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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-EIGHTH DAY--WEDNESDAY, February 12, 1862.
OPEN SESSION.
Congress met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by the Rev. Dr. Burrows.
Congress then resolved itself into secret session.
SECRET SESSION.
Congress being in secret session,
Mr. Monroe introduced
A bill to prescribe the mode of selecting and summoning jurors and for the formation of juries in the Confederate courts;
which was read first and second times, placed on the Calendar, and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Harris of Mississippi introduced
A bill supplemental to an act to put in operation the Government under the permanent Constitution of the Confederate States of America, approved May 21, 1861;
which was read first and second times, engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
Mr. Vest introduced
A bill to aid the State of Missouri, and for other purposes;
which was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. Vest moved to suspend the regular order of business to take up from the table for consideration
A bill supplementary to and amendatory of an act for the relief of the State of Missouri.
The motion was agreed to.
And Congress having proceeded to the consideration of the same,
Mr. Vest moved to amend by striking out the whole of the original bill and substituting in lieu thereof the following, to wit:
Mr. Barnwell moved to refer the bill and the amendment thereto to the Committee on Finance.
The motion was lost.
And the question being on agreeing to the amendment of Mr. Vest, the vote was taken thereon and the same was agreed to.
And the bill as amended was engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
And on motion of Mr. Vest, the title to the bill was amended by striking out the whole of the same and inserting in lieu thereof the words: "An act for the relief of the State of Missouri."
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Mr. Venable offered some resolutions relative to amendments to the Provisional Constitution; which were read and laid on the table.
Mr. Barnwell moved to take up from the Calendar for consideration
A bill to make appropriations for the expenses of Government in the legislative, executive, and judicial departments from the 18th of February to the 1st of April, 1862.
The motion was agreed to.
And Congress having proceeded to the consideration of the bill, Mr. Barnwell, from the Committee on Finance, moved to amend by adding at the end of the same the following, to wit:
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Macfarland moved to amend by striking out the following words, to wit: "For transmission of the funds of the Confederate States, one hundred thousand dollars."
The amendment was not agreed to.
And the bill as amended was engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
And the title to the same, on motion of Mr. Barnwell, was amended by adding thereto the words "and for other purposes."
Mr. McRae introduced
A bill to establish a volunteer navy;
which was read first and second times, placed on the Calendar, and ordered to be printed.
On motion of Mr. House,
A bill to create an officer to be styled the auditor of contracts, was made the special order after the consideration of
A bill to regulate the navigation of the Confederate States, etc.
Mr. Waul introduced
A bill to authorize the employment of cooks, to increase the rations for the Army, and for other purposes;
which was read first and second times, placed on the Calendar, and ordered to be printed.
Also, a bill to promote the efficiency of railroad transportation for the Army and army supplies of the Confederate; which was read first and second times, placed on the Calendar, and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Conrad introduced
A bill to authorize and provide for the organization of the Maryland Line;
which was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Brockenbrough, from the Committee on the Judiciary, reported
A bill to extend the provisions of an act entitled "An act authorizing the President to inflict retaliation upon the persons of prisoners," approved August 30, 1861;
which, on his motion, was placed on the Calendar, ordered to be printed, and made the special order for Saturday next.
Mr. Rhett moved to take up for consideration
A bill to regulate the navigation of the Confederate States.
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The motion was lost.
And Congress proceeded to the consideration of the special order of the day; which was the consideration of an act to amend the sequestration act, etc.
And the question being upon the motion of Mr. Waul to reconsider the vote by which the call for the question was sustained,
The question being upon ordering the bill to a third reading,
The vote was taken and the motion to reconsider did not prevail.
And the bill having received its third reading and the question being on the passage of the same,
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: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia, 10.
Nay: Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee, 3.
So the bill was passed.
Mr. Brooke moved to reconsider the vote just taken.
The motion was lost.
Mr. Perkins moved to take up from the Calendar for consideration
A bill to prohibit the importation of articles the production or manufacture of the United States.
The motion was agreed to.
Mr. Barnwell, by unanimous consent, reported from the Committee on Finance and recommended the passage of
A bill to pay interest due the Choctaw Nation upon stocks of the State of Virginia.
The bill was read first and second times, engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
Mr. Smith of Alabama introduced
A bill appropriating the sum of $1,110.22 for the relief of the Mobile and Great Northern Railroad Company, being the difference between 15 and 24 per cent duty on railroad iron paid at Pensacola, May, 1861.
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which was read first and second times, engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
Mr. Conrad, by general consent, moved to take up from the Calendar for consideration
A bill to provide for the education of midshipmen in the Navy.
The motion was agreed to.
And Congress having proceeded to the consideration of the same,
Mr. Oldham moved to postpone the further consideration of the Sallie.
Upon which Mr. Conrad, at the instance of the State of Louisiana, demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded; which are as follows, to wit:
Yea: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia, 7.
Nay: Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, and Tennessee, 5.
Divided: Florida, 1.
So the motion prevailed.
Congress then proceeded to the consideration of the bill to prohibit the importation, etc.
And the first section of the same being under consideration, to which an amendment offered by Mr. Reagan was pending; which was to add to end thereof the following words, to wit:
And provided further, That such articles as may be ordered by any of the Departments of Government shall be exempted from the provisions of this act.
