The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1865-03-20

III NOANO, a., MoAS ~
Of the state Of the Confede-
racy," has never asked, in any authentic
manner, for the passage of law author
izing the employment Of slaves IS SOL.
diers. The Senate, however, did NOT
wait the tardy movements Of the Pres'-
dent. On the Goth December, 1864, the
following resolution was adopted By the
Senate in secret session:
"Rcso'red, That the fresident be requested to
inform the Senate, in secret session, as to the ssate
Of the finances in connection With the payment OF
tho troops; the means Of supplying the muntions
of war; transportation and subsistence; the conui'
ton Of the army, and the possibility OF recruiting
the same; the condition Of our foreign relations.
and whether any aid or encouragement from abroad
is expected, has been sought, or is proposed SO
that the Senate may have clear and exact v1ew q
the state of the country, and of its future pros
poets. and what measures of legislation are re-
quired."
In response to this resolution, the
President might well have communi-
Gated to the Senate his views as to the
necessity and policy of arming the slaves
of the Confederacy as a means of public
defence. No answer whatever has been
made to the resolution. In addition to
this, Joint committee was raised by
Congress, under a concurrent resolution
adopted in secret session on the 30th
December, 1864. That committee, by
the resolution creating it, was instructed,
"by conference with the President, and
by such other means as they shall deem
proper, to ascertain what are our reliable
means of public defence, present and
prospective"
A written report was made by the
committee on January 25tb, 1865; and,
although it had a conference with the
President, no allusion is made in the re-
port to any suggestion by him that the
necessities of the country required the
employment Of slaves~as soldiers. Un-
der these circumstances, Congress, in
fluenced, no doubt, by the opinion Of
General Lee, determined for itself the
propriety, policy and necessity of adopt
ing the measure in question.
The recommendations of the Presi-
dent to employ forty thousand slaves as
cooks, teamsters, and as engineer and
pioneer laborers, was assented to, and a
law has been enacted at the present ses.
SIGN for the purpose, without limit as to
number.
All the measures recommended by the
President to promote the efficiency oi
the army have been adopted except the
entire repeal of class exemptions and
some measures not suggested by him
such as the creation Of the Office o1
General>in >Chief-were originated and
passed by Congress. with view to the
| restoration of public confidence and the
energetic administration of military af'
fairs.
On the subject of exemptions, ths
President, in his message of November
7th, uses the following language:
"No pursuit nor position should relieve any on
who is able to do active duty from enrolment IL
the army unless his functions or Services are NOR
| useful to the defence of his country in anothe
| sphere. But it is manifest that this cannot be tn
case with entire classes. All telegraph operators
workmen in mines, professors, teachers, engineers
editors and employees Of newspapers, journeymc1
printers shoemakers, tanners, blacksiths, miilers
| physicians, and numerous other classes mentione
In the laws cannot in the nature OF things be eithe
1
distributed throughout the country in such proper
| tions that only the exact numbers required ar
found in each locality" etc.
The casual reader would infer that tn
laws, as they stood at the date of tn
message, exempted the classes enume
rated by the President, as we'll as man
other classes not mentioned by him. Sue
is not the fact The only class exemE
tions allowed by the laws then in fore
were the following: Ministers Of reli
gion; superintendents and physicians (
asylums for the deaf; dumb and blint
and of the insane; one editor for eac
newspaper, and such employees as tn
editor may certify on oath as indispens'
bly necessary; the public printers
the Confederate. and State Government
and their journeymen printers; or
skilled apothecary in each apothecar
store. who was doing business as sue
ON the 10th of October, 1862 physician
,, over thirty years of age, and for IL
! last seven years in practice presiden
|. and teachers of colleges, seminaries at
schools, and the superintendent. phys
t clans and nurses in public hospital
certain mail contractors and drivers
). post~coaches; certain officers and en-
!. ployees of railroad companies; a,
. certain agriculturists or overseers.
Officers of the State Governments a
4 not properly included among the e
e empted classes, because it is conced
that Congress has no constitution
? power to conscribe them as soldiers.
0 Nor are Dunkards, Quakers, or 9th
q nen-combatants, regarded as belongl
!: to class exemptions, because. under
; act of June I, 1864, the exemption
=, these persons is subject to the control
the Secretary Of War. The exempt