Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1840-06-25


Igreat height. Gen. Harrison advocated an
increase of pay to the soldier, and that the
non-commissi Toned officers should be put upon O
more liberal and advantageous footing. lie
remarked
"ln every we'll regulated army the men are
divided in squads, and at the head of every one
is a commissioned officer, and It must, !
think, be obvious how much benefit may be de-
rived from having this grade composed of eff
cicnt and trustworthy men. Notwithstanding
this, it is little singular that so little has been
done for them in our service-and II IS the
more singular, considering the nature OF our
Government; the grade of commissioned oftl.
GERS represent the wealthy and well informed
i0art of the community; the non.commlssloned
officers are drawn principally from the laborlnlg
class Of the community, the mass of the People
the real sovereigns Of the country; and yet
nothing, or very little, has been done to render
that grade respectable"
In advocating his own proposition as above
stated, his remarks are strongly characteristic
Iof the generous sympa,hes of the man, as well
as indicative Of his views as an experienced
soldier:
'lf you are not willing, sir, (sad Gen. Har-
rson,) to adopt system of this kind--lf you
will not increase their pay, from the appre-
henslon which my colleague has expressed that
it will produce dissatisfaction in the army
must certainly be done. Will you say that
the punishment Of death shall again be inhic-
ted? WiUyou crimson your plains acith the blood
Of your Oacn soldiers? Ifyou are resolved to
do this, be assured the feelings Of your fellow
citizens will not 60 with you. Will you sub
lect your gallant officers, who gained so much
honor during the late war, to the revolving task
oil executing their fellow-sodiers? | assureI
you 1t is an employment for which they have
no stomach Though accustomed 10 scenes
of blood, it is the blood Of their enemies, or
friends who fall in defence of their country,
that it is not permitted soldier to regret. II
it were not from the Apprehension Of a charge
Of garrulIity, which it is said belongs to the
character of some old soldiers, | could tell
what felt, when, at the age ofeighteen, it fell
o my lot to command the guard which eXecu-
ed two soldiers for desertion: and what also
cit, when, as the commander your army,
vas called on to sanction sentence of death.
Gut will tell you what have seen General
WAYNE the Marcelus Of your country, suffer
N similar occasion. ! witnessed the tear
tarting from his fine blue eye, and his breast
eaving with emotion, whenever he was called t
pom to perform this painful duty. q
"lf you do not wish to revive this punish +
rent, will you restore the omnipotence Of the a
lt-ofnlne-tailS, that instrument of tortured h
you do you will find it Intellectual. Resort s
} severe punlshments Of that description {
rocure the shlag from Prussia, or the knout t
ON RusSa-t will never be efiectual in an /
merlcan army. The punishment orthe pick {
haseven been tried, but in vain: the only one a
lat has proved eflectual is death. Perhaps c
may be said it will be best to continue the Is
resent system Of combining the deserter to t
lrd labor in fortress, with ball and chain t
'und his leg Will the Senate consider what /
i'll be the effect of such congregation ofbad a
en-! Amongst this number there are many a
d offenders, who arc hardened in crime, and it
hers who are young in guilt--the effect of G
ch system always being to bring the least n
lilty to the standard Of the greatest And
hat mass ofvllainy will you turn loose on
e community? Try then, | beseech you, '
me other plan--try the effect oflenity and f
the letter from the leg and APP t
y tito the mind Of your soldier, and make him |
hat he should be, the willing and faithful SER /
ant Of his country.
After all, sir, this bill is not entirely TO my
lind. would have added some other induce. $
tent; would have added honorary distinc- /
on; and would have increased the pay of the :
orporals, but feared to 60 too far, less no tn
lg should be obtained. There is another
ause would willingly have added, to restore
gain to your army the ministers Of religion
ntil lately | had not known that the grade of
hapans had been abolished May not TO
lis clause, be in part attributed the increased
lumber Of desc rtions in your army? know
lere are objections in the minds OF some mil
airy men to the employment of Chaplains;
ut it has always arisen from the character of
lie Chaplains themselves. know also that
ooks Of ca ricatures have been printed in Eng.
md against that grade; but in the reform that
as lately taken place under the Duke of We'll
ngton, considerable change has been eflec>
ID in that particular. They are now chosen
18th great care, and faithfully do their duty
Chaplain properly chosen, and employed
here he can have proper access to the men,
ill no doubt be of eflectual service, and |
,gret they are no longer to be found as a
omponent part of our army"
From the ". 0. Bee.