Respectfully forwarded: HEADQUARTERS, FIRST DIVISION, N. G., S. N. Y., The sooner New York City commences to furnish suitable armories for its troops the better it will be for its taxpayers. Few, if any, of the buildings used by the organizations of this Division could resist an assault with paving stones, to say nothing of fire arms, in the hands of a violent mob. The City of Brooklyn has for some years been engaged in making provisions for its military organizations, and to-day has nearly, if not quite all, its troops well quartered. Shall it be said that the past services of the First Division entitles it to less consideration, or that the great City of New York, with its boasted wealth and public institutions, cannot afford to quarter that arm of the public service upon which it must rely when serious trouble arises. No regiment in the service of the State has stronger claims for a good armory than the Twelfth, and I recommend that the Board organized by section 60, chapter 299, Laws of 1883, investigate and take the necessary action to procure it without delay. ALEXANDER SHALER, Maj.-Gen. Com'dg. STATE OF NEW YORK-ADJUTANT-General's Office, Į Respectfully referred to the Inspector-General, with a recommendation that he confer with the other members of the Board provided for in sections 61 and 62 of the Military Code in regard to taking steps to provide a suitable armory for the Twelfth Regiment. J. G. FARNSWORTH, Adjutant-General. OFFICE OF THE COUNTY TREASURER, NEW YORK COUNTY COURT-HOUSE, To the Hon. Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of the City of New York: } GENTLEMEN-By the provisions of section 60 of article 9 of the Military Code of the State of New York, passed April 23, 1883, the Inspector-General of the State of New York, the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors and the County Treasurer of the County of New York are constituted a Board to erect or rent armories in the County of New York. This Board met November 19, 1883, all the members being present, to consider the application (herewith inclosed, which kindly return to us) of Colonel S. V. R. Cruger, of Twelfth Infantry, N. G., S. N. Y., for a new armory for said regiment, said armory to contain brigade and division headquarters. The Board, after full discussion of the matter, passed the following resolution: "That it is the opinion of this Board that the present accommodations of the Twelfth “Regiment are inadequate and unfit for the purposes for which they are used, and that "this Board respect fully recommends to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund that "they specify a sum to be used in erecting an adequate and suitable armory for said regiment, in accordance with the provisions of article 9, section 62 of the Military Code "of the State of New York." The Board again met on November 27, 1883, and passed the following resolution : 'That, from investigations made since its last meeting, this Board is of the unanimous “opinion that an eligible site can be purchased and a building erected to meet the needs "of the organizations mentioned in Colonel Cruger's application for a sum not to exceed "$350,000," and respectfully request your Honorable Body to take such early action as will enable them to carry out their recommendations. Yours respectfully, J. NELSON TAPPAN, Secretary. On motion, the communication of J. Nelson Tappan, Secretary, with accompanying documents, were referred to the Comptroller to investigate and report. The Mayor submitted the following in relation to armory for the Eighth Regiment, N. G., S. N. Y.: To the Inspector General, the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors (Aldermen) and the County Treasurer (Chamberlain) of the City and County of New York: The petition of the undersigned respectfully shows to your Honorable Body: That the Eighth Regiment is an organization which has existed for over one hundred years, and during that time has worthily performed its duties and achieved an enduring fame, and more especially has won the gratitude of the citizens of this city by the effective service it has rendered in the protection of their lives and property against the violence of mobs. When the armory in Twenty-third street was destroyed by fire, the regiment moved into the quarters which are still occupied by it over a stable on Ninth avenue. These were always regarded as merely temporary quarters, and they long ago proved inadequate for the uses of the regiment; the floor of the drillroom is so unstable that very few battalion movements can be executed in it with safety. But notwithstanding this, and although this regiment imposes upon this City expenses one-third less than the cost of maintaining any other regiment, still the Eighth, by reason of the earnest and faithful spirit existing among its members, has always kept up the discipline and efficiency of its organization, and has lately won the commendation of the InspectorGeneral, who, in his last annual report to the Governor, assigns the Eighth a place in the front rank for general excellence and efficiency. On account of these facts, and on account of the character of its members, who for the most part are sturdy, industrious men of small pecuniary means, the Eighth has a strong claim for assistance upon this City. The undersigned therefore respectfully appeal to you, and ask that you will make a report to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund recommending an appropriation of $350,000, $200,000 to be applied for the purchase of land and $150,000 for the erection of an armory for the Eighth Regiment, or an appropriation of $150,000 alone for the erection of an armory for the regiment on the land, which the undersigned are informed is now owned by the City, on Lexington avenue, between Sixty-seventh and Sixty-eighth streets, in case the City will permit the use of that land for such purpose. That land, we believe, does not now yield any revenue to the City, and the interest on $350,000, if the whole sum is appropriated, is not greater than the rental which is paid by the City for the use of several regimental armories. The undersigned therefore appeal to you, if it meets with your approval, that you will take such steps as may be necessary to procure the above appropriation, and thus to secure for the Eighth