mas approved on the 18th of Janusrylast., to aid that portion of the Winne-bago tribe of Indians residing in Wiscollriu "to obtain subsistence by agricultural pursuits, and to promote t.heir civilization." It provicles that an account shall be stated between the two branches of the txibe, so that those in Wisconsiu mag be paid their full share as found to be due from those in Nebraska, and it directs that-firtnre distribution of |