The active forces of Virginia.
Since it seems probable that the Legislature will take some action for keeping up
Virginia's quota of the Confederate army, it is a matter of public interest to learn something of the plans proposed for consideration.
The bill reported by the Military Committee of the Senate will come up to-day, and doubtless some important amendments will, be made before it becomes a law. One plan, which does not possess an official stamp, has been laid before the members, and deserves some notice.
It proposes that all the companies of Virginia volunteers now in the services of the
Confederate States shall be retained in the active service of the
State, and shall constitute a portion of
Virginia's choice that on the day on which the term for which any each company was mustered into active service shall expire, one-fourth of the man of such company shall be charged from the service, and shall not be subject to any compulsory military duty for the eight months next succeeding the day of their discharge.
The men to be so discharged shall be selected by the captain of their company, with the approval of the colonel of their regiment, with a proper regard to the necessities of the families of the men. On the 1st day of January, 1863 the remaining three-fourths of the men, now in active service, shall be discharged, and shall be exempted from all compulsory military duty for the twelve months next succeeding the date of their discharge.
We deem it unnecessary to quote-further from this
project. and only give the foregoing because it touches the question which at present forms the absorbing topic of the camps.
The author of the
project claims that its object is to preserve, as far as is in the power of the
Virginia authorities, the uninterrupted and efficient organization of our army in the field, and to give it additional strength, We append a portion of his argument upon this point.
It has been said that it is unjust to retain in service, by direct legislature act, men who only volunteered for a specific time, and that great dissatisfaction will be produced by it. The response to that is, first, that in times of great public necessity, decisive action is necessary; and next, that the provisions of this
project are calculated to relieve it of the charge, as one-fourth of the men are to be discharged at the expiration of their present term, and the remaining three-fourths are to be exempted from military duty for twelve months alter the expiration of the approach of campaign, when they, too, will be discharged.
The writer of this with a good opportunity of judging feels satisfied that the men who; by their vigilance and coolness and care, have for months kept back the
Northern hordes from our borders, know that to remain successful it will be necessary to have tried troops; they know, by experience, that recruits brought into a company at once acquire the pride of company and regiment which animates their fellows; they know that recruits thus brought in learn all the duties of a soldier with far less labor and far greater celerity than when all are raw; they will see that in this way the military system which we have now organized can beat be made to run over smoothly, efficiently, and without shock into the ensuing campaign.
They will recognise the necessity of the step.
and they will cheerfully submit to this new sacrifice to patriotism.
