interests and conditions of this State and the perfection of its military organization.

SEC. 28. The annual report provided for in the preceding section shall be printed annually and laid before the Legislature for its informa

tion.

SEC. 29. All necessary clerks and employes will be appointed and laborers will be hired by the Adjutant General.

SEC. 30. The Adjutant General shall have one assistant Adjutant General, who shall fill the position of chief clerk, with the rink of colonel, one Assistant Quartermaster General with the rank of Colonel, and such necessary clerks, employes and laborers as may be required from time to time, to carry on the operations of his department, all of whom shall be under the direction and control of the Adjutant General.

SEC. 31. The Assistant Adjutant General shall be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Adjutant General, and shall remain in office during the pleasure of the Governor, and until his successor is appointed and qualifies. He shall receive an annual salary of twelve hundred dollars, and shall, during his term of oflice, be entitled to all rights, privileges and immunities granted officers of like rank in the Texas National Guard.

He shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe to the oath of office prescribed for officers of the Texas National Guard, which oath shall be deposit d in the ofice of the Adjutant Go..eral.

He shall aid the Adjutant General by the performance of such dut: -as may be assigned him, and shall, in case of absence or inability of i Adjutant General to act, perform all such portions of the duties of the Adjutant General as the letter may expressly delegate to him.

Src. 32. The Assistant Adjutant General is hereby authorized and directed, on a le ton and wit! out compensation #Forefor, to administer oaths of o. lce to oficers of the active militia, and to employes of the Adjutant General's office required to be teken on their appointment or promotion.

Sac. 33. The Assistant Quartermaster General shall be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Adjutant General, an 1 shait remain in office during the pleasure of the Governor, and until his successor is appointed and qualified. He shall receive an annual salary of fifteen hundred dollars, an i shall, during his term of office, be entitled to all rights, privileges and immunities granted officers of like rank in the Texas National Guard.

He shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, enter into a bond with two or more good and suflicient sureties, to be approved by the Governor, which bond shall be in the sum of ten thousand dollars, payable to the Governor of this State and his successors in office, and conditioned faithfully to discharge the duties of his office; and disburse and account for all moneys, and to faithfully keep, issue and account for all military stores, supplies and other property of this State or of the United States coming into his possession or entrusted to his care for the use of the military forces of this State.

He shall take and subscribe the oath of office prescribed for officers

of the Texas National Guard, which oath and bond shall be deposited in the office of the Adjutant General.

He shall, under the immediate direction of the Adjutant General, perform, as near as may be, the duties pertaining to the chiefs of the quartermaster, subsistence, and ordinance departments under the regulation and customs of the United States army.

He shall, upon assuming the duties of his office, receipt to the Adjutant General for all military property of whatever kind belonging to this State or to the United States, which may be on hand and intended for the use of or issue to the military forces of this State, and he shall also receipt to the Adjutant General for such other military property as may from time to time be received from the United States or from other sources.

He shall be responsible for all quartermaster's, subsistence, ordnance, medical, signal, and all other military stores and supplies belonging to this State, or which may be issued to this State by the United States, except such of the above mentioned stores and supplies as may be issued to officers and organizations of the military forces of this State in accordance with the regulations in force.

He shall issue and receive such quartermaster's, subsistence, ordnance, medical, signal and all other military stores and supplies as the Governor or the Adjutant General may direct.

He shall attend to the care, preservation, safe keeping and repairing of the arms, ordnance, accoutrements, equipments and all other military property belonging to this State, or issued to this State by the United States for the purpose of arming and equipping the military forces of this State.

He shall prepare such returns of all quartermasters, subsistence, ordnance, medical, signal, and all other military stores and supplies that have been issued this State by the United States at the times and in the manner required by the Secretary of War, and shall render semiannually to the Adjutant General returns of all military stores and supplies on hand or issued, in such manner as required by the Adjutant General.

He shall render to the Adjutant General annually, or oftener if required, a statement of all moneys received or disbursed by him since last report.

