The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1865-03-29

act repeals so much Of the 18th section of the
act Of the Sd March, 1863, as max esit the duty
of the President to take into consideration the
neriod of service of the volunteers and militia
from the several tates. The argument in favor
1 oftbe ren.al rests wholly upon the words of
the amendatorv act--' the numb ,w which has
been previously furnished therefl'om."
II Il insisted that number as here used
means an arithmetical count. / can not so
understand it.
The act of the Sd of March, 1862 had pre-
scribed mode by which the number of men
due from the several states, and the districts OF
the several states, should be asceraned, and
that mode required not simple count, but a
consideration Of the period OF service of men
previously furnished.
Congress used the qcord number in tie I'd Sec
tion of the amendatory act, understanding that
the mode of count prescribed in the original
act would be preserved.
There are many evidences upon the face OF
the nmendatory act which show that it was not
the intention of Congress TO change the mode
count prescribed in the original act
The amended act does not undertake to say
how the quota of state or district is to be
ascertaned. In ascertainipg what number IS
due from a state or district, Che President must
pursue the mode prescribed in the 18th section
of the original act he must take into consider
alton the period of service and yet, under the
construction insisted upon, when he comes to
eoualize the draft, as auth orized to do by the
amended act, in the distr cts he must be con
trolled by simple numbers.
| It can not be that Congress intended one
mode of count for the stat es and districts, and
another wholly inconsistent one for the sub.
divisions of districts.
Inextricable confusion would be the result.
From the language used. in various parts of
the amendatory act, it Is evident that Congress
did not intend to disturb the mode Of count
prescribed in the original act. For instance,
in the 9Th section of the amendatory act, it is
said that the town, ward or township shall be
credited by HIS seruices, and in the 7th section
"the period for which he shall haye enlisted" !"
and THE period for which he shall have been
drafted I" all going to show that the time Of
service was held to be an element in the count,
Nor do think that the argument in favor Of
the repeal is aided by the language of the lst
section of the act entitled can act to further
regulate and provide for calling out the ma
tional torces," approved 4th July, 1864. The
act says that "any such volunteer, or in case
of draft, as hereinafter provided, any substitute
shall be cred ted to the town." etc. Congress
meant that the credit should be given accord
ing to the mode of count prescribed in the act
of March 3, 1863.
| The purpose of the Cd section of the amenda-
tory act, was to enable the President to equal
ize the draft in the several districts, surely not
to have one mode of count in ascertaining the
quotas of the states and districts, and another
mode for equalzing the districts.
Besides, it is hardly to be considered that
Congress would thus incidentally strike from so
| important statute a feature so prominent and
equitable.
| l am therefore of the opinion that the mode
of ascertaining and assigning to states and dis
ricts their respective quotas, as prescribed in
the 18th section of the act of Sd July, 1863, is
not repealed, and that the same mode pursued
in cqualzing the draft among the subdivisions
of each district.
Next comes the question, What is the mode
of count prescribed in the 18th section of the
act of Sd March, 1863 :?
1t is very plain that Congress regarded that
consideration of the period of service would
change the rule from merely numerical one.
Some credit was to be given for the period of
service as well as for the man. Congress has
fixed various periods of service and states. and
districts and fractions of districts had furnished
men for those periods of service.
Now, how is the credit to be given
Before procee ding to answer the question: it
may be proper to state, that it is insisted the
words period of time," and time of service, y
as used in the 10th section of the act of March
3, 1863, mean something different from "term
| of seroice."
| 1t seems to me that the phrases mean one and
the same thing. When the word term is used
in reference to time, it is, according to lexcog-
raphers, very nearly the synonym of period
The difference betwixt them, if any, is too un-
certain and shadowy to believe that Congress
| mao bxr thn t,ea Df en,nntbinn n Hnrn
from what is understood by the other. But the
words period and term occur in after parts OF
the acts now in consideration. In the 18th see
ton of the act of 1863, the term of service is
spoken of, and the term of re enlistment, whilst
| in the 1th section of the amended act 1t is the
period for which he shall have enlisted, and
the period for which he shall have been drafted
Thus it will be perceived that upon the very
face of these acts Congress used these words as
meaning the same thing. 1t happens too in the
act neither word may be used and yet the
same idea intended as in the Sth section of the
amended act, where the language is "shall be
credited by his services"
Regarding then "period of service" and
term of service" meaning the same thing,
any argument predicated upon n difference
must be disregarded And thus we are brought
back 10 the question, How is the credit to be
given must the credit be for the time of actual
service, m the period of enlistment?
think that Congress intended by the words
periods of service, to give credit for the time o
his enlistment
When man enlists in the service of the Gov
ernment for one, two or three years. his services
are due the Government for that period, ano
during that period his services are withdraw
from the industrial pursuits of life. The ac
speaks as though there was certain and fixet
period of services of each man, and yet, if ant
period, or time, is taken, other than the terri
of enli stment, by some system of averages o
| guesses rule must be fixed. To do so woul'
violate the certainty contemplated by the act.
| ara, therefore, of the opinion that the Presi
dent must. under the act, give credit by tn
whole period or term for which the men ell
listed
! Whether this is the rule which should hav
been adopted by Congress, whether it does no
operate unequally, and whether it is exactl.
just or not, are questions that can not now b
considered.
1t is familiar that special causes of hardshi
will occur by the application of any genera
II I,