The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1865-03-22
ATTORNEY GENELAL's OFFlcE1
February 9, 1868. (


SIK:-tn your letter of the 2Sth January, you
ask my opinion on the legal points presented
in the letter of Gov. A. G. Curtin to you, of
date the 25th January.
Gov Curtins letter is in relation to the con
structon of the Act of Congress, approved 3D.
March, 1863, commonly called the Enrolment
Act. He insists
LIST. That the words "period of service" "
since the commencement of the rebellion, as
used in the 18th section of the act, do not re-
quire the President, in assigning the quotas of
the several States to take into consideration the
whole term of enlistment of the volunteer and
militia man and
I'd. That that part of the act of the Sd of
March, 1863, which makes the period of ser
vice an element, in the calculation necessary to
determine the number Of men due from n state,
district, county or town, has been repealed by
the 2d section of the act, amendatory of the
enrolment act, approved 24th February, 1864.
1t will be more convenient to consider these
questions in the reverse order inasmuch as it
shall be found that the repeal has been made,
as contended for, the first point made by the
Governor need not be considered.
The great objects of the enrolment act are
LIST. To declare who shall constitute the ma
| Itional forces, and
2d. To organize plan by which the national
forces can be made available,
Subordinate to the purpose Of raising and or
paniz ing the national forces, the plan adopted
bv Con. -ress shows desire that the draft upon
the industrial population Of the several states
and the conn mlnunides thereof, should be equal
lied as nearly as practicable
BY the 4th section of the act of Sd Of March,
1863, the United State is divided into districts,
of which the District of Colu!ubia shall eonstl-
~ II,
tpte one, each territory OF Ihe "''T. eC".es Is
shall constitute one or more, as the 'os'uent
shall direct, and each congressional dlslr-1' oi
the several states as fixed by law OF the stat 9
next preceding the enrolment, shall constitute
one. The 9th section provides that there shall
be a " Board of Enrolment" in each district
by the Jth sectlor 1t "a provided that If the
Board of Enrolment shall deem tt necessary a
district may be divided into two, and with the
consent of the Secretary OF War into any greater
number OF slb-divlslons,
BY the 18th section 1t is made the duty of the
PRESIDENT, IN assigning to the districts the mum
Der OF men to ae furnished therefrom, to take
INTO consideration the number OF volunteers and
militia furnished oy ana from tne Secefdt states
IN which the SAID districts are situated, and the
period OF their service since the commencement
OF the reoeiiloh, ana shaii so make SAID assign
ment as TO equalze the number among the DIS
tricts Oh the seVeral states, considerhS " allow
ing iof inc numbers alreeuy FURNISHED us aiore-
SAID ana the time Oh their service,
1t Is evident from the lace OF TINS act; that
the several states ana districts hao furnished
NUMBER Oh Voiueteers ana mlllVia' ana lor dli-
ferSnt periods OF service
Ihe nrst 9nty OF the resident was to have
the national iSrcos enrolled ms next duty was
to ascertain what number OF volunteers and mi
lltla had Deen furnished from the several states
and the periods OF thelr services since the com
mencement OF tne present rebellion and then
from what districts IN the several states they
came that ne might equaiIze the number
among the dlSt1c!s 81 the several states, con
sldering ana allowing Tor t9e numbers already
furnished as aforesaid and the time of their
service,
Under the act Of the 81 OF March, 1863 1t is