CHAPTER 392
OF THE PUBLIC ARMS AND DEFENCE.
AN ACT to provide for the Maintenance, Discipline and Regulation of the National Guard of Delaware.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
SECTION 1. That the active militia of this State shall hereafter be styled the "National Guard of Delaware," and shall be subject at all times to the orders of their officers.
SECTION 2. In time of peace, the National Guard shall consist of one regiment of infantry, composed of not more than ten companies; with gatling-gun detachment, field music, mid such other detachments as may be necessary for the completion of the organization, to be officered, uniformed, armed and equipped as hereinafter provided, and to be apportioned as at present; provided, that the force shall not exceed seven hundred and fifty officers and men; and provided further, that the Governor, as Commander-in-Chief, shall have power in case of war, invasion, insurrection, riot or imminent danger thereof, to increase said force and organize the same as the exigencies of the case may require, which increase shall be disbanded as soon as the emergency ceases to exist.
SECTION 3. Each infantry company shall consist of one captain, one first lieutenant, one second lieutenant, one first sergeant, one quartermaster sergeant, three duty sergeants, eight corporals, two musicians and not more than forty-five privates, minimum thirty enlisted men.
SECTION 4. The gating gun detachment shall consist of one first lieutenant, mounted, and such non-commissioned officers and privates as the commander in chief shall from time to time designate.
SECTION 5. Each regiment of infantry shall consist of one colonel, one lieutenant colonel, one major, one surgeon with the rank of major, one chaplain with the rank of captain, one judge advocate with the rank of captain, one adjutant (an extra first lieutenant), one quartermaster (an extra first lieutenant), one commissary of subsistence (an extra first lieutenant), one inspector of rifle practice (an extra first lieutenant), one paymaster (all extra first lieutenant), one assistant surgeon with the rank of first lieutenant, one sergeant major, one quartermaster sergeant, one commissary sergeant, one hospital steward, two color sergeants, one drum major, two principal musicians and not less than six nor more than ten companies; provided, that if the companies of any regiment shall be from any cause reduced below the minimum number those remaining shall be formed into a battalion and officered as the Commander-in-Chief may designate.
SECTION 6. The staff of the Commander-in-Chief shall consist of an Adjutant General, a Quartermaster General and an Inspector General, each with the rank of Brigadier General; six Aides-de-camp with the rank of Colonel, two from each county of the State; an Inspector of Rifle Practice, a Surgeon General and a Judge Advocate General, each with the rank of Colonel; an Assistant Adjutant General, an Assistant Quartermaster General and an Assistant Inspector General, each with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel; one Sergeant Major, one Quartermaster Sergeant, one Commissary Sergeant, one Color Sergeant and one Chief Musician.
SECTION 7. The duties of the Adjutant General shall be as follows, to-wit: he shall promulgate all orders from the Commander-in-Chief, and shall obey all orders relative to carrying into execution and perfecting any system of military discipline established by law; he shall be in attendance when the Commander-in-Chief-reviews the National Guard, and perform such other military duties as the Commander-in-Chief may direct; he shall keep a register of all the officers and men of the military forces of the State, and keep in his Office all records and papers required to be kept and filed therein, and make a full report on or before the thirty-first day of December, in each year, to the Commander-in-Chief -upon the condition of the National Guard, and a detailed statement of all the expenditures during the preceding year; and he shall furnish the proper officials of the United States Government such reports and other information as may from time to time be necessary. He shall purchase with and by consent of the board provided for by Section fifty-one of this act, such books, blank forms, stationery and other military stores as may be necessary for the proper instruction and equipment of the National Guard, and issue the same upon proper requisition therefor; and furnish transportation and subsistance to the officers and men when it is necessary so to do for the transaction of military business. He may, with the approval of the Commander-in-Chief, sell or exchange from time to time, such military stores belonging to the National Guard as are found unserviceable or in a state of decay, or which it may be deemed for the interest of the State to sell or exchange. He shall draw all warrants on the State Treasurer for the payment of bills, and the State Treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to pay the same out of the money hereinafter appropriated for military purposes. The Adjutant General shall receive an annual salary of four hundred dollars, and he is hereby authorized to draw his warrant on the State Treasurer, who is hereby authorized and directed to pay the same out of the money hereinafter appropriated for military purposes, in equal quarterly installments.
