enrolled in the militia, shall be constantly provided with arms, Legal notice of accoutrements, and ammunition, agreeably to the directions of enrolment. the said Act, from and after he shall be duly notified of his enrolment; and any notice or warning to the citizen, so enrolled, to attend a company, battalion, or regimental muster, or training, which shall be according to the laws of the state, in which it is given for that purpose, shall be deemed a legal notice of his enrolment. Brigade-quar SECT. 3. And be it further enacted, That in addition to the Quartermasofficers, provided for by the said Act, there shall be to the mi- ter-general. litia of each state, one quarter-master general; to each brigade, termaster. one quarter-master of brigade; and to each regiment, one Chaplain. chaplain." Now therefore, the more effectually to carry the foregoing Laws, and the provisions of the Constitution of this Commonwealth into execution: SECT. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That in addition to the exemptions made by the foregoing laws of the United States, the persons afterwards in this section mentioned, be, and they are hereby either absolutely or conditionally exempted from militia duty, notwithstanding their being of the age of eighteen, and under the age of forty-five years; and that the following be the persons who are absolute- Persons absoly exempted, viz. the Lieutenant Governor; the members of lutely exemptthe Executive Council; the judges of the Supreme Judicial ed. Court, and their clerks; the judges of the Courts of Common Pleas, and their clerks; the members of the Legislature, and its officers, while the same is in session; Judges of Probate; Justices of the Peace, holding commissions, and qualified to act as such; registers of probate; registers of deeds; the attorney general, and the solicitor general; the secretary and treasurer of the Commonwealth, and their clerks ; sheriffs; all officers and students of any College, actually resident there; preceptors of academies, and school masters, while actually employed as such; the president, professors, and students of theological seminaries; ministers of the gospel, of every denomination; all students of divinity, who shall produce a certificate from an ordained clergyman, of their being such, and deliver the same to the commanding officer of the company within whose bounds. such student resides; the first clerks in the adjutant and quarter-master general's offices, respectively; all officers who have held or may hereafter hold commissions in the army or navy of the United States; all officers who have heretofore held or may hereafter hold commissions in the militia of this State, or any other State of the United States, for the term of five years, or shall have been superseded and discharged; the officers and guards employed at the State's Prison, in Charlestown; such engine men as shall annually produce to the commanding of ficer of the company, within whose bounds they reside, certificates from the selectmen of their respective towns, that they have been legally appointed and are bound to perform the du [*Further ex- ties of engine men ;* and every person of the religious denomi emptions--1820 nations of Quakers and Shakers, who shall, on or before the ch. 16. 82.] first Tuesday of May, annually, produce a certificate to the commanding officer of the company within whose bounds such Quaker or Shaker resides; which certificate, signed by two or more of the elders or overseers, (as the case may be) and countersigned by the clerk of the society with which such Quaker or Shaker meets for religious worship, shall be in substance as follows: Persons conditionally exempted. [+Thirty-five We, the subscribers, of the Society of the people called hereby certify that do is a member of our Society, and that he frequently and usually attends with said Society for religious worship, and we believe is conscientiously scrupulous of bearing arms. E. F. Clerk. A. B. Elders or Overseers. And that the persons aftermentioned in this section, notwithstanding their being above the age of eighteen and under the age of forty-five years, be, and they are hereby conditionally exempted from militia duty, as follows, viz. deputy sheriffs and coroners; physicians and surgeons; all officers who have heretofore held, or may hereafter hold, commissions in the militia of this state, or any other state of the United States, for a term less than five years; and all persons who are, or may hereafter be between the ages of forty and forty-five years,* be, antity-five, and they are hereby exempted from all militia duty, except &c.1821ch.92.] that of keeping themselves constantly furnished with the arms and equipments required by the laws of the United States, and the duty of carrying or sending them, on the first Tuesday of May annually, to the place of inspection, or view of arms, of the company within whose bounds they may reside, and in which they are enrolled, and the duty of attending elections. of company officers, as herein after provided: Provided however, That the persons conditionally exempted as aforesaid shall pay to the treasurer of the town or district, within which such exempt resides, two dollars annually, and produce his receipt therefor to the commanding officer of the company, on or before the first Tuesday of May in each year; and said treasurer shall keep an account of all monies so by him received, and such money shall be expended by the selectmen of such town or district for the sole purpose of arming, equipping and uniforming the militia of such town or district as may not be conveniently able to arm, and equip, and uniform themselves. Proviso. Commander in chief authoriz eto arrange the mititia. SECT. 2. Be it further enacted, That the commander in chief, with advice of council, be, and he hereby is authorized and empowered to organize and arrange the militia of this Commonwealth, conformably to the laws of the United States, and to make such alterations therein, as, from time to time, may be deemed necessary. And that in future all applications or petitions for raising companies at large, and all applications or petitions for alterations in the arrangement of the militia, shall be made to the commander in chief; and he, by and with the advice and consent of the council, is hereby authorised to SECT. 3. Be it further enacted, That the commissioned officers of the militia, named in the aforesaid laws of the United States, shall be chosen and appointed in manner following: The Major-Generals The Brigadier-Generals of brigades The Field Officers of To be chosen by the Senate and House To be chosen by the written votes of the captains and subalterns of their reregiments and bat- spective regiments and battalions, to be commissioned by the commander in chief, according to the grades to which they may be elected. talions The Captains and Subalterns of companies (To be chosen by the written votes of the non-commissioned of cers and privates of