, 1877-12-04

Sl,MN,oo0 will remain. It Is suggested tha, All.
tln'rIF he IirrN by Congress u nRr IL pnrtlun or
this sum tul,ark the graves III soldiers l,rc'i IN
private ani vllingc cemeteries, to which tic law
.ltll int extend. Sixty thuu~anA dollars, II la
believed, wol,l sualtt for til, purpose.
surslsTENrE pErATMENE.
AS no appropriation fur subsistence OF the
army has ,ecn inaIc for ,i,c current fiscal year
supplcs with tho exception Of the limited
nntunte which could he purchased irnln nro
cccis Of saics Of subsistence suppltcs) havc
No difficulty has been experienced IN purcias-
Ing the necessary supplies, nnd at most points
the pr!ccs paid llayc not l'ecn more In excess ot
the caal, prico than the usual rates Of interest
upon tic cash value OF the stur.s; hut In sume
places, where there was but little competition.
excessive prizes appear to lnvc been drinnnc,l,
as In PORTIONS nE siontann, w''cre anpplics were
fsatc Tor es Ws ccn nn 5 II, h,
therefor. will he thoroughly scruttbizct, AMI
only sl.cll s.lil,s allowed ns may appcar Just 10
tho seller aud 10 The tiovcrnncht.
CHIEF or ENGINEERS.
Tho report Of the Chief Of Engineers states
that work upon nl,r tcaconat tlrEc,ists has been
practically Iimlted tu their care, preservation,
ind partial repair; lrtt he agntn urges the uloJl
tim ut sU.nc reasonable Bystgnt Ut annual cx-
pctHlituro upon Off larhor ccfenses.
Experiments uui practice OH the general tys.
ten vi torpedo dcfcnsc hare lcr11 continued Mt
Wt|lcts Point An appropriation, uf $tOJ.OuO fur
tic coming Ycnr is recommended f"r tllis par.
pose, and Tor tho purchase and storage for s,tcn
turtions Of Tic material rs wouli l,c imn,cll-
atGiy required II casu Of sudden ,stItit!cs.
The appropriation n1alc IN the Stlndry Civil
act Of thu last ssssion ot Congress- for Tic pro-
tccton nl tho pliers Of the hrigc ncross The Mis-
etsstprt lsIvCr at KoCk Island, ILL.,. ts teug ex-
pended III accordance wilt THO provisions u tho
net.
To comply With tho Joint resolution os March
., 1871, Commission was api,ol..te,l to examine
into The matter Of contracts t1,at1p between tllu
united States and thu sioiinu Watcr Company
as to the watcr-powcr at Ato!inc, III. :,
wcstcr1, lakes Under tho Engineer Department,
the trIan3uation has nccu carried from Vest
Held, n. r., to PatnesyiiIc, o. Tho topography
nnt1 hydrograpllv l1avc bcrn carried irUtn Ash
lo.Igit.ales Of Mount Forrest md Cairo, Ill,
l,ayu becn determined, and assistance las been
rendered In the telcgruphlc. dctcrnltna.
tion Of -, the lonxltAdes Of Fort Fctler-
tom Coi,rho md slcKuvctt, III 'rcxns. Thc
difference Ut level between Lukes Michigan and
Huperlor has been determined. Thu survey OF
tho Mississippi River. whcl, haA been carried on
been extended from five miles ahoyc Cairo, H.,
to u point eight nllcs uhuyc Columbus, kv.
Volume H., Descriptive GEOLOGY; Volume w.,
pa!contoloey a.ll Ofnitt,oloEs; md Volume
logical at,d Typographical Atlas of The Ncologic-
nj Exploration of thu fortfeth parallel, have
brcn rosnrIetel during the scar, and nrc now
T. the at.ds u 1.-The tho Public lrfiasr: v9'umc l.,
brutu paeonton9y, will s0un ho finished nsIl
rcady fur tile priMfrr. Tilcsu reports will COM
p!ctc tie work mud publications. belonging to
this surrey.
Tie systematic survey Of the territory west Of
the l09th mcrt1ian which for several ycars has
been CARRIED un by engineer and Other officers VI
tho nrny, hAA been continued during the year IN
PORTIONS ut California. Nsvatl1, Colorado. md
New Mexico, Tile continuation, Of this isctul
wGrl In 1ta GNtiktNrfnrp FTlrN1TtIs1n nj
orGai,izatlou, wll', 1t Is hoped. commend itself
ORDNANCE uErANEMEAE.
