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general staff of the army" — as the act March 3, 1813, in which there is 

 no legislation for the line, the line not being mentioned, except where au- 

 thority is given to transfer officers from the line to the staff, as in section 

 4, &c. Occasionally we find acts of Congress for particular branches of 

 the staff, as that of'the 2d August, 1812, and that of February 8, 1815. 

 'J'he act of April 14, 1818, like that of March 3, 1813, is for "'regulating 

 the staff of the army;" and this act is immediately followed in Cross' laws, 

 by the act of April 16, 1818, for " regulating the pay and emoluments of 

 brevet officers," which act is exclusively confined to that distinct class of 

 officers. 



A few years ago, and down to about the 17th of Noveml)er last, the ex- 

 pressions lineal rank, staff rank and brevet rank, had each a distinct if not 

 a delinite meaning, and it would have been as irrational to undertake to 

 prove that a man is a man, or a horse a horse, as to attempt to prove that 

 lineal rank was one thing, staff rank another, and brevet rank still another ;; 

 but by the new principles just now communicated by the General-in-chief,. 

 " for the information of the army," those old distinctions are all broken up.. 

 Brevet rank now means lineal rank, and staff rank is par excellence lineal 

 rank, while lineal rank is neither staff rank nor brevet rank.. Whether it 

 is wise to reo;ard the line of the army (we use the expression in its old and 

 familiar sense,) as a mere convenience for the staff" corps or not, must l>e 

 decided by the government of the country. Officers of the staff, by the 

 late order and by the letter of the 17th November, may exercise command 

 in the line, but in their own departments can elevate themselves, and say 

 to the line, "stand aside, we are better than thou; we can exercise com- 

 mand in your branch of the service, but you must not presume to give an 

 order in ours." How many years it will require under the operation of these 

 principles, to break down the line of the army, will be estimated differently 

 according to men's sensibility to honor ; but the most dull and stupid must 

 see that the usual order of military organization is now to be I'eversed and 

 the line of the army converted into an appendage to the staff. The wis- 

 dom of Congress might well consider the probable effect of this state of 

 thinos upon the efficiency and character of the army, and by timely legis- 

 lation provide against a consummation of evil in store for the country, un- 

 der existing pretensions, orders and the letter of the 17th of November. 

 The Major General commanding, has in that letter, but just now announced 

 the discovery, that the 11th, 14th, 15th and 16th paragraphs of the Gene- 

 ral Regulations for the army, published by authority of the President of 

 the United States, are more or less in conflict with law, and so far " null 

 and void." Jf the General-in-chief is thus forward to declare to the army 

 that the regulations of the President, the constitutional Connnander-in-chief 

 of the army, are null and void, he ought not to be surprised if he should 

 find among his subordinates in the army, not a few who might be both able 

 and willing to emulate his example and' improve under his instructions, until 

 his own orders and letters may be pronounced illegal, null and void. 



To guard against this extremity \ve would respectfully suggest that the 

 provisions of the 63d Article of War, omiffino; [he first paragraph, might 

 ix! extended beyond the Engineers so as to include the other staff corj\s 

 and departments of the array ; as the undersigned cannot entertain a doubt 

 was the intention of Congress in the organization of those corps and de- 

 |>artments. 



We would in conclusion declare, one and all there has been no " meeting 



