The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-26 00:00:00

The American War Report•

The Secretary emphasises the beginning of his report
by contrasting the expenditures of the Department in the
last year of the war and the first of peace—the former
being $516,240,13170, the latter, by estimate, $33,814,46183.
On the Ist of May, 1865, there were a million of men in
the army; to-day there are less than 200,000, and by May
next it is expected the number will not exceed 50,000.
The progress and success of the war which made
this vast reduction possible are detailed at consi-
derable length. Immediately after its close orders
were issued to stop drafting and recruiting, reduce
purchases of arms, &c., muster out supernumerary
officers, and unfetter trade and commerce. From the
Veteran Reserve Corps nearly all the enlisted men have
been mustered out at their own desire. Recruiting for
the regular regiments continues. Lest it be thought that
the proposed standing army of 50,000 (which will be capa-
ble of increase to 82,600 without additional organisa-
tion) be too small for possible emergencies, the Secre-
tary reminds us that either against a renewal of the
insurrection or in case of foreign war it will be
possible to call out on the instant an immense number
of veteran troops ; that the Government has in its
arsenals more than a million of small arms, more artillery
than it can conveniently take care of, three years' supply
of ammunition, and an abundant stock of clothing and
quartermaster's stores. The present military organisation
embraces nineteen departments. _ _

The operations of the different bureaus are detailed at
considerable length. Eight volumes of reports of battles,
with maps and indexes, are in press. The Adjutant-Gene-
ral describes the rapidity and precision with which the
mustering-out of the troops proceeded. Regiments be-
gan leaving the army of the Potomac, numbering
162,851 officers and men, May 29, and in six weeks the
whole were gone. The average per month for the whole
army was 296,412. The Provost-Marshal-General in-
cludes in the statistics the enormous number of 2,759,019
men as the aggregate of quotas called for. The number
constructively put into service was 2,656,553, and the defi-
ciency of 102,496 would have been speedily made up but
for the close of the war. The total disbursements of the
Paymaster-General since the beginning of the war were
$1,029,239,000, of which during tho year ending June 30,
1865, $300,738,635 95 were paid to volunteers. Losses and
defalcations were $541,000; expenses of disbursement
$6,429,600, being less than three-fourths of one per cent.
The Surgeon-General reports that during the last year
there were 204 general hospitals, with a capacity of 136,894
beds; and in general hospitals alone 1,057,423 cases of
sick and wounded have been treated during the war, the
rate of mortality being 8 per cent.

The extraordinary services of the Quartermaster-
General's Bureau are duly recounted, among which not
the least remarkable was the transfer of Hooker's command
in 1863, numbering 23,000 men, with artillery, trains,
animals, and baggage, from the Rapidan to Stevenson,
a distance of 1,192 miles in seven days. The
Quartermaster depots supplied to the army during
the war 23,000,000 bushels of corn, 78,000,000
bushels of oats, 1,500,000 tons of hay, 550,000
cords of wood, and 1,600,000 tons of coal. During the last
fiscal year alone 141,632 cavalry horses were purchased.
The retrenchments in the Department since the close of
the war have been numerous and thorough. The Com-
missary-General of Prisoners reports 98,802 prisoners
in custody from Jan. 1 to Oct. 20, beside which 174,223
surrendered and were released on parole.
The whole number of colored troops enlisted during the
war was 178,975. Their losses from all causes except
muster out were 68,178. After existing orders for dis-
charge are executed, the number remaining in service will
be 85,024.—New York Tribune.

TRIAL OF POACHERS FOR MURDER.—The trial of
D. Booth, W. Sykes, A. Savage, J. Teale, J. Bent-
cliffe, and H. Bone, on the charge of murdering William
Lilley, gamekeeper on the Silverwood estate at Ravenfield,
was commenced on Thursday at the Leeds Assizes before
Mr. Justice Shee, and did not close till Saturday. The
alleged murder occurred in this way :—The deceased and
three other watchers went out to protect game in Silver-
wood, and about ten o'clock at night seven men were seen
in the wood setting snares. The watchers rushed upon
them, and Lilley, who was foremost, was struck down by a
blow from a stick, and then belaboured on the head and
body. He was fearfully injured, and died the day follow-
ing. Sykes, Teals, and Bone were identified by the
watchers, but the chief evidence against them was that of
Robert Woodhouse, an approver. The jury found Teale,
Sykes, Bone, and Bentcliffe guilty of manslaughter, and
Booth and Savage not guilty. Teale and Sykes were sen-
tenced to penal servitude. Booth and Savage wore re-
tained in custody, it having been intimated by the counsel
for the prosecution that a charge of night poaching would
be brought against them.

THE BRITISH MUSEUM.—A refreshment room has
just been opened at the British Museum for the con-
venience of the general public visiting that establishment,
in addition to those recently set apart for the officials and
the readers. The purveyor, Mr. R. H. Muffit, has been
appointed by the trustees, upon the express condition that
he should supply light refreshments of every description,
and of the best quality, at a moderate cost. Visitors from
a distance have long felt the want of this accommodation,
which formerly was only to be obtained outside the walls
of the museum. This addition to the comfort of visitors
has been procured for them by the principal librarian, Mr.
Panizzi. The entrance to the public refreshment room is
from the Greek and Roman galleries.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.-
-A man who served his time to a tailor, and subsequently
followed the business profitably for many years, now rules
in one of the most potent nations on earth, so potent
that all Europe waited with anxiety the arrival of his
Message, transmitted on the 4th inst., to the United
States Congress. Fabled Oriental romance pales before this
significant fact, a fact which must tell hereafter on the policy
of the world. The message itself is a proper sequence to
the American rebellion. The arms of the Federals were
triumphant. The Message is a message of peace and
mercy. There is no exultation about it; the story ren-
dered boasting unnecessary. The anticipations of France
and England have been falsified. The Union, as the
British Government and the governing clasees in this
country anticipated, has not gone to pieces. Instead of
being made weak by formidable resistance and great
danger, it has been made stronger. The people rose
equal to the occasion, and now they are a military people.
Without ignoring the proud pursuits of trade, manufac-
ture, and agriculture—without measuring their strength
with great military nations, the experiments forced on
them have enabled them to estimate the relative capacity
between themselves and European Governments.—Liver-
pool Post.

Chappuis'; registered whist-marker, for long or
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