visions for it, and of assuring the people of the Territory of the peaceful intentions of the government. This duty was faithfully performed; the chief men of the fraternity were assured that no violence was intended towards them or any one, and that nothing could be further from the intention of the government or the army than to molest any one for their religious opinions, however abhorrent they might be to the principles of Christian morality. This officer found, upon entering the Territory, that these deluded people had already, in advance of his arrival, or of any information, except as to the march of the column, determined to resist their approach and prevent, if possible, and by force, the entrance of the army into the valley of Salt Lake. Supplies of every sort were refused him. The day after his departure from the city, on his way back, Brigham Young issued his proclamation, substantially declaring war against the United States, and, at the same time, putting the Territory under martial law. The facts connected with this mission of Captain Van Vliet will appear more in detail from his reports, herewith transmitted.

In view of the menacing attitude of affairs in Utah, and of the importance of a prompt and thorough suppression of the spirit of rebellion reigning there, I must repeat my recommendation of five new regiments, which I am persuaded is the very smallest addition to the army which the exigencies of the service will allow.

THE STAFF.

Attention has been repeatedly called to defects in the organization of the army, and to various details in reference to several of its parts. As these evils increase with time and practice under them, I must again bring them before you.

The basis of our existing system is the British army as it served in the colonies before the revolution, retaining many of the defects, since corrected in Great Britain, under the experience and necessities of long wars. Provisions inconsistent with the existing system, copied from other nations, and partial legislation designed for particular interests, have augmented these evils, and we have committed the fault of adapting our fundamental organization to a time of peace, instead of basing it on the exigencies of war.

One of the greatest errors of detail is the separate, independent character of our staff corps. This removes them from their proper position as aids or assistants to the commander, and constitutes them his equals. It contracts the sphere of observation and experience, and thus unfits the officer for change or advancement, and begets an accumulation of precedent and prerogative at war with the vital principle of military organization-the inviolable and undivided authority of the head. He is bound, as they are, by the law, and his construction of it should govern them, not theirs him.

Another defect is the uncertain and ill-defined rights of brevet rank. We have adopted the word, but not its signification, from the English rule, and applied it to circumstances not contemplated or existing when first established. Repeated decisions and imperfect

legislation have only increased the evil by inviting new discussions and adopting new constructions.

We have retained another fault, abandoned, at least practically, in almost every service among civilized nations, even the most aristocratic and monarchical. This is promotion by seniority. Age and experience should bring excellence; but the test lies in the actual possession of the latter, and not merely in the circumstances which it is assumed should produce it. Seniority, with the requirements essential for position, ought certainly to give precedence; but without these, that dignity and respect which belong to rank and command can never be secured.

All that has been urged in favor of retaining it with us is the danger of political or personal favor governing a selection. There may be danger from this source, but, by the rule of seniority, the worst officer of any arm must, if he lives, come to be one of the most important and responsible officers under the government-the colonel of a regiment. By selection, it is possible that the very best may not always be chosen, though the chances are in favor of this hypothesis; but certainly the very worst never will be, and this is surely a gain on the present rule.

To correct these and other evils, I would urge so to provide by law for the construction of the regiments of horse, artillery, and infantry, as to approach them, as far as our circumstances require, to the practice of all nations long experienced in war, and so as to admit their contraction for peace and their re-expansion in war without altering

this basis.

This can be done without any increase of officers or men, or augmentation of expense, by merely arranging those already in service and the companies of each corps to suit the end proposed.

To place the staff in proper relation to the rest of the army, the law should collect all the officers doing that branch of duty into one corps, to be assigned by authority of the President to such duties as each may seem to be best fitted for, securing to each the rank and relative position he now holds. But, as some staff corps are confined to duties requiring special instruction and long experience, their separate organization might be retained.

A general provision dispensing with the staff bureaus and giving the President authority to regulate the duties on the principles above stated, and to transfer, when necessary, officers to and from the line and staff, would restore the institution to its proper effectiveness. Thus, the staff near the War Department, representing the authority of the constitutional commander-in-chief of the army and navy, would bear the same relation to him as the staff attached to a corps in the field have to the colonel or general who commands it.

To avoid, for the future, the difficulties attending brevet rank, the best plan is to create, permanently, the general offices now exercised under brevets, making as many major generals and brigadier generals as the strength of the army requires. This would afford promotion to many brevet officers of inferior rank, and thus absorb nearly all; as the strength of the army requires these officers, and they have always existed under the brevet rank, no increase of expense would

follow their being permanently established. The law should then provide that brevet rank should give no right, under any circumstances, unless by the special assignment of the President in such case, retaining that rank as a mere honorary distinction, except in case of special assignment, but at all times recommending the bearer as a worthy candidate for promotion.

Promotion may be made a reward of merit and an incentive to zeal by enacting that it shall take place by seniority in corps (unless in extraordinary cases) to the rank of captain, and beyond that by selection from the next grade in the same arm to that to be filled as far as colonel, inclusive. General officers to be at the choice of the President, as they now are.

Much has been said as to the propriety of separating the purchase of stores and supplies, and all moneyed accountability, from the officers proper of the army.

This system has been adopted in France, but is objected to as giving to the civil officers thus employed an immunity from military control, injurious, if not fatal, to the interests of the service. This objection would be fully met by providing that this class of officers, without receiving military rank, or being entitled to command, should be amenable to military tribunals, and thus act under the same responsibility that the disbursing officer now does.

It is certain that an officer looking forward to military advancement and fame is tempted to incur risks on the field of battle, the fatal issue of which might ruin his family, and some of his friends, and his own reputation, through the disorder which his sudden death might bring into his pecuniary affairs.

These proposed changes would restore our military system to that simplicity which would render such amendments as experience might recommend easy and well adapted to existing circumstances.

I concur with my predecessor in other proposed ameliorations, and especially in preparing for infirm and disabled officers a competent and tranquil retreat, and for the unworthy a substantial dismissal from the service; thus securing that efficiency of the army which will entitle it to full respect from the country, and which the country have a right to demand.

This should be applied in two ways: First, on the application of the officer; and second, on the direction of the President, as if on accusation. A board of five officers of high rank to be detailed for each case, and the examination to be conducted as though on charges before a court martial; the President to decide on the report of the court. The disposal of the officers to be one of three kinds: First, an honorable release from duty, and from any corps to which he may be attached; remaining as a supernumerary officer with the pay and emoluments of his grade, as on leave of absence. Second, to be retired from the army, without censure or disgrace, on his pay proper, unless he forfeits it by misconduct. Third, to be retired from the army, without pay or compensation, except a gratuity of one year's, or six or three months' pay, to secure him from the evil consequences of absolute want.

REPORT OF THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF.

I call special attention to the report of the general-in-chief, and ask for his recommendations a favorable consideration. It is certainly true, that to call ours a peace establishment is a mere abuse of terms. It is well known that the casualties of the battle field bear a very small proportion to the loss of life from exposure and hardship encountered in long and perilous marches, and from protracted campaigns In every particular, with the exception only of the battle field, no hardships encountered by any army prosecuting any war are greater than those to which a very large proportion of our troops are constantly exposed. And the dangers of battle are far from being insignificant, as the reports of these constantly recurring conflicts will abundantly show.

The plan of regimental depots for recruiting, I am confident, will be very advantageous to the service. It will produce a spirit of generous rivalry, conducive in the highest degree to good discipline and military bearing. The tone of the rank and file needs elevation extremely, and every means should be resorted to tending to effect it. If our troops were massed sufficiently to insure perfect drill and discipline; if they were made soldiers instead of day-laborers; if a feeling of pride instead of degradation resulted from their connexion with the service, the morale of the army would soon take that elevation which is most desirable in all armies, and which certainly ought to be pre-eminent in that of a great republic. The habit of employing soldiers as laborers is extremely detrimental to the service. They feel degraded because they are deprived of both the emoluments and the sturdy independence of the laboring man who feels that his Vocation is honorable because it is independent and free. The soldier who enters the service with some degree of military aspiration, can but resent as a wrong the order which changes him from his legitimate vocation to that of a mere operative deprived of his fair wages. I think it would conduce greatly to the elevation of the rank and file if promotion to commission was made readily and certainly attainable by the really meritorious men in the ranks. If our army was put upon the proper footing, the anomalous spectacle of having twothirds of our rank and file composed of foreigners would certainly not be witnessed.

INDIAN HOSTILITIES.

The expenses of the army have been and are constantly much angmented by the necessity of moving large bodies of troops, at the shortest possible notice, from remote points, to overawe or suppress Indian outbreaks. The temper and spirit of the Indians are entirely unknown to the War Department, except through communications from the Department of the Interior, which, of course, would never be made, except when forces are deemed necessary for the public safety. The system of defence proposed through the double line of posts, herein recommended, would, I think, in a very great measure, neutralize this evil.

RAILROAD TO THE PACIFIC.

The surveys heretofore ordered by Congress to ascertain the best route for the construction of a railroad from the western boundary of our States lying west of the Mississippi to the Pacific, have been carefully made, and the results elaborately set forth in eight large volumes. In the opinion of competent judges, there is now no controversy as to the most eligible route for the railroad, assuming that all the material facts in the case have been fully ascertained. The route from El Paso to the Colorado, besides being the shortest of all yet surveyed, possesses very decided advantages over others in several important particulars. The grades are lower, the climate milder, and the distance across the desert region, common to all the routes, is less upon this. Water, too, is sufficiently abundant upon the tract of this survey; so that in selecting a railroad route between the Pacific and the valley of the Mississippi, as far as our present information goes, that by El Paso would be chosen; but the consummation of this project, freed from all other difficulties, would require immense sums of money and a great length of time. Meanwhile other military roads very urgently require special and prompt opening and occupation. If the railroad were, to-day, completed from El Paso to the line of California, a strong and urgent necessity would still remain for maintaining and keeping open at least two of the other routes, for the passage of emigrants and the transportation of military stores to vast regions of our country accessible only by these routes. Then, as these routes are to be opened in any event, true policy and economy would seem to indicate that it should be done at once.

A line of stockade posts upon two of these routes would not require a very large force to maintain them, and, if placed at proper distances apart, would furnish certain means of a safe and rapid transportation of the mails and perfect protection to a telegraphic line from one ocean to the other, which latter object would, in itself, be worth far more to the country than the cost of the posts, and the expense of maintaining them.

EXPLORATIONS AND SURVEYS.

There is no appropriation of equal amount, in charge of this department, that is productive of more real and substantial benefit to the public service than that for military explorations and surveys. At this time we are actually ignorant of the geography and general character of large tracts of country lying between the valley of the Mississippi and the Pacific ocean. Every day is adding new and important facts to our present stores of knowledge upon this subject. And, much as has been accomplished within the last few years, it is hazarding but little to say that we have only begun to acquire what it is so useful for us to understand thoroughly.

Two expeditions have been fitted out expressly to explore tracts of country hitherto wholly unknown. The first was sent to the northwest, beyond the waters of the Upper Missouri, towards the "Black