The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1866-12-04

In time for the winner OF this sweepstakes
Now let our Yacht Club add gold cap to
the French medal.
The Report Of tho Secretary or Wsr-The
Reports and sub-Reperts 81 Military De-
partmcuta.
The report Of the Secretary Of War is plain.
well written document, containing in as brief .
space a. practicable compact and we'll ar
ranged history Of the business and operations
Of that Department during the past year. The
reduction Of the army has been going on as
rapidly as circumstances will permit, and there
has been, Of course, . corresponding retrench-
ment Of expenditures. There are now only
little over eleven thousand volunteers, white
and coored, left in the service but the Secretary
reminds the country that, should any national
emergency arise, past experience proves that
an army Of the full strength Of q million Of men
could be organized with ali necessary swiftness.
The Importance of speedily providing the army
with breech loading small arms Of the best pat
tern has been recognized by the government
and experiments have proved that the Spring
field rife can he altered into breech loader
and become better arm in all respects than
the Prussian needle gun. This is no doubt .
fact, since the latter arm has been much over
estimated. With these improved breech load
ers the efficiency of the regular army of the
United States will be much increased.
The total estimate Of military appropriations
for the fiscal year ending June 80, 1868, is
$25 ,2O5. 669.
The Secretary's report is confined to the
business of the Department--the expenditures
OF the different branches of the service, the
progress of works Of defence, the operations OF
the Freedmen's Bureau and other interesting
details. II is accompanied by reports from the
commandments of the military departments and
OF their subordinate officers, transmitted by
General Grant, all Of which contain matter Of
interest.
General Grant explains that the regular
army which has now almost entirely replaced
the volunteer force, has been mainly employed
during the past yesr in service along the con-
stantly extending frontier and in insuring the
execution OF the laws and protecting life and
property in the lately rebellious States. Indian
hostilities have, however, diminished with the
expiration of the rebellion, and the lawless
class at the South has been much smaller than
conld have been expected after civil war Of
such magnitude, although sufficiently formida-
BILE to justify the presence of q military force.
General Grant suggests the adjustment of In
dian agencies and the transfer Of the Indian
Bureau to the War Departments policy
which. we have no doubt, would be beneficial
10 the Indians as well az to our government
In y great many instances these agencies have
red man and the white. and have lain at the
foundation OF most of our Indian difficulties
Lieutenant General Sherman, who has had
command Of the military division Of the Mis-
souri, for the past year, unites in this recon-
mendstion to place the entire management of
the Indians under the control OF the military
authorities, and gives good reasons for such
policy. His report is brief, but contains an
interesting account of the measures by which
he hopes within the next year TO overcome
some Of the difficulties that have presented
themselves in the past within his important
division, so that the important work OF the
Pacific Railways and the general onward march
Of civilization and Improvement may not suffer
from the depredstions Of the savage.
The reports Of Generals Pope, Halleck. Nc
Dowell and Steele relate mainly 10 Indian
affairs. General Mcdowell believes TIE main
difficulty in the District of California to be
with the whites more than the Indians. and
~ Al.
natives with utter impunity. Here, we sub
NIT, is chance for our philanthropists, now
that they are about TO lose the negro as an
object Of sympathy.
General Meade makes report Of his opera
tons on the frontier in connection with the
Fenian movement against Canada, and sho Wa
that but for his prompt action our Canadian
neighbors might have witnessed the sight OF
more Of their Queens Own" in the neighbor-
hood OF Montreal running away from the
bayonets Of the terrible Fenians.
The report of Phil Sheridan is-like Phil
OF one OF his cavalry raids. The surrender Of
The rebel commander, K Kirby smith, bore
upon its face. he says, the evidence Of double
dealing. His real object Was to get security
for the Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi
troops 10 return to their homes in safety, while
the Texans, who made constant boast that
they were not conquered and that they would
renew the fight at some future day, declined
to surrender and returned to their homes, de-
stroying magazines on their way and carrying
of the arms and ammunition from the differ
ent arscnsls Sheridan tells us that II was the
original intention of this branch Of the rebel
army to organize a column OF fifteen thousand
confederates at Marshall Texas, under JET
Davis, for the invasion Of Mexico. The cap
ture OF Davis spoiled this scheme.
Sheridan makes no concealment Of his sym;
patty with the Mexican republicans and regards