SECTION 8. The other officers of the general staff of the National Guard shall, when directed by the Commander-in-Chief and under rules and regulations that may be prescribed by him, perform the duties that properly belong to their respective offices.
SECTION 9. Able-bodied men of good character, eighteen years of age and upwards, may be enlisted in the National Guards for the term of three years, and on the expiration of that time, they may be re-enlisted. No person above the age of forty-five years shall be enlisted or re-enlisted except by permission of the commanding officer of the regiment or battalion to which the organization in which- he wishes to enlist or re-enlist is attached and no person who has been expelled or dishonorably discharged from any military organization whatsoever shall be enlisted.
SECTION 10. All persons enlisting in the National Guards of Delaware shall, immediately upon such enlistment, take and subscribe an oath in the following form, viz:
STATE OE DELAWARE,
_____________County, ss.
I, ___________________, of the county of__________________ and State of Delaware, do hereby acknowledge to have voluntarily enlisted (or re-enlisted) this_________ day of __________ as a soldier in the National Guard of Delaware, for the period of three years, unless sooner discharged by the proper authority, and do also agree to accept from the State of Delaware such bounty, pay, rations and clothing as are or may be prescribed by law, and I,________________________ , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the State of Delaware, and that I will obey the orders of the Governor of the State of Delaware and the orders of the officers appointed over me according to the laws of the State of Delaware.
______________________ [Seal.]
Sworn and subscribed before me this ______ day of ____________, ____________
_________________________________________
This oath may be administered by any commissioned officer in the military service of the State, or by such other person authorized by law to administer oaths, as the Commander-in-Chief may direct, and shall be signed in triplicate, one copy to be retained by the company commander, and two copies shall be forwarded to regimental headquarters, one of which shall be forwarded to the office of the Adjutant General.
SECTION 11. The general staff, commissioned and noncommissioned, shall be appointed, commissioned and warranted by the Commander-in-Chief without examination, and shall hold their commissions- or warrants subject to the pleasure of the Commander-in-Chief ; provided, that such commissions or warrants shall expire with the term of the Commander-in-Chief.
SECTION 12. The commissioned staff officers of regiments or battalions and commissioned officers of detachments attached thereto, shall be appointed by the Commander-in-Chief upon the nomination of the commanding officer of such regiment or battalion.
SECTION 13. Field officers of regiments or battalions shall be elected by ballot by the commissioned officers of such regiments or battalions; such elections to be ordered by the Adjutant General, who shall give ten days written notice thereof through the proper military channels to the commissioned officers of such regiments or battalions.
SECTION 14. The commissioned officers of companies shall be elected by ballot by the members of said companies, said election to be ordered by the commanding officer of their respective regiments or battalions, who shall give ten days written notice of such elections to the commanding officer of said companies, who shall publish the same to his command and post it in the headquarters of his company at least five days prior to said election. A majority of the votes cast at an election shall be necessary to a choice.
SECTION 15. The non-commissioned staff of regiments or battalions and the non-commissioned officers of detachments attached thereto, shall be appointed and warranted by the commanding officer of such regiments or battalions.
SECTION 16. The non-commissioned officers of companies shall be appointed and warranted by the regimental or battalion commander, upon the recommendation of the respective company commanders.
SECTION 17. Commissioned officers of the field, staff, line and of detachments shall be commissioned for the term ten years, and shall serve for that period of time unless sooner discharged or removed by the proper authority; provided, that all officers now in commission shall receive the benefit of the extension of the term of service.
