RICHMOND, September 7, 1861.

Lieutenant Colonel A. C. MYERS,

Acting Quartermaster-General, C. S. Army:

SIR: I have received from an official source information that the million of cartridges which reached Manassas a few days ago from Richmond are lying in piles on the ground, exposed to the rain, and must be damaged. If sent from Richmond without notice to the quartermaster at Mannasas to provide sheds, the blame is in Richmond. If this notice was given, the quartermaster at Manassas is to blame. Every one knows that the deficiency in store-houses at Manassas has existed from the time the army arrived, and this defect should have been remedied long ago. Quartermasters's stores of all kinds lie out in the rain for weeks. I have no patience while powder, &c., is exposed to damage and our plans exposed to failure by want of ordinary management. I do not mean to censure any one, for I know none of the heads of the department; but these facts should be made known in Richmond, and prompt steps taken to remove the evils. I regret to trouble you, and only do so in hopes that some good may be the result. It is only necessary for me to add that the subject demands immediate attention and the evils complained of prompt remedy.*

Respectfully,

L. P. WALKER,

Secretary of War.

RICHMOND, September 7, 1861.

Colonel NORTHROP, Commissary-General Subsistence:

SIR: In a communication received to-day there appears the following suggestive paragraph in reference to the subsistence of the army at Manassas and on the Potomac:

It is said to be impossible to provide rations ahead for the troops. So it may be if everything comes from Richmond; but if purchases are made in the valley of Virginia, such as flour, corn, oats, bacon, and beef, it is certainly practicable to accumulate any quantity, as two railroads would be in requisition instead of one. Besides, flour can be brought in the valley of Virginia, at the end of Manassas Railroad, one dollar per barrel cheaper than in Richmond, while the cost of transportation would be only one-half that from Richmond.

This communication comes from a source entitling it to consideration. Respectfully,

L. P. WALKER,

Secretary of War.

RICHMOND, VA., September 8, 1861.

General JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON:

MY DEAR GENERAL: I have duly received and considered the letter of General Beauregard of the 6th instant, addressed to you, and your reply of the same date.+ The first and controlling point in the case is the occupation of a line in close proximity to the enemy's entrenchments; and on this I am not sufficiently informed to have a decided opinion. If the purpose be to occupy the attention of the enemy by creating alarm of an attack until the battery at Evansport has been completed, the measure can have little permanence and no material effect

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*Answer, if any, not found.

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+Not found.

53 R R-VOL V