The weekly Arizona miner., 1870-08-13
THE ARMY.
Synopsis of the Army Bill as Passed--The
 Mode Prescribed for Reducing the Force --Brevet Rank. Pay, and Other Matters.

The following (sNys the San Francisco Call of the 2ith ult.) Is synopsis of the principal pro- visions of the Army Bill, as 1t becomes a law, af ter the numerous alterations made by the several Committees of Conference;
 REDUCTION OF THE ARMY.
 The President is directed to reduce the number of enlisted men ln the army to 5000 men, before July, 1871. Officers on their own application be- fore next January, may be honorably discharged, with one years extra pay and allowances. om- cers who have served thirty years may, 1T they de- sire, be placed on the retired list, which may be increased to three hundred The officers Of Gen eral and LleutenantGeneral are to be made the grades of Msjor-General and Brigader- General until the number of officers In those grades are reduced to three and six respectively, which mum. Der shall not thereafter be increased.
 DISABLED OFFICERS.
 Officers deemed uui; for the proper perform ance of thclr duties, from any cause except inju- rics incurred or contracted in the line of their duty, are to be reported by the General Of the Army to the Board convened by the Secretary of War, on whose recommendation they shall be mustered out with one years pay. TRANSFERS.
 The President is authorized to transfer officers from regiments of cavalry, artillery, and Infantry to the list of upcrnumemries, and all vacancies now existing, or which may be so caused before January next shall bc filled by supernumerary officers, having reference to rank, seniority, and fitness.
 sUPERNUMERARiEs supernumerary officers may, at their own re- | quest, be assigned as Second Lieutenants and If any remain after the first of next January they shall be mustered out with oue years pay and al- | lowance.
 | sEkvANTs-BREvET RANK-cIvIL OFFICERS. The present pay for enlisted men Is continued | for one year, and 1t Is made unlawful to use an enlisted man as q servant Breyet officers arc for | bdden to wear, while on duty, any uniform other | than that Of their actual rank, and they must be addressed in official communications only by their actual title Officers on the active list are forbidden to hold civil offices on paiu of yacating their commissions.
 | REGULATIONS OF sUrLERs The Secretary of War is authorized to prepare a 1 system of General Army regulations, 10 be ap- | proved by Congress, and to permit and control one or more trading establishments, to be main. tained at any frontier post not in the vicinity of 1 town.
 THE PAY.
 The amount of pay is fixed as follows: General, sl3,JO0; Lieutenant. General sIl 900: Maior-l;ep. eral, s1.5OO; Brigader General, s5,sno; Colo-si, s3,JO0; Lieutenant-Colouel,S 1000; Major S2, 800 Captain, mounted 5000; Captain, not mounted, sl,soo; First Lieutenant, mounted, sl,60O; First 1 LIeutenant not mounted sl 800: Second Licuten. 1 ant, mounted sl 800; Second Lieutenant not mounted, sl, i00-with ten per cent fo= each term | Of five years service These rates seem to be in fu'l of all communications and ao wances provided that fuel and forage in kind may be furnished as at present
 RETIRED OFFICERS.
 Officers retired from active service are to re ceiye seventyfxe per cent. of the pay of the rank upon which they are retired.
 Thirty thousand enlisted men is rather a small force for country so extensive as ours, and we have no hcsitancy in asserting that the number will be inadequate to perform the services required of the Army-which is to occupy coast defences, and carry on war against, perhaps, 5000 warlike savages, to say nothing of the "seryiees that may be required down South, to keep beggars on horseback. But, an election is close at hand, and Congress thought it would be a fine thing to cut down the strength of the Army, then ride back on the retrenchment" hob. by. But the thing will not work. wemust have more soldiers, and the people, if they look upon the matter in proper light, will not thank Congress for "retrenchingn on the Army when so many big leaks are left unclosed in the other Departments of Gov ernment. We bear no malice towards Con- gross, or any of its members, but we do wish they could be forced to live in the Indi- an country short time. They would, we are sure, shout, lustily, for more troops. There seems to be an error in that portion of the synopsis which speaks of the higher grades. It is our opinion that the grades General and Lieutenant General are not to be abolished during the life time of those now holding them.
 It pleases us to see that the pay of enlist ed men remains as before. In the Territories, where men wear out a couple of suits of shoddy on every scout they make, enlisted men should have either extra pay or clothing
 It will also be seen that the bill abolishes brevet rank, which, we know, will not please some of the officers who won their brevets by passing through danger and exposure, or serving their country faithfully, in the De- partments. If, as we suppose, the bill con tains provision to make officers serving as Ministers abroad, or acting as Military Sec retaries, etc., resign ther commissions or join their regiments, we shall be glad. We must confess that we are entirely ignorant as re- gards whether the pay of officers is raised or reduced by this new bill.