SECTION 18. The Commander-in-Chief shall appoint a board of examiners, to be composed of three commissioned officers, one of whom must be a surgeon, whose duty it shall be to examine into and report upon the qualifications, physical and mental, of all applicants for commission in the National Guards who may be ordered before it for examination, and no commission shall be granted to the person so ordered before the board until the applicant shall have passed a satisfactory examination before the said board.
SECTION 19. All officers known as commissioned officers, elected and appointed under and by authority of this act, shall before entering upon the duties of their several and respective offices, take and subscribe an oath to faithfully perform the duties of their respective offices, in the following form, viz:
STATE OF DELAWARE,
______________County, ss.
I, __________________, of ________________ , do solemnly swear to support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution and laws of the State of Delaware, and that I will obey the orders of the Governor of the State of Delaware, and the lawful orders of my superior officers, according to the laws of the State of Delaware.
___________________________________
Sworn and subscribed before me this __________ day of __________ ___________ ______________
This oath may be administered by any officer of this State now authorized by law to administer oaths, or by any general or field officer who may have previously sworn and subscribed to the same. A copy of said oath shall be filed with the Secretary of State.
SECTION 20. The Commander-in-Chief may discharge a commissioned officer when such officer tenders his resignation; or at any time on sentence of a court martial, or upon a finding of an examining board, or for failure to appear before the same when ordered so to do, or for absence without leave for a period of two months or more, or at the expiration of his term of service.
SECTION 21. The commanding officer of regiments or battalions shall have power, upon the recommendation of company commanders, or when satisfactory reasons are given, to grant a discharge to any enlisted man whose term of enlistment may not have expired, and he shall also issue to all enlisted men having faithfully served their term of enlistment, an honorable discharge, under his hand, from the service of the State; no dishonorable discharge shall be given except upon sentence by a court martial, upon approval of the Commander-in-Chief.
SECTION 22. All officers and enlisted men discharged from the military service of the State shall receive a certificate of discharge in such form as the Commander-in-Chief may direct.
SECTION 23. The National Guard of Delaware shall be uniformed, armed and equipped as nearly as practicable, in accordance with the regulations of the United States army in relation to uniforms, arms and equipments. Any officer receiving arms and equipments or other public property for military use, shall give a good and sufficient bond to the State of Delaware, to be approved by the Adjutant General conditioned for the safe keeping and return of such arms and equipments, and shall not be discharged from his obligation therefor until he has properly accounted for such arms and equipments or other property, either by receipt from his successor in command or some other officer authorized to receive the same; for the articles received by him in good order and condition, reasonable use and wear excepted, or by satisfactory proof to the Adjutant General that any and all articles not so accounted for had been properly expended in the service, or defaced, injured, lost or destroyed, without any default or neglect on his part, and if lost, defaced or destroyed through the misconduct of any person, that reasonable efforts had been made by him to recover or prosecute for the same. It shall be the duty of the Adjutant General to enter suit on the bond of any officer, in the name of the State of Delaware, for the value of such property as may have been defaced, injured, lost or destroyed, after having been received by such officer, and which has not been properly accounted for by him as aforesaid, and the officer succeeding to the command of the company or detachment shall be required to file a like bond to the State of Delaware as hereinbefore prescribed, for the safe keeping and return of all property of the State or of the United States, in possession of said company or detachment, upon the terms and conditions imposed upon the officer from whom said property was received.
SECTION 24. It shall not be lawful for any person to secrete, sell, dispose of, offer for sale, or in any manner pawn or pledge, or buy any arms or equipments or other property furnished to any organization of the National Guard of Delaware, the property of the State or of the United States, or of any such organization, without proper authority for so doing, and all persons offending against the foregoing provisions, shall, upon conviction thereof by the Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Jail Delivery of this State, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, or be imprisoned for not less than six months nor more than one year, or both.
SECTION 25. It shall not be lawful for any person willfully or maliciously to destroy, injure or deface any arms or other articles of military property belonging to this State or to the United States, and whoever shall so offend shall, upon conviction thereof by the Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Jail delivery of this State, be adjudged guilty of a this demeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding double the amount of the value of the property so injured or deface or be imprisoned not less than two weeks nor more than two months, or both.
SECTION 26. The National Guard shall be inspected by the Inspector General under orders and conditions prescribed by the Commander-in-Chief or by some other officer designated by the Commander-in-Chief as often as he may think necessary, but not less than once in any one year.
SECTION 27. The Commander-in-Chief may, from time to tune and at any time, appoint a board composed of not less than three nor more than five officers, whose duty it shall be to examine into the capacity, qualifications, propriety of conduct and efficiency of any commissioned officer who may be reported to the Commander-in-Chief by the proper authority as being incompetent or unfit to discharge the duties of his office; and upon the report of such board, if adverse to such officer and approved by the Commander-in-Chief, the mission of such officer may be revoked. The Commander-in-Chief and the ranking officer of the troops may also call boards of officers for settling military questions, and for other purposes of administration and discipline.
SECTION 28. The force, composed and organized as prescribed in this act, shall be considered in the actual military service of this State, and the members thereof shall be subject to all such military rules and regulations as are applicable to such bodies in time of peace, and all military offences, such as disobedience of orders, non-attendance at drills, assemblies, parades, reviews, field maneuvres, disrespect to superiors, or neglect or non-performance of such other duty as they may be lawfully called upon to perform shall be considered, and they are hereby declared to be offences against the general police regulations of the State and shall be punished by tine and imprisonment as hereinafter provided; and in addition to such fine and imprisonment as may be thus imposed, the offender may be reprimanded or dishonorably discharged from the service of the State.
SECTION 29. Any enlisted man of the National Guard of Delaware committing any of the offences mentioned in Section 28 of this act, shall be liable to, and shall forfeit and pay the following fines, viz: For neglect or refusal to attend any assembly of his regiment, battalion, company or detachment, when ordered to do so by proper authority, the sum of fifty cents for each offence; for non-attendance at any review or field maneuvres ordered by the Commander-in-Chief, the sum of one dollar; for each and every other offence provided for in Section 28 of this act, the sum of two dollars; every officer guilty of ally of the offences or neglects above set forth, shall be subject to a fine of twice the amount which would be payable by all enlisted man for the like offence; no excuse shall be valid for any of the above mentioned absences from such assemblies, except bona fide absence from the city or place where such assemblies are ordered, sickness of the member (such as would prevent attention to ordinary pursuits), sickness of family requiring his personal care, or recent domestic affliction.
SECTION 30. The fines provided for by Section 29 of this act, and all other fines, shall be imposed by a court martial. Upon the finding of any such court martial imposing any of said fines and upon the approval of the finding by the officer appointing the court, the fine or fines so imposed shall be and become at once payable; and in case any officer or enlisted man upon whom a fine has been imposed in accordance with the provisions of this Section shall fail, refuse or neglect to pay the fine so imposed upon him, within ten days after he shall have been notified thereof, the said fine may be collected in the name of the State before any justice of the peace in the county or city where the delinquent resides, in the same manner as other fines for offences against the general police regulations of the State are collected, upon the certificate in writing of the proper officer, setting forth the finding of the court martial and his approval thereof.
SECTION 31. Upon the production of such certificate to the justice of the peace, he shall forthwith adjudge and require the fines so certified as having been imposed and approved, together with all costs of the proceedings before him, to be paid, and in default of payment of said fine with costs as aforesaid, said justice shall commit the delinquent to the jail of the county wherein said delinquent resides, for one day for every dollar of the said aggregate amount of fines and costs; but in no case shall the period of imprisonment exceed the period of ten days.