Regiment, which we represent, the privileges and facilities which are possessed by other military organizations in our city. GEORGE D. SCOTT, Colonel, Eighth Regiment. F. A. SCHILLING, Lieutenant-Colonel, Eighth Regiment. JAMES O. JOHNSON, Adjutant. GEO. L. WENTWORTH, Quartermaster. C. E. BRUCE, Surgeon. S. HEMINGWAY, Assistant Surgeon. EDWARD BARKER, Captain and I. R. P. T. M. YOUNG, First Lieutenant, Co. B. S. STEINIGER, Lieutenant, Co. D. LOUIS G. CASSIDY, Lieutenant, Co. E. JOHN D. McLEAN, Captain, Co. F. PHILIP H. MONAGHAN, Lieutenant, Co. F. HENRY CHAUNCEY, Jr., Captain, Co. H. H. K. BEATTY, First Lieutenant, Co. H. A. C. BAXTER, Captain, Co. I. A. P. DELCAMBRE, Second Lieutenant, Co. I. HEADQUARTERS, Eighth RegiMENT, N. G., S. N. Y., No. 281 NINTH AVENUE, SOUTHWEST CORNER TWENTY-SEVENTH STREET, To the Inspector General, N. G., S. N. Y.; the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors and the City Chamberlain of the County of New York, composing and constituting the Board to erect or rent armories, drillrooms and place of deposit for the safe keeping of arms, uniforms, etc., as provided in article IX. of the Military Code of the State of New York: I, George D. Scott, the Colonel commanding the Eighth Regiment, in the Second Brigade, First Division, of the National Guard of the State of New York, to which the following companies are attached and form a part, viz., Companies B, C, D, E, F, G, H and I of said regiment, and the officer in permanent command or charge of the armory hereinafter described, do hereby certify and complain that, in my opinion, the building now occupied by said regiment and companies as an armory, located at the southwest corner of Ninth avenue, in the City of New York, is unfit for the uses for which it was designed, in that, among other things, the said armory is situated on the top floor of a building the remainder of which is occupied as a stable, in consequence of which it is unsafe and inadequate for drilling purposes, and there is constant danger of the destruction of the arms, uniforms and other public property in my charge by fire. I therefore request that your Honorable Board forthwith examine into the condition of said armory, and that your Honorable Board erect, within said County of New York, suitable and convenient premises, approved by the Adjutant-General, for a regimental armory for said regiment and companies, to be used by all the companies of said regiment. To the Honorable the Armory Commission: DEAR SIRS-The accompanying statement of Colonel Scott is true of my own knowledge. The armory at present occupied by his regiment is unfit for such use in every particular. I cordially approve his application for a new armory, and earnestly hope that it may be granted. Very respectfully yours, LOUIS FITZGERALD, Brigadier-General. HEADQUARTERS, FIRST DIVISION, N. G., S. N. Y., The within statement of General Fitzgerald in reference to the unfitness of the armory of the Eighth Regiment is fully indorsed. Further delay in furnishing a suitable drillroom for this regiment will work incalculable injury, and any steps taken toward securing an armory for the Eighth Regiment will be appreciated by every friend to the National Guard. ALEXANDER SHALER, Major-General. STATE OF NEW YORK, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, From the certificates of Generals Shaler and Fitzgerald and the application of Colonel Scott, it appears that the present armory of the Eighth Regiment is unsafe and unfit for the purposes it is now used, and the application for a new armory is hereby approved. J. G. FARNSWORTH, Adjutant-General. OFFICE OF THE COUNTY TREASURER, NEW YORK COUNTY-HOUSE, NEW YORK, December 12, 1883. To the Honorable Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of the City of New York: GENTLEMEN-The Board for the Erection and Rental of Armories in the County of New York met December 11, 1883, and received the communication from Col. George D. Scott, commanding the Eighth Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, N. G., S. N. Y., indorsed by Major-General Alexander Shaler, commanding First Division; by BrigadierGeneral Louis Fitzgerald, commanding Second Brigade, and by Adjutant-General J. G. Farnsworth, requesting this Board to take into consideration the claims of the Eighth Regiment for a new armory. After consideration of the matter, the Board passed the following resolution, viz.: Resolved, That we are of the unanimous opinion that the armory of the Eighth Regiment is inadequate and unfit for use as an armory, and we respectfully recommend the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of the City of New York to specify a sum to be used in erecting a suitable armory for said regiment, in accordance with the provisions of article 9, section 62 of the Military Code of the State of New York. Resolved, That we recommend that fifteen lots, the property of the City, now unoccupied, situated at the northeast corner of Lexington avenue and Sixty-seventh street, as per diagram, be appropriated as a site for a new armory for the Eighth 202 feet. 250 feet. 67TH STREET. Regiment, and that one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars be specified wherewith to build said armory. Resolved, That if the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund do not appropriate the above-named site for the armory, we recommend that a site be purchased above Seventieth street, east of Fourth avenue, said site to consist of sixteen lots, on which said armory can be built, and that three hundred thousand dollars be specified for site and building. Yours respectfully, J. NELSON TAPPAN, Secretary. On motion, the communication was referred to the Comptroller to investigate and report. The Mayor submitted the following opinion of the Counsel to the Corporation in relation to the plans for "the improvement of the water front of the East river, from Grand to Thirty-fourth street": 66 Hon. FRANKLIN EDSON, Mayor: LAW DEPARTMENT, SIR-I am in receipt of your communication, under date of September 21, 1883, informing me that at a meeting of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, held for the purpose of discussing the new plan for the improvement of the East river front of the city, the question of the power, under present laws, of the Commissioners to act was |