The vote was taken thereon and the same was agreed to.
Mr. Perkins moved to amend by striking out the words "first of September" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "twenty-second of February."
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Conrow moved to amend by striking out the words "Kentucky and Missouri."
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Kenner moved to amend by striking out the words "until it shall otherwise be provided by law."
Mr. Hale moved to postpone the further consideration of the bill and amendments until the 22d of February.
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And upon which Mr. Perkins, 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: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, 10.
Nay: Louisiana and South Carolina, 2.
Not voting: Kentucky, 1.
So the motion to postpone prevailed.
Congress then resolved itself into executive session; and having spent some time therein, again resolved itself into legislative session.
Mr. Waul moved that Congress proceed to the consideration of the bills vetoed by the President.
Mr. Johnson of Arkansas moved to further postpone the consideration of the same.
The motion to postpone was lost.
And the question being upon agreeing to the motion of Mr. Waul, the vote was taken and the same was agreed to.
And the question
Shall the bill to encourage the manufacture of small arms, gunpowder, and saltpeter within the Confederate States pass, notwithstanding the veto of the President?
The yeas and nays of the whole body were recorded thereon; which are as follows, to wit:
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Yea: Alabama and South Carolina. 2.
Nay: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia, 10.
Divided: Tennessee, 1.
So the bill was lost.
And, a bill to authorize the Secretary of War to receive into the service of the Confederate States a regiment of volunteers for the defense of the frontier of Texas, being under consideration,
And the question being,
Shall the bill pass, notwithstanding the veto of the President?
The yeas and nays of the whole body were recorded thereon; which are as follows, to wit:
Yea: Florida, Missouri, and Texas, 3.
Nay: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, 9.
Divided: Kentucky, 1.
So the bill was lost.
On motion of Mr. Vest, the further Consideration of the bill to provide for raising and organizing, in the State of Missouri, additional forces for the Provisional Army of the Confederate States was postponed.
And, on motion of Mr. Crawford, the further consideration of a bill to provide for granting furloughs in certain cases was postponed.
Mr. Rhett moved that the message of the President in relation to
A bill to provide for raising and organizing, in the State of Missouri, additional troops for the Provisional Army of the Confederate States
be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, with instructions to report a bill for the repeal of the same.
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The motion was agreed to.
Mr. Avery moved to take up from the Calendar
A bill to provide for the construction of a railroad from Selma, Ala., to Meridian, Miss.
Upon which Mr. Hale, at the instance of the State of Alabama, demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded; which are as follows, to wit:
Yea: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia, 5.
Nay: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, 7.
Divided: Kentucky, 1.
So the motion was lost.
On motion of Mr. Venable, Congress resolved itself into executive session; and having spent some time therein, again resolved itself into legislative session.
And, on motion of Mr. Crawford,
Adjourned until 11 o'clock a. m. to-morrow.
EXECUTIVE SESSION.
Congress being in executive session,
The Chair presented the following communication from the President:
Richmond, February 12, 1862.
To the Congress of the Confederate States:
I nominate the officers on the accompanying list to the rank affixed to their names, respectively, agreeably to the recommendation of the Secretary of War.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
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Powhatan Robinson, of Mississippi; A. L. Rives, of Virginia; E. T. D. Myers, of Virginia; John J. Clarke, of Virginia; D. B. Harris, of Virginia; James Nocquet, of France.
The nominations were referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
The following communication was received from the President:
Richmond, February 12, 1862.
To the Congress of the Confederate States:
I nominate the officers on the accompanying list to the rank affixed to their names, respectively, agreeably to the recommendation of the Secretary of War.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
On motion, Howell Cobb and George W. Randolph were confirmed brigadier-generals in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States.
Congress then took up the nomination of Maj. Gen. George B. Crittenden.
Mr. Waul moved that the consideration of the same be postponed until Monday next.
The motion was agreed to.
Congress then proceeded to consider the nomination of Lucius B. Northrop, which was laid on the table on the 28th January.
Mr. Smith of Alabama demanded the yeas and nays thereon; which were ordered, and the same are recorded as follows, viz:
Yeas: Messrs. Curry, Chilton, Hale, and McRae, of Alabama; Messrs. Johnson, Thomason, Garland, and Watkins, of Arkansas; Messrs. Morton and Sanderson, of Florida; Messrs. Toombs, Foreman, Crawford, Bass, Kenan, and Hill, of Georgia; Mr. Monroe of Kentucky; Messrs. Perkins, De Clouet, Kenner, and Marshall; of Louisiana; Messrs. Harris, Brooke, Bradford, and Harrison, of Mississippi; Messrs. Conrow, Vest, and Freeman, of Missouri; Messrs. Davis, Venable, Morehead, and Davidson, of North Carolina; Mr. Barnwell of South Carolina; Messrs. Jones, Thomas, and Currin, of Tennessee; Messrs. Reagan, Waul, Oldham, and Ochiltree, of Texas; Mr. Seddon of Virginia; Messrs. Macfarland, Scott, and Brockenbrough, of Virginia.
Nays: Mr. Smith of Alabama, Mr. Conrad of Louisiana, and Mr. De Witt of Tennessee.
So Congress advised and consented to the confirmation of Lucius B. Northrop, of South Carolina, as Commissary-General of the Army of the Confederate States.
Congress then resolved itself into legislative session.
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