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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 --TWENTY-THIRD DAY--THURSDAY, August 15, 1861.


Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [Volume I] PREVIOUS SECTION .. NEXT SECTION .. NAVIGATOR

Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [Volume I]
TWENTY-THIRD DAY--THURSDAY, August 15, 1861.

OPEN SESSION.

Congress met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by the Rev. Dr. Watkins.

Congress then resolved itself into secret session.

SECRET SESSION.

Congress being in secret session, resumed the unfinished business of yesterday; which was the consideration of the eleventh section of

A bill to authorize the issue of Treasury notes, and to provide a war tax for their redemption.

Mr. Thomason moved to amend by striking out the word "ten" and inserting in lieu thereof the word "twenty."

The amendment was agreed to.

So the section as amended reads as follows, to wit:

Section 12 being under consideration, Mr. Brooke moved to amend by striking out the following words, to wit:

And to insert in lieu thereof the following, to wit:

That if the tax assessed on any real estate shall remain unpaid on the first day of June next, the tax collector of the district wherein the same is situated shall, on the first Monday in July thereafter, proceed to sell the same, or a sufficiency thereof, at public outcry, to the highest bidder, to pay said taxes, together with twenty per centum on the amount of said taxes and costs of sale; said sale to be at the court-house door of the county or parish wherein said real estate is situated, and if there shall be more than one county or parish in a district, the said tax collector is authorized to appoint deputies to make such sales in his name as he can not attend to himself, and for all lands so sold by said deputies, the deeds as hereinafter provided for shall be executed by said collector, and such sales so made shall be valid, whether the real estate so sold shall be assessed in the name of the true owner or not.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. Brooke moved to amend by striking out the word "advertised" and inserting in lieu thereof the word "offered."

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. Brooke moved to amend by striking out the following words, to wit: "after the same shall have been, as aforesaid, advertised for sale, and" and to strike out the word "it" and to insert in lieu thereof the words "the same."

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. Brooke moved to amend by striking out the words "and no deed shall be given in pursuance of such sale until the time of redemption shall have expired" and inserting in lieu thereof the following, to wit:
The deeds so made shall be deposited by said collector in the office for registry of deeds of the county in which the said real estate is situated, and the same shall not be recorded or delivered to the vendee until the expiration of two years from the date of sale, and the recitals in such deeds shall be taken to be true unless disproved by any party contesting them.

Mr. Toombs called for the question; which was seconded; and the vote having been taken by States, resulted as follows, to wit:

Yea: Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia, 5.

Nay: Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, 6.

So the amendment was not agreed to.


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Mr. Brooke moved to amend by adding at the end of the section the following, to wit:
Provided, That when the owner of any real estate is unknown, or is a nonresident of the State or tax district wherein the same is situated, and has no agent resident in said district, the assessor shall himself make out a list of such real estate for assessment.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. Davis moved to amend by inserting after the word "situated" the following, to wit:
or in case of their death or removal from office, by their successors, on payment of the purchase money, or producing a receipt therefor, if already paid.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. Ochiltree moved to amend by inserting after the word "expired" the following, to wit:
Provided further, That when the owner of any land or other real property sold for taxes under the provisions of this act shall be in the military service of the Confederate States before and at the time the said sale shall have been made, the said owner shall have the privilege of redeeming the said property at any time within two years after the close of his term of service.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. Johnston of Virginia moved to amend by inserting after the words "real estate" the following, to wit:
and the said deeds shall recite the appointment of said collector, the assessment and nonpayment of the tax imposed on said lands, and the sale in conformity with the regulations of this act, which recital shall be prima facie evidence of the truth of the same.

Mr. Toombs called for the question; which was seconded; and the vote thereon having been taken by States, resulted as follows, to wit:

Yea: Arkansas, Mississippi, and Virginia, 3.

Nay: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, 7.

Divided: Louisiana, 1.

So the amendment was not agreed to.

