Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1862-04-19
The CONSERVATION Ac..

The Richmond Examiner of the 10th contains
the CONSUMPTION act passed in secret session by
Congress-; but there is certainty that the act
as published is entirely correct we await an official
copy, which will probably soon appear in the Rich
mCnd papers. The main features of the act as it
appears in the Examiner are as follows: The Pres
ident is authorized to call out and place in the mil
itary service of the Confederate States for three
years, unless the war shall have sooner ended all
white men who are residents of the Confederate
States, between the ages of eighteen and thirtyfve,
who are not legally exempted from service All of
the persons aforesaid who now in the armies of
the Confederacy, and whose term of service will
expire before the end of the war; shall be continued
in the service for three years from the date of their
original enlistment unless the war shall have sooner
ended; the twelve months men to have the right to
reorganize and elect their officers but the latter to
be commissioned by the President All under
eighteen and over thirty-fve in said armies for
twelve months shall be required to remain three
months unless their places can be sooner supplied.
by conscripts; and oil laws and parts of laws pro-
vding for the re-enstment Of volunteers and their
organization, are repealed but companies, battal-
IONS squadrons, and regiments organized, in pro-
cess of organization by authority from the Secre-
tary of War, if entirely completed within thirty
days not embracing any now in service, will be
ceived. All persons comprehended in the act and
not in SERVICE it shall be lawful for the Presi-
dent to enrol by the agency of State officers, with
theconsent of the Governors of States and if the
Governor of any State shall refuse such consent,
then the President shall employ Confederate officers
for the purpose in accordance with rules and regu
lations to be prescribed by him. Persons when en-
rolled and liable to duty, if they shall wilfully
fuse to obey the call of the President shall he held
to be deserters and punished accordnly. Persons
not liable to duty will be received as substitutes
The foregoing are the material features of this
act The vote by which it passed the two houses
has not yet been made public. Let the people hare
the names Of those W6O UOted for it. 1t is an ex-
traordinary fact that this act which ignores the
| rights of the States and assumes summary and alb
solute control over some six hundred thousand OF
the militia debated and passed in secret session
This act breaks the faith of both the State and
| Confederate governments with the twelve months
men, by compelling them to remain two years long
er in the war. 1t also designates the mode of ap-
pointing the officers which is in direct conflict with
the Confederate Constitution. 1t also provides for
substitutes. There ought to have been exemptions
even under so sweeping law as this; but they
should have been such only were rendered neces-
sary by mental bodily infrmity. The idea, for
example. of one of the correspondents of the Macon
(Ga) Telegraph, who advocates CONSUMPTION, that
it will "put the rich and the poor-the noble and
the peasant" as he calls them, ION the same foot
ing" is not realized 1.-THE noble and the peasant"
| Are we in Europe or American The substitute
system, though wrong in theory. may work well,
! and has worked well in our volunteer armies; but
when levy is made en- iaasse a certain portion
of population, it is wrong to put wealth in one
scale and the compelled and inevitable service Of the
| poor man in the other. But we shall not dwell
longer at present on this measure We regard it as
inexpedient, unnecessary, oppressive, and uncon-
stitutional 1t places the rights of the States and
the liberties of the people at the feet of the Presi-
dent If Mr.. Davis were Jackson, or a Clay, or a
Webster, or a Calhoun, we would not confer such
power upon him. We can only hope that this meas
ure will not seriously injure the Southern cause,
and that good results and not calamitous Ones may
flow from it. But we enter our protest against it
and if evil comes of IT. it shall not be said that
were the advocate of, the apologist for, mon
strOus and dangerous measure. Again we ad-
monish the people, who are fighting against despo-
tism from without to look well to the encroach-
ments of power within. The price Of liberty is not
only treasure and blood, but sleepless vigilance.