Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1840-04-03

n,oerotie Up State Rights Party been reduced to such
deplorabe condition, being obliged to enter the he.d
without their usual quantity OF d1etWtrc HTgumsnt-
They are afraid to bring forward the ~ Jersey fauu
the cry Of "extIavagant expenditures, IKE tha OF tie
Florida War-has become stale, ana ho' pes 1 n,
make anv thing out orthe employment OF the blood
bounds AGAINST the poor Indians IN the extremity OF
e desperation and last sad resort, at the eleventh
hour hey discover something very ike monster III an
obscure corner OF the Presidents Message a.a WIN JOY
FIJI exclamation cry standing army But mere loo
their weapon has been wresed from them, and oy the
act their Republican candidate Tor the fesdency-
III q, Rrutem oh, misery Verify but they have been
cn off at the knees and must now stump 1t through te
canvass as they best can. The last Lynchpurs N"s'
man and Buchanan Journal come to us with two or
three columns each upon the 8 Standing Army In
consideration of the late development, this IS amusing
enough But glad to see their objections on pa
ner and in tangible shape. Heretofore the cry OF
standing army--a standing army-has sounded IN our
Republican ears like the alarm of fre-bell IN The
.;rht." bat we have never before perceived the
manner in which it was to be raised. Our wing
friends are catching al stfaws. lhey take tie
phrases EARNED militia, I" aeticc screiec, drliIen
and satioacd and hence conclude that 1t IS stand
mo army to be under from year end to ano-
thcr The Buchanan Journal says" Now II MI
litary force call it by what name you please enlisted
for term of years, earned rllled and statoned and
in the pay of the Government III state OF profound
nv then sc confess our inability to comprehend what
i is 4 few plan facts will enable the Journal TO
accompaniment that i is not standing army, ana dlss-
pate all his obs ctions into thin AR. Bat ~ the hrst
place object 10 the use which he makes OF tie so
lated phrases-s'aJmed militia, actire scrrice-drilled
and sio,;opeJ Our readers will perceive that 1t IS an
fmphasis Of words and nothing else. The Editor OF
the Journal in we presume, with all the State
Constitutions, and with the Father OF his country, WI
admit; that uniform md 'ccH regulated mtd Is es'
IuEan ut n.
lions He will further admit that for all cferre pnr-
poses our militia us present organized totally m
competen-that it is 1t has been the subject Tor ca
ricature. re will again concede, that must orga-
nize and discipline the militia so as to make them
really serviceabc il time of peace, as the Father
of his country expresses it, in peace prepare tor car
1t would be absurd to wait until the war had bro
ken out, the enemy were amongst U.S. before
we proceeded to organize or discipline the militia
These points which all must concede Now, If they
are to know the of arms how it to be done with
out putting arms in their hands; making them for
the time they in training, armed militia Was 1t
not formerly customary and it is SO now in some OF
the States, South CAROLINA, for example, to let the
militia keep their own arms IL, as the Secretary pro-
poses they are be kept in training for short time,
say week or more how they 10 profit by military
instruction without being in ''active Ser1icc for the
time without being drilled and stationed. The truth
is the Secretary only the term "dcre serrice 10
express his meaning the more torc6y in conradIsnc-
ton to Its oppoSiLc-inicllVc, suppose lie
had used the simple word ''servce" or "drilled' it
might have expressed his meaning but not forcbly
as tactivc service that being made to apply to the
rigorous discharge of ali the duties of the soldier, not
merely the simple drilling And yet it is this phrase
out of which the Wings expect TO prove that the Pre-
sidcnt has recommended standing army 1t is easily
disprovei Ii will be recoliected that this plan was
first proposed by the present Secretary of War in 1897
again recommended in ls3S, and report made upon it
in Congress in the year by the Militia Committee,
'bntrn In, tha
commentator of - the Secretary goes into
the details of his plan, and as he refers TO 1t in