Mr. Davidson moved to amend by striking out the following words, to wit:
and also five dollars for every hundred taxable persons contained in the lists, as completed by him and delivered to the collector.

Mr. Davis moved to amend by striking out the following words, to wit: From the words "But in all cases where the property," where they occur in the ninth line, to the word "applicant," in the nineteenth line, inclusive, and inserting in lieu thereof the following, to wit:
And whenever land shall be sold for taxes, the sale shall be made to him who will take the least portion of the land for the amount of the taxes, costs, and commissions, and it shall be the duty of such purchaser, within the time allowed for redemption, to produce to the collector or his successor a plat of survey, made by a public surveyor of the district, setting forth by metes and bounds a description of that portion of the land purchased by him; and the collector or his successor shall execute a deed therefor as hereinafter directed.

The amendment was not agreed to.

Mr. Ochiltree moved to amend by inserting after the word "Provided" the following, to wit:
That in all cases where the homestead of the citizen is exempt from sale for taxes by virtue of the constitution of the State in which he lives, the same shall be exempt under the provisions of this act from forced sale.


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The amendment was not agreed to.

So the section as amended read as follows, to wit:


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Section 16 being under consideration, Mr. Memminger moved to amend by striking out the word "week" and inserting in lieu thereof the following, to wit: "month, or during any shorter period which may be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury."

The amendment was agreed to, and the section as amended reads as follows, to wit:

The seventeenth section being under consideration, Mr. Toombs moved to amend by striking out after the word "taxes" the following words, to wit: "in preference to every other lien;" which was agreed to.

Mr. Smith of North Carolina moved to amend by striking out the words:
and the lands and other property of any collector shall be bound by statutory lien for five years for all moneys received by him for taxes, the date of such lien to commence from the time of his receiving the money.

The amendment was not agreed to.

So the section as amended reads as follows, to wit:

Section 18 being under consideration, Mr. Memminger moved to amend by striking out the whole of said section and inserting in lieu thereof the following, to wit:

The compensation of the tax collectors shall be five per cent on the first ten thousand dollars received and two and a half per cent on all sums beyond that amount, until the compensation shall reach fifteen hundred dollars, beyond which no further compensation shall be paid.

Mr. Hill moved to amend the amendment by striking out the word "fifteen" and inserting the word "eight."

The amendment was agreed to, and the amendment as amended was agreed to.

So the section as amended reads as follows, to wit:

Section 20 being under consideration, Mr. Memminger moved to amend by striking out the following words, to wit: "the individual owner shall be exempt" and inserting in lieu thereof the following, to wit:
the stock in the hands of individuals shall be exempt from tax; and also all the real estate owned by the corporation and used for carrying on its business.


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Mr. Davis moved to amend the amendment by adding thereto the following, to wit:
and the capital stock of all corporations shall be returned, and the tax paid by the corporations themselves, and not by the individual stockholders.

The amendment was agreed to, and the question recurring upon agreeing to the amendment as amended, the same was agreed to.

So the section as amended reads as follows, to wit:

Section 21 being under consideration. Mr. Brockenbrough moved to amend by inserting after the word "altered" the following, to wit:
or shall conspire or attempt to conspire with another to pass, utter, or publish, or attempt to pass, utter, or publish as true any falsely forged or counterfeited or any falsely altered Treasury note of the Confederate States, knowing the same to be falsely forged or counterfeited or falsely altered.

The amendment was agreed to, and the section as amended reads as follows, to wit:

Section 22 being under consideration, Mr. Brockenbrough moved to amend by inserting after the word "altered" the following, to wit:
or shall conspire or attempt to conspire with another to pass, utter, or publish, or attempt to pass, utter, or publish as true any false, forged, or counterfeited bond or coupon purporting to be a bond or coupon of the Confederate States, or any falsely altered bond or coupon of the Confederate States, knowing the same to be falsely forged or counterfeited or falsely altered.

