Congress, drafts have been made and the required number obtained, so that, under the call of July 18, there is no considerable deficiency in any of the States or districts in the quotas assigned. But as a large proportion of these quotas was filled by paper credits, there was a deficiency of men under that call. The President's proclamation of December 19 announces that that call is made to supply this deficiency. The quotas under call of July 18 having been filled by men and credits as authorized by law, the call of December 19 for 300,000 men had to be distributed the same as it would have been if there had been no deficiency in men.

Under the call of December 19 it is required--

First. That 300,000 men (and not credits alone) shall be obtained. The acts of Congress require that the distribution shall be made in proportion to the number of men liable to duty in the different districts, and that due consideration shall be given to every locality for any excess it may have on former calls.

To carry out the foregoing conditions the total excess in the United States was added in gross to the call and the sum distributed among the districts in proportion to their enrollment, this giving the gross quota of each district; the actual excess belonging to each district was then deducted from this gross quota, and the remainder gives the next quota of the locality under call of December 19. The sum of these next quotas makes up the 300,000 men required.

A formula to make the above distribution correctly, and to make it bear with the least possible hardship, has been communicated to the provost-marshals. As it is not possible to compute the quotas without full information from all the States and districts, it is plain that the figuring of persons who have no other information than what pertains to their respective localities can lead to no correct results.

With the foregoing principles in view, on the 24th of December the quotas under the call of December 19 were computed upon the best information at hand regarding the enrollment up to November 30, and reports as far as received of troops furnished up to December 19.

It was known at the time of computing these quotas that vigorous efforts had been going on during the month of December to revise the enrollment, and that the results of these efforts and complete reports of troops raised during the month of December could not be received until after the 1st of January. This date was looked forward to as likely to furnish more correct data, and also as the time to rectify those errors and omissions which it is impossible to discover until a call is actually made. The approximate quota of the State of New York, prepared from data on the 30th of November, was 46,821. During the month of December vigorous efforts were made, as before stated, to revise the enrollment, and material reductions in it were made in various States and districts. Accurate calculations, made upon the enrollment as corrected up the December 31, and complete data as to credits due up to that date, show the true quota of that State to have been, on the 1st instant, 61,076.

In reference to the city of New York the number of men to be raised was fixed at the low figure of 4,433 in the first assignment, from two peculiar causes. One related to the amount of credit to which that place was entitled on account of credits for men enlisted in the Navy prior to February 24, 1864. It was reported to me by the chairman of the volunteer committee of the New York Board of Supervisors that an agreement had been made between himself and General Hays, the then acting assistant provost-marshal-general, that