Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1826-07-28

bill, had merely passed bill reteahng
all militia iawS-thus leaving US with
gu, law on the subject; where would the
militia officers now be! Will it be con-
tended that they would be still in COM
mission, when there would be no law in
existence under which to claim authori-
ty ! How could they exercise authority
Over whom!
1.-THE legislature have this power, they
can alter and modify-only they cannot
enact that officers shall be elected annu.
ally, or biennially, or triennially. They
cannot fix the period, by law, Of mill
tia commission; because the constitu-
ton requires the commissions to be
granted during good behavior. And
this is all the constitution intends. 1t
never intended to place the military
above or independent of the civil author.
ity. The contrary is one of the funda-
mental principles OF our government,
which is a government, of laws and not
of military force.
We think we have made out the case.
If the General can controvert it he has
omitted to do so.
| But the principal thing that we have
dwelt on, is the want of provision for
conducting militia elections. However
well regulated the militia may be IN
other things, we consider it extremely
defective if there is no well arranged
plan for the election of officers. How
ever meriorious those officers may be-
and we certainly have reason to applaud
the good conduct and praise worthy en-
ulation displayed by those whom We
have recently seen on duty--they can
render comparatively little service, III
their creation be irregular, and subject
to dispute. Finding that this importan,
matter was entirely overlooked by the
maker of the bill, we called the at,en-
ton of our readers to it as worthy Of re.
Election. On this point General Duncan
is entirely silent.
We noticed, last week, the complain,
Of General d. against US for assigning
him "a whole year" for the maturing
his militia bill; but reelected to say any
thing about the rapidly with which we
represented it to have passed through
the legislature. The General charges
US with Misrepresentation. Perhaps so.
We wrote from information. Neverthe- J
less, we conceive thai our information
could not have been SO Uery far wrong,
when, according to the General himself,
this law Of SEVENTY FIVE sections was
introduced into the Senate on The 18th
of January and (by the Journals) passed
the House OF Representatives on the 2lst
of tho same month: Through the two
Houses in EIGHT DAYS! Congress Can.
not equal this.
Al the opening of his address, Gene
raj Duncan. indirectly, yet in as strong
terms as he could have used, charges
US with ga known and wilful departure
from an honest chtosition. Our rea.
ders, and the General, have already seen
where We might have assailed him with
great effect, had we been disposed to
act with insincerity, but where we actu.
ally pursued the opposite course. In
this certainly no evidence Of unfairness
appears. But we now ask a careful pc.
rusal Of our editorial articles, and we
believe it would puzzle the most ingc.
NOUS critic to detec, passage, phrase,
or even a word, except one instance
which we will notice BY and by, affect.
ing General Duncan in any other man.
ner than in regard to his capacity. And
on this subject we have been explicit.
We have said, and have given reasons
why, we thong hit him far inferior in this
resiaect TO his competitor. We do veri.
ly believe that there is not an intelligent
man to be found who knows both the gen.
tlemen, and does rot fully agree with US,