Osborn. No specific instructions upon the point involved, other than may be found in the act or in the regulations, have been received by me. This decision, however, it seems to me, cannot be sustained. No man possessed of ordinary sense would thus construe the act in question. But the decision is likely to cause me a great deal of trouble, and if followed will to some extent nullify the law. Very few desire to be enrolled, and if the law officers of the Government sustain Commissioner Osborn in his constructions of the act, then those only will be enrolled who are sufficiently loyal to furnish the enrolling officer with the information he is obliged to seek.

I have the honor to remain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

CHAS. E. JENKINS,

Captain and Provost-Marshal, Ninth District of New York.

[Indorsement.]

OFFICE ACTING ASST. PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERAL, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK,

New York, June 12, 1863.

Respectfully forwarded, and attention requested to special communication on the subject of this date.

ROBERT NUGENT,

Colonel Sixty-Ninth Regiment N. Y. Vols. and A. A. P. M. G.

[Inclosure.]

U. S. COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE,

June 11, 1863.

Before Commissioner Osborn-Resisting an enrolling officer-The United States against Michael Briody.

Defendant was brought before the commissioner on the charge of resisting and obstructing an enrolling officer, by refusing to give his name and the names of other persons.

R. D. Tompkins, a witness, testified as follows:

I am enrolling officer in the Third Congressional District, State of New York; Stephen B. Gregory is the provost-marshal of the district; I was appointed by Stephen B. Gregory an enrolling officer; entered upon the discharge of my duty about one week ago; my duty is to enroll all the names in the district between the ages of twenty and forty-five; the way I perform my duty is by going into houses, stores, &c., and inquiring of persons within to give me the names of all persons living there; I am instructed so to do by the provost-marshal. Last Saturday, about 10 o"clock, I went into the store Numbers 68 Front street, Brooklyn; I saw no one in but the defendant; I asked him to give me the names of all persons in the store, that I was the enrolling officer. He said the boss was over in New York. Then I asked him for his name. He said he didn"t belong there; he said he was only stopping there while the boss was over to New York, and that the (defendant) lived in New York. I made a note of it in my diary, and called on Monday about 11 o"clock and found defendant in the store again; I repeated my question for the names of the persons employed there. He said that the boss was out; that he didn"t work there, and then he (defendant) asked a man in the store where the boss was. The man said, "What boss?" Defendant said, "Boss of the store." Defendant would not give me his name or the names of the persons employed there. This morning I went to Numbers 17 York street with Officer Sprague and found defendant upstairs eating his breakfast. I asked him if he lived there; he said he boarded there.

George Sprague testified as follows:

I was sent by Provost-Marshal Gregory to Numbers 17 York street this morning to get the name of the defendant, and I saw defendant upstairs taking his breakfast. I asked him if he was the gentleman that lived there. He said he boarded there. I told him I wanted his name and residence, and he said he would give it to me when he got ready. I asked him two or three times over and he would give me no satisfaction. I then asked the woman in the room, and she said she would