Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-05-28
THE ENROLMENT ACT.

The Washington correspondent of the New York
Evening Post in special Geographic despatch to
that Journal under date of the 26th instant, writes
as follows:
1t ety cert lin that the enrolment act will be- car
RED out according to the letter Of the law Prominent
gentlemen from New York and Pennsylvania have made
representations to the President and the War Department
that any thing looking at all like attempt to evade
pam provision of the act would have damaging effect
among the people"
We dislike to see such statements made with re-
gard to the execution of the enrolment law" or
any other law of the land 1t ought to be certain,
not "pretty certain" that all laws will be carried
out according to their letter, us construed and in
| terpreted by the courts In the case of statute
so plain as that portion of the enrolment law
which regulates the procuration Of substitutes or
the payment of specified sum in Communication for
military service there has never been We sure,
any occasion for the representations" alleged to
have been made to the President or the Secretary
of War in depreciation of :" any thing looking like
an attempt to evade plain provision of the act"
and we hope that the correspondent does not mean
to lnsinuate that it is now "pretty certain" the
law will be carried out according to its letter and
discovery that a contrary course would have "a
damaging effect among the people," The dissent
nation of such loose ideas with regard to the funo
tions of the Executive branch of the Government
in administering the laws argues either great
carelessness of speech or marks great deteriora-
ton in popular notions Of official duty and
official responsibility under Government of la,cs.
In remarking on this topic, the Boston Daily
Advertiser holds the following appropriate Ian
guage:
the three hundreddolar clause in the CONSUMPTION act
consistently with the terms of the act, it to
highly improbable from the nature Of the that the
Government could desire to do any thing of tho sort This
section of the law deliberately adopted from the egs
aton of countries where CONSUMPTION has been long and
ssfuy practised and where the of making
bear as easily and equally possible have been studied
from political necessity. he principle of thus fixing a
limit far possible, the cost Of substitutes, and Of
raising fund for the Government to at its discretion
in recruiting well considered has been tested BY expe
rence elsewhere and is not likely to be abandoned with
out trial. TO suppose that 1t will be go abandoned Is to
suppose that there either extraordinary ckeness
tire lack of harmony in the military councils of the nston
This section of the coDscrption act adopted, as
have always understood with especial references the
matter Of re-enstments If the Secretary Of War fixes
the legal Communication at three hunded dollars this
added to the national bounty paid 10 all recruits will make
the of four hundred dollars which be used in
curing the return OF discharged and experienced sol
der to the army. There every to believe
that of the many thousands of these men who now
returning TO their homes large part require but little
ducement to send them back into the service They have
acquired The taste for military lfe old associations and
pursuits broken up to extent, and with short
period If rest at home their minds will turn to the army
naturally and with powerful inclination 1t IL from these
men that shall obtain our most willing and valuable re-
cruits"