or property of citizens, or other persons lawfully within the Indian Territory; and are required to protect them and their property against depredations, outrages, or wrongs on the part of others.

II. All officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers are required to arrest and turn over for safe-keeping, to the commanding officer of the nearest military post or station, any person or persons found violating or known to have violated the provisions of paragraph I of this order, with charges in writing setting forth the nature of the offense, the time and lace, together with names of witnesses, to the end that persons so offending may be dealt with according to law.

By order of Brigadier General D. H. Cooper:

T. M. SCOTT,

Assistant Adjutant-General.

HOUSTON, March 27, 1865.

Brigadier General J. E. SLAUGHTER,

Commanding West Sub-District, Brownsville:

Inclosed with this you will receive my reply to the propositions of Major-General Wallace, of the U. S. Army, which, after you have read, you will please forward by flag of truce to Brazos Santiago, where I presume he is still awaiting my answer, as he has not communicated with Brigadier-General Hawes, at Galveston. * It was natural in you to agree to Meet Major-General Wallace under flag of truce, believing, as you doubtless did, that the propositions he would submit for discussion would be such a might lead to an honorable peace and such as officers jealous of the honor of their country would entertain. Yet I regret that you should have consented to entertain, or rather receive, the proposals actually made, since to have acceded to them would be the blackest treason to the Confederacy. No one is more desirous of terminating this was honorably than myself, but I beg that in future you will exercise the greatest caution and that you will not permit yourself to be drawn into such discussion as took lace in your interview with Major-General Wallace. The fact that an officer of his high rank in the enemy's army is found at so remote a corner of the Confederacy has in itself something sinister and suspicious. If the terms he was prepared to propose had been such as one could honorably entertain, it would not have been necessary for him to have come to the Rio Grande to open negotiations. The nature of his propositions sufficiently explain why his overtures were not made to our authorities nearer Richmond, and they should have been returned to him without discussion, as they would have been by our Government.

J. G. WALKER,

Major-General, Commanding.

GENERAL ORDERS,
HDQRS. TRANS-MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT, Numbers 27.
Shreveport, La., March 28, 1865.

I. The following orders, issued by the War Department, regulating the Reserves and Bureau of Conscription, are republished for the information of the department:

II. The generals of Reserves will hereafter control the enrolling officers and conduct the business of conscription and enrollment in their respective States, under the direction of the Secretary of War, through the Conscript Bureau.

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*See March 27, p. 1275.

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