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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 --SIXTY-SEVENTH DAY--TUESDAY, February 11, 1862.
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,
Mr. Harrison was, on his own motion, excused from serving on the committee to prepare for the inauguration of the President and VicePresident elect,
And the Chair appointed Mr. Brooke to serve in his place.
Mr. Watkins of Arkansas was also, on his own motion, excused from serving on the same committee,
And the Chair appointed Mr. Garland to serve in his place.
Mr. Foreman moved to suspend the regular order of business, for the purpose of taking up a bill from the Calendar to fix the rank and to provide for the pay of certain officers therein named.
Upon which, at the instance of the State of Georgia, he demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded; which are as follows, to wit:
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Yea: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, and South Carolina, 5.
Nay: Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, 7.
Divided: Missouri, 1.
So the motion did not prevail.
Mr. Brooke moved to take up from the Calendar a resolution offered by him, asking information from the Secretary of the Treasury in relation to the cotton loan.
The motion was agreed to.
And the resolution was taken up, read, and agreed to.
Mr. Campbell introduced
A bill to transfer the county of Attala, in the State of Mississippi, from the northern to the southern judicial district of the State of Mississippi;
which was read first and second times, engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
Mr. Chilton introduced
A resolution instructing the Committee on Military Affairs to inquire into the propriety of employing slaves as cooks and nurses, etc.;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Chilton presented a letter; which was referred to the committee to examine into abuses in the Quartermaster's and Commissary Departments, without being read.
Also, a bill to establish certain post routes therein named; which was read first and second times, engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
Also, a design for a flag; which was referred to the Committee on Flag and Seal.
Mr. Morton, from the Committee on Flag and Seal, made a report, accompanied by three designs for a flag; which was read and laid on the table for the present.
Mr. Hill, from the Committee on Claims, reported back sundry papers referred to that committee, asked to be discharged from the further consideration of the same, and that the claimants have leave to withdraw the same; which was agreed to.
Mr. Crawford moved to make the special order for to-morrow
A bill to admit duty free all goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the Confederacy, etc.
Mr. Curry moved to amend by making the same the special order immediately after the consideration of the confiscation bill was concluded.
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The amendment was agreed to, and the motion as amended was adopted.
Mr. Crawford then moved as a substitute that it be made the special order for Thursday next.
And the vote having been taken thereon, the substitute was agreed to.
On motion of Mr. Rhett,
A bill to regulate the navigation of the Confederate States was made the special order for Friday next.
Mr. Smith of Alabama moved that the Public Printer be requested to return the original manuscripts of the amendments to the sequestration act.
The motion was agreed to.
And Congress proceeded to the consideration of the unfinished business of yesterday; which was the consideration of the amendment of Mr. Perkins to section 22 of the act to amend the sequestration act, etc.
And upon which, at the instance of the State of Louisiana, he demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded; which are as follows, to wit:
Yea: Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, 6.
Nay: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia, 7.
So the amendment was not agreed to.
And section 20 being,radar consideration; which is as follows, to wit:
Mr. Harris of Mississippi moved to amend by striking out the whole of the same.
The amendment was agreed to.
And section 24 being under consideration; which is as follows, to wit:
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well as the salary of said commissioners, shall be charged to the sequestration fund and be deducted therefrom; and said commissioners shall moreover have power to appoint commissioners to take the examination of witnesses touching the claims which may be propounded before them, or may summon witnesses before them to be examined orally; said commissioners sand the commissioners appointed by them to examine witnesses as aforesaid, shall have power to administer oaths to the witnesses and to issue subpoenas, and witnesses failing to appear shall be subject to like penalties and process as may be prescribed in the courts of the Confederate States against defaulting witnesses: Provided, however, That the costs of all proceedings to take testimony shall be paid by the claimant, except in cases where the Attorney-General shall apply for leave to take testimony, and the fees of witnesses and commissioners shall be the same as are allowed in the courts of the Confederate States in like cases.
Mr. Harris moved to amend by filling the blank in the same with the words "fifteen hundred."
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Smith of Alabama moved to amend by inserting as section 25 the following, to wit:
So much of the act to which this is an amendment as requires the receivers to settle separately the estate of each alien enemy is repealed, and hereafter each settlement shall embrace all the matters ready for settlement; but the items of the account shall be so specific as to show the sources from which each is derived.
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Foreman moved to amend by inserting as section 26 the following, to wit:
Where any judgment has been rendered up in any of the courts of the Confederate States under the act to which this is an amendment, inconsistent with the spirit and provisions of this, the same shall be set aside or amended in accordance with the terms and provisions of this act.
The amendment was agreed to.
Congress then recurred to the consideration of the pending amendment of Mr. Harris of Mississippi to the fifth section of the bill.
Mr. Harris modified his amendment by inserting after the word "Confederacy" in the first clause the words "or neutral country," and by adding at the end of the same clause the words "or who from physical infirmity are incapable of removing."
And in the second clause, by substituting for the word "natives" the word "citizens," and by inserting after the word "who" the words "can not be shown to have," and before the words "Confederate States" the words "people of the."
