Year: 1864

An opinion of Solicitor Whiting, OF
the War Department, upon the objects OF
the enrolment act, has just been pub
lished by the Provost Marshal General,
which will be adopted by the War De-
partment as the law of the land upon
every point discussed in it He says,
among other things:


The number ofmen and the periods of
their respective service must be taken as
elements of calculation in order to as,
certain the total amount of service per-
formed by the soldiers of a given State,
and the total amount of service thus as
certained in each State would give the
total amount in the aggregate of all the
service performed In all the States. The
proportion of troops due from each State
was to that obtained from all the States
as the number of inhabitants of that
State was to the aggregate number of
inhabitants of all theStates The solution
of this formulary gave for each State the
number OF troops required, in order to
make up its equal and just share. If the
number Of troops fell short of this re-
quired proportion, that deficit should be
charged. If the number exceeded, it
should be credited to the State in ques-
ton.


When the enrolment has been COM
pleted new and more satisfactory basis
is established for distributing the bur-
dens of the draft Having ascertained
the number of persons actually enrolled
in the several States, the number of
troops to be drawn from each State will
be calculated as follows:


As the total number enrolled in all
the States is to the number enrolled in
part cular State, SO the total number to
be drafted is to the number to be drafted
in particular State


The number to be drafted, thus ascer-
tained, should be charged to the partic-
ular State, and then The amount due to,
or due from, that State on the account
of former service, should be added to or
subtracted from that number. The bal
ance is that which is due from the State
in question, and when BALANCES are thus
made up from alEthe States the amount
OF service will be equally distributed ac-
cording to law


The statute also requires that the en-
rollment districts into which the States
are to be divided should be equalized
among themselves. This may be effect
ed upon the same principles as above
stated. The number of men to be fur
nished by any one district bears the
same proportion to the numberto be fur
nished by the State as the number of
men enrolled in that district bears to
the whole number enrolled in the State.


A difficulty arose in the practical adj
ministration of this statute, from the
circumstance that troops were required
for service before the enrollmeu. could
be completed in all the States, and it was
impossible for them to ascertain def
nltely the exact quota of each State and
district prior to the completion of the
enrolment To obviate this difficulty,
and to avoid the dangerof having the
army depleted while in the presence of
the enemy, it was deemed proper to d.
vide the first draft into two parts, or to
call out only portion of the first draft,
with a view of completing the equaliza-
tion of the draft as whole, after the en-
rollment should have been completed
The second part of the first draft, there
fore, yet remains to be complete, and it
becomes necessary therefore to give
each State credit in the above mention
ed account for all troops furnished un-
der the first part of the aforesaid draft,
and the balance of the first draft will be
all that viii now be due on that draft
from each State respectively.


After the first section of the draft was
drawn, and before the quotas for
the last section thereof can be assigned,
new element has been introduced
which must now be taken into account.
The government has authorized volun-
teers to be enrolled, who have received
bounties, and who are to be credited to
the States as part of their respective quo
tas in the same manner as though such
volunteers had been furnished under the
draft.


By observing these principles and
methods of calculation, the requis tions
of the law in ascertaining the quotas of
each State will, think, be substantially
complied with.