, 1861-04-20
The Law Under Which the mllltta Of
tho Country is Called Ont.

VIC give DelOH lQG S6CLIDu VI luz 1NL VI fJt
under which the President of the United
6Ietcs has called forth the militia Of the States
in his proclamation. That lnw was passed In
reference to the insnrreetion in Pennsylvania,
when many thousands OF insurgents we're In
nIms againEt the Federal authority. Tha. for
nlldable outbreak being happily quclled, no
farther ction was Lad under tll;s statue till
1914, when, war with G. cat Britain existing,
Its provisions were found effective in bringing
the forces Of the country under the control OF
the Federal Government. Congress, however,
In that year extended the time Of service to
six months, it being limited By act OF lbs to
three months. The amendatory net Of 1914
the duration Of the then existing war, and by
its own terms expired at its close, leaving the
provisions Of the act Of 1735 in foico. 1t will
he observed tha: the President has In his
proclamation quoted the exact text Of the
statute; the section referred to being Is fol-
lows:
'.sEc. 2 And Il jurthtr enacted, That when
ever the laws Of the United States shall DO opposed
OF the execution thereof obstructed in any State,
BY combinations too powerful to be suppressed b.
thcpowers vested in the marshals BY this act, It
shall be lawful for the President Of the United
States to co forth the militia Of euch State, Or Of
any o stais g sta.es a. may BE- to
to be duly executed, and tho 1so of militia to be
c.lled forth may be contihuee y necesssEy. until
tho expiration Of thirty days aitGE sss commence
The po;-or of the President to determine
the existence Of the facts which establish tho
necessity of calling upon the lnllitls, has been
settled BY judicial determination. In the case
of Martin VS.. Mott, reported III the 18th OF
Wheaton, p. 10, the Court eays: =" =
1.-THE authority to decide whether the exfgencies
contemplated In the Constitution Of tho Unttctt
IN which the President has authority to call forth
the militia to exc. ute the laws Of tho Union, sup
/. press insurrec1ons. and repe1 inyas!o9s,' have
uriscu ia exclusively vested In the President and
| his decision is conclusive on all othcr persons."
The clause which limits the tenn Of service
| Of troops called out under this act, is found in
! the fourth section, and is DIS follows:
! "And no officer, .nou-commissioned officer, Q,
private shall be compelled serve more than thret
months after Ills ARRIVAL at the place o. rcnoczFoEs
In any ono year"
twill be observed that the concluding
c1ntlsB Of the second section quoted above
n,akes the term Of service also expire THIRTY
days after the assembling Of Cong1 ess. It Il
noticeable that 1t was in the power OF the Pres
ident, by declining to call an extra session
F.. Congress, to have provided a longer perioa Q
hostllities, inasmuch as the troops orderes
into the field upon the 1rst requ isition could
at the expiration Of their term Of service, hay.
been replaced By q new lew, and thus q: sni
ficIent army have been kept under a:ms u
the first Of january next It is not douote'
thnt tho spirit Of the States furnishing tl
troops would hive promptly advanced tn
money necessary to maiutdn their sewers
:, quota IN active operations, relying o. on II
: General Government tor repayment. i1e Ao
mlnistration, however,, haye p1ndently pn
It, beyond the power, Of the Executive +
continue troops in the field .beyond the nss n
:. of August. In calling Congress togetAer' IN In
4 Government will have -detsr1ed To- the, sens
tors Of the States and tho Representatives
+ the people the responsibility Of the measqls y
and the policy which, nfter- the date o. lae
:, aseeablage. naay be hold requisite to presets
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