SECTION 32. Any member of the National Guard of Delaware who shall wilfully and unlawfully misapply or convert to his own use any money or other property issued or furnished to the National Guard or any organization thereof, or who shall, when lawfully called upon so to do by the proper officer of said National Guard of Delaware, fail or refuse to pay or deliver to said officer any such money or property in his possession, or for which the said member was chargeable or accountable, shall, upon conviction thereof by the Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Jail Delivery of this State, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned for a period not exceeding one year, or both, in the discretion of the Court.
SECTION 33. All arms, equipments or other property furnished to organizations of the National Guard of Delaware, shall, when required by the Adjutant General, the commanding-officer of the company, or commanding officer of the regiment to which said company belongs, or by the commanding officer of any detachment thereof, be deposited in the armory of said company, regiment or detachment, and any person to whom such property was issued, failing to deposit as aforesaid any article of such property, unless properly accounted for within ten days after he shall have been notified by written notice from the commanding officer as aforesaid to return it to the armory, shall, upon conviction thereof by the Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Jail Delivery of this State, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding double the value of the property thus illegally detained, or shall be imprisoned for not less than two weeks nor more than two months, or both.
SECTION 34. If it appears to the Commander-in-Chief that a company of the National Guard has failed to comply with the requirements of the law, so that it is incapacitated to discharge the duties required of it, such company may be disbanded by the Commander-in-Chief.
SECTION 35. Upon the disbandment of any company or organization which has received arms, equipments or any other property of the State or of the United States for military purposes, the commanding officer of such company or organization shall be responsible for the return of the same to the custody of some duly authorized officer of the State.
And it shall be the duty of the Adjutant General to take the necessary legal proceedings in the name of the State, or direct that proper legal proceedings be taken, as provided for in Section 33 of this act, unless the said property is properly accounted for.
SECTION 36. The Commander-in-Chief shall appoint courts martial for the trial of all commissioned officers, and the ranking officer in command of troops shall appoint them for the trial of all others agreeably to the provisions of this act. It shall be the duty of every officer who shall appoint a court martial to approve or disapprove its sentence, and at the time of such appointment, he shall appoint a Judge Advocate, whose duty it shall be to impartially state the evidence for and against the party on trial, and to take accurate minutes of such evidence, and all the proceedings of the court, all of which, together with the judgment of the court, he shall transmit, under seal, to the officer whose duty it is to approve or disapprove such judgment. Every officer put under arrest or suspended from command, shall have a copy of the charges exhibited against him ten days before the sitting of the court.
SECTION 37. The officer ordering a court martial shall, in such order, state the time and place at which it shall convene; and in cases where a vote is required for decision, the youngest member in commission shall vote first. All persons shall be held to appear and give evidence before such courts, under the same penalties as witnesses summoned by a justice of the peace. Every non-commissioned officer and private against whom charges are preferred shall be furnished with a copy of the charges and specifications against him at least ten clays before the time fixed for the hearing of the same.
The president of any court martial shall have authority to minister oaths or affirmations to witnesses, and to issue under his hand, in the name of the State, directed to the State detectives or to any sheriff or constable of the State, whose duty it shall be to serve or execute the same, all necessary summons, -subpoenas, warrants and commitments.
SECTION 38. The senior officer shall be the president of the court; and all the members of such court shall, when on duty, be in uniform; and the president of the court may appoint, by warrant, one or more marshals, whose duty it shall be to summon all delinquents and parties accused and subpoena all witnesses to appear before the court at the properly designated time and place.
SECTION 39. After the return of a summons by a marshal, certifying the service of the same on the accused, and upon default of appearance of such accused, at the time and place designated for the trial, the president of the court shall issue his warrant for the arrest of the delinquent, directed to the State detectives or to the sheriff or a constable of the county, who shall forthwith execute said warrant, and make proper return thereof to said court, and produce to the said court the body of the accused, if within said county or State, and retain him in custody until the conclusion of the trial, unless sooner discharged by order of the court.
