Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1813-07-30

fcrca 70 advance, to lay WASTE Win M
and sword, because the president u
bound By the letter Of the Law so to dis
tribute the arms a. that each state shall
at the same sin.e, receive a properties
exactly equal TO the number ofits effec
| tive militia! No, would be the excA
.nation from one end of The union to tn
other; let the safety ero hart be con
suited, though the whole suffer incon
venience. Ye, were such the letter o
ne law, the executive would, under an!
cir umstances, be bound to respect 1t
The act OF the 2sd of April, 1908, wa
passed in a season of profound peace
contemplating future wars, 1t looked t.
10 particular war; it had Just gone ints
operation, had scarcely developed 1T
Srst fruits, when the present war broke
out The war found the militia badly
armed it found particular portions o
them worse armed aud mere exposed
than others. Would it have been wise
under these circumstances to distribute
so 900 stands Of arms equally amsne
800 900 militia, or would it have been
wiser 10 consult the -vants and e1fosnre
oil particular portions.
But suppose it were expedient in the
Opinion of your committee to define,
with precision, the time Of transmission,
what period ought to be selected II a
yearly or biennial. or triennial distrlbu-
ton we're adopted, it might happen by
casualty or accident that within the Pc
Rod limited noarms we're received, or
so few that the expense and trouble OF
Distribution would exceed the expense
Of maaufac :ure, and what would the dis
tribution OF dozen or an hundred sands
OF arms avail the militia OF a great state
they woulG De lost in the transmission
or suffered by the states to lie neglected
aud forgotten. In the distribution by
the states themselves among theft own
militia, it is more than probabable they
would be governed by tho same princi-
pie as that by which the recent dispo-
sition of the United States has seemed
10 be regulated. Would state, having
1000 companies of militia, so scrupu.
lausly consult the principle of equality
n the distribution Of one thousand stands
of arms as to give one musket and bay
onet to each comtany ? 1t may fairly be
presumed not. The wants, The frontirr
hesitisn and actual ertosure of particu.
i.r port. of the state would be much
more likely to regulate the distribution.
Those Of the militia, to be sure, from
.hom, for the moment, they are With.
held, might complain Of departure
from the principle of exact equality
bot with what concern would the legls-
i've body of such state regard such COM
plant?
For these, and various other reasons
which might be adduced, but with
which your committee -iorbrar to trou-
bic the house, they are OF opinion that,
for The present at least. the act OF April,
/ sos, require no alterations. They are
The more confirmed in this opinion be-
cause they have reason TO believe that
there has been no misconstrucsion Of
the law that the seeming irregularity
which has taken place has grown out OF
the exigency Of the times that a dis
position exists to correct such irregu-
iarity as soon as circumstances will ad
anti; that the correction is, in fact, at
this moment proceeding that in due
time all the states must and will receive
their respective proportions of arms =;
and, in hne, that the immediate repre-
senlaiives of the people in congress, In
specting as they do with never ceasing
vigilance the execution of this as we'll as
every other law: stand ready to apply
the remedy whatsoever right, or justice,
or expediency shall seem 10 them to de.
mand it.
COM of letter to the Secretary Of zyar
RESPECTING the distribution Of arms.
COMMITTEE RsoM, June so, 1918.
SIR,
am directed by the commit.
tee on military affairs, 10 whom has been
referred a resolution instructing them TO
enquire what alterations a;e necessary
in the act Of the $50 April, 1908, pro.
sidinp for the arming the whole body OF
the militia of the United States, to ask
:, c,<,;n, nm ,he foIlo vino Doints viz.