Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1820-12-12

United the medical concerns oil The army
10 single responsible head, as their di-
rector and accounting officer, aud placed
him under the superintrniance of the
Secretary Of War. l am not qualified TO
Judge of the many professional a,ivanta ,
ges that are said 10 have arisen from the
manner in which this law has been exc
cuted but its effect OH tue expenditure
was immediate. Where formerly the APP
preparation was never less than ninety
thousand dollars, since the erection of
This Office il has scarcely ever exceeded
the halt Of tina: sum or to speak m exact
numbers, III no year since the commence
tnent OF the sy stem have the efforts oi The
present surgeon general saved the nation
a less sum thap forty thousand dollars
II is needless 10 discuss merits, which
proclaim and prove themselves.
The last, bui by no means the least, Of
these departments. is one that has been
long and most unfortunately neglected.
All the foregoing have received some mo-
diticaiions under the guidance OF the pre-.
sent Secretary of War, aud some, alter
having passed their experimental Stages,
have confirmed their own usefulness.
This department is that OF the atiminisira-
tion OF justice. The code by which The
army Is governed, and the militia when
IN the public service, Is essentially the
same with that which existed during the
days OF the revolution, aud is borrowed
from that Of Great Britain. Radically i'm
perfect as IL Is, lis incapacities are In
creased by The faulty manner of lis ADM
abstraction. The practice of forty wears has
established nothing The text OF the law
is unaided by a single commentary. There
have been mnumerable trials, but each
commences as though il were The iir.t-ii
finds the law inde,erminate aad unpx-
planned, and leaves II so. A single legal
prohibition Is made 10 extend 10 offences
incapable OF a single definition. and when
.i'ie law proves Inadequate, the statute
Iuslifles resort TO custom, with no
common consent 20 determine what Gus
tom is. Tits ambiguity OF III. laws, which
Coke and MOn,esquieu (widely differen,
as they are,l and The good sense OF every
intervening writer, rank as the worst o!
celpo'lsm, finds no remedy in The consti
tuition al HE tribunal that administers
them. The capacities of the co ordinate
parts of court MARTA! are as vague, as
the grounds oi their decision. On the part
% The members, every authority thai NAV
be assumed. except the final one, NAV b.
made a subject at doubt and contention.
The functions OF the iu.ige advocate are
uuSalory rom c0DiradiciIng themselves.
lie pr0secuics OH the one size, aud rcsi,ts
his own labor by aiding The prisoner ia
rcbut 1t on tic ether, and while The coun-
sci oi both parties before the court, is The
i,ga! adviser of the court ilscit. In this
state OF utter discD,.iancy, justice gives
Plate to vague and uncertain equity,
purchased al lie expense oil time, harmo.
ny and economy.
The ,,.,tinn l,r.,n -
evils. The military laws. Is iIev now
exist, are a mcagrc collection OF internal
regulations. The great questions which,
during wal, lind ihrirway inio every mans
concerns, The conflicting rights oi Tie CT
WI anu iie military, property and person
II liberty On HE one side, aud Ike auih0-
Fly oi the public on The other, fad 40
place or dehBiiion la them. These and
the subsequent faults OF administration
winch L have just recited, may be ligLily
'el', While they press upon all army pro-
per DEt during war, when the naiion
becomes an army, IL may lind The evil OF
inturring penalties that could not be fore
Known, ot trusting lass that are not safe
guards, and which can Deiiler be under
stood, nor wisely administered. A re-
solve OF The last Congress calling Tor
new code OF martial law, has made The
hrst advance toward The ye,sedy of these
evils. The nex'. and equally Important,
10 10 prescribe The mode Of administering
IT. Ia SO doing, there will be found ecos
nomy. as well as utility. Independently
al the vast saving from REFRESHING courts
martial. and shortening Their duration.
permanently efficient department NAV be
Organized at less expense illan the pre-
ScEt.
have not been led into this euuuiry.
from believing the present 10 be The mo
inent oil peculiar military preparation;
u IL ii'e time for economy. have re-
commended The foregoing departments,
mol merely because they are ibe safest,
bui because they are The cheapest DECO
SHORES of military strength, and urge The |
maintenance OF them as The sole means |
OF enabling us 10 relrench without dan.
ger. Since writing the foregoing, have |
seen The proposition Of Mr.. Cobb. and |
do mol differ from il. Ii the present pu
inerical force be adequate to The neccssi |
Hes ol The frontiers. and the preservation |
OF liz own elementary knowledge, aud |
the nation furnished with means Of giving /
efficiency 10 that which, it raises OIL a
suddcn--"e are completely armed.
HURON.