The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1853-08-16

ted, tnen, II the State takes away
the means by which: our money IS OBJ.
tanned, by taxing our labor, she does
the same thing as to take away our
wealth by taxing our purse. What
would be the difference to you if the
State were to pass a law requiring
you to work exclusively for the pub
lie, or law requiring all the pro.
ceeds of your labor as q public tax?
There could be no difference. Then
you see to tax mans labor, is to
tax his purse.
Now let US calculate what amount
OF military tax the people of this Dis.
trict pay and not having the mill.
tia rolls before us, our calculations
must be based upon supposition.
We may reasonably suppose that
there are sixteen hundred men liable
to do militia duty. Now, rating ev
cry mans labor and attention on bis
farm to be worth, on an average, one
dollar per day; then one day would
be sixteen hundred dollars, and six
times that amount, would be over
nine thousand dollars, nearly equal
to one half Of the whole tax paid by
our District.
1t seems very clear to me, that
with even one fourth Of this amount,
.judiciously expended, we could do
more towards building up the militia
ry, and rendering our soldiers eff.
cient, than is now done with the
whole amount.
The grand argument in favor Of
our militia system is, that it keeps
up the patrol duties; but it would be
sheer nonsense to say that we could
not accomplish this end by other and
different ways. We would answer
the argument by saying that there is
generally Magistrate e.in each beat
and there could be no inconvenience
in giving them the management Of
the patrol business, even five had to
give them small compensation for
their trouble. It would certainly-be
cheaper and better to do this, than
!. to drag out q thousand men from
their farms for the purpose Of put
ting out patrol warrants, and Of 60.
ing through the mock semblance of
military evolutions.
Another argument is, that we
should sustain the present system, in
order that when the brazen notes of
the war trumpet shall be sounded in
our ears, our militia men could be
drafted, dragged and compelled to
march to the defence of their country.
Such an argument is q slander upon
the courage and patriotism Of our cit.
;zens. 1t is just the same as to say
that they would not fight for their
country without being compelled by
law. But such is not the fact; when
our country is invaded her rights
endangered-thcy need no compul-
sorry laws to COMPEL them to march
to her rescue. No-tLe spirlt that
animated our grandsires to fight for
the cause of freedom, is not SO de-
generate in the bosoms of their child
ren as that they should need the au.
thority Of law to force them to main.
tain its blessings.
| Let but our country's flag be hois.
ted in defence Of our liberty, and
thousands of willing soldiers will
flock from all quarters TO her stan.
dard. Let but hostile enemy plant
his foot upon our seashore, and you
will find hardly volunteers sufficient
to tall upon them, like hungry wolves
upon shcep,fold, and scatter them
to tho four winds.
We come now to what we said in
our third proposition, viz: that our
system should be revised. Here lies
the difficulty. Every one sees the
necessity Of a change, but it is not
al easy task to frame new plan to
supercede the old. We are inclined
to think that the late plan adopted
by Virginia, Of appropriating funds
to dehay the expenses of volunteer
companies, and doing away with mil.
litla drills altogether, is as good as
any we could offer. But as this plan
would kill off the necessity of SO many
officers, and some Of the military as.
pirants might be left in the back
ground, we propose, for the accom-
mediation of all that are ambitious S
that line, that the Legislature
ish three Of our petty drills---l
one petty drill battalion and
parade and that it apy
portion of the fund tbe
for building up our & {.
education of young
and that it encour2
ment of voluntee
Say we WOW
half Of the II