Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1865-04-07

hat the person furnishing "recruitn u
he 23d section, shallbe "exempt from AZ ~
during the time for which the reer,;,
have been accepted and enlisted r.,
only benefit which a person so furnisb,a
recruit derives, under the act Of 1865 ! !
securing, in the event Of his being drse.s
a credit on the particular draft Il 49,:
patton Of which the recruit NAV bsva ',''' =
furnished. The recruit may be ma.,
into the service for three years, and w. '''
substitute. he can only avail the person :,
caused him to be mustered in for. and
respect to the one draft before, and in s,,;
patton of which he was obtained. The g.lg
ity of the principal to be drafted at anv ~
drafts occurring after the mastering in ofTa
recruit, and during the term of his se,v;,
ia not at all effected. There is manifa.s
therefore, no conflict between the respsc
sections Of the Acts of 1864 and lsss
which you have called my attention. a
does not impinge upon, nor even cross !,
path Of, the other. They give diferep, :.
distinct rights and privileges to the ~,
liable to draft. He has the alternative
to pursue before any draft, either to bn-
substitute, and secure him to be nu,,..
in, aud thus obtain exemption from the i.
during the entire term of enlistment NJ ;.
substitute, ifthe latter be so long notIisblo
draft, or he may procure for the goversm.
recruit" not liable to draft, and ob,.
credit for such recruit in case he sboDla /
drafted, subiecting himself, however, 70 i
liability Of being compelled to repeat The !
Grafton at every succeeding draft that NAV l
ordered by the President.
Chiefly, | suppose, the design of the p,o,
sion of the act of 1866, under considerato-
was to offer inducemeut and present a ,t;r,
lus to numbers or associations of indyiJu,
many sub, district, before the liability Of >,
of them became fixed by draft, to obt,;l
volunteer recruits for the army. ConUe., 4
this law, offers such associations preni,,I
to use their exertions to FIJI up the armies Il
says to the residents of the multtn6uo,
counties, townships, wards, and preciD,t,
throughout the coontry, "Organize youus
into recruiting societies; idduce volunteers \
enlist into the service before the draft n,I
them such amounts of bounty as you NAV n
able to raise by your contributions to The r..
cruiting funds of your several districts; sDI
when they have beeR enlisted into the service
the volunteers you may have raised viii stan,
to the credit of as many of you as mayhsvUsi
to be drafted, to the extent of the number !
recruits, in the order designated, at thetu,
the recruits are mustered in
Such is the declaration, and promise Of II,
new law. Its policy is to encourage recruit
ing, not the procuration of substitutes; to in
duce the people to organize associations 70
the advancement of volunteering, rather tbsl
the purchase Of substitutes.
In enacting this new law, and iuaugura
ting this new policy, Congress, however, ha
not taken away the right of the enrolled per
son, before the draft, to furnish substitute
with the qualification before stated, and thu
secure his exemption from draft during tn
time for which his substitute shall have bssr
accepted. He still has it in his power to =,
ercise that right in preference to the ugh
conferred by the 23d section of the Act
Sd March, 1866, of obtaining 'rscrua'
previous to each draft as it may occur; ant
securing thereby credit in the event, on snl
occasion, of his being drafted.
l am of opinion, therefore, that the 81
section of the Act of March 8, 1865, does Dol
supersede the 4th section of the Act of Feb
ruary "a, 1864.
The second question which you have rsi,,
red to me, is, whether the ''recruits, " Ehas.
are ''to be taken as substitutes are to \
considered and borne upon the musterras
and records of the Office of the Provost Mg-
shal General, as other volunteer recruits
which are obtained at the expense of the Uni
ted States, or as substitutes which are fa
nished at the cost of the principals.
am of opinion that the recruits whg5
persons enrolled in any sub-district mai
"cause to be mustered into the service of h
United States in pursuance of the 2Sd Sc,
ton of the act of Sd March, 1864, are to 3
and treated as other VOLUNTEER
who are obtained at the expense of the In.
ted States. 1t will be observed, from the 81
alysis of the law contained in the foregoE
remarks, that the idea involved in the law {
1864 is substitution, while the idea of the h
Of 1865 is crediting. The section of the .,
Of 1865 under consideration does not speak 4
he recruits = in question as Substitutes
but declares that they ''shall be taken as sui
'titutes" for the persons who cause them (
be mustered in. They are not substitute
but only OF the nature of substitutes. The
primary and essential character, under th
aw, is that of credits for their procurers O
and this description is the first de
'cription given them in the section in qre'
ion, for, after saying (which recruits shaI
stand to thecredit of the persons thus causing
hem to be mustered in, the section proceeds,
and shall be taken as substitutes for such
or as many of them as may be draft
d, to the extent Of the number of such re
.ruits."
A critical study of the words of the statute
hus developes the fundamental idea which !
lave supposed, from other indications, was
Intended to be embodied in the law. The
recruits who are to .'stand to the credit
# the enrolled persons, causing them to be
mustered in before the occurrence ofa draft
am ofopinion, then, are to be considered as
ther volunteer recruits which are obtained o
he expense of the United States, and not IS
substitutes in the ordinary sense Of that