Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-12-04

dfaIelS, ana amount 10 SlO o5S,o24. Inc duties |
of the army have been performed with faithful |
ness, and assertions are less frequent. 1t has
not been found practicable to reduce the force in
the southern states east of the Mississippi, but
it is hoped that an improved condition of
affairs there may permit withdrawal of a |
part of the troops. The inequality of pun
ishments by courts martial for deserton |
and other military offences is found 10 be |
serious evil, and the adoption Of a code provid- |
ing specific penalties for well defined offences is
recommended. Attention is also called to the |
importance of establishing military prisons for |
the confinement of soldiers under sentence of |
courts martial. Some changes in the system Of |
military accounts are recommended in the inter
est of economy and simplicity. The tedious
business of settlement of war accounts has at
| last been concluded.
The seyenyfour national cemeteries now
contain the remains of 81 1862 persons. All but
sixteen Of the cemeteries are now permanently
enclosed or being enclosed under contracts now
in operation. The appointment of additional
commssary sergeants, with the pay and allow
ances of ordnance sergeants, is recommended in
accordance with the advice of the commissary
SOuNldls HltN -uluG NACOuClGs uON tAist III tuG
medical corps of the army, and the number of
qualified applicants is insufficient to fill them.
The whole number authorized by law are actu-
ally needed, and the attention of congress is
called to the deficiency. The appropriation for
the manufacture of arms is limited to such
system of breech-loading arms as shall be APP
proved by a board of officers now in session. If
the selection should be so long delayed that the
appropriation cannot be used before the end of
the fiscal year, its reappropriation is recon-
mended. Such of the arsenals east of the Mis-.
sissippi river as can be spared, the secretary
advises should be sold and the proceeds devoted
to the establishment of large arsenal of con-
structon and repair on the Atlantic coast, and
| depots for the storage of powder and nitre. The
| torpedo experiments made under the direction
OF Major Abbot of the engineer battalion are
reported TO have been entirely successful, and it
is now possible to devise plan of torpedo de-
Tense in connection with Notifications that will
be simple in its working, certain in its applca-
ton, and effective in its results. The river and
harbor works have been conducted with
vigor and success, and their value to
the commerce of the country far exceeds
lhNil Nools lHC WOih vi tllG SlHudl OhlCC Is IT,
viewed with approval, but no important recon-
mendations are made. AT West Point a salts
factory state of proficiency in discipline and
study is reported. Much time is wasted in Civ
ing the cadets knowledge of the elementary
branches of learning which should have been
acquired before entering the academy, and
change in the mode of selecting cadets is advised
as remedy for this evil.
The secretary of the navy reports that there
are now in the navy 17S vessels carrying 1873
guns, besides howitzers; 6S of these are steam
ers, 81 sailing vessels, 81 iron clads and % tugs
| Many of these are unfinished or in repair and
others are laid up in ordinary. Only 45 vessels
are in commission for sea service. The active
force is slightly increased since last year, with
improved efficiency, on account of its distribu-
ton in smaller and more active vessels, but the
limit of our power in this direction is almost
reached, since we have no more small cruisers
which can be put in commission without repairs
costing more than the result would JUS
tily. Of the ships built during the
war, or begun then and finished since,
many were designed for special SER
vice, and are no. adapted 10 our present
hNNto5 anu must VI lhCis buIl lidolllg
of unseasoned timber, have outved their use
funess. To spend money in keeping these
ships afloat is the most expensive way of main.
tanning a navy, since increased expenditure is
| attended with diminished usefulness. 1t would
| be better to build number of small, active
cruisers, of live oak or iron, adapted to the du-
| ties and means of the navy in time of peace,
| and fitted with the more modern and economi-
| cal machinery now in use. In several of the
| iron cads the wooden frame which was de
| cayed has been replaced with iron, and they are
now in complete repair and more effective than
ever for appropriate service. The secretary dis
cusses the subject of an inter-oceauic canal, and
| recommends further surveys of the isthmus un-
| til the whole subjec has been thoroughly inves.
| tigated and advises the acquisition of the Nayi-
gator islands, in the Pacific, as coaing station.
| The report speaks of experiments on steam
| boilers used at Sandy Hook last summer, at
which some engineer officers of the navy were
present, and recommends further experiments
in the same direction. The navy yards, the Sec
rotary thinks, should be developed and adapted
to the new necessities of naval warfare. At
Philadelphia the old yard should be abandoned,
anu INC pptldtloHo hOuNGHlldlCu Ut LCdSuG
| island; and improvements should be made at
Maze island, at Norfolk and New London
The postmaster general reports that the reve-
nues of his department during the past year
were sci ,915,426, and the total expenditures
| $26 ,65S, 1872. The estimated expenditures for
the yea ending June 80, 1874, are $50, 1858 167,
and the estimated receipts for the same period
are S24, 552 500, leaving a deficiency of more
than six and a.quarter millions. This does not
include special appropriations in the nature of
| subsidies. A postal convention has been con-
| Guided with Denmark establishing an interna-
tonal rate of seven cents on single
letters. Similar conventions have been
agreed upon with Sweden and Nor.
way. Conventions have also been CON
cluded with Switzerland and Newfound-
land, and one has been arranged at last,
after much difficulty, with France, but has not
| yet been approved by the minister of finance.
| The secretary repeats the recommendation of
his former reports for the abolition of the frank
| ing privilege, and argues at length in favor of
the establishment Of a government telegraph in
connection with the post office, and also recon.
mends the British system of post office savings
| banks.