his last report Of $780, have the right to examine IT
for the purpose of more t4!'y understanding the plan
which he non recommends. The two substan-
tally the same. Ii t..at Recommendation, speak
inc of this system, he says-"A commencement may
be made by enrolling twenty thousand men taken :om
amongst he inhabitants and settlers CT the frontiers,
and the country around the permanent stations !. he
interior Sir cOnsecirc dayS IN the year rontd DC suf-
Ecicnt for their drill, provided the commissioned and
non-commissoned officers be assembled for instruction
at the nearest post for the term OF thirty ddys in the
year. During the time hc priva;, and oncers are IN
service they should receive the pay and raons OF sol
ders and officers Of the army OF the grade rcspec
lively These forces ,ronh not be cthdramn from the
Suites mhcrc they rascd aud may be called INTO ser
vice bv the GorcrnOr upon the requsiton of the Pre-
sdent" This would of itself, be conclusive evidence
to overturn the prepostcrous idea-that it is standing
army controlled by Federal Officers forbidden by the
Constitutions and thus subject to the orders OF the Pre-
sidrnt ,Yho is moreover not commander in chief
IN time of"acaai mot actire) service But prefer
giving another ttc taste, which We hope ''rl su.-
free In the Report nf the Committee Of the militia
(ser Report, 2tt Congress, I'd Sess. chap 81 and y
on this recommendation they say, the militia shall
be classified into GctrG and general militia to be Sc
cced by the Suites and that the ch0e c4 sole control
is with the States, and then no fears can be enter
tanned but that ample Justice will be extended TO
all interested !" And again-"t requires the &c
tire miiiin to be cncamped for the period of sir
cousccuiire daYS annually improve in military SCI
ence practic0y THIS is the only rfctnai mode in the
opinion of the committee, to efficient and ,ccH
diScpned militia In tho bill annexed to the report
the aggregate amount of the expense is thus fixed: Tat
the of 'eO millions Of dollars be, and the is
hereby appropriated out Of any money the Treasury
otherwise appropriated to carry the provision ofthis
act into effect Yet Gen. Harrison proposed TO give
81 800 900 for the drilling Of the officers alone. Here
night stop, il is thus shown that the term sac
tive service cannot be construed as 10 mean that
kind of service to constitute standing army eilner Tor
whole year or a shorter period. But let ex-
anime the Report o. 1893 wciI has BEEN much mis-
represented. After speaking of the division into dis
rcts, he say, 'rhis would give armed militia force
oftwo hundred thousand men, so drilled and Stationed
be READY to take their places in the ranks in de-
fence of their country whenever called upon to repe
the enemy oppose the invader. Now where Is the
standing army They must be so arranged as to be
"rcndy to take Their places Not i'll active service as
regular starring army. Dul agdlI-.'iS HhihHcl
OF enrollmcni-tie NUMBER OF DAY. OF SERVICE ana
the IF compensation ought to be fixed by law but
the details had better be left subject to reGulaona
plan of which ali prepared TO submit to you Where
the eyes Of the Journal that has moi seen that tie
number Of days Of serrice and the rate of compensated"
to be fixed by lam And it they are yet to be fixed,
how can it he said that the President has recommend
ed standing army. Is it prcsumable that Congress
would fix the time of service to make 1t standing
army: 1t is absurd to say Is there any thing in
the Report &c the Secretary which sanctions such an
idca' We have shown that there is nothing. But II
Mr.. Van Buren, has recommended standing army, so
has Mr.. Je4crson-the great Apostle of Republican
| ism.
Here it is, and it may be found in his fifth annual
message ain the time you will consider whether
it will not be eypedient for state of peace well as
of war so to organize class the militia would ena
Bile us on a sudden emergency to call for the serrices
of the younger portions, unncumbered with the old
and those having families. Upwards of three hundred
thousand aLleb0died men, bctirecn The Of eighteen
and enty years. which the last census shows we may