NATIONAL WHlG

sKETCHEs FOR THE PUBLIC.

No.vIlI.

WAsHlssros, June c3. ls47.
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WASHINGTON, June c3, lo4I.


A. appears from an article in last night,
Government official, signed f., MAJOR Ed
wards the Commissioner of Pensions, IS no
pleased with structures that have been made II
"a paper which has recently sprung INTO ex
is,ence in this city"


The Majors dander seems 10 be up at the
idea that any body should dissent from his dc
cision in regard TO the land warrants issued l'
rhe soldiers who have served in The Mexican
war. He goes over the ground at some length,
and makes long quotation from the late law
of Congress on the subject. He makes his
conduct nearly Gas clear as mud !"


Here is the Majors published decision


"PrNs1oS Orr1cE, May "a, ls47,


Srn: In answer TO your letter of the 22d instant
/ have 10 inform You that soldier discharged De
tore the expiration OF his term Of enlistment, on MS
own application and for his special benefit Is ent
tied TO land or scrip under the 9th secion OF the
act of the llth February, ls47.
The Secretary of War concurs in opinion with
the undersigned on this point


Respectfully, your obedlent servant,


!. l.. EDWARDS
To Gen. r. Jones, Adj Gen. U. 8. A."


These are his words: ''NO SOLDIER dis
charged before the expiration Of his term OF
enlistment, on his own application, and for
his special benefit, is entitled to land or scrip
under the 9Th section Of the act" SIC. He
makes no reservation whatever for the wound
ed and the sick I


Now, what says the law which he quotes,
but which he made no reference 10 IN his
Official Order Of the twenty-fourth ulumo, ex-
cept to declare that no Soldier who serves out
any thing less than his whole time and gets his
discharge on account of wounds or sickness, is
entitled to land or scrip2


That law expressly says ''that each non
commissioned officer, musician, or private,
enlisted or to be enlisted in the regular army,
or regularly mustered in any volunteer com
pany, for period of not less than l2 months, !"
"who shall have been discharged before the
expiration Of his term of service in consequence
Of wounds received or sickness incurred in the
course of such service, shall be entitled TO re-
seive certificate of warrant from The War
Department for the quantity Of one hundred and
sixty acres" Ste. Of land, and "shall be allow
ed the option to receive such certificate or war
rant on treasury scrip for one hundred dol
lars."


"No, he shan't,o cries Mr.. Commissioner
Edwards; he shall be entitled TO neither the
one nor the ofher-wounds or no wounds, sick
or not sick Unless he has served his full
time ont, 10 day, he need not hobble or send
10 the War Department for land warrant or
Treasury scrip, though he may have served
eleven months and twenty eight days. and lost
half or all of HE E-oLs IN hntsiei


Such is the reading of the Commissioner 3
Official Order, as any body may see. And ye,
he, or "E" who writes for him, plumply de-
MES that he ever so decided! Nor does he
stop here, but says he does not hesitate 10 state
that the remark upon which he comments is
utterly groundless, and most probably malici.
onsly false!


Excellent! Art thou in health, dear Com
missioner? The writer your shafts are aimed
at has never bought scrip or warrant, and is
in no shape or sense interested in the matter,
except to imbibe natural feeling that the
Thanksgiving and hard-faring soldier shall not
be put 10 100 much trouble and expense, or be
TOO much imposed on by Government officials!
Now if Mr.. Commissioner Edwards does
not mean TO have his official decision understood
as il reads he has only to alter it 10 suit his more
matured views, and then publish ilas altered un
der his own sign manual so that the public
may understand the matter properly.


.4needoie of Locotoeo Member Of Congress. We