The American House of Representatives has finally decided to reduce
the Army to 20,000 men, having passed the vote, after a sharp debate, by 133 to 127. The Senate may resist, but as it has no power to vote the money, it must, if the House is firm, be ultimately defeated. This vote reduces the Army by 5,000 men, and is a dangerous symptom of opinion, for two reasons. The Government, it is known, thought even 25,000 men not enough, and the vote is a snub to President Hayes ; and it in- volves a prohibition of the use of troops to maintain internal order. With an Indian population to keep down and the Mexican frontier to watch, the Administration, with only 20,000 men, will have no force except the militia to put down riots like those which recently enabled the• criminal class to plunder Pittsburg. The effect of this will be that the militia, alarmed for property, will next time act with unnecessary severity, but the workmen think the re- duction will leave them more free, and it has been voted to con- ciliate their organisations. The House added to their vote a rider limiting the force on the Mexican border to four regiments of cavalry, and seemed to suspect the Government of projects of annexation, but the Senate rejected this clause. The upshot of weakening the force there would be that the Texans, who are not half as controllable as the troops, would take the law into their own hands, and invade Mexico whenever the horse-stealers became unbearable.
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