The next meeting of the Board will be held on Tuesday, the 31st day of January next.

E. W. HUBBARD,

ROBT. GIBBONEY,

Commissioners for Virginia.

By command of the Secretary of War:

JNO. WITHERS,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT,

Richmond, Va., December 31, 1864.

General S. COOPER,

Adjutant and Inspector General:

GENERAL: I am directed by the Secretary of War to inform you that the Senate has adopted in secret session a resolution inquiring as to the condition of the Army and the probability of recruiting the same, and to request that you will confer with him at once relative to the response to be made. It is important that the information should be furnished as soon as practicable.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

V. E. SHEPHERD.

CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA,

WAR DEPARTMENT, ORDNANCE BUREAU,

Richmond, December 31, 1864.

Hon. JAMES A. SEDDON,

Secretary of War:

SIR: In reply to your inquiry for information as to the means of supplying munitions of war, "confining the answerer to the munitions" furnished by this Bureau to the cis-Mississippi, I have the honor to state, first, as to arms: There are enough arms on hand of a mixed character-that is, arms most of which are not as good as those now in the hands of troops in the field-to arm and equip some additional force. The returns of November, 1864, showed on hand at the various arsenals and depots:

Rifles of caliber . 58. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,882

Rifles of caliber . 54. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,759

Smooth-bore muskets . 60. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,564

Smooth-bore muskets . 75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639

All other infantry arms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,504

Carbines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,596

This amount can be probably increased by 10,000 or 12,000 by a vigorous system of collecting the arms scattered about through the country.

IMPORTATIONS.

We have hitherto had no difficulty in importing arms through the blockades sea-ports. The total importations for the year have been:

Rifles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,798

Pistols. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,716

Carbines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,740

The want of funds necessary to purchase has greatly limited the importations of the expiring year. There are probably not more than 10,000 or 12,000 on the islands awaiting shipment.