No. 94. 1 SECTION 1. A militia force shall be maintained in order to 2 repel invasion, suppress insurrection and to aid in the enforce- 3 ment of the laws; and for this purpose all able bodied male citi- 4 zens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, shall be 5 annually enrolled under such regulations as shall be established 1 SEC. 2. The militia shall be divided into the active and reserve 2 forces. The active militia shall be designated the National Guard 3 of the State of New York; its number shall be fixed by law, and 4 it shall be at all times armed, equipped and disciplined. All 1 5 enrolled persons not belonging to the National Guard shall con6 stitute the reserve force. All persons who shall have been hon7 orably discharged from the array or navy of the United States 8 shall be, in time of peace, exempt from service in the militia; 9 and all such inhabitants of this State, of any religious denomina10 tion whatever, as from scruples of conscience may be averse to 11 bearing arms, may be exempt therefrom upon such conditions as 12 may be provided by law. 1 SEC. 3. The Governor shall be Commander-in-Chief of all 2 the militia forces of the State; he shall appoint the chiefs of the 3 several staff departments, his aids-de-camp and military secre4 tary, all of whom shall hold office during his pleasure, their com5 missions to expire with the term for which the Governor shall 6 have been elected. The Governor shall nominate, and with the 7 consent of the Senate, appoint all general officers. 1 SEC. 4. General officers shall appoint their own staff officers, 2 who shall hold office during the pleasure of such general officers, 2 but their commissions shall expire with the commissions of the 4 officers appointing them. All officers of the militia shall be com5 missioned by the Governor, and no commissioned officer, except 6 those who hold office during the pleasure of the Governor or of 7 general officers, shall be removed from office unless by the Sen8 ate, on the recommendation of the Governor, stating the grounds. 9 on which such removal is recommended, or by the sentence of a 10 general court martial. All commissions shall expire in ten years 11 from their dates, except those of the National Guard Reserves. 1 SEC. 5. Company, commissioned, and non-commissioned offi2 cers, shall be chosen by the written votes of the members of their 3 respective companies; and field officers of regiments and separate 4 battalions by the written votes of the commissioned officers of 5 their respective regiments or separate battalions; but whenever 6 the militia shall be in active service, such right of election shall 7 be suspended and all commissioned officers shall be appointed by 8 the Governor, and non-commissioned officers by the regimental 9 or separate battalion. commanders on the recommendation of 10 their company commanders. Regimental and separate battalion 11 commanders shall appoint their own staff officers. All officers 12 not specified in this Article, shall be appointed as may be pre13 scribed by law; and in case the election and appointment of 14 militia officers in the manner directed by this Article shall not 15 be found conducive to the improvement of the militia, the Legis16 lature may change the same by law, provided two-thirds of the 17 members elected to each House shall concur therein. 1 SEC. 6. In the organization of the National Guard, the Legisla 2 ture shall provide for including therein a list of reserve officers to be 3 composed of officers of the National Guard of not less than ten years' 4 service in the same grade, and of officers honorably discharged 5 from the volunteer service of the United States who may be citizens 6 of this State. They may upon application be commissioned by the 7 Governor with rank equal to the highest held by them, by brevet 8 or otherwise, in the National Guard or United States Volunteers, 9 and they may be assigned to such service and be entitled to such 10 privileges and exemptions as the Legislature shall by law provide. EXPLANATIONS. The value of a well organized, instructed and reliable militia having been fully shown on many occasions where the ordinary police was insufficient to protect life and property, and to enforce the laws, your Committee has so modified Article XI in the Constitution as to perpetuate the National Guard, or organized militia, and establish it in such a manner as to make it most useful in case of need. It has been found better to have an efficient force of moderate number than to depend upon a large force not disciplined. Your Committee has therefore provided for dividing the militia of the State into the active and reserve militia; the first to consist of the National Guard, and the second, all citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, not belonging to the active forces, or exempt according to law. In order to afford opportunity for promotion, and thus encourage. efficiency and zeal in the service, and at the same time provide for the retirement of officers who may become inefficient from age, it has been thought advisable to limit all commissions in the active forces to ten years. Should the merits of an officer make it desirable to retain his services for a longer time, he can be re-elected or reappointed; but the advantages of affording promotion are considered more desirable than those which might result from continuing officers in the same grade for life. But in order that the State may not entirely loose the services of officers who have had ten years' experience in one grade, and that they may not feel themselves aggrieved by being deprived of all military rank, your Committee has provided for a reserve list of National Guard officers, upon which such officers may be placed, and which will in no way interfere with the organizations of regiments, brigades, etc. This list will also make provision for such officers of the volunteer service as have been honorably mustered out of the United States army and may be citi zens of this State. In case of emergency the advantages of having a number of educated and experienced officers in reserve immediately available, cannot be too highly estimated. The election of field and line offices has been retained, but general officers are to be appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Senate. The list of exemptions from the militia service has been increased by adding such persons as have served in the volunteer service, army and navy, or have been honorably discharged from either. According to the report of the Inspector-General for 1866, the National Guard number 52,247, and the reserve militia, 361,505; but as the requirements of the State cannot be anticipated with certainty, it has been thought proper to leave the number of the National Guard to be fixed by the Legislature. Your Committee is of opinion that every proper means should be employed to encourage service in the National Guard, and to honor the men who evince their public spirit and love of country by serving faithfully in this important arm of the public defense, upon which the protection of our homes must ever depend in the hour of danger. It has always shown itself prompt to respond to the call of the State or of the general government. That it is an invaluable school for military instruction is sufficiently shown by the fact that during the recent war, according to the statement of our AdjutantGeneral, more than twelve thousand officers in the volunteer service were furnished by the National Guard of the State of New York. WM. H. MORRIS, Chairman. J. J. SEAVER, HENRY D. BARTO, C. C. DWIGHT, A. J. CHERITREE, JOHN M. HAMMOND. I concur in the foregoing reasons except those for the appointment of Brigade Commanders. I believe that the public service will be better promoted by the election of such commanders, as provided for in the present Constitution, than by their appointment as above recommended. NORMAN STRATTON. |