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429]
Brigadier-General Humphries, U. S. A., Army of the Potomac, wished
Governor Andrew to commission
Mr. Edward C. Rice, of
Framingham, that he might appoint him on his staff.
There was no place for him in the three years regiments.
The Governor referred the matter to the
Adjutant-General, who replied,—
I presume that a staff appointment by one of our militia brigadier-generals would answer the purpose.
It did in the case of Colonel T. Bigelow Lawrence, who received an appointment upon the staff of General McDowell, upon a commission which he held as an officer on the staff of Major-General Sutton, Second Division M. V.M. There are four vacancies in the staff of Brigadier-General Peirce: if he will appoint Mr. Rice, I believe it will accomplish the purpose sought for by General Humphries.
And it did.
A colonel in a Massachusetts regiment having written to the
Governor that ‘great trouble had arisen,’ and officers had lost their pay, because the
Adjutant-General of the
State delayed forwarding the commissions when made out, the letter was referred by the
Governor to the
Adjutant-General, who replied, that all commissions were immediately transmitted to the
Adjutant-General of the army, to correct his roster by, and were by him transmitted to their proper destination.
If there had been any delay, it must have been in that office, not here.
The letter concludes:—
I do not suppose that any colonel of a Massachusetts regiment would state what he did not believe to be true; and I did not suppose there was one who would make complaint against a public officer until he had ascertained that there was just cause.
Now, may it please your Excellency, whoever the officer may be who has made this complaint, I will say, without fear of contradiction, that he has spoken of what he has no knowledge of, and has made a charge which has not a shadow of foundation on which to stand.
A very large number of letters were written in answer to questions put by the city and town authorities, in regard to the payment of State aid to soldiers' families.
The rule was almost general, on the part of those gentlemen, to construe the law liberally; a few only interposed technical objections, and were
