form the first brigade; the militia of the county of Providence the second; the militia of the county of Washington the third; the militia of the county of Kent the fourth; and the militia of the county of Bristol the fifth brigade.

SEC. 17. The brigades shall consist of the several regimental companies or reduced regiments, in their respective limits, now existing or hereafter to be raised. The said regimental companies or regiments shall be numbered through the division according to the dates of their respective charters. In compensation for their services, every member of the active militia, being also a member of a chartered company, who shall be returned to the general treasurer, as herein after provided, as having done military duty four times in the year next preceding the return, in any regimental company in this state, shall be entitled to an equal proportional part of the tax for militia duty collected and paid into the general treasury as aforesaid, not exceeding the sum of five dollars a year to each man. In the month of April of each year, the general treasurer shall apportion the sum received as a tax for militia duty as aforesaid, amongst the active militia; and issue certificates to the members of the several regimental companies returned as herein after provided, payable to their individual order, for their proportional part of the whole amount of said tax by him received, not exceeding five dollars per man, as aforesaid: provided, however, the members of no existing chartered company of this state who shall not accept the provisions of this act and conform thereto shall be entitled to receive the compensation aforesaid.

SEC. 18. Every non-commissioned officer and soldier of any regimental company who shall have done duty therein according to law for the term of seven years from the time of his enlistment, and shall have received an honorable discharge, shall not be compelled to do duty in the militia, except in time of war or invasion, or to prevent an invasion, or of insurrection, riot or tumult. Such discharge upon the completion of the term of service aforesaid shall be given by the commanding officer of the brigade, upon the application of the commanding officer of the regimental company to which such private or non-commissioned officer may belong. Nothing in this section contained shall be construed to apply to the members of a volunteer corps raised and attached under the provisions of this act.

HOW OFFICERED.

SEC. 19. The officers and non-commissioned officers of the militia shall be as follows, to wit: the governor for the

time being shall be captain-general and commander-in-chief; and he shall command, except when the militia shall be called into the service of the United States; and he shall be entitled to appoint his own aids, with the rank of colonel. There shall be one major general, two aids of the major general, with the rank of major, and a military secretary, with the rank of captain; one division inspector, with the rank of lieutenant colonel; one adjutant general, with the rank of brigadier general; one quarter-master general, with the rank of brigadier general, the adjutant general and the quartermaster general, with the assent of the commander-in-chief, to appoint a sufficient number of assistants with the rank of captain; one commissary general, with the rank of colonel; one paymaster general, with the rank of colonel; one surgeon general, to appoint with the assent of the commander-inchief a sufficient number of assistants; one purveyor general of hospitals. To each brigade there shall be one brigadier general, one aid, with the rank of captain; one brigade inspector, who is also to serve as brigade major, with the rank of major; one brigade quarter-master, with the rank of captain. To each regimental company or regiment, there shall be one colonel, one lieutenant colonel, one major, one adjutant, with the rank of captain, one quarter-master, one paymaster, each with the rank of lieutenant; one surgeon, one chaplain, one sergeant major and one sergeant quarter-master, one drum major and one fife major, and the necessary number of non-commissioned officers. In time of war or insurrection, when new levies are drafted into said regimental companies or regiments, as herein after provided, to each company of infantry, light infantry, and riflemen, there shall be one captain, one first lieutenant, one second lieutenant, and one third lieutenant, five sergeants and four corporals; to each company of artillery there shall be one captain, one first lieutenant, one second lieutenant, and one third lieutenant, five sergeants, four corporals, and three drivers; to each company of cavalry there shall be one captain, one first lieutenant, one second lieutenant, one third lieutenant, five sergeants, four corporals, one saddler, one farrier, and one or more trumpeters.

SEC. 20. Whenever the office of major general, brigadier general, colonel, lieutenant colonel; major, commandant or captain, shall be vacant, or such officer be sick or absent, the officer next in rank shall command the division, brigade, regiment, battalion or company, as the case may be, until the vacancy be supplied; and whenever the office of adjutant

general and quarter-master general shall be vacant, or such officers from any cause shall be unable to perform the duties of their offices, the duties thereof shall be performed by the senior assistant adjutant general, and senior assistant quarter-master general, until the same be filled, or such inability be removed.

SEC. 21. Whenever a company belonging to a regiment or regimental company, filled up by drafts or levies, shall have neither commissioned nor non-commissioned officers, the commanding officer of the regiment to which such company belongs, shall appoint suitable persons of said company to be non-commissioned officers of the same; and the senior noncommissioned officer of a company without officers shall command the same, except upon parade, and except as provided in the following section.

SEC. 22. Whenever any such company shall, from any cause, be without officers, the commanding officer of the regiment to which such company belongs may detail some officer of the staff, or of the line of the regiment, to train and discipline said company, until some officer shall be elected or appointed by the commander-in-chief, as provided in the nineteenth section; and such officer, so detailed, shall have the same power and authority, and be subject to the same liabilities as if he were captain in said company; and he shall keep the records of the company.