And in the fourth clause, before the word "contributed," the word "voluntarily."
And in the third clause by striking out the words "whether naturalized or not."
Mr. Russell moved to amend by striking out as follows, to wit:a
[Note a: a The proposed amendment is not recorded in the Journal.]
The amendment was not agreed to.
A message was received from the President, by the hands of his Private Secretary, Mr. Josselyn.
Mr. Davis of North Carolina moved to amend by striking out in the fourth clause the word "fourteen" and by inserting in lieu thereof the word "sixteen."
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Monroe moved to amend by striking out the words "and all minors under the age of sixteen years."
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And upon which, at the instance of the State of Kentucky, he demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded; which are as follows, to wit:
Yea: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia, 5.
Nay: Georgia, Lousiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, 5.
Divided: Arkansas, Florida, and Missouri, 3.
So the amendment was not, agreed to.
Mr. Thomas of Tennessee moved to amend by striking out the words "and persons are" and by inserting in lieu thereof the word "is."
The amendment was not agreed to.
Mr. Rhett moved to amend by adding at the end of the fourth clause the words "who were born in any State of this Confederacy, or any State exempted from the provisions of this act, while their parents were domiciled in said State."
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. House moved to amend by adding after the word "married" the word "unmarried."
Mr. Pryor moved to postpone indefinitely the further consideration of the bill and the amendments thereto.
Upon which motion Mr. Garland, at the instance of the State of Arkansas, demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded; which are as follows, to wit:
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Nay: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, 11.
Divided: Georgia and Missouri, 2.
So the motion did not prevail.
And the question recurring upon agreeing to the amendment of Mr. House,
Mr. Conrad, at the instance of the State of Louisiana, demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded thereon; which are as follows, to wit:
Yea: Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas, 3.
Nay: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, 8.
Divided: Florida and Louisiana, 2.
So the amendment was not agreed to.
Mr. Smith of Alabama moved to amend by inserting after the word "who" the words "or whose husbands."
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Chilton moved to amend by adding to the end of the fourth clause the words "and who have not taken up arms against the Confederate States."
The amendment was agreed to.
And the question being upon agreeing to the amendment of Mr. Harris as amended, the vote was taken and the amendment as amended was adopted.
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And the section as amended is as follows, to wit:
Mr. Hill moved to reconsider the vote just taken.
The motion to reconsider did not prevail.
Mr. Johnston of Virginia moved to amend by inserting as an independent section, to be section 6, as follows, to wit:
Be it further enacted, That all right, title, and interest which shall be adjudged or decreed to be sequestrated, in any lands or lots, by reason of the provisions of this act, or the act to which this is amendatory, shall be, upon the rendering of the judgment or decree of sequestration, and the same are hereby absolutely transferred to and vested in any person or persons who are citizens of the Confederate States, and are true and loyal to the same, for so much as such person or persons may have just title or claim to, legal or equitable, bona fide claimed, held, or derived from, or under any grant or grants made by the authority of the State, where situated, bearing date previous to the first day of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-one; and the lands or lots thus transferred shall not be subject to sale or further proceedings under this act or said former act. The court to which any such land or lots may be reported, under such rules and regulations as it may prescribe, shall, at the expense of the claimant or claimants, ascertain the lands or lots, or parcels thereof, so exempt from sale. But should the said court, from any cause, fail to ascertain the land or lots, or parcels thereof, exempt from sale as aforesaid, such failure shall, in no wise, impair or invalidate the right or title of the person or persons to whom the same shall be transferred as aforesaid, and such right or title, so transferred, may be asserted in any court having jurisdiction, as prescribed by laws of the State in which such lands may be situate: Provided, That in any controversy between patentees or claimants, not claiming under the sequestrated title before the decree of sequestration, the provisions of this section shall not apply, but the parties shall be left to the strength of their respective titles.
Upon which Mr. Russell, at the instance of the State of Virginia, demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded; which are as follows, to wit:
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Yea: Kentucky and Virginia. 2.
Nay: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri. North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, 8.
Divided: Arkansas and Louisiana, 2.
Not voting: Florida, 1.
So the amendment was not agreed to.
Mr. Elliott moved that Congress do now adjourn.
The motion did not prevail.
Mr. Russell moved to amend by inserting as section 6 the following, to wit:
No land shall be sequestered or sold under this act, or the one to which it is amendatory, if the same was, on the twenty-first of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and yet remains in the possession of a citizen of any of the Confederate States loyal to the same claiming under title, or color of title, of the State to such land, adversely to the title of the alien enemy alleged to have title thereto.
And upon which, at the instance of the State of Virginia, he demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded; which are as follows, to wit:
Yea: Georgia, Missouri, and Virginia, 3.
Nay: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, 8.
Divided: Kentucky and Louisiana, 2.
So the amendment was not agreed to.
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Mr. Macfarland moved to amend by adding the following as an additional section to the bill, viz:
Whenever it shall be made to appear that the debt due from a citizen of any Confederate State to an alien enemy has been discharged in whole or in part by subjecting thereto the effects or credits of such citizen within any State of the United States, or within the military control of the enemy, the debt shall be reduced by a credit corresponding to the value of the effects or credits so subjected.
