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A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
Journal of the Confederate Congress --EIGHTH DAY--THURSDAY, November 28, 1861.
OPEN SESSION.
Congress met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by the Rev. Dr. Hoge.
Congress then resolved itself into secret session.
SECRET SESSION.
Congress being in secret session,
Messrs. Hunter, Seddon, and Bocock, by unanimous consent, were allowed to record their votes in the affirmative upon the passage of the bill to admit Missouri as a State of the Confederate States of America.
A message was received from the President, by the hands of his Private Secretary, Mr. Josselyn.
Mr. McRae, from the Committee on Engrossment, reported as correctly engrossed and enrolled
An act to admit the State of Missouri into the Confederacy, as a member of the Confederate States of America.
Mr. Venable offered the following resolution; which was read and agreed to, to wit:
Resolved, That the Secretary of War be requested to submit additional provisions to the articles of war, for the punishment of offenses committed by persons belonging to the Army of the Confederate States, now cognizable only by civil tribunals, the said provisions to be in force during the present war.
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Mr. Avery presented a memorial of Asa Biggs, praying amendment to the sequestration act; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, without being read.
Mr. McDowell presented a memorial and resolution relative to the Lumberton Guards of North Carolina; which was read and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Caruthers presented a memorial of Cochran & Co.; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, without being read.
Mr. De Witt introduced
A bill to extend the time within which patents or the deeds of assignment therefor may be filed for record in the Patent Office of the Confederate States; which was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Patents.
Also, a bill to increase the pay of privates in the Confederate and Provisional Army; which was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Currin introduced
A bill to amend an act for the sequestration of the property and effects of alien enemies, etc.;
which was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. Staples presented the memorial of John B. I. Logan; which was read and referred to the special committee to examine into Medical, Quartermaster's, and Commissary Departments.
Mr. Seddon offered
A resolution directing the Committee on the Judiciary to inquire into the expediency of so amending the sequestration act as to make it promise of indemnity to those who may destroy property when in imminent danger of falling into the hands of the enemy;
which was read and agreed to.
A message was received from the President, by the hands of his Private Secretary, Mr. Josselyn, informing Congress that the President had this day approved and signed an act to admit the State of Missouri into the Confederacy, as a member of the Confederate States of America.
Mr. Smith of Alabama presented the petition of Mrs. Judge; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, without being read.
Also, the petition of Captain Randolph; which was read and referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.
Mr. Curry offered
A resolution instructing the Committee on the Judiciary to inquire into the expediency of so amending the sequestration act so as to provide for the payment out of the surplus created by that fund the salaries of United States officers due at the time of the secession of the several States;
which was read and agreed to.Mr. Chilton offered
A resolution instructing the Committee on Military Affairs to inquire into the expediency of taking further action upon the subject of passports;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Johnson of Arkansas offered
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A resolution instructing the Committee on Indian Affairs to inquire into the expediency of transferring the Indian Bureau from the War to the State Department;
which was read and agreed to.
Also, a resolution instructing the Committee on Military Affairs to inquire into the expediency of constructing a gap in the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad; which was read and agreed to.
Also, the following resolution; which was read and placed on the Calendar:
Resolved, That Congress adjourn on Monday the sixteenth day of December, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, to meet again on the third of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, unless sooner called together by the President.
Mr. Kenan introduced
A bill to repeal all tariff laws, etc.;
which was read first and second times.
Mr. Kenan then moved that the consideration of the bill be made the special order of Tuesday next.
Mr. Curry moved to refer the same to the Committee on Finance, and called the question; and the called being sustained, the question was put, and the bill was referred to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. T. R. R. Cobb introduced
A bill to make penal the transportation and sale of cotton, tobacco, and naval stores in ports of the Confederate States in occupancy of the enemy; which was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Commerce.
Mr. Foreman presented the memorial of Judge Harden; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, without being read.
Mr. Wright offered the following resolution; which was read and agreed to, to wit:
Resolved, That the President be, and he is hereby, requested to communicate to this body whether any restrictions (and if so, what) have been placed upon vessels leaving the ports of the Confederate States, other than those imposed by law. And if any have been imposed, by what authority.
