, 1877-12-15

with the secretary Of wa, and the general
Of the army in awarding these officers and
the men employed in the long and tire
some pursuit, and in the final capture oS
the Indians, the honor and praise which is
So justly their own. The very serious
riots which occurred in several Of the
states IN July last, rendered necessary the
employment Of a considerable portion Of
the arTy 10 preserve the peace and main
tCnanca Of order Ill the states of West,
lrgiE;a, Maryland, PENNSYLVANIA and
Illinois. These DISTURBANCES were so
formidable as To defy the local and state
authorities, and the national executive
was called upon III the nlode provided by
the constitution and laws To- furnish mil:-
t"ry aid, and | am e,alitied to be able to
sta'e-tle troops sent in response to these
calls tur aid IN suppression Of domestic
violence, were able by the influence of
their presence III the disturbed regions tn
preserve the peace and restore order with
out the Use Of force. In the discharge Of
this delica ard important duty both
! officers and men acted with great prudence
; and courage, and for their services deserve
the thanks of the country Disturbances
along the klo Grande In Texas, to which
L have already referred, have rendered
necessary the constant employment Of a
military force In that vicinity. A full 70,
port OF all military operations in that
quarter has been transmitted to the house
"r representatives in answer to a reselu.
tion Of that body and it viii not therefore
be Necessary 10 enter into details. | re-
gret to say that these lawless execursions
INTO our territory by armed bands from
the Mexican side Of the line, for the pur-
pose of robbery have been Of frequent
occurrence, and i'll spite # the most viig-
orous efforts Of the commander of our
forces the EarauderS have generally sue
cceded III escapin. INTO Mexico with their
Plunder- In May last 1 gave orders for
the exercise of the utmost vigilance on
the part Of our troops for the suppression
Of these raids and the punishment of the
guilty parties as well as the recapture Of
property stolen by them. General Ord,
commanding in Texas, WAS directed to in
vlte the cooperation of the Mexican au-
thoritIeS III efforts To this end and assure
them that / WAS anxious to avoid givin.
the least offence To Mexico At the same
time he WAS directed To give notice Of my
determination 10 putan end the invasion
"f our territory by lawleSs hands intent
upon the plunder of our peaceful citizens,
even II The eiiectuai punishment Of the
outlaws should make the crossing of the
border by our troops in their pursuit
necessary. ii is believed that this policy
has hal the effect 10 check somewhat these
deprcdations, and that with a considerable
,ncreaSc uf our force upon that frontier
and the establishment of several addition
al military posts along the Rio Grande, SO
rs more eftectually 10 guard that exten,
Siye border, peace may be preserved and
the lives and property Of citizens in Texas
fully protected
Prior to the 1st day of July last the
army was III accordance with law, reduced
To the maximum of - 600 enlisted men,
beng reduction of 300 below the force
previously authorized This reduction
VAS made as required by law, entirely
from the infantry and artillery branches
OF the service, without any reduction Of
the cavalry. Under the law as it now
stands It Is necessary that the cavalry regi-
ments he recruited To 100 men Vi each
company for service on the Mexican and
Indian frontiers. The necessary effect Of
tins legislation Is to reduce the infantry
materially below the number required for
efficiency, and | concur with the secretary
of war IN recommending that author
lty be gwen to recruit all companies of
N
teries of artillery to at least 10 men,
with power III case of emergency to in
crease the former to 100 and the latter ta
l23 men each | invite your special at
tention to the following recommendations
of the secretary of war:
First-That provision be made for sup
plying to the army more abundant and
better supply Of reading matter.
Second THAT early action be taken by
congress looking to a complete revision
and republication of the army regulations.
Thiri-That section 1853 of the revised
statutes, limiting the number of officers
on the retired list, be repealed.
Fourth h-That the claims arising under
The act of July 4, 1864, for supplies taken
by the army during the war be taken from
the Offices Of the quartermaster and COM
missary generals and transferred to the
southern claims commission, or some other
tribunal having more time and better ia
cilitieS for their prompt investigation and
decision than are possessed by these Off
ceS.
Fifth-That congress provide for an an
luity fund for the families Of deceased
soldiers as recommended by the paymas-
er general OF the army
NAVAL AFFAIRS.
The report Of the secretary Of the navy
shows that we have SIX squadrons now
engaged in the protection of our foreign
commerce and other duties pertaining to
he naval service. The condition and
operations of the department are also
shown. The total expenditures for the
fiscal year ending June Goth, 1877, wero
SIG, OF, ,974 "A. There are unpaid claims
against the department, chargeable to the
last year, which are presented to the con-
sideration of congress by the report of
the secretary The estimates for the fiscal
year commencing July 1st, 1873, are Sl6,-
23$33 23$3, ,2:}4 23}4 40, exclusive Of the sum of e.
314 ,23l, submitted for new buildings,
repairs and improvements at the several
navy yards The appropriations for the
present fiscal year, commencing July,
l877, are sI3, ,592 ,032 80. The amount
Drawn from the treasury from July 1st to
November Ist, 1877, is s5,343,O3l 40, or
which there is estimated to be available,
81 .O20, ,52S 80, showing the amount OF
,ctual exDenditures during the first four