The Recruiting of the army.
There is little time for delay — indeed, no time for delay — and little for deliberation on this subject.
The Legislature has had before it the question of recruiting the thinned regiments and meeting
Virginia's quota of the army, for nearly two months. It was taken up at an early period in December, and here is the end of January, and yet no bill is passed.
Certainly the grave legislators cannot delay it much longer.
The Senate yesterday passed a bill embodying the feature of the ‘"camps of instruction, "’ which are calculated to involve a large expenditure of money, and will fail to secure that amount of discipline and training which could be acquired in the camps of the army.
This was the prominent feature of the House committee bill.
We contour with at least two of our contemporaries in the opinion, that
Col. Tomlin's bill, which we published some days since, is far preferable to either the House Committee's bill or this passed by the Senate, which, indeed, may be the same with that of the House committee.
Col. Tomlin's bill has the great recommendation that it provides for enlisting the required number of men, and no more, at a time than are required, and for the rendezvous of these men in the organized camps of the army, where they are blended with the drilled and disciplined troops, and soon acquire their soldierly habits and training.--The manner of enrollment and drafting of his bill is simple and economical, and the men when drafted are assigned to the regular divisions of the army, where the proper stores are provided for them.
In filling the quota of
Virginia, the
Colonel's bill provides that the number of volunteers re-enlisting shall be taken into the account, and that the draft of the militia shall make up the remainder.
The Senate bill proposes, as it were, the organization of an entire new army, giving the
Governor the appointment of all the officers above captain to a
Major General.
This is likely to introduce a large number of new officers, many of them, probably, untried, who are to drill and discipline men in camp of instruction.
How much better the work will be done in the camps of the army itself?
How much better will it be to fill up the ranks of the thinned companies and regiments that have seen service and know something about war?
How much better to supply the old buckets with the missing staves?
Their hoops are tried and reliable, and the new buckets may prove leaky and defective.
The Senate's bill is evidently expensive, and cannot lead to the same prompt and effective results that will be attained by that of
Col. Tomlin.
