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DOCUMENTS ACCOMPAN VI Nlt;G TIIK I’UESIDRNT’h mess auk.ttEPOUT OSP TilK SEORKTAUV OF WAR—CON-CLUDKI).Tt is important that a just pride of clmracter, personal and professional, should be encouraged in a class ot men, whose usefulness depends essentially upon the cultivation of such a feeling. 'This system of promotion, so useful in war and economical in peace, offers honorable objects of ambition, and cannot tail to stimulate the exertions of the officers of the army.The situation of the militia demands the attention of the Government, Owing to defects in the system itself, or in the mode of its administration, public confidence has been impaired in the efficacy of that great branch of the national defence. This is to be regretted ; for, although this force cannot be r« garded os our most impor tant means of safety inThe event of war, it is still a valuable auxiliary, and one which the nature of our institutions, opposed as they are to a large standing* army, renders indispensable. 'The power of organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, is granted by the Constitution to Congress ; and if the laws upou this subject are inadequate, or inadequately executed, it is for the wisdom of that body to apply the remedy.If this great defensive force be called out under pro per circumstances, it may contribute, essentially, to the security ol the country. In recurring to our own experience, wc find many instances of the courage and devoted u ess of our militia; and the two battles that opened and closed our military history, furnish practical illustrations of the value of this institution, and of its powerful effects in situations favorable to its operation. 'The National Guard of France, upon which the fate of that in teresting country seems to depend, is but a local militia, constituted like our volunteer companies, but with a more efficient organisation. By anticipating too much, however, from our militia force, we prepare the way tor disappointment,- and tlws waa^he error of the late war : in consequence of which, our attention has been probably withdrawn from tl»e value of the system itself. A regular force is indispensable to the vigorous prosecution of any permanent military operations, offensive or defensive. But it may be aided by irregular troops, and its place alsa supplied, until measures for providing it can be.adopted. We cannot expect, that the militia drill, upon the present system, will give much instruction. The time and attention devoted to it are utterlyinsufficient fur such a nurmise. Nor is it nrobahle. that
Newspaper Details
Washington National Intelligencer
Washington, Washington-DC, US
Sat, Dec 10, 1831
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Johnathan B.
IA, USA 24 Apr 2018
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