Invent A Ire

des Effets des Officiers décedés, Fr. Inventory of the effects of deceased officers. As the French regulations on this head were more specific than those expre ed in our articles of war, we shall premise the extract from the latter, by the following particulars which were in force during the old government of France. When governors, commandants of places, staff officers, commi aries of war, engineers and officers entrusted with the care of artillery, died in their several provinces or allotted quarters, the judges or magistrates belonging to the spot where such deaths occurred sealed up the effects of the deceased, and took an inventory of their property, without being, in the least, controled by any species of military authority. On the removal of the seals, the town-major or his adjutant received a specific statement of every thing which appertained to the situation or appointment of the deceased person or persons, which statement was transmitted to government. The creditors of the deceased preferred a schedule of the debts contracted in each place of residence, before any of the ordinary justices, which debts were discharged out of the personal property that was left. But all other creditors must have recourse to the judge or justice belonging to the precise spot where the deceased resided; applications respecting all debts which exceeded the value of the personal effects were directed to be made through the same channel. When officers died in a garrison town or upon a march, or when engineers, who had no particular fixed residence, or artillery officers that were upon leave, departed this life, the town-majors or aid-major of the towns or places, where such persons died, fixed their seals upon their effects. An inventory of these effects was afterwards taken, provided they were not claimed by the next heir; in which latter case, all the debts that had been contracted by the deceased in the place where he died, were ordered to be paid by the person who took po e ion of the property. Public notice was given by beat of drum, that a military sale would be made, and one sol in the livre was charged on all that was disposed of in this manner. The man who beat the drum, and the person who enregistered the minutes of the sale, were paid out of this sol; whatever surplus remained, after a reasonable deduction had been made for these purposes, became the town-major’s property. The produce of the sale was appropriated to the discharge of such debts as had been contracted in the garrison: and the judge or magistrate, whose particular province it was to take cognizance of all cases relating to property, placed his seal upon the remainder, which was deposited in a box. This box was delivered over to the person that had enregistered the effects and taken minutes of the sale; in whose hands it remained until claimed by the widow of the deceased, the residuary legatee, or by any creditors, except those who immediately belonged to the garrison. When a captain in the French guards died or was killed, his heirs or executors were not obliged to discharge any demands which his company might have had upon him. If the sale of his private property should not be sufficient to defray these debts, the officer who succeeds to the company is bound to make up the remainder, and the soldier’s claim has the preference of all other demands. If there was an overplus, it was paid into the hands of the lawful heirs. The soldiers of the company received the moiety of what was due to them in ready money. On the decease or departure of the officers belonging to any of the detached companies of invalids, the superior officer of that detachment in which the death or dereliction happened, ordered every article belonging to the royal hospital of invalids to be sold in the presence of the several officers, without deducting the sol in the livre. The produce of this sale was placed to the credit of the detachment; and all other articles belonging to the deceased were disposed of by the town-majors in the manner already mentioned. The powers which were vested in the town-majors and staff-officers belonging to garrisoned places, were lodged in the hands of the majors or aid-majors of regiments, who upon the decease of an officer on service or in a place where there was not any staff, took a regular inventory of his effects, . Town-majors were not authorized to put their seals upon the effects of deceased officers belonging to the Swi regiments, as these had a peculiar military jurisdiction of their own. But other foreign troops in the service of France were not entitled to these privileges.