great centers shoulds be under the control of the same officer, no matter for what military department the supplies may be required. Providing transportation on all the Western waters should be managed by one officer, furnishing horses and mules by another, furnishing forage by another. As now managed if frequently happes that officers of different military department are in the market for the same article at the same time, thus competing with each other and running up the price of the article required.

Seventh. The principal or chief quatermaster of a department or army in the field should be timely made acquainted with the strength of the command and of the contemplated movements. It is expected that he will at all times be prepared to meet any emergency that may arise without knowing an hour in advance what contigency is likely to happen, thus necessitating at times the expenditure of large sums which might have been avoided and of sometimes embarrassing the movements of the army. There should be free and constant intercourse between the commander and the most important of his staff, and it shoul not expected that all official intercourse between them should be conducted through another. (See paragraph 451, Army Regulations.)

Eighth. That officers of judgment and experience be assigned exclusively to the duties of inspection, to report directly to the Quatermaster-General. By this means the department might be put in possession of much valuable information, and abuses which now exist be promptly corrected.

Ninth. That the accounts of the subordinate officers undergo examination by the chief quatermaster of the department before being forwarded to the Treasury Departemnt. The law now requires that accounts should be rendered direct to the Treasury, so it is not known by the officer in charge of a department, and who is in a measure responsible for the economical administration of it, whether supplies have been purchased at reasonable rates or not; and the examination of the accounts of inexperienced officers would be productive of much good, by pointing out irregularities which otherwise might be repeated from month to month until and examination shall been made at the Treasury, when it may be too late to correct them.

My absence from the city until the 30th of last month with the Army of the Cumberland will account for the delay in making this report.

Very respectfully, your most obedient servnat,

THOS. SWORDS,

Assistant Quatermaster-General.

[16, 20, 23.]

SPECIAL ORDERS,
HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO, Numbers 386.
Cincinnati, Ohio, October 7, 1863.

* * * *

8. Brigadier-General Tillson, chief of artillery, will at once send a company of heavy artillery to Frankfort, Ky., to garrison the fortifications at that point. The commanding officer of the battery upon his arrival at Frankfort will at once report by letter to Brigadier-General Boyle at Louisville, Ky., for orders.

By order of Major-General Burnside:

W. P. ANDERSON,
[30.] Assistant Adjutant-General.