Whereupon,
Mr. Macfarland, at the instance of the State of Virginia, demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body should be recorded thereon; which are as follows, viz:
Yea: Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia, 4.
Nay: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and South Carolina, 5.
Divided: Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas, 4.
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Conrad moved to amend the fifth section of the bill by adding at the end thereof the following words, viz:
Provided also, That in case the debtor shall be liable to a third party who is not an alien enemy, for a debt due by the alien enemy to whom he is indebted, he may retain in his hands so much of his indebtedness as will indemnify him against such liability until relieved from the same.
Whereupon,
Mr. Conrad, at the instance of the State of Louisiana, demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded thereon; which are as follows, viz:
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Yea: Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia, 5.
Nay: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, and North Carolina, 5.
Divided: Kentucky, South Carolina, and Texas, 3.
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Seddon moved to amend the bill by adding the following as an additional section, viz:
The next of kin in the direct ascending and descending lines of any alien enemy, faithful citizens of any of the Confederate States, or engaged in their military or naval service, shall be entitled to have decreed them (they paying all costs) the property, effects, and credits of such alien enemy, as if dead, intestate, leaving no other heirs or distributes, chargeable, however, in their hands, as in case of administration or heirship, with the debts of such alien enemies due to faithful citizens of any Confederate State.
The motion prevailed.
Mr. Conrad moved that Congress do adjourn.
The motion was lost.
The seventh section of the bill having been read, as follows, viz:
Mr. De Witt moved to amend the same by inserting after the words "effects, and choses" the words "or the exchange of either."
The motion was lost.
Mr. Smith of Alabama moved to amend the bill by striking out the whole section.
Whereupon,
Mr. De Witt, at the instance of the State of Tennessee, demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded thereon; which are as follows, viz:
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Yea: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas, 9.
Nay: Tennessee, 1.
Divided: Florida, Georgia, and Virginia, 3.
The motion prevailed.
Mr. Venable moved that Congress do now adjourn.
The motion was lost.
Section 8 of the bill being under consideration, as follows, viz:
Mr. Harris of Mississippi moved to amend by striking out the same and inserting in lieu thereof the following words, viz:
All sales of property under this act shall be made by the receiver, at public auction, to the highest bidder, and on such terms and such notice of the time and place of sale as the court may prescribe, and shall be duly reported to the court by such receiver at the term next after such sale, but no conveyance of title shall be made to the purchaser of the property until the confirmation of the sale by the court and the payment of the purchase money according to the terms of the sale, and no sale shall be valid until reported to and confirmed by the court, nor shall any sale be confirmed until the terms shall have been complied with, and the court may set aside such sale for fraud, want of proper notice, or any material irregularity or where it shall appear that the receiver was the purchaser or interested in the purchase, or for substantial inadequacy of price: Provided, however, That sales of personalty may be reported to and confirmed by the judge in vacation.
Mr. Conrad moved to amend the amendment by adding thereto the following words, viz:
and provided no sale shall be made unless the property shall bring two-thirds of its appraised value.
Whereupon,
Mr. Conrad, at the instance of the State of Louisiana, demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded thereon; which are as follows, viz:
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Yea: Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas, 6.
Nay: Alabama, Arkansas. Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia, 5.
Divided: Georgia and North Carolina, 2.
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Perkins moved that Congress do now adjourn.
The motion was lost.
The question recurring on the motion of Mr. Harris of Mississippi to amend the eighth section of the bill, the same was agreed to.
The ninth section of the bill being under consideration; which is as follows, viz:
Mr. Harris of Mississippi moved to amend by striking out the same and inserting in lieu thereof the following words, viz:
The court may, in its discretion, when special circumstances exist which temporarily depress the value of the property, delay the order of sale, or may direct the receiver to examine and report whether it would be expedient to make an immediate sale of such property, and on such report, or other satisfactory evidence, showing that a delay in the sale would tend to secure a fairer price, may order such sale to be delayed, and in all such cases the court may, in the case of real estate or of a plantation and slaves, order the receiver to lease the same on such terms as the court may prescribe.
The motion prevailed.
Mr. Davis of North Carolina moved to amend the bill by adding the following as an additional section, viz:
In cases where an alien enemy may have contracted, in writing, before the twenty-first day of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, to sell real estate to a citizen or citizens of this Confederacy, and to make title upon payment of the purchase money, the court, in decreeing sequestration of the said purchase money, or the residue thereof unpaid, shall further decree that the receiver of the district in which said real estate is situate, shall, upon payment of said purchase money, or the residue thereof, as aforesaid, make title for such real estate to the purchaser or his assignee.
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Foreman moved that Congress do now adjourn.
The motion was lost.
The question recurring on the engrossment of the bill as amended, the same was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.
Mr. Waul demanded the question thereon; which was seconded.
Mr. Waul, at the instance of the State of Texas, moved to reconsider the vote by which the question was seconded.
On motion of Mr. Curry,
Congress then adjourned until to-morrow morning, 11 o'clock.
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