448

LAWS OF MARYLAND.

Companies shall be designated by the numbers
One, Two, Three, Four and Five, and shall con-
sist respectively of not less than thirty men, nor
more than sixty-four men, rank and file, and that
the members of each Company, shall have power
to elect one captain, a first lieutenant, and the
commanding officer of the battalion shall appoint
appoint a second and third lieutenants, when in
his judgment such additional officers shall be re-
quired; and when two Companies shall have been
duly organised, they shall have power to elect a
major, and when four Companies shall be so
formed, they shall have power to elect a lieutenant
colonel; all of the above mentioned officers shall
be elected, commissioned and qualified, as officers
of like grades, in the volunteer militia of the
State, and at any meeting or at any parade of said
battalion, the senior officer present shall have com-
mand or preside.

Entitled to a
staff.

SEC. 3. And be it enacted, That the Commander
of said battalion, shall be entitled to have a staff,
consisting of an adjutant, a quarter master, a pay
master, and a surgeon, who shall rank as officers
of the like grade in the United States Army, and
shall be duly commissioned by the Governor of the
State.

Independent of
other military
organizations.

SEC. 4. And be it enacted, That said battalion,
shall be separate from and independent of any and
all other military organizations, or commands
whatever, in the State, and shall be subject solely
to the direct call of the regularly constituted
civil authorities, for the suppression of insurrec-
tion or riot, the repelling of invasion, or the en-
forcement of the execution of the laws, according
to the provisions of the Constitution and laws of
the State.

Certain days
to be fixed for
parades.

SEC. 5. And be it enacted, That said battalion,
immediately upon its organization, shall fix cer-
tain days, not less than four in number, upon
which in each and every year, and at such hours
and places as may be specified, it shall meet for
parade and military exercises; which day, place or
places and hours, the battalion may change from
time to time, provided the number of days be not
less than four in each year; and each Company of
said battalion shall make such parades, with not
less than thirty men, rank and file, shall be enti-