As the President is the highest officer, in command, in the Navy, he ranks as second, and acts under his direction. It is his duty to procure naval stores and materials, and to oversee the places where they are deposited; to attend to the construction, equipment, armament, and employment of vessels of war, to make out the commissions of naval officers; to see that efficiency and discipline are maintained in the service; and to assume the control of the movements of the vessels of war that are kept cruising in every sea for the protection of our commerce and citizens in foreign parts, and the preservation of the international rights and dignity of the United States. 3. A chief clerk was formerly the second officer in rank in the Department, but, in 1861, provision was made, by Congress, for an Assistant Secretary, who should act as Secretary in the absence of that officer. Formerly there were five bureaus in this department, but in 1862, three more were added, making eight, as follows: 1. A Bureau of Yards and Docks. 2. A Bureau of Equipment and Recruiting. 3. A Bureau of Navigation. 4. A Bureau of Ordnance. 5. A Bureau of Construction and Repairs. 6. A Bureau of Steam Engineering. 7. A Bureau of Provisions and Clothing. 8. A Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. The President and Senate appoint all the heads of these bureaus, and select them principally from officers of high rank in the navy. They are all appointed for four years. The Secretary appoints all the numerous clerks employed in the various bureaus and assigns their duties. He must annually report to Congress the condition of his department, the manner and amount of all expenditures, furnish estimates for the expenses of the following year, and give such advice in regard to the naval interests of the country as his intimate knowledge of that branch of the service may suggest. He requires an intimate knowledge of maritime affairs, and of International law, and a high and enlightened appreciation of the policy to be pursued in our official and commercial intercourse with all foreign nations. The following list embraces the names of all the Secretaries of the Navy, from George Cabot, the first, to George M. Robeson, the present incumbent: