Reports of the Yankee Secretaries.
The reports of the
Yankee Secretaries are worth reading as a matter of curiosity.
That of the
Secretary of War is the most interesting.
He starts out with the assertion that the success of the
United States arms has enabled his Department to make a reduction of $200,000,000 in the estimates for the issuing fiscal year.
The draft, we learn from him, was only enforced in twelve States, and yielded 50,000 men and $10,000,000 commutation money, instead of the 300,000 men killed for. "Reports from the army indicate" that a large proportion of the troops whose terms expire next year will re-enlist for a month's furlough is granted them.
An Invalid corps has been established, composed of men rendered unfit for field duty by wounds and disease.
It numbers 20,000 men. The negro troops occupy a large portion of his message.
They only get $10 a month, where the whites get $11, and they get no bounties, which is not very surprising, seeing that they are seized neck and heels and pitched into the service without my movement of their own in the matter.
The artillery and arms which have been issued by the Ordnance Department since the war commenced, and which, save that part captured by the
Confederates, is now in use, is as follows: Siege and sea-coast artillery, 2,088 pieces; field artillery, 2,481; fire-arms for infantry, 1,550,576; fire-arms for cavalry, 327,170; sabres, 271,817; cartridges for artillery, 2,274,490; and cartridges for small arms, 378,584,104.
All of these things, including accoutrements, are now manufactured in the
United States.
Of the
Yankee army 13 per cent is now in hospitals.
They are distributed in 182 general hospitals.
The mortality this year has been less than the preceding one.
During the year 1,755 miles of military telegraph lines were constructed, making 5,326 miles now in operation.
Over these about 3,300 messages pass every day. The following is the
Secretary's brief notice of the army of the Potomac.
‘
"The armies of
Gen. Meade and
Gen. Lee now occupy relatively nearly the same position as at the date of my last annual report.
The numerous combats and engagements between detachments of these armies have been attended with perhaps equal loss on both sides, and without any material advantage to either."
’
In the report of the
Secretary of the Interior the only thing of interest that we find is the fact that 450 negroes who didn't want to go were shipped to Hayti, and that there is great prejudice in the free States at receiving negroes therein.
