The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1863-06-26
WAR DEPARTMENT

WAR DEPARTMENT,
PRovoST MAEsIIAL GENERALS OFFICE,
Washington, June 6, 1868. }
The following opinion OF the Hon. William
Whiting, Solicitor of the War Department, has
been ordered to be published by the Secretary
of War:
OPINION.
1t is made the duty of all Provost Marshals
ito obey all lawful orders and regulations of
the Provost Marshal General, and such as shall
be prescribed by law concerning the enroll
ment and calling into service OF the national
forces" Act March 3, 1868. Sec. Z.
The 25th section of the same act provides
that I" if any person shall resist any draft, of
men enrolled under the act into the service of
the United States, or shall counsel or aid any
person to resist any such draft, or in the per-
Torrance of any service in relation thereto, or
shall counsel any person to assault or obstruct
any such officer, or shall counsel any drafted
men not to appear at the place OF rendezvous,
or willfully persuade them from the perform
ance of military duty as required by law; such
person shall be subject to summary arrest by
the Provost Marshal, and shall be forthwith
delivered to the civil authorities, and upon
conviction thereof shall be punished by fine
not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by i'm
prisOnment not exceeding two years, or by both
of said punishments.
To do any act which will prevent or impede
the enrolment of the national forces (Which
enrolment is preliminary and essential to the
draft, is to prevent or impede the draft itself.
The enrolment is a service to be performed
by the Provost Marshal, in relation to the
draft. II is not the act Of drawing ballots out
of q ballot box ITSELF but it is Sin relation to
it, and is the first step that must by law be
taken preparatory to the draft. 1t is there
fore clearly within the duty of the Provost
Marshal, to subject all persons who obstruct
tl,n no nf no or
any other proceeding which is preliminary and
essential to the draft, to summary arrest, ac-
cOrding TO the provisions of section %.
There are many ways Of Obstructing officers
in the performance of their service or duties
in making or relation to the draft, without
employing physical force; The neglect, or re-
ftlsal to do an act required by law to be done.
may itself be such an obstruction as to subject
the offender to arrest. Suppose a person to be
found standing in passage through which the
drafting officers are required to enter into a
place designated by law as the place for the
draft and suppose that his standing in that
place would prevent access by these officers to
the place of draft. Ifthey request him to move
away, and he neglects or refuses to do so for
the purpose of preventing the draft the nom
performance of the act of removal would be of
itself an obstruction of the draft or of an Of
ficer in the performance Of his duty in relation
to it."
Standing mute in civil courts, under certain
circumstances, a punishable Offense. And so
of a person with intent to prevent the draft, re-
fuses to give his true name when lawfully re-
quested SO to do by an officer whose legal duty
it is to ascertain and enroll it, it is an Obstruc-
ton of that officer in the performance of one of
his duties in relation to the draft. So also in
the giving offalse names with the same Illegal
intent; and the offender will in either case
be subject to summary arrest by the Provost
~ (Signed) aii4' WILLIAM WHITING, 9a
~ .o Solicitor Of the War Department.
~ JAMES B. FRY; Provost Marshal General