The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-01-15 00:00:00

incident to the character of the service requiied of our troops
have furnished additional evidence of their courage, zeal, and
capacity to meet any requisition whieli their country may
make upon them. For the details of the military operations,
the distribution of the troops, and additional provisions requir-
ed for tha military service, I refer to the report of the Secre-
tary of War and the accompanying documents.

Experience, gathered from events which have transpired
since my last annual message, has but served to confirm the
opinion then expressed of the propriety of making provision,
by a retired list, for disabled officers retained on the list for
active duty. All the reasons which existed when these mea-

sures were recommended on former oecasionscontinue without

modification except so far as circumstances have given to some
of them additional force.

The recommendations heretofore made for a partial re•
organization of the army, are also renewed. The thorough
elementary education given to those officers, who commence
their service with the grade of cadet, qualifies them, to a con-
siderable extent, to perform the duties of every arm of the
service; but to give the hig'aest efficiency to artillery requires
the practice and special study of many years; and it is not
therefore believed to be advisable to maintain, in time of peace,
a larger force of that arm than can he usually employed in the
duties appertaining to the service of field and siege artillery.
The duties of the staff in all its various branches belong
to the movements of troops, and the efficiency of an army in
the field, would materially depend upon the ability with which
those duties are discharged. It is not, as in the case of the
artillery, a specialty, hut requires also an intimate knowledge
of the duties of an officer of the line, and it is nut doubted
that, to complete the education of an officer for either the line
or the general staff. it is desirable that he shall have served in
both. With this view, it was recommended on a former occa-
sion that the duties of the stall should he mainly performed by
details from the line; and, with conviction from the advantages
which would result from such a change, it is again presented
for the consideration of Congress.

The report of the secretary of the navy, herewith submitted,
exhibits in full the naval operations of the past year, together
with the present condition of the service, and it makes
angcestions of fnrther legislation, to which your attention is
invited.

The construction of the sit steam frigates, for which appro-
priations were made by the last Congress, has proceeded in

the most s.ttisf,rtm y manner, and with such expedition, as to
warrant the ' 'i( f that they will he ready for service early in
the comin7 Important as this ad.lition to our naval
force is, it still remlins inadequate to the contingent exigencies
of the prweetion of the extensive sea coast and vast com-
mercial interests of the United States. In vew of this fad,
and of the acknowledged wisdom of the policy of a gradual
and systematic increase of the navy, an appropriation is
recommended for the construction of six steam sloops of war.
In regard to the steps taken in execution of the act of
Congress to promote the efficiency of the navy, it is unneces-
sary for me to say more than to express entire concurrence in
the observations on that subject, presented by the secretary in
his report.