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In former times deserting and deserters were something very common and of a frequent occurence. Once deserted, the deserters had to live somewhere and off something, they were still dependent on the societey they were hidding from. However, the desertion was criminal off ence, as well as abetting the deserters, or even collaborate with them.

In the penal court records created at district court in Ljubljana, dealing with the crime of hidding and helping the deserters (1825-1849), is outstanding how the investigating magistrates strove to diminish the importance of evidences and proposed mitigations of the punishments, quite diferent as in the cases of a "real" crime. And whay would they did so, how the explanation could be worded?

Maybe the answer, or at least part of it, is that the authority didn’t want to make the conflict about very unpopular army even harsher. For instance, even before the introduction of the national service (1770), there was promulgated the law in 1758 which inhibited cathching the conscripts on sundays and feasts in front or in the churches, for doing so provoked a huge reluctance, even riots. Further, soon after introduction of the national service followed promulgation of the law which warned against threatening with forced recruitments in public announcements. Emperor Joseph II in his law about conscription and recruitment system ordered the recruitment must go tactful, unruffled and quiet, at all events people must not be startled with it at night. When recruiting, the special attention should be paid to the recruits, they should be treated well so they wouldn’t take dislake and aversion against military service.

Generally, there was a lot of hipocrisy about recruitment. On the one hand the laws allowded the authorities get rid of the vagrants and masters of disobedient workers by putting them into the army. But in the same breath they ordered these procedures must be done with all the tactfulness, to avoid the impression the people were sent into the army for punishment. Likewise, the authorities were renewing inhibition of cathching the conscripts on holy ground, and at the same time closing their eyes not to see catchpoles doing that all the time.

Howsoever, people disliked the army and military service most. Judging from the contemporary legislation, especially the recruitment one, this was not typical only of the Carniola province. So, we have the question to answer, if the dealing with the deserter abetters in other Austrian provinces was likewise indulgent as it seems it was in Carniola.