[for the Richmond Dispatch.]
Messrs. Editors: Please allow me to drop a few hints in your columns, which, I think, claims the kind consideration of our Legislature. The suggestion that I would make is that, now that arrangements are being made to suit the times, as regards the laws of the militia, that some definite provision should be made for certain classes of men to be found in our midst. Fathers who were members of volunteer companies have substituted their sons from 16 to 18 years of age, and been received in such companies as substitutes, and are considered superior to their fathers in the qualifications requisite to a soldier. Such men are now forced to perform militia duties at home, and, therefore, should a call on the militia be made, would be taken from their families, depriving them of all protection, and having to occupy the same position as men who have furnished no substitutes. And, again, there are men in my section of the country, some professing delicate constitutions, and others having families living on farms with a large number of slaves, who have substituted in volunteer companies from three to seven acting in the place of one man — some from 16 to 18, and others over 45 years of age. These men have been acknowledged as substitutes by the company and its commandant, each one of them being better able to discharge the duties of a soldier than he who has furnished them.The cases thus cited are stern realities; and if we expect victory to perch on our banners, justice must be dealt out. Should these cases be provided for, our army would be largely increased. * A Farmer.
