ben promptly and regularly sent to the chief quartermasters in quantities sufficient to supply their subordinates, the failure to receive them was frequently made the excuse for neglect of duty. To remedy to some extent this evil a system was adopted to require a receipt from the officer to whom orders were transmitted. Had thin been devised and adopted earlier, and had it been made a point to retransmit orders to officers doing important duties when receipts were not forthcoming, no doubt much irregularity in the rendering of accounts and in the general management of business would have been obviated.

COMPILATION OF ORDERS, ETC.

A very general desire has been expressed that al the orders relating to this department should be collected revised and published in convenient form, and a reference made to the laws and regulations bearing upon the subject; the decision of the Quartermaster General since the commencement of this war to be embodied in the same work. This should be done under the sanction of the Quartermaster-General, and published by authority of the War Department. The publication of any treatise of this kind without this sanction and authority would not the wants of the department.

The several works which have lately appeared, though no doubt prompted by a commendable spirit, fail to meet the requirements, inasmuch as the subject are not properly collated; and besides, an officer would hesitate to base a heavy disbursement upon a decision contained in an unofficial digest. The Book of decision of the Second Comptroller of the Treasury Department is the best I have seen, thought some of his decisions as given are contrary to the Regulations. I will cite as instances Article 1234, Decisions of Second Comptroller, versus Paragraph 1142 and From 20 to Abstract B, Revised Army Regulations; and the last clause of Article 1265 and Article 1266, Decisions of Second Comptroller, versus Paragraphs 1082 and 1083, Revised Army Regulations, and laws of Congress.

COMMUNICATIONS SENT AND RECEIVED.

The number of letters received an entered in this division is as follows:

From Principal Cross entries Total.

entries

January 1 to June 2.204 4.161 6.365

30, 1865

July 1 to 1.178 1.473 2.921

September 30,

1865, inclusive

Total 3.382 5.904 9.286

The number of communications (exclusive of correspondence in reference to annual and personal reports, the transmission of printed orders, and printed circular letters) forwarded from this division from January 1 to June 30, 1865, inclusive, is as follows:

To the Secretary War.......................... 140

To the Adjutant-General....................... 410

Miscellaneous...............................1,266

________

Total........................................1,816

22 R R SERIES III, VOL V