On full consideration of the law by which this duty was enjoined on me and of the report of the committee on the basis of which the law was founded, I have thought that I was authorized to adopt the principles laid down in that report in deciding on the sum which should be allowed to him for his services. With this view and on a comparison of his services with those which were rendered by other disbursing officers, taking into consideration also his aid in obtaining loans, I had decided to allow him 5 per cent for all sums borrowed and disbursed by him, and of which decision I informed him. Mr. Tompkins has since stated to me that this allowance will not indemnify him for his advances, loans, expenditures, and losses in rendering those services, nor place him on the footing of those who loaned money to the Government at that interesting period. He has also expressed a desire that I would submit the subject to the final decision of Congress, which I now do. In adopting this measure I think proper to add that I concur fully in the sentiments expressed by the committee in favor of the very patriotic and valuable services which were rendered by Mr. Tompkins in the late war. JAMES MONROE. MARCH 28, 1824. _To the House of Representatives of the United States_: I herewith transmit a report of the Secretary of War, together with a report from the Commissioner of the General Land Office, accompanied by the necessary documents, communicating the information heretofore requested by a resolution of the House in relation to the salt springs, lead and copper mines, together with the probable value of each of them and of the reservations attached to each, the extent to which they have been worked, the advantages and proximity of each to navigable waters, and the origin, nature, and extent of any claim made to them by individuals or companies, which reports contain all the information at present possessed on the subjects of the said resolution. JAMES MONROE. MARCH 30, 1824. _To the House of Representatives of the United States_: In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 14th instant, requesting information whether an advance of compensation had been made to any of the commissioners who had been appointed for the examination of titles and claims to land in Florida, and by what authority such advance, if any, had been made, I transmit a report of the Secretary of State, which contains the information desired. JAMES MONROE. WASHINGTON, _March 30, 1824_. _To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States_: