assembled in Jackson in May and proceeded to effect an organization of the volunteer forces. By the action of said Board the State comprises one division, which is subdivided into two brigades, each brigade subdivided into two regiments, and each regiment into two battalions. This is the existing volunteer military organization of the State, and will suffice unless there are numerous accessions to the volunteer corps, when an additional number of general officers will be required. By the existing law the officers commanding the division, brigades, &c., who are elected by said Board while exercising the command of general and field officers, are only commissioned as captains. Such is unprecedented in military history, and I therefore suggest, in order to obviate a constitutional point which was raised on the passage of the bill, that said Board act as a convention and be allowed only to make the nominations for these officers, and that the members of the division, brigades, regiment, &c. (The qualified electors), be required to elect the several officers, and that the nominations be not confined to the captains of companies at the present, but extend through the whole of the different corps, thereby allowing privates who possess military qualifications an equal chance with officers. I further suggest that the elections for these offices be ordered from general headquarters and to take place annually or biennially, or otherwise, upon the same day throughout each command. By this method the constitutional point will be obviated, and a general or field officer can be commissioned according to the rank he holds. The Board provides that the staff of the commandant of division shall consist of twelve, and the staff of the commandant of brigade shall consist of twice the number prescribed by the Army Regulations, without specifying the rank of either member of each staff. I suggest that each staff be reduced, and that the rank of each officer be specified. No reports ofperations of the division, brigades, &c., have been received at this department I recommend that at the next meeting of the Board a committee be appointed to draft a system of regulations for the volunteer organization. The law requiring the captains of volunteer companies to make annual reports to the adjutant-general of the condition of their arms has been but partially complied with. The reports that have been but partially in the appendix.

The number of men subject to military duty as far as reported amounts to 39,263, and are distributed in the different counties as follows, viz:

County. Men. County. Men. County. Men.

Greene. 216 Jackson. 541 Winston. 544

Covingto 438 Noxubee. 762 Amite. 690

n.

Adams. 753 Pontotoc. 2. 089 Wilkinson 592

.

Neshoba. 714 Tishoming 3. 480 Panola. 1. 063

o.

Oktibbeh 760 Tippah. 2. 400 Yalobusha 1. 241

a. .

Tunica. 187 De Soto. 1. 962 Newton. 455

Monroe. 1. 155 Warren. 940 Hancock. 443

Marshall 1. 516 Coahoma. 296 Simpson. 369

.

Rankin. 1. 032 Bolivar. 326 Clarke. 954

Kemper. 664 Madison. 863 Pike. 1. 201

Issaquen 151 Hinds. 1. 223 Franklin. 576

a.

Lawrence 736 Yazoo. 1. 156 Attala. 1. 179

.

Copiah. 1. 393 Jasper. 680 Smith. 632

Wayne. 278 Itawamba. 2. 082 Caliborne 568

.

Jones. 394 Holmes. 480

From the following counties no military rolls have been returned viz: Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Harrison, Jefferson,