On December 17th he again wrote to the Secretary calling his attention to General Orders No. 376, the seventh paragraph of which contained the duties on exported bars of gold and silver, which had been made free by order of the United States Government. Since the publication of the order he had seen a slip cut from a Vera Cruz paper of the 17th, from the Department to him on the subject, which said: "I have taken great pains to obtain correct information in respect to the production and exportation of the precious metals in and from this country. The Mexican policy has been uniform against the exportation of bars and ingots, though, from want or cupidity, special licenses have been given in violation of that sound policy and in gross violation of the rights purchased by the renters of the mints. This army is also interested in some prohibition, for if we permit the exportation of bars and ingots there will be but little domestic coinage, our drafts would soon be under par, and the Mexicans, from want of sufficient circulating medium, be less able to pay the contributions which we propose to levy upon them through their civil authorities." General Scott, knowing the President's great desire to have the war terminated, embraced every opportunity to keep him advised as to the prospects, more or less remote, of peace, and wrote, December 14th, that he "had received no communication from the Mexican Government, and did not expect any before the Congress and President had been installed, about March 10th. It is believed that both will be inclined to peace." Congress, however, did not meet until May. General William O. Butler arrived at the capital December 18th with thirty-six hundred men, and the train dispatched November 1st, under Colonel Harney, returned, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph E. Johnston, of the voltigeurs, with thirteen hundred men in addition to the escort that accompanied it on the trip down. These re-enforcements, with those that recently arrived, made a total of eight or nine thousand for duty. General Scott was anxious to occupy the mining districts of San Luis and Zacatecas, maintain communication with the capital, and open one with Tampico, and for that purpose needed two columns of five thousand men each, and to garrison the State capitals within reach of the two columns. It was represented that great embarrassment would result from the movement on Zacatecas, as that column would have to march through Queretaro to reach its destination. It was represented that it would cause the dispersion of the Mexican Government and make its assembling at any other point doubtful. The Department, however, directed the double movement to be made when the re-enforcements known to have left Vera Cruz would arrive, unless in the meantime otherwise instructed.