He shall perform the duties of quartermaster, commissary and paymaster of the Ranger force, and such other duties as may be required of him by the Governor or the Adjutant General.

SEC. 34. All officers in the military service of this State shall be appointed and commissioned by the Governor at his discretion, and no one shall be recognized as an officer, unless he shall have been duly commissioned and shall have taken the oath of office.

SEC. 35. All commissions in the military service of this State shall be in the name and by the authority of the State of Texas, sealed with the State seal, signed by the Governor, and attested by the Secretary of State, and recorded by the Adjutant General in a record book kept in his office for that purpose; provided, no fee for issuing such commissions shall be charged or collected.

SEC. 36. Commissioned officers must be citizens of the United States

and residents of this State of the age of 18 years or upward. No person who has been dishonorably discharged from the military service of this State or expelled from any military organization shall be commissioned, unless he produces the written consent to such appointment of the commanding officer of the organization from which he was expelled or dishonorably discharged, and of the commanding officer who approved such expulsion or issued such dishonorable discharge. No person shall be commissioned unless he shall possess the additional requirements herein prescribed for the particular office to which he is to be commissioned.

A general officer, at the time of appointment, must be an officer above the grade of captain in the military service of this State; and must have been, for six successive years immediately preceding his appointment, a commissioned officer in such service, or he must have had previous service as a commissioned officer in the military service of this State or of the United States or both for nine years.

A colonel of a regiment, at the time of his appointment, must be an officer in the active service of the military forces of this State, and for five successive years immediately preceding his appointment must have been an officer in such active service, or must have had previous service of at least eight years in the active military forces of this State or of the United States, or both.

A lieutenant colonel or a major of the line, at the time of his appointment, must be an officer in active service of the military forces of this State, and for four successive years immediately preceding his appointment must have been an officer in such actice service, or must have had previous service of at least seven years in the active military forces of this State or of the United States, or both.

Staff officers, on promotion to colonel, must have had two years previous service as an officer in the active military forces of this State or of the United States, or both. On promotion to lieutenant colonel or major one year previous service as above.

A judge advocate must be a counsellor at law of the Supreme Court of this State of at least ten years standing, if of the grade of colonel or lieutenant colonel; of at least seven years if of the grade of major, and of at least four years standing if of the grade of captain.

Surgeons and assistant surgeons must be graduates of a reputable school of medicine, and of at least ten years practice, if of the grade of lieutenant colonel; of at least seven years practice, if of the grade of major; of at least five years, if of the grade of captain; and of at least two years if of the grade of lieutenant.

An engineer officer of the military forces of this State must have been educated as a military or civil engineer.

A signal officer must have a knowledge of signaling, telegraphing, topography and map making.

A veterinary surgeon must be a graduate of a reputable incorporated school of veterinary science.

A chaplain must be a regularly ordained minister of some religious denomination.

SEC. 37. Before receiving a commission consequent upon an original appointment, or before being commissioned to a higher grade as a result. of promotion, every officer must have passed a satisfactory examination.

before a board as to his knowledge of military affairs and general knowledge and fitness for the service, anyone failing to pass such examination shall not be eligible for an office in the militia of this State, or for promotion, for the period of one year from the date of such failure. Judge advocates, medical officers and veterinary surgeons shall be examined as to their general and professional knowledge and fitness for the service only. The following are exempt from examination: General officers, chaplains and enlisted men placed on the retired list as brevet second lieutenants.

SEC. 38. Boards of examination under the preceding section shall be appointed by the Governor. Such boards shall consist of not less than three officers, and shall have the same power to take evidence, administer oaths and compel witnesses to attend and testify and produce books and papers, and punish their failure to do so, as is possessed by a general court martial. When returns of appointments are received by a board the persons appointed shall by it be ordered before it for examination, and the result of the examination, with all papers in the case, shall be forwarded to the Adjutant General.

