CONSCRIPTION

The compulsory enrolment of individuals for military or maritime service, taken from the population at large. The conscription, in the Roman commonwealth,was made not by lot, but by arbitrary selection by the consuls from among the bulk of the citizens when a levy was required. In France the conscription was established during the revolution, before which period the armies of that country had been recruited by voluntary enlistment. The word is first used in a law of 1793. According to the law as at present established, all cit i/.ens are liable to the conscription at the age of twenty. Each arrondi emenl has its contingent allotted to it out of the total number required for the service, and this number is filled up by lot from the youths liable to the conscription. There are, however, various claims of exemption recognised by the law. The legal duration of the service is seven years. [s. 289]