OF ELECTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS OF COMMISSIONED AND NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS.

SEC. 23. The officers of the line and general staff of the militia shall be elected as follows, to wit: division inspector, adjutant general, quarter-master general, commissary general, paymaster general, surgeon general, purveyor general of hospitals, by the general assembly; the officers of regimental companies, as by their charters is or may be provided; brigadier generals, upon the nomination of the colonels, lieutenant colonels and majors of their respective brigades, by the general assembly; the major general, upon the nomination of the several brigadier generals, by the general assembly; brigade inspectors and brigade quarter-masters, by the general assembly, upon the nomination of their respective brigadier generals; or if there be no such nominations, or improper nominations, the above offices shall be filled by the general assembly; aids to the commander-in-chief shall be appointed by the commander-in-chief; aids and military secretary of the major general, by the major general; aids to the brigadier generals, by the respective brigadier generals; adjutants, paymasters, quarter-masters, and chaplains of regi

ments, by the respective colonels; surgeons and assistant surgeons of regiments, by the respective colonels with the approval of the surgeon general.

SEC. 24. Any person elected major general, shall be forthwith notified of his election by the secretary of state; and shall, within twenty days after such notice, signify to the secretary his acceptance of said office, or shall be considered as having declined.

SEC. 25. Whenever any regimental company is filled up by drafts or otherwise, to a regiment, it shall consist of eight companies of sixty men each; and the commander-in-chief shall have power to appoint a sufficient number of commissioned officers therefor, from such regimental companies; and in case of such filling up of regimental companies, the captains of the respective companies therein shall have power to appoint a sufficient number of non-commissioned officers for their respective companies.

SEC. 26. No officer, non-commissioned officer or private, shall be arrested on any civil process, while going to, or returning from, or remaining at any place which he shall have been ordered to attend, for the election of any military officer, or the performance of any military duty.

OF COMMISSIONS.

SEC. 27. All commissions for officers shall be signed by the commander-in-chief, and countersigned by the secretary of state; and shall be for the term of five years, except in case of regimental companies already chartered, who shall be governed as to the returns of their officers elected, and terms of the commissions of their officers, by their charters; warrants for regimental, staff, and non-commissioned officers shall be signed and issued by the colonels of the regimental companies or the regiments respectively; and of non-commissioned officers of companies, by the commander thereof.

SEC. 28. All commissioned officers of the same grade shall take rank according to the respective dates of their commissions; and when two or more of the same grade bear an equal date, their rank shall be determined by lot, to be drawn by them before the commanding officer of the division, brigade, regimental company or regiment, company or detachment, or the president of a court martial, as the case may be. The day of election or appointment of any officer shall be the date of his commission; and whenever he shall be transferred to another corps or station of the same grade, the date of his original commission or appointment shall be the date of his commission: provided, however, that the first commis

sions issued under this act to officers of companies who shall, within sixty days from and after the rising of this general assembly, voluntarily accept the provisions of the same, shall, for the purpose of rank and command, bear date on the same day.

SEC. 29. Whenever any officer shall lose his commission, he shall be entitled to a duplicate commission of the same grade and date, on his affidavit made before a justice of any court in this state, on application to the commander-in-chief.

SEC. 30. All commissisons shall be delivered to the adjutant general, and by him to the persons for whom they are intended.

SEC. 31. All brigade or field officers to whom commissions shall be sent or delivered by the adjutant general, shall signify to him their acceptance or refusal of such office, within thirty days after the receipt of the commissions. In case the person elected shall refuse his commission, or neglect to return any answer, that office shall be deemed vacant, and a new election or appointment may take place.

OFFICERS HOW QUALIFIED.

SEC. 32. Each commissioned officer, before he shall enter on the discharge of the duties of his office, shall take and subscribe the following oath and declaration, before some justice of the peace or other magistrate, or town clerk: on the back of each commission the following form of the oath shall be printed, to wit: "I do solemnly swear, (or affirm,) that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the state of RhodeIsland and Providence Plantations; that I will support the constitution and laws thereof, and the constitution and laws of the United States; and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon me as to the best of my abilities and understanding, according to the laws of this state and of the United States: so help me God." (Or, "this I promise on the pains and penalties of perjury.") On the back of each commission the following form of certificate shall be printed, and signed by the person before whom such officer shall be qualified, to wit: "This may certify, that commissioned within named, appeared before me this and took and subscribed the oath and declaration prescribed by the laws of this state, before me."

day of

A. D.

OFFICERS HOW DISCHARGED.

SEC. 33. Any officer who shall have holden any cominission or commissions in the militia of this state during the term of five years in succession, and faithfully performed the