SECTION 40. All fines and penalties imposed and collected through the sentence of courts martial, shall be paid into the State treasury; and any State detective, sheriff or constable neglecting or refusing to execute any process, or to make proper return of all fines collected, shall, upon conviction thereof by the Court of General Sessions of the Peace and jail Delivery of this State, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of one hundred dollars for each offence, for the use of the State.
SECTION 41. Any officer or soldier failing to appear upon any occasion of duty, to which he shall be ordered by his proper commanding officer, shall be subject to a trial by court martial, and upon conviction, failing to render good and sufficient cause therefor, he shall be sentenced to pay such fine, or undergo such other lawful punishment, as such court martial may direct. The forms, practice and procedure in all courts martial shall be adapted and conducted as in similar tribunals in the United States Army, unless altered, amended or modified, from time to time by orders from the Commander-in-Chief.
SECTION 42. When it may be necessary to use any military force for public defence against foreign or domestic violence, the Governor, as Commander-in-Chief, shall have power, according to the emergency, to call out any regiment, battalion, company, or any part thereof, for that purpose; and the sheriff of any county may, by written order, addressed to the commanding officer of any regiment, battalion or company within the county, require the aid of such regiment, battalion or company for the suppression of a riot and the protection of the peace of the county. The Mayor of the City of Wilmington may, in like manner, call upon the force stationed in the said City of Wilmington, to aid in the suppression of a riot and in the preservation of the peace of said city.
For every days service while on such duty, each private shall receive one dollar and fifty cents; each corporal one dollar and seventy-five cents; each duty sergeant, two dollars; non-commissioned staff and first sergeant, two dollars and fifty cents; and each commissioned officer the pay of officers of like grade in the service of the United States, besides all necessary expenses. To be paid as follows: If called out by
the Governor, to be paid by the State; if called out by the Sheriff, to be paid by the county; if called out by the Mayor thereof, to be paid by the City of Wilmington.
SECTION 43. All such requisitions for military force shall be made known to the forces whose services are required by the commanding officers thereof; and upon refusal of those notified to attend the summons and perform the duty required, they shall be fined as follows: Each non-commissioned officer or private not less than thirty nor more than one hundred dollars, and each commissioned officer not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, as the court marshall in all such cases determine; and furthermore, the commission of a commissioned officer shall be revoked.
SECTION 44. No person belonging to the military forces of this State shall be arrested on any civil process while going to, remaining at or returning from any place at which he may be ordered to attend for military duty. Any portion of the National Guard parading or performing- any duty according to law, shall have the right of way in any street or highway through which they may pass; provided, the carriage of the United States mails, the legitimate functions of the police, and the progress and operation of fire engines and fire departments, shall not be interfered with thereby.
SECTION 45. If any officer or soldier belonging to any regiment, company or detachment of the National Guard Delaware be wounded or disabled in the service of the State, when called out into such service, he shall be taken care of and provided for at the public expense, and fair compensation shall be allowed him for his time and injury. If killed, his family shall receive a pension according to his rank, as regulated by the pension laws of the United States. If any horse shall be taken into the service of a regiment, company or detachment, the same shall be appraised by the officer in command and two citizens, before it is actually used in such service, and the appraisement entered into a book by the officer who assists in making the same; and in case such horse shall be killed, disabled, die, or be taken by the enemy, the owner shall be paid the full value of such horse; provided, the loss has not occurred through the neglect or improper conduct of the owner or his servant; and for the use of every such horse a fair compensation shall be allowed.
SECTION 46. Whenever the troops or any part thereof are called into active service, the officers and men shall be governed by the regulations, customs and usages of the United States Army.
SECTION 47. Each infantry company, duly organized and found by the military board, on examination of the rolls and reports returned by the inspecting officer, to be fully up to the standard of numbers, drill and discipline, shall receive, upon a warrant drawn by the Adjutant General to the order of the company commander, the sum of three hundred dollars per annum, except companies quartered in the State arsenal at Wilmington, which shall receive the sum of one hundred dollars each; provided, that companies quartered in said arsenal shall have the benefit of light, fuel and janitors, the expenses of which shall be paid from the general fund.