Mr. Harris offered
A resolution instructing the Committee on Military Affairs to inquire into the expediency of offering additional inducements for volunteers to enlist in the service of the Confederate States, etc.;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Scott presented the memorial of Lieut. B. W. Hunter; which was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs, without being read.
Mr. Brooke introduced
A bill authorizing the further prosecution of the loan of the proceeds of cotton, and for other purposes;
which was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. Rhett introduced the following resolution; which was read and agreed to, to wit:
Resolved, That so much of the President's message as refers to the foreign affairs of the Confederate States be referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Hemphill moved that the Calendar of Congress be printed for the use of the Congress.
The motion was agreed to.
Mr. Memminger moved that Congress do now resolve itself into executive session.
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The motion was agreed to; and Congress having resolved itself into executive session and having spent some time therein, again resolved itself into legislative session.
Mr. Hale moved to take up for consideration from the Calendar
A bill from the Judiciary Committee for the relief of the heirs and distributees of deceased soldiers.
The motion was agreed to, and Congress proceeded to the consideration of the same, and the first section being under consideration; which is as follows, to wit:
The Congress of the Confederate States do enact, That the captain or commanding officer of any volunteer company in the service of the Confederate States, in event of the death of any noncommissioned officer, musician, or private, being a volunteer and a member of his company at the time of his death, shall be, and is hereby, authorized to receive and receipt for any pay or allowance that may have been due such noncommissioned officer, musician, or private at the time of his death, and all paymasters, quartermasters, and other persons charged with the payment of troops are required to pay the same to such commanding officer, on his demand, at the same time that he pays off the company to which the deceased belonged. And the commanding officer who shall receive moneys under the provisions of this act shall first pay off any just debt that the deceased may owe for clothing or other necessaries furnished him as a soldier, and the balance [he] shall pay to the wife of the deceased, if living; if not, to the children, if any. In default of either wife or children, then to the father of the deceased, and if he be dead, then to the mother of the deceased; and the officer so receiving said money may forward the same to the person entitled thereto under the provisions of this act, either by mail or other safe hands, and shall thereupon be discharged from all further liability therefor. And if no person entitled to receive said money shall apply for the same within six months from the time the same is received, then the same shall be paid over to some quartermaster or other disbursing officer of the Government, and a certificate thereof taken and a memorandum thereof entered upon the pay roll of the company made out next thereafter. And any officer who shall receive money under the provisions of this act and fraudulently apply the same to his own use or fail to pay the same over to the person entitled to receive it, for twenty days after a proper application, without good cause therefor, shall, on conviction thereof by a general court-martial, be cashiered,
Mr. T. R. R. Cobb moved to amend the same by inserting after the words "paid off" the following words, to wit: "all burial expenses and such as attended his last sickness."
Mr. Hale moved to lay the amendment on the table, and called the question; and the call being seconded, the question was put, and the motion to lay on the table prevailed.
Mr. De Witt moved to amend by inserting after the words "mother of the deceased" the words "if there be no mother living, then to the next of kin."
The amendment was not agreed to.
Mr. Bocock moved to recommit the bill to the Committee on the Judiciary, and called the question; and the call for the question being seconded, the question was put, and the motion was agreed to and the bill was recommitted to the Committee on the Judiciary.
On motion of Mr. Morton,
Congress then adjourned until to-morrow at 12 m.
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EXECUTIVE SESSION.
Congress being in executive session,
The Chair laid before that body a communication from the President, nominating, for the advice and consent of the Congress, the following list of appointments for district attorneys, viz:
Executive Department,
Richmond, Va., November 28, 1861.
To the honorable President of the Congress:
I herewith transmit, for the advice and consent of the Congress, the nomination of Samuel H. Hempstead, to be Confederate States district attorney for the eastern district of Arkansas, and John C. Nicoll to be Confederate States district attorney for the district of Georgia.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
On motion, the communication was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Congress then resumed legislative session.
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