Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-12-09

ever shifting frontier: to preserve peace
and suppress disorder and maHuding in
now settlements; To protect settlers and
their property against Indians and In
dams ngainst'thc cncroachmcnts of in
truders, and to enable pcaccable i'm
migrants to establish homes in the most
remote parts of our country.
The army j. now necessarily scattered
over such vast extent of territory that
whenever an outbreak occurs reinforce
mcnts must be hurried from many
quarters over great distances, and
always al heavy cost for transportation
of men. horses. wagons. and supplies. !
concur in the recommendations of the
secretary for increasing the army to the
strength of thirty thousand enlisted
men. II appear, by the -ccrctary's re-
port that in the absence Of disturbances
on the frontier, the troop, have been
actively employed ia collecting the In
dams hitherto hostile and locating them
on their proper reservations: that
Sitting Bull aud his adhcrcnts are
now prisoners mt Fort Randall;
that the Utcs have been moved to their
new reservation in Utah; that during
the recent outbreak of Apaches it was
necessary to reinforce garrisons in Ari-
iona by troops withdrawn from New
Mexico, and that some of the Apaches
are now held prisoners for trial. while
some have escaped and the aiority OF
the tribe are now on their reservation.
There is need of legislation 10 prev0t
intrusion upon the lands set apart for
the Indians \ large military force, at
great expense. is now required to patrol
the boundary line between Kansas and
the Indian Territory. The only punish
mcnt that can at present bc inflicted, is
the forciblc removal of the intruder and
the imposition of a pccuniary fine,
which, in most cases. it is impossible to
compel. There should be penalty by
imprisonment in such cases.
THE sIGNAL-SERvGCE.
The separate organization of the Sig
nal-scryicc is urged by the secretary of
war, and a fun statement of the adj
vantages of such permanent organiza-
ton is presented in the report Of the
chief signal officer. A detailed account
of the useful work performed by the
signal corps and the weather bureau is
also given in that report.
THE INDIAN BUREAU.
ask attention to the statements Of
| the secretary of war regarding the re-
QUESTIONS frequently made by the Indian
bureau upon the subsistence department
of the army for the casual support of
bands and tribes Of Indians whose ap-
preparations are exhausted. The war
/ department should not be left, by rea-
son of inadequate provision for the In
| dian bureau. to contribute for the main
/ tenance of Indians.
| RIVER AID HARBoR IMPROVEMENT.
The report Of the chief N engineers
| furnishes detailed account Of the oper-
ations for the improvement of rivers and
/ harbors. | commend to your attention
| the suggestions contained in this report
| in regard to the condition of our fortiti-
cations.c specially our coast detenses,
and recommend an increase Of the
strength of the engineer battalion, by
which the efficiency of our torpedo sys-
TEN would be improved. | also cali
YOUR attention to the remarks upon
the improvement of the South
Pass Of the Mississippi river,
the proposed free bridge over the
Potomac river at Georgetown, the i'm
portance of completing at an early day
the north wing of the department build
ing, and other recommendations of the
secretary OF war which appear in his
report. The actual expenditures Of this
department for the fiscal year ending
June 30. 1851. were 81. l22 POI 80. The
appropriations for the year les2 were
! SI $50 .72542. The estimates for 1888
are 4,j4l ,276.9l.
The report of the secretary Of the
navy exhibits the condition of that
branch of the service, and presents val
liable suggestions for its improvement.
| call your especial attention also TO the
appended report of the advisory board
which he convened to devise suitable
measures for increasing the efficiency Of
the navy, and particularly to report as
to the character and number of vessels
necessary to place it upon footing
commensurate with the necessities OF
the government. l cannot too strongly
urge upon my conviction that every
consideration of national safety, econ
omy and honor imperatively demands
thorough rehabilitation of our navy.
With full appreciation Of the fact that
compliance with the suggestions Of the
head of that department and of the ad-
visory board must involve o large eX-
penditurc of the public moneys, | earn
toJll ItNblllllfuu SUN
as will accomplish an end which seems
to me so desirable.
Nothing can be more inconsistent
with true public economy than with
holding the means necessary to accom-
plish the objects intrusted by the con-
stitution to the national legislature. One
of these objects, and one which is of
paramount importance, is declared by
our fundamental law to be the provision
for the common defense" Surely
nothing is more essential to the defense
of the union state and of all our people
/, that the efficiency of ournavy. We have
for many years maintained with for
cign governments the relations of hon
orable peace, and that such relations
may be permanent is desired by every
patriotic citizen of the republic. But Il
we read the teachings of history we
shall not forget that in the life of every
nation emergencies may arise when a
resort to arms can alone save it from
dishOnor. No danger from abroad now
threatens this people nor have we any
T., 1isty.t,gt ~,