In consequence Ut the failure Of tho nppro.
p.iatio,ls for tlIs army. the manufacture ui arms
Ut the National Arnory At Springfield WIS
stopped OH tlIe tlrst Of july last A.ll tIlcro y
now only on hand a rescryc supply of s.t3
Is tho optnlou Of thu Department, 4. u
isrus'eht, ti.at . much Larger number
OF urrns ol the iatcst and must ai,-
senais III raso OF, emergency. Tue present
Springfield brerell-loatltn9 rac compares favur-
ably with tho best urtns lcre Or n6rual. 1t Is
NJ, arm that may not bc superseded for sun,u
years, and II obliged to yield 10 one u superior
merit. the elect will nut be to r1i,dtr 1t ol,sO-
lete, but tu make It secondary Uu,y u otlu hav-
Ing greater rapI,lity III iire. III this vluw 1t Is
believed TO be wise to luy up q reasonable sup
ply.
In the supply Of metallic ammunition, II Is
reported that VIZ are 1anentably deficient. Tcn
rullu15 per tiiOLh per Htun for target practlGp
la@. l!ecn allowed, bat This was tnaic9uate for
train!n! tbe solcr In tho tlse Of thu tlIc md In
tho perfection uf Ills craftsmanship. Atnny COM
plnnts from those III artyc service have resulted
III an order doubling the allowance, nls!sInG un
a, aRnual expcnaiture Of o,ooo,Nn Of cortrtlgcs.
rss sppF0psaa''' sae too toF ,a 1i p' res ys
thfs expenditure uliclous one. and It Is rccotn-
Mclided that un Increased appropriation be nalu
for metallic ammunition.
Tho subjcct uf the organization, artnln2, and
dlsrtplIltny thu militia as received the nttclItiye
consideration OF tue Chief 0f ORDNANCE. wllosI
lc,mrtnIent Is required, under tho net Of ls05,
to provide arn,s utld equipments for tue wlolu
buly VI militia. Under that act, an apprt,-
prlation oF saO,ooo Is annually made, which
| is not sufficient To arni MEd equip Hnoro
than 5,000 infantry. tbs organized militia Of
| tho 6tates ie nuw reported nt over $1,000
to encourage tie iurrcase aUi clllcicacy uf this
forec, m'lcls larger SUM thun ID now provided
Will be necessary,
! ts progressing very slowly. A consideration Of
their urgent wants, the length Of tlmu required
| TO SUPPLY taicn,. tho unprotected coti0ttlvn OF
our hArbor4, aud tho absolute im3kssLllty Of
| providing fur their tlcEenso IN time uf HulstGh
taEIcr, leals to tue conclusion that It would bv
for lAe Gest interest of tho c0ltntrY To provide
permanent annual appropriation fos thclF arma-
| Mcnt.
! FINANCIAL STATEMENT, EsTINATEs, ETC.
| TIC estimates Tor thtA Department I,r tho hs-
cal year cndIug juno ~, 1870, reyIaed amount
In the aggregate 10 tho sum u $+3. IL, ,4l3 "A
| Us follows;
Salaries. contingent expenses, and .....
asiitary s.abiiSlasat... yi, :3 ~. IN
IablIe works NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 7.pI!, or. 10
AtscclluaeoUs..". .... e. ...... =. ~ .:lu. 10
Total......,.,....... .si3 III, 4l3. ~
The estimates for the sunport Ut tic military
establishment nfc lor III nrliiy u y, UUu uullstc1
lncn, anl tho aggregate tlEicuf may be In
creased or lilnlni1hcu III proportion as tho
strength er tho array Is unaliy liked Ut larger
0r smaller nulnter.
T'he eattMutcs subu,Lttc1 by the chiefs VI
bureaus hayc, IN some Instances, Gten considers
ably reduced, aud 1t u believed that thu several
sums now askca are tic lowest that can oc ay,-
proprlatcd consistently with Just regard for
Tie publc lntercsts. 1n tt!o aggregate III these
estimates IL Included several itc,ns whIrL aru
Submitted tn pursuance Of statutcs requiring tho
annual expenditure Vi aeli,,lle suMa VI lnUDey,
Int Tefpte fnstlnv ent,tsly ttiS.