their respective companies, of twenty-one years of age and upwards,* and to be commissioned by the commander in chief, according to the grades to which they may be elected. To be appointed and commissioned by The Adjutant-General the commander in chief, with the rank of brigadier-general. To be appointed by the commander in The Quarter-Master- chief, with advice of council, and to be General The Aids-de-camp of the Major-Generals commissioned by the commander in To be appointed by their respective The Adjutants, the To be appointed by the lieutenant- To be appointed by the lieutenant Commissioned officers beforenamed, how to be chosen. [*All the mem bers of the com pany-Amendments to the Constitution, Article V.] Non-commis SECT. 4. Be it further enacted, That the non-commissioned sioned officers officers, named in the aforesaid laws of the United States, shall before-named, how appointed. be appointed in the manner following: The non-commission- The non-commission- To be appointed by the lieutenantcolonels commandant of their respective regiments, who shall grant them warrants accordingly. To be appointed by the captains of their respective companies, who shall forthwith make return thereof to the commanding officer of their respective regiments or battalions, and they shall grant them warrants accordingly. SECT. 5. Be it further enacted, That in addition to the comOther officers. missioned and non-commissioned officers above enumerated, the following officers and non-commissioned officers shall be appointed, and in the manner following: Major-gene rals to give orders for elec Electors to Aids de-camp to the To be appointed and commissioned by Commander in Chief the commander in chief, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel commandant. To be nominated by the major-general A Judge-Advovate for) of each division, and if approved by An Adjutant and a tenant. To be appointed by the lieutenantA Serjeant-Major to colonels commandant of their respeceach regiment tive regiments, who shall grant warrants accordingly. A Quarter-master-ser-To be appointed by the commanding jeant to each batta- officers of their respective battalions, who shall grant warrants accordingly. lion of artillery and cavalry SECT. 6. Be it further enacted, That each major-general be, and he hereby is authorized, and it shall be his duty from time to time to give all such orders, as may be necessary, for filling, tions of officers. by election, any vacancy or vacancies of brigadiers-general, field-officers, captain, or subaltern, which does now or may hereafter exist, within his division. And previous to any such have ten days election, the electors shall have ten days notice thereof at least; and all returns of elections, or of neglects, or refusals to elect, shall be made to the commander in chief, by the majorgenerals in whose divisions such elections shall have been ordered; and in case of neglect or refusal by the electors to elect any officer, when duly notified and ordered thereto, the commander in chief, with advice of council, shall appoint some notice. mander in lect, the comchief may fill vacancies. suitable person to fill such vacancy. And all commissions In case of negshall pass through the hands of the major-generals to the officers within their respective divisions, who may be entitled to receive them. And every person, who shall be elected to any office as aforesaid, and shall not within ten days, after he shall have been notified of his election, by the officers who presided thereat, (excepting in case of the choice of major-general, who shall be allowed thirty days after he shall be notified by the secretary of the Commonwealth) signify his acceptance thereof, shall be considered as declining to serve, and orders shall be forthwith issued for a new choice. under oath. SECT. 7. Be it further enacted, That every officer, duly com- Commissioned missioned in pursuance of the provisions of this Act, shall, be- officers to be fore he enters upon the discharge of the duties of his office, take and subscribe the following oaths and declarations : “I, A. B., do truly and sincerely acknowledge, profess, testify, and declare, that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is, and of right ought to be a free, sove- Form. reign, and independent State; and I do swear, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the said Commonwealth, and that I will defend the same against traitorous conspiracies, and all hostile attempts whatsoever, and that I do renounce and abjure all allegiance, subjection and obedience, to the King, Queen, or Government of Great Britain, (as the case may be) and every other foreign power Amendments whatsoever, and that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, hath, to the Constior ought to have, any jurisdiction, superiority, pre-eminence, authority, dispensing tution, Article or other power, in any matter, civil, ecclesiastical, or spiritual, within this Com- VI. monwealth, except the authority and power, which is or may be vested by their constituents in the Congress of the Unite States; and I do further testify and declare, that no man, nor body of men, hath, or can have any right, to absolve or discharge me, from the obligation of this oath, declaration or affirmation, and that I do make this acknowledgment, profession, testimony, declaration, denial, renunciation, and abjuration, heartily, and truly, according to the common meaning and acceptation of the foregoing words without any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret reservation whatsoever. So help me God. "I, A. B., do solemnly swear and affirm, that I will, faithfully and impartially, discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me, as — according to the best of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the rules and regulations of the Constitution, and the laws of this Commonwealth. So help me God. "I, A. B. do swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States." the back of Which oaths and declarations as aforesaid, each commission- Certificate of ed officer shall take and subscribe before some Justice of the qualification to Peace, or before some general or field officer, who has pre- be written on viously taken and subscribed them himself. And on the back commissions. of every commission issued after the first day of May next, the following form of certificate of qualification shall be print ed. day of This may certify that A. B., commissioned as within, on this A.D. personally appeared, and took and subscribed the oaths and declarations required by the constitution and laws of this Commonwealth, and a law of the United States, to qualify him to discharge the duties of his office. Before me SECT. 8. Be it further enacted, That to every company there Clerk, how apshall be a clerk, who shall be one of the serjeants, and he shall pointed. be appointed by the captain or commanding officers of the company, and on the back of his warrant as serjeant, the cap |