condemned as prize, by a prize court belonging to the country of the captor.

§ 294. By the articles of war established by Congress, the proceeds of all ships and vessels, and the goods taken on board of them, which shall be adjudged good prize, shall, when such ships or vessels are of equal or superior force to the vessel making the capture, be the sole property of the captors; and when of inferior force, shall be divided equally between the United States, and the officers and men making the capture.

§ 295. In the United States, the district courts of the United States, having admiralty jurisdiction, are the only courts authorized to try the question of prize or no prize. The decree of a prize court of competent jurisdiction is binding, not only upon the immediate parties, but upon all thers, because all who have an interest may appear and assert their rights.

[Clause 12.] "To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years."

§ 296. Under the Confederation, Congress did not possess this power; it could only make requisitions upon each State for its quota, or share, in proportion to the number of its white inhabitants. The legislature of each State appointed the regimental officers, raised the men, clothed, armed, and equipped them at the expense of the United States. (Art. 9, sec. 5.) This system was found to be wholly insufficient. The States were tardy in furnishing their supplies of men, which led to numerous difficulties in carrying on the Revolutionary war.

297. The Constitution, on the contrary, grants to Congress the right to raise armies directly from among the

people of the States, without any requisition upon the States themselves, and without any restriction upon the size of the armies. As large standing armies are dangerous to a nation in time of peace, and as they cannot be maintained without appropriations of money for their support, it is provided that no appropriation of money to the support of the military, shall be for a longer period than two years, though Congress may disband the army within that period, or vote supplies for even a less term. In England it is the usage of Parliament to vote the supplies annually, and such has been the practice of Congress under the Constitution.

§ 298. All enlistments in the army are voluntary, and they are required to be for the term of five years. The President has discretionary authority to discharge before the term of service has expired, but he has no power to vary the contract of enlistment, because that is fixed by act of Congress.

§ 299. The officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians and privates in the army, are required to swear or affirm "that they will bear true faith and allegiance to the United States of America, and that they will serve them honestly and faithfully against their enemies or opposers whomsoever, and that they will obey the orders of the President of the United States, and the orders of the officers appointed over them, according to the rules and articles of war.

[Clause 13.] "To provide and maintain a Navy."

§ 300. A navy is necessary to protect our commerce, navigation, and fisheries.

In consequence of repeated hostilities upon our commerce in the Mediterranean by the Barbary powers, com

mencing in 1784, the House of Representatives, in 1794, resolved "that a naval force, adequate to the protection of the commerce of the United States against the Algerine corsairs ought to be provided." This was the origin of our navy. In 1797, three frigates, built in pursuance of the above resolution, were completed, and were named the Constitution, the United States, and the Constellation. They were the first three vessels commissioned for our service, and constituted the whole of our naval force.

§ 301. By an act of Congress passed July 16, 1798, and the several additions it has received, navy hospitals. have been established for the relief of sick and disabled seamen. It is made the duty of the master or owner of every ship or vessel of the United States arriving from a foreign port, before the ship or vessel shall be admitted to an entry, to render to the collector of the port where such vessel enters, a true account of the number of seamen employed on board the vessel since she was last entered at any port in the United States, and to pay to the collector, at the rate of twenty cents a month, (called hospital money,) for every seaman so employed, which sum he is authorized to retain out of the wages of the sea

men.

§ 302. Masters of vessels enrolled or licensed for carrying on the coasting trade, are subject to similar provisions; and the same deduction, for the same purposes, is made from the pay of the officers, seamen, and marines of the navy of the United States.

§ 303. Out of the fund so collected, together with additional appropriations by Congress, hospitals, or other accommodations, have been established, with provision for the lodging, support, and comfort of sick and disabled sea

men, or arrangements are made for that purpose with institutions already existing. In smaller ports, where there are no hospitals, the collectors of the port provide for invalid seamen, according to instructions from the Treasury department; one permanent naval asylum for disabled and decrepid navy officers, seamen, and marines, has also been established at Philadelphia.

§ 304. By an act of August 31, 1852, Congress authorized the secretary of the interior, under the direction of the President, to erect in the neighbourhood of Washington, an asylum for the insane of the army and navy of the United States, and of the District of Columbia.

§ 305. Besides the ordinary pay, clothing, and rations prescribed by law for military and naval services, the general government has also rewarded seamen and soldiers by annual payments of a sum of money, termed pensions, and also by grants of land. These rewards are of different kinds, depending upon numerous acts of Congress, but they have been arranged under three general heads, as follows:

§ 306. (1.) Invalid pensions: that is, pensions to such as have been disabled in the discharge of their duty, whether in the army or the navy.

§ 307. (2.) Gratuitous pensions: which include those granted to all the surviving officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary war; those granted by special acts of Congress to individuals for distinguished services; and the pensions granted to the widows and orphans of invalids and of persons slain in battle, or who have died of disabilities incurred in the army or navy.

§ 308. (3.) Bounty lands: by which is meant grants of a certain number of acres of the public lands (according to rank, length of service, &c.) to the soldiers engaged in the war with Mexico, in the late war with Great Britain,

for services in the various Indian wars from the year 1790, and in the Revolutionary war.

[Clause 14.] "To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the Land and naval Forces."

§ 309. This power naturally flows from the authority to raise armies and to maintain a navy, and is necessary in order to carry that authority into full effect, and to secure regularity and obedience in that branch of the public service. Accordingly numerous articles and rules have been established from time to time by Congress, and by the secretary of war, and the secretary of the navy, under the direction of the President, for the government of the army and navy in all their details.

[Clause 15.] "To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions."

§ 310. In the Articles of Confederation there was no provision similar to the above, which was one of the causes of the weakness of the Confederacy, inasmuch as it could not protect each State from internal violence and rebellion. This power is necessary in order to secure the common defence. It gives to Congress the right to call forth the militia of the States to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrection, and repel invasion. By militia is meant the military forces organized and supported by the respective States. Congress, by an act passed in 1795, authorized the President to call forth the militia of the States in cases of invasion, or danger of invasion, from any foreign nation, or from Indian tribes.

§ 311. The President, under the authority granted by the act above mentioned, is the judge whether it is neces