other affairs. Under authority of Congress it has aided in the distribution of the writings of Washington, edited by Jared Sparks (12 vols.); Washington Correspondence, edited by Jared Sparks (4 vols.); Works of Alexander Hamilton, edited by John C. Hamilton (7 vols.); Works of Thomas Jefferson, edited by H. A. Washington (9 vols.); Works of John Adams, edited by Charles Francis Adams (10 vols.), and the Madison Papers (3 vols.).
Some of the most important of the regular reports of the Department of State are those of its Bureau of Statistics, which was organized in 1856, pursuant to an act of Congress of August 18 of that year, under which the Secretary of State was directed to issue annual reports on our commercial relations with foreign countries. Prior to this date reports on this subject had been issued at different periods from 1793 to 1831, but commencing with the year 1855 an annual volume on commercial relations has been issued by the Bureau of Statistics of the State Department. Prior to 1880 the work of the bureau was limited to the publication of this particular report. Since then the bureau has also issued a series of monthly consular reports, and from time to time special consular reports. Each number of these reports contains from 150 to 200 pages, consisting of statements from our consular officers all over the world. Though for the most part the contributions relate to commercial and industrial matters, social questions, such as wages, prices, cost of living, workingmen's houses, etc., receive frequent attention. The material for these reports is largely drawn from official publications of foreign governments and is correspondingly trustworthy, although consuls and consular agents are frequently called upon to make special studies in special localities. The reports other than the monthly reports comprehend the results of investigations along particular lines by all the consuls. The more important of these special reports are–1, Labor in Europe, 1878 (1 vol.); 2, Commerce of the World and the Share of the United States Therein, 1879; 3, Commerce of the World and the Share of the United States Therein, 1880-1; 4, Declared Exports for
