The Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1859-1865, 1865-01-12

and Is rapidly increasing.
The productions aud manufactures OF
the State have become 80 diversified and
abundant that some measure should be
taken for an accurate ascertainment of
them, SO that their extent may be gener-
ally known. and also that the necessary
taxation may be intelligently imposed. 1
recommend sor these purposes the creation
OF Bureau, OF whicE the Auditor General
and State Treasurer shall be members, and
the mead OF which shall he a new officer,
to be styled Commissioners OF Statistics.
or designated by any other appropriate
title.
The of 18th August, 1864, providing
Tor the voting OF soldiers, should be care
fully examined, with view to its amend
ment, and, indeed, a revision OF our whole
election laws would seem to be desirable,
! with view 10 the two essential objects
Of |. The admission OF legal and exclusion
VI illegal votes at the pOI.sj uDd, :. Faith
fnl aad correct returns oi the votes actually
polled. i communicate herewith the
opinion OF the Attorney General on the
conflicting returns for lie 10Th Congress
siouai District, when vail show somc OF
The practical Giliicul,ies winch arise under
the existing system. Without under taking
to recommend Ihe adoption OF any paIt!c-
uiar plan, l submit the whole ss5Ject TO
yoar careful ana earnest confederation, in
f; the hoge ihat Ia your wisdom you viii be
able 10 devise some measure which will
produce the result so essential 10 the eX-
lstence VI Tree gOyerHment; that votes
shall be talriy taAen III the first Instance,
and ialTly counted and returned aiterward.
have eDdeaVored since L came into
Office 10 exercise as cautiously possible
the powers cOnfiGcd to the Executive, aud
avoid usurpiuS any. L shall endeavor to
persist IN inIs course to the end.
y new cali has been made ty the Pres.
ident for 100000 men. This renders it
! proper that | should invite Your attention
| 70 the evils which have resulted from
! abuses OF the system OF local bounties,
which was begun, ia an emergency, by the
voluntary aHd generous loyalty oi our
citizens, before The passage by Congress of
the enrolment act, and has since been
continued by suudry acts of Assembly
! The result has been to the last degree
oppressive 10 sur citizens and uuproduc-
tive OF corresponding benefit to tue Gov
ernmcut. In some counties and townships
/
! the last year exceeded the average income
derived :rom the land. The large sums
offered in some places in the competition
Tor men, have demoraliZed many Of our
| people, and the most atroclous frauds
! connected with the system have become
commOn. The men oi some OF the poorer
! counties have been nearly exhausted by
! thcir volunteers being credited 10 richer
/ localities paying heavier bounties. The
/ system as practiced lowers the nior1le of
the army itself, BY putting into The ranks
/ men actuated by merely mercenary mo-
/ uves, and who are tempted To desert by
the facility OF escaping detection, and the
| prospect ot new gains by re enlistment, a
! process which they expect 70 be able I'D
/ fcpGat an indefinite number OF times. OF
the number OF men for. whom bounties
! have been paid, it Is believed that not
one-tourth have been actually paced in
J :hc ranks OF the army, and even those
! who have Joined 1t have probably NOT, on
an average, rec eived for their own use
one haiti OF the bounty paid for them
| Immense sums have thus been appropria-
ted by cheats and swiudlerS, in many cases
| believed to De acting in completely with
agencies OF the Government.
An effort was made to prosecute some of
! the parties concerned IN such frauds under
| the act of Assembly OF l4th August last,
and they we're bound over by the Mayor
of this city, but alter the witnesses had
come here on the meeting OF TIE court,
they disappeared from the public eye. I
recommend the whole subject to your
careful consideration, tha, The system may
! be purgcd OF these evils
| am officially informed that the quota
of this State, under the recent call is &c.
| 999, but | am not informed Of the princi-
! pie ON which the drait is 10 he made.
! it appears from the Presidents procia-
nation that it is made chiefly to supply an
alleged deficiency in former calls. am
surprised ut the amount Of this large
deficiency, and can only account for the
diiIel eLce between the number of men
furnished by The State aud the deficiency
alleged to exist in ;hc assignment OF the
present quota, by the assumption that the
men never reached the army, although
enlisted and mustered after the payment
of 5ounties by the localities To which they
were supposed TO be credited. 1t is prob
able that there are very lew counties In
the State which have not paid largo
bouaties for a number of men sufficient 10
fill their former quotas.
Taking the local bouuties at the low