tution, but, by a judicious change in the mode of administration, to save some of the most promising members of the corps from the operation of an arbitrary rule, and to repose the ultimate decision in that well-balanced discretion which the academic board may be relied upon to use in all cases calling for its exercise. A vital reform in the disciplinary department would introduce a distinction between mala in se and mala prohibita, that does not seem now to exist, and indeed, in the opinion of the undersigned, at once elevate the standard of morals and manhood in the corps of cadets.

The undersigned cannot but believe that a system of demerit marks which practically ignores the distinction between offences against mere military etiquette and offences involving grave points of morals, is defective in the highest elements of excellence, and productive of deplorable results in the minds of many who are subjected to it. The unprecedented and shocking spectacle of a large proportion of the officers of our national army, forswearing their allegiance as readily as they would change their coats, which this country has witnessed with horror during the past half year, has suggested the gravest fears whether there may not have been something radically at fault in the mode of their education. The quasi abolition of moral distinctions in the code of discipline at the academy, and the utter confusion of acts wrong in themselves with acts wrong because forbidden, may have placed the desertion of their flag in the minds of these recreant officers in the same category with tardiness at parade or the neglect of any minor military duty.

In examining the demerit lists of some of the cadets who are recommended by the academic board for dismissal, it will be found that their offences are very largely made up of such delinquencies as follows, viz :

"Bed not properly folded at 10 and 11 a. m.," one demerit. "Bed down at inspection," one demerit.

"Curtains not drawn back at 6.45 a. m.,' one demerit.

"Name of room-mate not on orderly board at 10a m.," two demerits. "Unauthorized clothes-bag in possession," one demerit. "Floor out of order near washstand," four demerits. "Odor of tobacco smoke in room," four demerits.

And so on, throughout a long list, none of the offences involving any moral obliquity, and many of them indeed not being in violation of any printed rule of the academy. The last offence alone cited is the more remarkable, in view of the fact that the authorities of the institution furnish the cadets with tobacco and cigars, and thus permit, if they do not approve, the use of them.

It is to be noted, moreover, that these delinquencies are reported against cadets by their fellows, acting, in turn, as officers, and that the very strongest temptation is thus presented to ill-disposed members of the corps, by a needlessly stringent espionage, to damage those whose proficiency in studies may have excited the jealousy of classmates, or against whom any pique or grudge may be entertained. Offences of the character just given, when once reported, are very

apt to remain of record, as in their nature they are scarcely susceptible of disproof. It is believed by the undersigned that a system of discipline which subjects one cadet to the caprice, the malignity, or even the honest mistake of another, needs essential correction. Its evil effects are seen and realized in the fact of an apparent and indeed conceded antagonism between the corps of cadets and the government of the institution, the former practically adopting the Spartan theory of morals, in reference to the rules of the academy, "that nothing is wrong unless detected;" and the latter neglecting or refusing to secure the honorable co-operation of the cadets in the maintenance of discipline, by relying on their manly candor and conscience to do right because it is right, and when betrayed into wrong to atone for it in great part by a prompt and frank acknowledgment of it.

When it is remembered that by the rules of discipline prescribed in the institution a cadet is to be dismissed for "deficiency in conduct" if he receive one hundred marks of the character just described within a period of six months, the evil results of such a mode of administration are believed by the undersigned to be obvious and indisputable. A cadet dismissed for "deficiency in conduct" goes before the world in an attitude of disgrace, the term implying to the popular apprehension so much more than is really intended by the defective phraseology employed at the Military Academy. A wrong is thus inflicted upon the individual, and, instead of the training he may have received at the institution being a benefit and blessing to him, the fact and the manner of his dismissal are the stumbling blocks to his subsequent success and usefulness in life.

But the consequences resuiting to the individual cadet are not matters of such permanent interest to the government as are the effects of the system upon the institution itself, and upon those who complete their course and enter the national service. The undersigned believe that the peremptory dismissal of a cadet upon the receipt of one hundred demerit marks has the tendency to expel from the academy some of the most talented and promising members of the corps, who might by a judicious treatment of their peculiarities be saved to the service they are so well fitted by nature to adorn and honor. They believe, further, that by a rigid observance of the rules of discipline on minor points, and a barely respectable standing in class studies, not a few are graduated who never can become eminent in the service, and upon whom the indulgence and the bounty of the government, if not absolutely wasted, are yet very injudiciously and unprofitably expended.

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At the risk of mere repetition, the undersigned would then say, conclusion, that in their judgment all offences of a minor nature should be expiated by prompt, specific, and, if need be, severe punishments; and they should not be noted down, as at present, until, reaching an arbitrary number, they involve the expulsion of the cadet. If, however, in the judgment of the academic board, these offences are so habitual and continuous as to imply a lack of military precision, obedience, and discipline in any cadet, he may by special vote be removed from the academy on this distinctly-specified ground. At the same time let it be understood that the register of offences shall affect

class, rank, and standing, and shall thus influence the assignment to service upon graduation. With such a system of penalties on the one hand, and promises on the other, the undersigned are persuaded that discipline would be very rigidly maintained without incurring the hazard of losing some of the best cadets by an arbitrary and unbending rule. At the same time, in the opinion of the undersigned, the service would be benefitted by a more rigid standard in the various classes, and by requiring a higher degree of aptitude and scholarship than suffices in many instances for graduation. The academy is sustained at a large annual cost to the government, and the people have a right to expect that every man who is there graduated is possessed of marked ability Admission as a cadet should not depend on social, personal, or political considerations, but should be decided, without fear or favor, upon the mental and physical qualifications of the applicant; and when improper persons are admitted, the sooner they are dropped, the better for themselves and the country. Respectfully submitted.

J. G. BLAINE, of Maine.

ALEXANDER CUMMINGS, of Pennsylvania.
FITZ HENRY WARREN, of Iowa.

Hon. SIMON CAMERON,

Secretary of War.

Return of the Department of Northeastern Virginia, commanded by Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, for the month of June, 1861.

PRESENT.

Return of the Department of Northeastern Virginia-Continued.