The are ignorant and stupid, and even where they are not lazy, are inattentive to their duties. They must be selected from men physically unfit for the service, and of this class all who are good for anything get recommended for duty in some pleasanter and more popular branch of the service performed by men found for light duty. No one who can get employment with a quartermaster, commissary, tax collector, or even in a hospital, will ask assignment where, if he does his duty at all, he is sure of having hard work and much unpopularity. the consequence is, I have none but the refuse of the light duty men, who can even by courtesy be said to read and write. The men who have been disabled in the Army and are assigned to enrolling service are, whether they are commissioned or not, generally ignorant, always incapable of activity and energy, and mostly destitute of the desire to do their duty. They regard their assignment as a retirement with allowances in addition to pay given them as a reward for field service, and that the fulfillment of the duties intrusted to them is not expected. Of the two classes, the light-duty men assigned by me and the army officers and soldiers ordered to report to me because found unfit for anything else, I am positive that the latter are the more worthless.

There can be no more forcible illustration of this neglect and incompetency than the general failure to obey the order given in my circular on May 16 to make a full list of the State exemptions and others, and of the manifest inaccuracy of the monthly returns. II will give you another instance. When the registration returns were just handed to me of the county of Richmond, including the populous city of Augusta, they exhibited the names of thirteen boys who would reach the age of seventeen during the ensuing year. A repetition of the work showed a widely different state of facts. So long, general, as the present system of appointing disabled, stupid, and illiiterate men to perform duty requiring activity, intelligence, and education, the result will be failure; but if the plan proposed in circular of the Bureau of Conscription, No. 55, series of last year, is adopted, and competent men chosen (for their competency), appointed as enrolling officers, the duty will be done and the conscript service be made as important as it deserves to be.

I have alluded only to the incompetency of enrolling officers. I have not mentioned the frauds and corruption which mark their track everywhere, carefully covered, but yet observable and keenly felt, I desire earnestly to see the duty (second in importance no none) well and efficiently performed. I am deeply mortified at any failure in this State. I see and feel the deficiency, and beg respectfully to bring it strongly to your attention in the hope that through you it may be corrected. It is vain to pass laws unless the proper agents be allowed to execute them.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

WM. M. BROWNE,

Colonel and Commandant.

SCHEDULE No. 10.

OFFICE BOARD COMMISSIONERS FOR IMPRESSMENT FOR TENN.,

Headquarters, Aberdeen, Miss., February 1, 1865.

In accordance with the act of Congress to regulate impressment, the following schedule of prices for produce and army supplies, fur-