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by withholding every allowance for men sent into the naval service.
The New-England States have many thousands of volunteers in the national navy, belonging chiefly to the sea-coast counties, which are nevertheless to be subject to the same draft as the counties in the inland States.
So great is this inequality, that, if the draft is to be vigorously imposed on some of our seaports without making this allowance, it will absorb the whole male population of those towns within the limits of the military age.
The letter produced no change; and the towns referred to succeeded in filling their quotas by inducing persons to enlist from other places to their credit.
On the 28th of August, the
Adjutant-General reported to the
Governor thus:—
In recruiting the nine months men, we meet with obstacles at every step.
The mustering officer refuses to muster them in until a regiment is full.
Now he also refuses to furnish transportation for the recruits to camp, and there is no way to get them to camp unless the State assumes the responsibility, or the officers and men pay their fares from their own means.
As this is a matter of serious importance, I ask your Excellency's orders what to do.
The same day, the
Governor telegraphed these facts to
Mr. Stanton, and added,—
We have more than five thousand nine months men ready to go into service immediately, who have abandoned their avocations, and ask only to be received at once, but are repressed and discouraged by these repulses.
If I were capable of discouragement, I should be almost discouraged by the obstacles which block my efforts at every turn.
If the whole recruitment, transportation, and equipment were left to the State as last year, we should be a month ahead of our present position.
Mr. Stanton telegraphed, that it was by law impossible for him to put the recruitment of the militia, and the disbursement of the funds, into the hands of the
Governor; to which he wrote a long and able reply, showing that all reason and experience proves the absolute necessity that human affairs should be controlled from the centre, and not from the circumference.
He says,—
