Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1864-10-18

MCCuLLCCH VS.. BooN.-The decision made IN this
case on yesterday in place by his Honor, Judge
French, will, doubtless, prove interesting to many.
The petitioner, Joseph d. McCulloch, is a private
of Capt Boon's company of senior Reserves. He
lacked only few days of being fifty years old when
he was enrolled and he was over Fifty when be
was ordered into service. The point made by his
counsel was thst the spirit and reason of the act Of
Congress, which says that "all white men, resi-
dents of the Confederate States, between the ages
of seventeen and fifty, shall be in the military ser
vice of the Confederate States for the war; releases
man from said service after he has attained the
age of fifty. No language in the act, puts any
young man just coming of the age of seventeen IN
the service; yet the officers of the government are
daily enrolling the young men so soon as they ar
rive at that age. The liberal construction, and they
held reasonable construction, which puts these
Young men in on their arrival at that age, ought to
exempt those who come to be fifty by parity OF
reasoning The case was fully argued by the conn
sci on both Sides after which his Honor decided
against the petitioner and remanded him into the
hands of his captain The counsel for the govern
ment was Ralph Gorrell, Esq; and for the petition.
er the Hon. j. y. Gilmer Hon. j. r. Mclean, and
Messrs. Scott and Scott--Gree"S6Oro' Citizen.
II an overseer should so far show incapacity to
manage plantation of fifty hands as to acknowl,
edge that wG-thrds ofthem had run away or were
lounging about their quarters instead of coming to
and weeds which had been allowed to take posses
sion Of it, and should come TO his employer with
these facts before him to ask for additional help,
what would be the reply? Why, sir, go first aud
gather up the runaways and laggardS have given
YOU and make them work before you ask me for
larger force 4! Why would not like response be
entirely appropriate to the exorbitant demands be-
ing made upon the country by our Confederate
overseer President Davis? Is not the parallel be-
tween the plantation overSeer and the Confederate
Executive fair in all respects Then why should
| he not receive the same treatment? Is he not our
agent sworn to execute the laws and enforce dis
! cipline? Why is it, then, that the President ad-
| mts that two.thirds cf the army absent from
! their commands, half Of these without leave, and
does not apply the proper correctives to get them
back instead of asking the country to drain itself
of resources necessary to the support of the army
and the community? Why does he not exhibit
| some of the magnanimity of that noble man, Gen.
Lee, who says, am to hame come and help me
out of the difficulty? But no; the President iS
always right and somebody else to blame. Con-
| gress or some displaced general must be made the
scape goat.
! We could not help being impressed the other
dav at the Capitol, with the manifest lmpropriety
| OF the Executive counSelng the State to interfere
/ with the war power OF Congress in the matter of
! exemptions. Of course, we do not mean to say
that Mr.. Davis considered act of the Legislature
forcing Confederate exempts into the State militia
! an interference with the constitutional power OF
Congress for raising and supporting armies; but we
maintain that such is the effect Of his argument
Ia order 10 show the faliacy Of the reasoning on
this question, il is sufficient that he brought him
self 10 the reducto dd 9bsnrdum when he asserted,
IN closing his remarks this head that the LaUS
Of tie StdteS are supreme Gtt OUer the land y
whereas the Constitution of the Confederate States
asserts that "This Constitution, and the laws of
the Confederate States made in pursuance thereof,
and all treaties made or which shall be made,
under the authority of the Confederate States shall
BE- the supreme law of the land. Montgomery
! LIdcertis6r.