Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1817-03-13
...hl, !, The provisions Of this act

aha. ave ioht W we" ~
Ss,,,hn.at nsches, or withln hlJes
S,v. thereafter an abled bodied man be
i"3gng to the militia as sahstitute
1fg1yeyer the man detailed, who shai
Ar = substitute, shall be non-commi>
s;,,sd officer, o. Musician. his ,ub,s
ate .hll ,ot be accepted, unless h.
.S,l AT the time hold a similar rank ia
N, militia, with the non commits ion"a
s. or musician, who shall Offer him
MI provided also, tAat whenever apv
o-;ya,e. Who shall b. tletalie Indsr th :
1T hlH D. u either u thase eligi1u
.ec.,, tenoninated, quakers, memoirs ,
Ar dunkards, or Of any othsr rellgiol,
Get whose established, aud known reli
,,us tenets, renders the mc.n5srs there
az clnscientiously scrupuIous of bearing
arms. asd he shsl fail 10 comply VITA the
r.gIests Of the act, either in person, or
by tlrnih;Dg substitute, It shall be
hgtlr for ne officer Commanding the
de hnent, and he is hereby required
fst~.lh to empoy substitute tor him,
a, the most reasonable terms that he
can, if in hi. opinion sgch private has
property sufficient to pay and satisfy the
an contracted FOR, and provided the a.
mount to be paid, shall. in IA case. ex.
c,sl 500 dollars. Aad it shall b. law
q, for such substitute forthwith to SUE
far and -ecsVer the sun contracted fUs.
.roq slch private, by motion in any court
o. reco.j in thc state. territory or DIS
t,ict. where ne shall reside, P-osiied he
shlll have gwen ten lays notice OF such
motion. And in case such private, SO
heinz scrupuloas Of bearing arms, shall
not, in the opinion Of such oihcer pos
ssss sufficient visible property To hire a
substitute, according to the provisions
hereof, then saeh private, ifhe fail 10
fa-ai.h a substitute hal! be compelled
% 20 in person, and serve in any other
esntcity, than tia: Ot soldier bearing
arns."
Such was the proposition of Mr..
Mas,u, furnishing. we believe. the
MIf evidence. either good or bad,
that he has ever given, of his talent
for legislation. And as it is in the
capacity of legislator that he now
OlfHrs his services to his district, this
Important bit solitary evidence is, OF
course, entitled to the most attentive
consideration.
We agree with him, as to the neces.
sity Of an efficient and a well organic.
ed militia, and all laws " necessary
aud proper" to secure to our country
this desirable object, would. ofcourse,
receive our hearty concurrence. Bat
it mist be recollected. that the daCies
oil a soldier. as they arc, under any
circumstances, the most harrassins,
sothey may be made the most pppress-
i've Of all obligations Imposed on the
citizen. To prevent this should be
he object of every wise legislator :
And accordingly we find in most OF
The provisions on this subject, whe.
Their enacted by the general or state
governments, a due regard, not only
to the protection Of the country. bat
also to the feelings, the habits and the
circumstances of the citizen. The
kw Of Massachusetts,, for instance,
makes it optional with each individual
detailed for duty. whether to go in
person, furnish substitute, or to pay
to hrs commanding officer fine Of ten
pnHnds. A similar provision xists
in New-Jcrsey, except that there the
fine is only twenty dollars. Aud an
der the last law of the state Oh firgi-
M, as we'll as the several laws Of the
U. States. the price Of exemption from
each tour of militaty duty, amounts to
no NOR than twelve months pay or
sbnut 90 dollars.
TIC great excellence Of these seve-
al provisions, consists in this J.; that,
without diminishing, in the smallest
degree, the security Of the state, they
leave It IN The p2wcr ht every Indivi-
dual, to exempt himself, on reasona-
bic terms, from the discharge of a du-
z. which might. perhaps, in his case,
E. -'teH icd y ith circumstances ofpe-
t!ar aarfship. Take, for example.
'He POI" nan. whose personal eSer-
tons Of, The only source of revenue,
t'e only means Of support to a name-
rols ana dependent family. Compel
Mn, at all hazards, to perform his
hsular tour of military duty; or sub
fct him, if You please. to the cruel
sxtOrtions a the sordid wretch, who!
larters his liberty for gold and YOU,
involve himself and his family in inc