STATE OF MAINE.

IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND

FORTY-FOUR.

AN ACT to organize, govern and discipline the Militia.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represen2 tatives in Legislature assembled as follows: 3 SECTION 1. That all the provisions of this act shall 4 be considered as subordinate to and intended to carry 5 into effect, the provisions of the several acts of the 6 Congress of the United States, hereinafter mentioned 7 by their titles, viz: "An act more effectually to pro8 vide for the national defence, by establishing an uni9 form militia throughout the United States," passed 10 May 8, 1792. Also "an act in addition to the fore11 going act, passed March 2, 1803. Also an act in 12 further addition to the said first mentioned act, passed 13 April 18, 1814. Also "an act, concerning field offi14 cers of the militia," passed April 20, 1816. Also 15 "an act to establish an uniform mode of discipline 16 and field exercise for the militia of the United States," 17 passed May 12, 1820, being the same acts as are 18 recited in the first article of chapter sixteen of the 19 Revised Statutes of this State.

SEC. 2. In addition to the exemptions made by the 2 laws of the United States, referred to in the foregoing 3 section, the following described persons shall be ab4 solutely exempted from military duty, notwithstanding 5 their ages may be more than eighteen, and less than 6 forty five years, viz: The justices of the Supreme 7 Judicial Court; all regularly ordained ministers of the 8 gospel, of every denomination, while they shall ordi9 narily officiate as such, and continue in regular stand10 ing; all officers who have heretofore held, or may 11 hereafter hold, commissions in the Militia of this 12 State, or any of the United States, or in the army or 13 navy of the United States, for the term of five years, 14 or who shall have been superceded, or whose corps 15 or company, shall have been disbanded, and who shall 16 have been honorably discharged.

SEC. 3. The persons named in this section, shall 2 be exempted from military duty, upon producing cer3 tificates as hereinafter prescribed. Every person, of 4 the religious denominations of quakers or shakers, 5 who shall, on or before the first Monday of April 6 annually, produce a certificate to the commanding 7 officer, within whose bounds such quaker or shaker & resides; which certificate, signed by two or more of 9 the elders or overseers, as the case may be, and coun10 tersigned by the clerk of the society, with which such 11 quaker or shaker meets for religious worship, shall be 12 in substance as follows; "We the subscribers, of the 13 society of the people called in the town of

15 that is a member of our society, and that 16 he frequently and usually attends with said society for 17 religious worship, and conforms to the usages of the 18 same, and, we believe, is conscientiously scrupulous 19 of bearing arms.

22 All enginemen upon the conditions specified in the 23 acts, under which they have been, or may be hereafter 21 appointed, provided, that such enginemen shall be 25 still liable to be called forth, as members of the com26 pany, within the limits of which they reside, to exe27 cute the laws of the United States, or of this State, 28 to suppress insurrection or repel invasion, but shall 29 not vote in the choice of company officers, so long as 30 they claim exemption from other military duty; pro31 vided, that no person shall be exempted from the 32 performance of any military duty by virtue of his 33 being a member of any engine company, unless he 34 shall, on or before the second Tuesday of April, 35 annually, produce to the commanding officer of the 36 military company to which he belongs, the certificate 37 of the selectmen, or other officers by whom he is 38 appointed, that he has been duly appointed an engine39 man, and that he faithfully performs the duty thereof. 40 But it shall be the duty of the clerk of each engine 41 company to return to the commanding officers of