The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-09-15

tile
ed IRON any one State To another IN the same
district. In this respect the heads are worse
than the details, BY lessening the number and
enlaTglng the bounds OF the district. But they
are worse still The heads '.would give an
armed militia force of two hundred thousand
men, so drilled and stationed as 10 be ready to
take their place in the ranks in defence Of the
country, lchenerer called upon 10 oppose the
enemy, or repel the INVADER So that he who
commands this body of two hundred thousand
men may . station them wherever he thinks
they could most readily take their place in
The ranks IN defence of the country !" conse-
quently, the militia Of Maine, instead Of stop
ping at Vermont, may be marched TO New
| orleans, and stationed there.
/ Where, we demand, will be the station Of
the militia OF western Virginia, western Penn
sylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and
1 Missouri Does any man believe thai we are
IN danger OF INVASION from Canada, or that a
fleet OF armed SHIPS will ascend the Mississippi
and Ohlo2 Let every man answer for himself
the question, where would he be :. stationed SO
as TO be ready TO take his place in the ranks in
defence OF the country iohenerer called ON TO
oppose the enemy or repel the Invader If he
can persuade himself that his station will be
in the centre Of the bounds of his own " bat
tallion," il is well that is, provided always, he
| can persuade his commander in-chiet, the Pre-
sldent TO be OF the same opinion. II not, he
| may, perchance, be I" stationed at the mouth Of
| the Columbia river or the Sabine, at New Or
leans, in the swamps of Florida, or on the st.
| Johns. a#
We objected to the details because they pro-
posed to establish body of volunteers, necessa-
rly composed of the rabble Of The cities for the
| citizen soldier Of the militia The heads are
silent upon this topic, but Mr.. Van Buren, is the
| last man who can be benefited by that silence
The volunteer system is all his own.
But we have another objection TO these heads
which cast all that we have said of them, and
the details, also, into the shade. We ask at
tenuon, earnest attention, we beg, we entreat,
candid and unbiased consideration of the
last sentence of our extract After sketching
the great outline of his gigantic scheme, how
much OF II do you suppose the President pro-
posed to refer to Congress? Hear the report
which accompanied his message, listen to the
"pan 7 OF the Secretary so strongly recommend
ed by the President The manner Of enrol
ment, The number Of days Of service and the
rate o. compensation, ought 70 be tired by
Tar but the details had better be subject to
lTeguiation, plan of which am prepared TO
| submit TO you p @
All but the manner Of enrolment the number
OF days of service, and the rate of compensa-
ton, TO be left TO g regulation ~ What is this
regulation that is to bear SO important part in
the formation, government, and command, of
this military force of two hundred thousand men2
1t is not tar but something else three things only
10 be fixed by lar = all the rest are to be
.'su6ject 10 regnidtion." What, then, we again
ask, is g regulation, as contradlstnguished from
"law z" One at all conversant with the course of
Congressional legislation and the business of
the great departments of the Government would
laugh at apparent ignorance III asking this
question. he would answer at once law in
| this case means an act of Congress; regulation"
means such rules and regulations as the head of
the War Department may, under the control Of
| the President, from time TO time, adopt and pro-
mulgate. sort Of Executive legislation very
convenient in small matters which cannot be
foreseen and provided for by Congress Fellow
citizens, you have pretty striking example of
the exercise OF this same Executive legislation
called regulation" in the rules prescribed by
| the President, to those who are now taking the
census Congress, by lar, directed the census
| TO be taken. The census which the Consti-
tuition makes it the duty of Congress to take is
nothing more than an enumeration of the in
habitants of the country But Congress, think
ing it good opportunity TO procure statistical
| facts, authorized the President to REGULATE "
| that matter. To what extent he thinks this
power OF "reguaton" reaches, all of us know
| who have been applied to by the agents of the
marshals. What the purpose is for which our
wives are commanded to parade their ducks and
chickens, we may know when the alleged bar
gain between the northern man with southern
principles and the nullifers shall be carried into
execution. We trust, however, that the People
will forbid the bans, and prevent the marriage,
from whose fruitful bed the collector of the taxes
In our housewife thrift, is expected to spring.
Having ascertained, both theoretically and
practically, the meaning Of this term, regua-
tion let us revert to the ends to be accomplish
ed by it. 1t is, in the language of the heads"
to fix " the details" Of the plan of the Secretary.
What he understood by his "pan of the de-
tails" which he was prepared TO submit to the
President we may form some notion OF, from the
''plan which he reported to Congress" when,
contrary TO the recommendation of the Presi-
dent, that body veItured TO call for them. Every
thing to be there found, except 50 the manner of
enrolment, the number Of days of service and
the rate of compensation" and any other .. de-
tails" which the President might deem proper,
We're, by the original scheme, to be left to his
regulation" Was there ever such demand
made by the Chief Magistrate of free people
upon an independent Legislature Its parallel
can only be found in the commands of a Roman
Emperor to a servile Senate, when it suited the
policy of the usurper TO retain that once august
body as pageant TO amuse the people. He,
=" the President" was 10 CIRCULATE" the manner
in which arms were TO be provided He might,
as the plan reported to Congress" proposes"
enforce the obsolete law of 1892, and then the
militia would have to purchase their own arms
and equipments He might so regulate" the
matter as to relieve the dear people from the
trouble OF bearing arms, and the expense Of pur
chasing them, and furnish his volunteers
with arms from the public arsepals, which the
Secretary and the Committees OF Congress tell
US the real plan, and thus have no armed
men in the nation but his own "thoroughly
drilled troops" II was for him to fix, by regu-
aton the time and place, when and where,
these .'truop should rerdezvous. Ii was for
him TO say wheth they should be ''called into
service by battalion, and so get rid Of the colo
nes and generals, or by plaioons and rid him