The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1876-12-06

of such claims by Congress or the eyen
utive departments of the Government
1t is believed that other Government.
are in advance of US upon this Question
and that the practice now adopted !,
entirely unsatisfactory.
Congress, by an act approved MarcL
3, 1875, authorized the inhabitants of tba
TERRITORY OF COLORADO
to form State Government with n,
name of the State of Colorado and
therein provided for the admission ~
said State, when formed, int the Union
upon an equal footing with the Original
States. A constitution having baon
adopted and ratified by the people If
that State and the acting Governor b.y.
ing certified to me the facts as provided
by said act, together with a copy of smell
constitution and ordinances as are mn.
vided for in the said act, and the pr5yis.
ions of said act of Congress having basn
duly complied with, l issued proca.
nation upon the first of August, 1876
a copy of which is hereto annexed.
The report of the Secretary Of War
shows that
THE ARMY
has been actively employed during tba
year in subduing, at the request of tba
Indian Bureau, certain wild bands of
the Sioux Indian nation, and in presery.
ing the peace at the South during the
election. The Commission constituted
lnder the act of July "a, 1876. to con.
slider and report on the whole sub ect of
reform and reorganization of the whole
army, met in August last and has col
lected large mass of statistics and
opinions bearing on the subject before
1t. These are now under consideration
and their report is progressing. [ am
advised, though, by the President of the
commission, that it will be impfacticabla
to comply with the clause Of
the act requiring the report to be pre-
scented through me to Congress on til.
first day of this session, as there has not
been time for the mature deliberatioB
which the Importance of the subject de-.
mands. Therefore [ ask that the time
of making the report be extended to
the 29th day of January, 1877.
In accordance with the resolution Of
August Is, 1876, the army regulations
prepared under the act of March |.
1879, have not been promulgated but
are held until after the report of the
above mentioned Commission shall have
been received and acted upon.
by the act of August Is, 1876, the
cavalry force of the army was in
creased by $500 men. with the proviso
that they should be discharged on the
expiration of the hostilities. Under
this authority the cavalry regiments
have been strengthened and a portion
of them are now in the field pursuing
the remnants of the Indians with whom
they have been engaged during the
summer. The
ESTIMATES OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT
are made up on the basis of the number
OF men authorized by law and their re,
qmrements as shown by years of expert
ence aud also with the purpose OF
part of the Bureau officers to provide
for all contingencies that may arise
during the time for which
the estimates are made. Exclusive of
engineers estimates presented In accor-
dance with the acts of Congress calling
for surveys and estimates for improve
ments atyarious localities, the estimates
now presented are about six millions in
excess of the appropriations for the
Years 1874, 1875 and 1876 This in
crease Is asked in order to provide for
the increased cavalry force, should their
services be necessary, TO prosecute eco
nomical work upon important buildings,
to provide for armament of fortifca-
tions and the manufacture of small arms.
and 10 replenish the working stock in
the supply departments The appro-
prlatlons for the last named have for the
past few years been so limited that the
accumulatlOns In store will be entirely
exhausted during the present year and
1t will be necessary to at once begin to
re2lenish them. invite your special
attention to the following RECOMMENDED
tons of the Secretary of War:
/, That the claims under the act of
the Fourth of July, 1864, for supplies
taken by the army during the war be
from the offices of the Quarter
master and Commissary Generals and
to the Southern Claims
commission. These claims are of pre-
lsely similar nature to those now he
ore the Southern Claims Commission.
| he war department bureaus have not the
lerlcal force for their examination nor
proper machinery for investigating the
oyalty of the claimants
2. That Congress sanction the scheme
II an annuity fund for the benefit of
he families OF deceased officers and that
also provide for the permanent Or
,anlzatlon of the regular service, both
Il which were recommended in my last
nnual message.
8. That manufacturing operStions of
he Ordinance DEPARTMENT ha copaan