less than upon the soldiers in the field. It is believed that the large number of deserters now absent, without reference to bounties, & c., have cost the Government $ 10,000,000.

The ease with which so many have escaped, the fact that no adequate measures have been adopted for their reclamation, and the omission to punish those who have been arrested, have combined to produce considerable demoralization among the newly- raised troops, and desertions are constantly on the increase.

In connection with enlistments, frauds stupendous in amount and of almost varied forms have been committed. The governments of the United States and of the loyal States, private associations, and the soldiers have been swindled in almost every conceivable manner. It is difficult to arrange under the various definitions of the civil law all these offenses, and some of them are so ingeniously designed as to evade all the penalties of municipal law.

I have mentioned these facts for the purpose of presenting fairly the amount of work assigned to my office and enabling you to form an estimate of the means necessary for its accomplishment.

Up to the present time no sufficient provision has been made for the performance of the really enormous task. To return to the Army the immense number of deserters; to discover, check, and punish the frauds known to be committed daily, imperatively requires a comprehensive system of operations and means commensurate with the object to be attained.

The nature and extent of my duties is now sufficiently revealed to demonstrate the necessity of having competent and reliable assistants.

Within the short time that the office has been established upward of 600 written communications have been received, personal interviews have been had with an equal or larger number of persons, and, as stated above, fifty cases involving questions of law have been considered and disposed of.

The completion of the organization will increase almost infinitely the amount of labor in my office, and it can hardly be necessary to urge the propriety of having an assistant to supervise its details. The position requires of its incumbent skill, activity, devotion to duty, and legal and military knowledge.

Some subordinate clerical assistance will probably be needed to keep the numerous accounts, & c.

With regard to the amount of expenses incurred by me, I beg leave to say that by the reports made by the special provost-marshals in answer to my circular of November 22 it appears that the total amount of expenses incurred by them is $ 9,999.81. The amount, it should be observed, does not include any compensation to the marshals, and in some cases does not include amounts paid for arresting deserters, such amounts having been paid by the State governments or by disbursing officers of the U. S. Army and not reported to me. The amount of expenses incurred by me for office rent, hire of necessary clerks and officers, traveling, stationery, and other incidentals from July 31 to December 1 is $ 2,894.14 = $ 12,893.95.

The amount of expenses upon seizure of guns referred to is not yet ascertained; it will probably be about $ 2,500. This includes large bills for freight, & c., for which the Government may or may not be responsible.

Before closing this report I beg leave to say that my observations and experience since my appointment enable me to state with confidence that, although the Army is weakened to a great extent by the