Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1851-09-06

The enlistment Of young men Of nineteen and twenty wears
Of age who, after receiving bounty money and cohes apply
for discharge under the law prohibiting the enlistment Of
minors is Of great loss to the Government These
applications for discharge very frequent 10 this city,
where many foreigners enlisted before they have been
resident long enough acquire much knowledge Of
The majority Of this class Of recruits are natives Of Ireland
oil Of whom well know that homage ground for dis
charge from the British service, and probably Of opinion
that the regulations Of the United States army similar
here, IN many cases destiute and not meeting With
immediate employment labUe mechanics the prospect
OF eight dollars month"; with good food and clothing, and
little or no work. il captivating be rejected and visit
10 the recruiting office 10 determined upon.
ne candidate for military life Is instructed by
70 answer the ineogato to his age in the
affirmative, and the enlistment Is then readily effected The
recruit soon discovers that more profitable employment is
procuabehe learns that The essiment Of minor il void
and bis prscen ami forthwith sues out writ Of habeos cor
P1s requiring CoL A. 10 bring Patrick B. before bis Honor
Judge G., and show why the said Patrick should not
be discharged The process is cheap and simple Nothing
is more probable than that itests man should be mis-
taken in relation bis age His more intelligent friends
swear positively that be was not twsntyone years old but
twenty years and eleven months, something less Al the
time Of his enment and the discharge thereupon granted
The nsesnt occurrence of this kind Of TRANSACTION has
bear great to the officers and they have deter
mined &c retaas BY causing the discharged soldier be- ar
rested for obtaining subsistence and csthng by false pre-
tences They adopted this toward young Riley whose
discharge by Of the Judges Of the Court of Common
Pleas was reported in the Commercial Saturday The
applicant IN that case sister OF the recruit whose earn
ings domestic had been not long since Ireland to
pay her out to this country Soon after his
arrival ne enlisted representing himself to the recruiting OFF,
Ger TO be twenty-five years of age His sister cerGed that
ne was not twenyoDe and her application for bis discharge
was therefore successful. The triumph, however, was but
On leaving the room, Riley arrested
on the charge Of false preences and committed Tombs
Athis turn oevens the poor sister became almost broken
hearted She had abored to bring her brother 10 America;
when be came he ensed she had successfully sven for
bis discharge from the army, and be imprisoned for
crime The ignorant accused fearing that he would
sentenced to the State prison. reproached her for what she
had done with the kndest intentions and begged her let
him return to military service The officers commune
Gated WITH but they refused receive him back unless bis
sister would 80 before the Surrogate take letters Of guar
dianshp and formally the enlistment This she
ultimately consented to do, but when the parties appeared
before that officer the Hall Of Records the prisoner being
asked his age, replied and infants Of that ago
not known to the law, the letters sought refused
Finally, after suffering two days imprisonment an arrange
ment was effected, and Riley has re-enlisted.
It may be well to publish the difficulties which are sure to
attend proceedings of this character long the officers of
The army resort to aesng alleged minors discharged from
enlistment on the charge Of false pretences There few
who will not prefer military restraint however rigid the
cells Of prison.-N. Y. Com. Advertiser.