SECTION 48. The gatling gun detachment and regimental drum corps shall receive, if found upon examination by the military board to be up to the proper standard of numbers, drill and discipline, the sum of seventy-five dollars each annually; and regimental headquarters the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars annually upon a warrant drawn by the Adjutant General to the order of the regimental commander.
SECTION 49. There shall be paid to each commissioned officer for each day's attendance for duty at field maneuver or review, the sum of-two dollars, and to each non-commissioned officer, musician and private, present for duty, the sum of one dollar for each days attendance, besides all necessary expenses.
SECTION 50. The building located at Twelfth and Orange streets, in the City of Wilmington, the property of the State of Delaware, and known as Troop B Armory, shall from and after the passage of this act, be placed in charge of the State Care of Military Board, to be used as a State Arsenal and Armory, and as quarters for that part of the National Guards stationed at Wilmington. The State Military Board shall employ a janitor who shall also act as an armorer; they shall also keep the building in repair and provide it with heat and light, the expense of which shall be paid out of the general fund.
SECTION 51. The Adjutant General shall, on receipt of the annual inspection rolls, lay the same before the State Military Board, to be composed of the Commander-in-Chief, Adjutant General, State Treasurer, Quartermaster General and the ranking officer of the troops, who shall meet at least once in each year, and at such other times as may be necessary for the purpose of auditing and adjusting all military claims incident to the organization and discipline of the National Guard, and which, on the approval of said board, endorsed thereon, shall be paid as hereinafter provided.
SECTION 52. No bill or allowance authorized by the provisions of this act, shall be approved and paid by the State Treasurer, unless the said bill or allowance is itemized and its contents duly sworn to or affirmed before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths or affirmations.
SECTION 53. For the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this act, the sum of five thousand dollars is hereby appropriated annually, and the State Treasurer is paid hereby authorized and directed to honor the warrants of the Adjutant General, when countersigned by the State Military Board, for that amount.
SECTION 54. The Commander-in-Chief may, in his discretion, whenever the funds to the credit of the National Guard will permit, order into service the forces organized under this act, for field maneuvres, target practice or review, at such places in the State as he may deem best suited for the purpose, and whenever such troops are ordered into service, the commanding officer thereof may fix certain bounds, not including any public roads, within which no spectator may enter without leave, and whoever intrudes within such limits, when forbidden to do so, or, after entering by permission, shall conduct himself in a disorderly manner, or whoever resists a sentry or guard acting under orders to prevent such entry or to prevent disorderly conduct, may be arrested by the commanding officer, or by his order, and taken before any justice of the peace of the county wherein the offence is committed, and upon conviction of the offence shall be fined not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars and the costs of prosecution, and committed until such fine and costs are paid.
SECTION 55. General field and commissioned staff officers are hereby authorized and empowered to administer oaths when oaths and affirmations, in all matters appertaining to or concerning the National Guard service, but in no case shall they charge any fee or compensation therefor. Any person who shall falsely swear or affirm to any oath or affirmation so administered, shall be liable to be indicted and punished as in other cases for wilful and corrupt perjury, in having violated his oath or affirmation.
SECTION 56. The Commander-in-Chief is hereby authorized, upon the recommendation of a board of five commissioned officers appointed by him for that purpose, to make and publish rules and regulations for the control, discipline, armament and equipment of the National Guard to carry out the provisions of this act, which rules and regulations shall, as far as practicable, conform to the rules and regulations of the United States Army, and which rules and regulations shall have all the force of law.
SECTION 57. That all acts or parts of acts relating to the National Guard of the State of Delaware, be and the same are hereby repealed and superseded by this act.
Passed at Dover, May 7, 1897.