SEC. 39. Every officer duly commissioned shall, within ten days after his commission is tendered to him, or within ten days after he shall have been notified personally or by mail that the same is held in readiness for him by a superior officer, take and subscribe the constitutional oath of office. Such oath shall be taken and subscribed before an officer authorized to administer an oath, or some general or field officer or an officer who shall hold the assimilated grade of a field officer, who has taken the oath himself, and who is hereby authorized to administer the same. In case of neglect or refusal to take and subscribe such oath within the time mentioned, such commission shall be canceled by the Governor and a new appointment shall be made; such oath of office shall be filed in the office of the Adjutant General.

SEC. 40. The Governor may, upon the recommendation of their commanding officers, confer brevet commissions of a grade higher than the ordinary or brevet commissions ever held by them, upon officers of the military service of this State for gallant conduct, or meritorious service of not less than twenty-five years. He may also confer upon officers in active service in the military service of this State, who have previously served in the forces of the United States in time of war, brevet commissions of a grade equal to the highest grade in which they previously served. Such commissions shall carry with them only such privileges or rights as are allowed in like cases in the military service of the United States.

SEC. 41. Officers who shall be rendered surplus by reduction or disbandment of organizations or in any manner provided by this act now or hereafter, shall at the discretion of the Governor be withdrawn from active service and placed upon the supernumerary list. The Governor may detail supernumerary officers for active duty, in which case they shall rank in their grade from the date of such detail, and he may relieve them from such duty and return them to the supernumerary list at his discretion.

SEC. 42. Any officer of the active millitia who has reached the age of sixty-four years may be placed upon the retired list by the Governor.

Any officer who shall have served as an officer in the same grade in the military service of this State for the continuous period of eight years, or as an officer in the military service of this State continuously for ten years, or as an officer in the military service of this State for twelve years, or as an officer and enlisted man in the military service of this State for eighteen years, may, upon his own request, be placed upon the retired list and withdrawn from active service and command by the Governor. Any officer who has become, or who shall hereafter become disabled, and thereby incapable of performing the duties of his office, shall be withdrawn from active service and placed on the retired list by the Governor. Any officer who has become or shall hereafter become unfit or incompetent, and thereby incapable of performing the duties of his office, shall be discharged upon the recommendation of his commanding officer, or the recommendation of an inspecting officer. Such retirement or discharge shall be by order of the Governor, and, in either case, shall be subject to the provisions of this section. Before making such order, the Governor shall, at his discretion, appoint a board of not less than five commissioned officers, one of whom shall be a surgeon, whose duty it shall be to determine the fact as to the nature and cause of incapacity of such officer as appears disabled or unfit, or incompetent, from any cause to perform military service, and whose case shall be referred to it. No officer whose grade or promotion would be affected by the decision of such board, in any case that may come before it, shall participate in the examination or decisions of the board in such case. Such board is hereby invested with the powers of courts of inquiry and courts martial, and whenever it finds an officer incapacitated for active service shall report such fact to the Governor, stating cause of incapacity, whether from disability, unfitness or incompetency, and if he approves such finding, such officer shall be placed on the retired list or discharged, as herein provided. The members of the board shall, before entering upon the discharge of their duties, be sworn to an honest and impartial performance of their duties as members of such board. No officer shall be placed upon the retired list or discharged by the action of such board, if appointed by the Governor, without having had a fair and full hearing. before the board, if upon the notice he shall demand it, and the Governor in his discretion shall think proper, to appoint such board. It shall not be necessary to refer to any case for the action of such board arising under this section, unless the officer designated be placed on the retired list or discharged shall, within twenty days after being notified that he will be so retired or discharged, serve on the Adjutant General a notice in writing that he demands a hearing and examination before such board, and the Governor approve such demand. The Governor may withdraw from active service and command and place upon the retired list any officer who has been twenty-five years in the military service of this State, on the recommendation of the commanding officer of his organization and the commanding officer of the brigade or division. Vacancies created by the operations of this section shall be filled in the same manner as other vacancies.

SEC. 43. The Governor may, whenever he may deem that the good of the service requires it, order any officer before a board of examination, to consist of not less than three nor more than five officers above the