Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1863-07-17
| little or nothing towards furtherinc the main

business of the country, its military defence.
They passed most Of their time debating cx-
emption bills, making pathetic speeches about
'the poor soldiers" (for use at future polls ]
and gaping after imaginary Northwestern
peace commissioners. If Congress had more
truly appreciated the situation we believe
they would have acted more in accordance
with it. They would have given the Execu-
tive power to suspend the Habsas Corpus act,
and to declare military law or martial law
they would have repealed those vcxatious re-
strictions upon his power Of appointing
officers for merit, and of dropping them for
demerit, which at present compel him to leave
the army burthened with incapable officers in
every department; they would have requested
the President to put .au end to the farce Of
foreign consuls, and So get rid Of the imasira
ry privilege which is ssupposed to keep foreign
born residents out Of our ranks they would
have put an end to substitution, and declared
the necessity of Il levy en- maSss.
On all these points SOME change is needed
and that Immediately. The people soc this
now, or will very shortly see and feel it. We
believe that our people only need to conrrc !.
hend the true state Of the case to make t!tcs
call out aloud for the more firmly gathering up
the relns OF military authority in the hands OF
their Executive. Our people wish truly and
really to beat back the enemy they feel them
selves able to do it. if only rightly organized
and led. They feel in their hearts every man
of them we trust that if they have not an in
vincil'le army now there will be nothing worth
lighting for. Political privileges, civic rights,
with all the checks and balances Uf the Con
stitution, property liberty, life itself, all be-
long to their country and to the war. Life,
liberty and pursuit of happiness, for us. mean
simply the complete muster of all fighting
men on this land, and their <uhjoction to stria-
gent military law. Is not.this true? DO we
not all feel it deeply at last:
There are much more than one hundred
thousand men in the Contcderacy who have
hired substitutes for service The have paid |
for them from three hundred to three thou
sand dollars, and have up to this time avoid |
cd the risks Of battle, and used their time III |
growing rich Now do these men estimate |
the value Of their country'S freedom, each Of
them at his three hundred or three thousand !
dollars? When that SUM has been paid, is
all that they ever owed to their native land
discharged forever: Are they willing to in
vest Just SO much 70 rescue their children |
from vassalage TO the Yankee nation? VIII |!
they not bid little higher? II not. We
must have the lew en- nlasse, and take them
ail.
Then, let anybody visit the neighborl,ool of
Gen. Winder's ofice-it is cholea with crowds
Of cowardly wretches, calling themselves for
eigners-tiermans who were but too glad to
get out from under the trteagc Of their
Grand Dukes and Serene Highnesses-Irish-
men who long ago renounced with ma'cG,c-
ton. their allegiance to Queen Victoria all
crushing one another in the. race TO show
projections from those very Queens and &c
reno Hishnesses, and So y, rroM the land that
sheltered them, in its utmost need. We cam
,ot estimate the numbers OF this class nt men
IN the whole Confederacy, but certainly they
would make corps d'armcs.
All these points, which arc here only touched
lpon-the strengthening of our military Or
,anizaton the application Of martial law
70 the whole country, as in state of siege
the absolute control Of all trading, Especially
trading in drink as within military lines
the abolition Of substitution, exemption, and
foreign protections-the material enlargement
Of the Presidents power to revise elections
Of officers, and to make appointments and get
rid of incompetent ofiicers-thcse things form
too large and momentous :. subject TO be dis
posed of in an article. For to-day VIC only
desire to excite reflection upon them.