decision, and I regret to be obliged to say that the department tamely submitted. Now, it may be considered as an established principle, decided by a court-martial and acquiesced in by the government, that an officer may take an unprotected and imprisoned soldier, beat him with an implement not more dangerous or cruel than a sword, without being guilty of “unofficer-like conduct,” although it be in direct violation of law, and of the rules and articles of war; and if the officer be arraigned for misconduct, he is entitled to an “honorable acquittal.” Perhaps it is necessary, as an act of justice to other officers, to add that the accused, and most of the members of the court were graduates of West Point. Is this the submission to the laws which is there inculcated?--the respect for the rights of inferiors taught at that “_democratic institution_?” After all, sir, the fault is as much in the system as in the men. By excluding every non-commissioned officer and private from promotion, you so degrade the army, and destroy its moral power, that is difficult to govern it without the infliction of corporal punishment. Abolish the West Point monopoly--open the way to merit for promotion from the ranks--and a new and far better class of soldiers will enlist in your service, a new spirit will pervade the army, obedience will be prompt and willing, emulation and hope will lead to acts of daring bravery, and you will gain in efficiency far more than you lose in science. The last evil I shall notice is the want of confidence, respect and attachment between the army and the people. The main reliance of this country for defence is, and ever must be, the militia. Anything, therefore, which tends to prejudice the militia, or the mass of the people, against the army, should be cautiously avoided, as it is essential to have them act in concert and harmony. Whether merited or unmerited, it cannot be denied that the people, and especially that portion of them which compose the militia, look upon West Point, and West Point officers, with great disfavor; they are specially unpopular. If war should occur, and the army and militia be brought in contact, the most disastrous consequences might ensue from their dissensions. It would be difficult, perhaps impossible, to induce the militia to volunteer their services when they would be placed under the command of the cadets. In the objections I have made, and the views I have taken of West Point, I believe I have expressed the general sentiment of the militia of my district, and of the majority of the State I have the honor in part to represent. Located, as the academy is, in the State of New York, its character and influences must be as well known and appreciated there as in any part of the Union; yet it has been repeatedly denounced by military conventions, composed of the most distinguished and enlightened men of that State. Believing it to be an expensive, extravagant, and anti-democratic institution of little