Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-08-20
The Enrolment of ColOred Citizens.
the attorney general has written the follow
ing letter on the subject of the enrolment of
colored citizens -
ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE, }
BosToN, Aug. 10, 1862. {

BosToN, Aug. 10, 1862.
TO tile assessors of -:
Gentlemen Your letter, inquiring why
the recent order of his eXcellency provides
that the new enrolment shall include the
names of colored us well as white citizens. adj
mitS of brief and simple answer.
1.-The general government has authority to
determine who shall and who may not COM
pose the militia, and having so determined,
the state government has no legal authority to
prescribe a different enroIment."- s Gray
6l5. Such was the language of the Justices of
the supreme court OF Massachusetts in reply
to certain questions proposed to them by the
governor and council in December, 1859, at
ter the legislature struck out the word ,chite
from the militia law of Massachusetts, an al
terauon IN consequence OF which Gov. Banks
was constrained to veto the whole body of the
general statutes. And the application Of this
well settled constitutional principle is decisive
OF the question which now exercises your
minds.
An act of congress passed in May, 1892,
requires that leach and every free ablebodied
white male citizen of the respective states.
resident therein who is or shall be of the ace
OF eighteen years and under the age of forty
five years except as is hereinafter eXcepted)
shall sevcrally and respectively be enrolled
in the militia &c. While this law was in
force none but white men could be enrolled,
and the veto by which Gov. Banks thwarted
attempts to enroll others was sustained alike
by principle and authority. But an act of
congress, passed July II, 1862, materially al
tiers the previously existing militia laws Of the
United States viz, those OF 1892 and 1895
and provides that 1.-THE enrolment of the mi
lita shall in all cases include all ablebodied
male citizens between the ages OF eighteen
and torty-iiye and shall be apportioned among
the states according to representative popula-
| ton"
The regulations issued by the war depart
ment for the enrolment and draft of three
hundred thousand militia, August 9th. 1862
contain the following order:
lhlrd. The governors of the respective
states VIII cause an enrolment to be made
lortii"lth by the assessors OF the several coun-
ues' OF ny any other officers to be appointed
ny such governors, Of all able-bodied mnln
citizens between the ages of eighteen and fnr.
ty-hve, within the respective counties. giving
the name, age, and occupation of each tno
ge'her WIN remarks showing whether he is in
inc service OF the United States, and in what
capacity, ana any other facts which NAV de.
termine his exemption from military duty."
1t thus appears that all abLe-b0died o,oL
cutzehs of the respective states are to he en-
rolled III the militia OF the United States, anC
that congress and the war department botl
leave out the word White from the description
of the class to be enrolled. an omission whicl
can hardly be supposed to have been acciden
tai, when it is considered how recently an,
frequently the subject has been extensively
discussed.
The same obedience to constitutional Law
which requires the enactment to be confined
to white citizens, while the act of 1892 re
manned unaltered, now renders it obligator
upon the assessors to enroll all citizens withii
the prescribed ages, Of whatever complexion
| The authorities Of Massachusetts have n,
more right to diminish its quota of troops BY
refusing to enroll black men than they woult
have to reduce the age at which the obligation
of military service terminates, from forty-fyt
to forty years.
The only possible question now open is
| whether colored men are citizens of Massa-
ehusetts, which no one presume will have
! the hardihood to deny inasmuch rs they arc