New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1868-11-14

.d o,. o+ tbot date there were mastering ana us
bnrsinq officers at Albany, Philadelphia and column
bns Ohio which have since been closed. Commuta-
tion money 70 the amount OF $SLf'O mas peeh io-
funded under the act of Feb 1861 and as one clause
&c oid act nrevents the payment of some just CLAIMS
that have been received at the Department since IL
waa nassed. Ethe repeal of that proyiso Is recon-
monded Nearly all the legal claims for collecting,
drilling and organizing volunteers have been paid or
ara On file undergoing examination and verihcaton,
with y view TO payment. The Adjutant-General
sneaks of fraudulent claims that are from time 10
time presented and recommends that laws be enacted
limiting the time within which claims for expenses
incurred prior 10 muster into service may DC pre-
scented. The Acknowledgement speaks at some
length on the subject of military prisons
He saws that the present system of punishment IN
the army not only fails to reform the men, but tends
to degrade them and that by throwing hardened and
desperate criminals into close contact with young and
thoughtless soldiers subjects the latter to contaml-
nation by both precept and example. lie forclDy al
ludes to the evils of guaTd-hOuse confinement, ana
holds that they are the fruitful cause OF deseron.
He remarks that men who have been guilty of often
SEES against the civil law, often enter the army to
escape the penalty of their oenses and at this time
there is way Of getting rid of these men for If
they are discharged from regiment they will go
to another part of the country and enlist again under
other names. After speaking further and with much
feeling and Judgment on this subject of army discl-
pline and punishment, the Adjutant-General declares
again, as he did last year. for military prisons.
These, he says if properly managed would serve rs
reformatory institutions and would rid the army of
many vicious and insubOrdinate men; they would
materially diminish the need and expense of courts
martial prevent the discharge of many desperate men
in unsettled parts of the country where they always
become pests and outlaws and would facilitate the
recognition of offenders against the civil law who
have entered the ranks of the army He proposes TO
build the first prison in New-York harbor, and if
that is found TO work well, then he would have Con-
gress provide for similar institutions Ship Island,
at one point the Pacific coast and at point in
the Mississippi valley. The labor of conyicts and
the stoppages of pay would, he thinks, nearly sup
port each prison after its erection. He would have
companies of discipline attached TO each prison into
which, under proper regulations all idle and worth
less of the class who prefer being in the guard
house to doing duty, should be transferred and
would have these vagabonds severely dealt with.
lie sketches his plan in detail and suggests that it
be submitted to Congress. The report closes with
tables showing the number and rank Of officers in tho
Adiutant- Generals Department.
The following is a summary of United States notes
and currency in circulation and in the Government
Offices at the close of business in the Treasury Office
on Tuesday Nov. 10, 1865. The seventeen millions in
compound-nterest notes have been nearly all re-
deemed but the exact amount outstanding Is not