His Excellency J. E. BRown to of Georgia, Milledgeville, Ga, December 26, 1863

HEADQUARTERS PERRY’S BRIGADE,
December 26, 1863.
December 26, 1863.

The above copies of indorsements are correct.

Acting Assistant Adjutant- General.

Richmond, Va., January 11, 1864. Governor VANCE, Raleigh, N. C.: Your request anticipated. The Don went to sea on or before the 9th.

Secretary of War.

Richmond, Va., January 12, 1864. His Excellency Z. B. VANCE, Governor of North Carolina, Raleigh, N. C.:

Sir: On the receipt of your letter of the 31st ultimo, relating to the consumption of grain in North Carolina in the manufacture of whisky, I called upon the Surgeon-General to report whether he had any contract for the distillation of spirits in your State, and if so, the quantity of grain required and the necessity for the supply. I annex a copy of his reply:

The Medical Department has no contract for alcoholic stimulant in the State of North Carolina. The distillery at Salisbury referred to by Governor Vance is owned by the Medical Department and is engaged in the manufacture of whisky and alcohol for the sole use of the sick and wounded of the Army. The distillery was purchased by this Department for the purpose of dispensing with the system of contracting for alcoholic stimulants, as it has been found that a large quantity of whisky manufactured by contractors is of an inferior quality and their _contracts were not in other respects faithfully carried out. It is also believed that a large quantity of whisky made by contractors has been sold to private parties when it should have been delivered to the Government, therety consuming more grain than was required to fill their contracts. Major Badham has been instructed to turn over grain to the medical purveyor in charge of the Government distillery at Salisbury in order to obviate the necessity of this department going into market to purchase, which would enhance the pee paid for grain by the Quartermaster’s Department, and the 30,000 bushels referred to in the within communication is for a whole year’s supply for the distillery. There is no distillery at Charlotte belonging to this department, nor am I aware that there is one there. The Attorney-General has decided that the Confederate Government has the express power “to support armies;” that any means may be used which are necessary and proper to obtain supplies for that support. Therefore a State has no power to interfere with the Confederate Government in the manufacture or even contracting for such supplies. In conclusion, I would state that it is absolutely necessary for the comfort and welfare of the sick and wounded of our Army that the Government distillery at Salisbury should not be interfered with or the supply of grain cut off.

I may add to the above that on inquiry I learn that a greater coolness of temperature than for many months of the year prevails in the Southern States when corn is more abundant is essential to the ready and proper distillation of spirits, and that this cireumstance prevented the easy solution of the difficulties presented by your remonstrance which I should have sought in the removal of the Government laboratory.

I trust your objections will, under the cireumstances, be withdrawn.

Very truly, yours,

Secretary of War.

[JANUARY 12, 1864.—For Murrah to Magruder, with reference to the status of Texas State troops, see Series I, Vol. LIII, p. 926. ]

CIRCULAR ) BUREAU OF CONSCRIPTION,

INO. okey Richmond, January 18, 1864.

I. The attention of commandants of conscripts is specially called to General Orders, No. 3, Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office, 1864, herewith printed.* By these general orders the acceptance of substitutes into the Army is forbidden, and all persons who have heretofore been exempted from military service by reason of having furnished substitutes are rendered liable to such service.

IJ. Commandants will forthwith proceed with the enrollment of all persons who have been exempted by reason of having furnished substitutes. A distinct roll will be kept of the persons thus enrolled, containing the name of the substitute, the date of the substitution, the company and regiment in which the substitution was made, and, as far as practicable, whether the substitute is still in service; and if not, whether lost by desertion, discharge, or casualty. This roll will be forwarded with monthly reports.

III. Principals of substitutes are subject to the same regulations prescribed for other persons liable to military service; but the fact of having furnished a substitute may be assumed as prima facie evidence that the principal has no other claim for exemption, and will therefore demand careful examination when new claims are presented.

IV. To aid in detecting frauds in substitutions which have been committed by officers and others, commandants will endeavor to procure all substitute papers, examine them, and if found to be irregular or supposed to be fraudulent, will forward them to the Bureau, with testimony and opinion.

V. Cases of fraudulent, irregular, and improper exemptions have been reported to the Bureau; certificates of exemption have been counterfeited, and it is feared officers are not free from liability to grave charges in granting exemptions.

Commandants will forthwith, by special inspections and otherwise, proceed to a rigid revision of all exemptions.

By command of Col. J. 8. Preston, superintendent:

Assistant Adjutant-General.
(To Commandants of Conscripts.)
Richmond, Va., January 13, 1864.
His Excellency J. E. BRown,
Governor of Georgia, Milledgeville, Ga.:
Str: General Beauregard has of late on several occasions expressed
serious apprehensions that the enemy were strengthening their land
forces and contemplating an attack on the line of railroad, and in