Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1827-01-02

large amount of raiions he believe that it was
allowed tina, an officer occupied a standing which
required more tor his subsistence than for that of
private. Nor was the principle borne out by the
pay OF other servants of the Government. II was
generally considered that the talents of On officer
were superior TO those OF he priva.es, and ain
iy his responsibility infinitely greater. /!
member OF Congress was paid eight dollars per day,
yet 1t would not be con,ended that door-keeper
was not well paid with one The distinction he
considered sufficiently marked.
! MIR. Chandler rose merely TO state what he con-
sidered distinction in the compensation of the
( Army. He looked upon the rsiions as the SUBJ
si-,ence, and the money the pay. He was aware,
however, that 1t was the right OF officers TO re-
ceive their ra'ions either in money or in kind.
| MIR. Smlih OF Maryland, said that the extra Ia-
tons formed fund, where officers formed toge-
Their mess, Tor the purchase of the various other
articles, besides the substantial ones of which they
consisted, for their comfort and which, indeed
were as necessary. VI these articles were coffee
tea, &c In this way officers might live well |
but when separated, they were unable to obtain |
many OF the comforts of COOL living. He was in |
favor OF an addition which should enable the Off
GERS oil The Army TO enjoy plentiful subsistence,
under the varying circumstances 10 which they
were exposed. AS TO the question which hadbeen
raised, as TO whe'h rations might be considered
| as pay, he remarked, that they might operate a.
pay, but they were, in fact, Civ en- 10 the soldier as
subsis, ence.
| Mr.. Holmes thought this discussion had be-
come merely one upon words. With regard to
the additional ration il necessary it ought 10
be gwen, and it made little differ ence 70 him whe
Their II went by the denomination of subsistence OF
| pay. The Commander in Chief, it was well
known, had fifteen ratons and soldier but one;
yet he believed that no would hence conclude
that the Commander in Chief ate fifteen times
what soldier did The only question was, how
much do the officers require! and whatever il
nigh be, ii ought to be given them lie OBJ
served, passing remark, that he was inc!n-
cd to think many officers were worse paid than
soldiers.
| MIR. Woodbury. said, that the only question tina,
he would now urge, was, whether the addition 10
the compensation was intended to make The pay
OF those to whom it was to apply in proportion TO
that OF other officers above them, or 10 make il
commensurate TO the pay in other services In case
it was 10 be made propoItionate to the nav # the
othe olhcers OF the Army, he was perfectly w i'll
ing TO vote the bill
Mr.. Harrison remarked, that the whole subiec,
matter rot before the Senate. The ohiec,
OF The bill, he had before declared certainly
to give additional compensation, and by giving il
| IN the way OF ration-, il was supposed II would
moe orally meet the convenience of the officers
The subaI'erns of the Army had already received
an increase to their former compensation, while
! the Captains remained The same, and had never
since tbs hTst organization of The Army, to his
know ledge. been raised. Since that time every
necessary art icle had advanced IN rrice: nor had
the condition OF the officer been stationary: for
oincers mad at the present time, duties and respon
sbilities imposed upon them by statute, two-fold
greater than formerly the case The system
established under the administration of Mr. Mon
roe, had made this great difference; the system then
| adopted, and, what was better enforced was an
immense improvement; and if he was called upon
as witness, he should state ii as his belief, that
by that sytem at least 300, coo dollars FER annum
had been saved 10 the Treasury, and tie CAPTAIN
oil companies came in for the greatest share of this
Increased responsibility. When he himself was
young man In the Army, he had witnessed the
wanton extravaganza with which the public
property was destroyed; and lie could safely
say, that the waste was such as would AS
tonish any gentleman who was acquainted with
the present system Mr.. Harrison read from the
Army Regulations some Of tie duties Of a COM
mander OF company; aud obsery ed that the
writing alone which Captain had to do, wa. e.
quail TO that OF any clerk in large counting house
so rigid were The regulations that every article of
Government properly was charged to the account
oil the Captain OF the company to which il was
supplied; and the Paymss,er was instructed to de-
duct every deficiency from the pay of the Captain
So heavily was this espon-ibiIiiy felt that can
tains were anxious to reiinquis their comnanies 10
join the staff, or in any other manner in their
power; a. they were made responsible not ONLY
for their own acts, but for the neglect Of those
around them. The total pay of a Captain, at nre-
sent, amounted to $3.50 aud 81 cents and in thj.
r amount was included the pay of servant, which
} he was in a manner obliged 10 keep-as if lie did
not the allowance for a servant would be s;onc.d
In this respect the gentlemen of the Sou.h had cor
tainIy an advantages as they gene ally owned their
servants. AS 10 what had been said by the reotl,.
man IRON Maine, OF an " entering wedge" he
was not inclined to look upon it as such. The
pay OF other officers had been advanced Dur
ing the war the raions of some of the officers were
doubled and indeed the precedent OF increasing the
pay OF the Officers of the Army, was not by anv
means to be looked upon as Commencing ,viib th;s
bill The provision which stops the PAYMENT Of
the increased compensation, when the officer poes
on Stan duly, was perfectly proper; and il would
be merely justice, that when the Captain leaves
the command oil Ia company to his Lieutenant. that
The latter should receive the einolumen while he
assumes the responsibility and performs the duty.
The compensation of Captains vas far beneath their
services. The Clerks in the several Departments
received, The highest 1000, and The lowest $40 dol
lars; and those who received the highest had no,
a more aTduous Or more important duty TO pc form,
than that OF Captain 10 the Army. As the zen
tleman from Missouri bad said the Officers oil the
/ Amy we're, like other men, disposed TO marry,
and they hal families dependent upon them This
ought TO be looked upon rather guarantee that
/ their conduct would be honorable for il, a lded
ten fold motive TO their actions: for he believed il
was settled maxim that . man ~ ho bad a family
( dependent upon bin, would weigh each action
win greater care knowing hat by any iinpfopre,y
ne would Jeofar1ze, not only his own. has tie
happiness and competence OF those around him
Inc Oihcefs OF the Army wee gencia,iy men Of