Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1815-12-05

wealth should possess this indispensable
mean of security. i need not dwell on the
necessity OF arming the Militia. On this
subject, there can be but one opinion. How
to accomplish this efficiently, is the only
subject for consideration. There are but
two modes of eifecting it to require eve
~ Militia-man to provide himself with
arms and accontrements, or to put into his
hands the arms OF the Commonwealth
Each of these modes is attended with diff
Guilty. Our laws required at one time,
that the Militia should keep arms ct their
own: the laws were not obcyed, nor their
penalties enforced. In the year 1904, an
a.tea ut was made to arm the Militia by
distributing The arms. To your knowle6ge
of the state Of the arms thus distributed IN
your resp .otive counties, appeal TOR the
result of this experiment. The waste and
destruction cannot have escaped your no
tice /; and eleven years experience has
proved that the Militia cannot be eIfectu-
ully armed in this way, without some ad
ditional security for the preservation OF the
arms. If every Militia-man i'll the state
were armed at this day, with public arms
the utmost exerton of the Armory would
not be competent to keep up the number,
nor even TO keep them in order. am in
formed, thatthe Militia which assembled
81 or passed through this City during the
late al, generally brought with them arms
Unfit for service, and that in every instance
they were exchanged for arms recently ia
ken from the Armory. The State, as well
as ! can ascertain it, ought now to possess
1898 stand of arms
$3.50 taken from the Arsenal at the
Point Of Fork.
1000 purchased in Philadelphia in 1900
1881 purchased of Swan.
1900 purchased Of other pcoplc.
1892 manufactured at the ArmOry.
57.99S
Blythe Quarter Master Generals return.
it appears there were on the 10th of Octo-
Der last in the Armory, 1859 muskets in
order for service and there is too much
reason to fear that these are the only arms
in the State in proper condition not one
fourth of the number we ought to have
There are IN the Armory, Likewise, $50
mnskets in bad order the greater part Of
them, i'll the opinion of the Superintendent,
not worth repairing. The Adjutant Gen
erals last return states, that 14,031 mus
kets remain in the hands of the Militia,
scattered over the whole State. 1t is feat
ed few of these arc fit for service; and
that great proportion of them Will be ems
tirely lost. If one half the 81 ,oeS stand of
arms should be lost, as there is much rea-
son to believe, in addition to the want of so
essential requisite for defence, there will
be q loss to the State, including the ex
pence OF transportation, of not much less
than half million of dollars
1t is for the wisdom of the Legislature
to decide, whether it may not now be pro-
nounccd, that, in this way, the whole body
Of the Militia can never be armed. To
accomplish that object, and to provide
reserve to guard against accidents, are du-
ties 50 imperious, that cannot doubt Of
their receiving the consideration they me-
nt. ! would suggest, that the portion
OF arms, which the Legislature might think
proper to keep in deposit, should he first
provided as it would be resource which
could always be resorted to. When our
Fellows iIzens took the field in 1914, with
promputude So honorable to them, if
Richmond instead of BALTIMORE had been
the object of the enemy, it would have been
found impossible to collect the arms disper-
sed over the State in time; &c even, if that
had been practicable, they were, notorious
ly, unit for service. 1t the distribution be
continued, trust that measures will be a.
dopted to preserve the arms, but fear no
other means will be found effectual, than
obnging every man who receives them, to
deposit proportion of their value in mo-
ney, to be returned to him when they are
gwen up, or to give security for their safe
keeping and to subject the holder to the
eXpenee of repairing them whenever they
may require it; to be recovered in q SUM
mary way.
cannot forb-ar further to remark, that
wisdom and prudence seem to dictate, that
one or more additional AISenals be estab-
ilshed liz some more convenient and saf
situations than this city. Il cannot be pru-
dent to risk all the defensive means of the
State in an exposed town, which has once
been, and may again be attacked with only
twenty four hours notice. In proportion
as our regular force is small, our supplies
OF the munitions OF war should be large and
well secured. The greatimportance Of the
subject, and our recent experience, have
given me feelings of anxiety regarding it,
which, hope, will be deemed a sufficient
apology for the earnest manner with which
press it upon the General Assembly.
The value and Importance of well reg
ulated Militia, are too well known to ns ke
Ii necessary for me to say word 10 en-
force that republican maxim. 1t is an i'm
portant part of the defensive armour of eve
i ny tree country it is the only security "a
Salnst usurpation, and the only means of
avoiding large standing armies in time of
peace. Tbs subject merits the most seri-
Gus Attentions. Our present Militia system
4 Is defective in all it's parts; but, the pow
] ers ofthe State governments over the Mi
! iltla, are so Limited by the Constitution Of
the u. States, that until Congress shall
Change the present organization, no valua-