The amendment was agreed to, and the section as amended reads as follows, to wit:

Mr. Brockenbrough moved to amend by inserting as an additional section between sections 22 and 23 the following, to wit:

If any person shall make or engrave, or cause or procure to be made or engraved, or shall have in his custody or possession, any metallic plate engraved after the similitude of any plate from which any notes or bonds issued as aforesaid shall have been printed, with intent to use such plate, or cause or suffer the same to be used in forging or counterfeiting any of the notes or bonds issued as aforesaid; or shall have in his custody or possession any blank note or notes, bond or bonds, engraved and printed after the similitude of any notes or bonds issued as aforesaid, with intent to use such blanks, or cause or suffer the same to be used in forging or counterfeiting any of the notes or bonds issued as aforesaid; or shall have in his custody or possession any paper adapted to the making of notes or bonds, and similar to the paper upon which any such notes or bonds shall have been issued, with intent to use such paper, or cause or suffer the same to be used in forging or counterfeiting any of the notes or bonds issued as aforesaid; every such person being thereof lawfully convicted by due course of law, shall be sentenced to be imprisoned and kept to hard labor for a term not less than five nor more than ten years, and fined in a stun not exceeding five thousand dollars.

Mr. Venable, by unanimous consent, moved to amend section 21 by striking out therefrom the words "shall suffer death" and inserting in lieu thereof the following, to wit:
shall be confined in the public jail or penitentiary for a term not less than ten nor more than fifteen years.

The amendment was not agreed to.

Mr. Macfarland moved to amend by adding the following as an additional section to the bill viz:

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. Atkins moved to postpone the further consideration of the bill until 12 o'clock to-morrow; which was agreed to.

Mr. Foreman moved that a committee be appointed to inquire into the means by which the secret proceedings of Congress were published in the public journals; which was not agreed to.

Mr. Venable presented a memorial from Jeptha Foulkes, of Tennessee; which was referred, without being read, to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. McRae offered the following resolution; which was agreed to, viz:

Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire of the Secretary of War what arrangements have been made for the reception and forwarding of


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clothes, shoes, and blankets that may be sent to our Army by private contribution. And that in the event efficient arrangements have not been made for that purpose, the committee be further instructed to inquire into the expediency of creating a clerkship or bureau attached to the War Department for that purpose.

Mr. Walker introduced

A bill to prevent invasion, and to retaliate the treatment inflicted upon persons in the service of the Confederate States taken prisoners by the United States;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mr. McRae offered the following resolution; which was agreed to, viz:

Resolved, That the President be requested to furnish Congress with the official reports of the various battles fought by our armies since the adjournment of Congress.

The Chair presented the following communication from the Secretary of War, viz:

Confederate States of America, War Department,
Richmond, August 15, 1861.

Sir: The Department has received the resolution of Congress embracing various interrogatories transmitted by the Hon. C. M. Conrad, chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs, on the 9th August, 1861, and after mature deliberation I have concluded that it is not compatible with the public interests at this juncture of our military affairs to unfold the precise information desired. But the Congress may rest assured that the War Department is being administered in every particular mentioned toward the attainment of the great aim of the Confederate States and the beneficent ends proposed by Congress after that manner that circumstances will allow. I respectfully solicit the Congress to repose in the Department their faith and confidence, and not insist upon the disclosures that the answer to their interrogatories would necessarily evoke and which for the present the public service demands shall remain alone in the breast of the Administration.

L. P. WALKER,
Secretary of War.

To the President of Congress.

The communication was referred to the special committee under the resolution of Mr. Conrad of 23d July.

The Chair also presented another communication from the War Department, viz:

Confederate States of America, War Department,
Richmond, August 14, 1861.

Sir: I have received from the Assistant Secretary of the Congress the following resolution passed by that body on the 12th instant:

"Resolved, That the Secretary of War report to this House whether any measures have been taken to fortify New Orleans, in view of a probable attack upon that city at no distant period."

In answer to this resolution I have the honor to state that this Department has responded to the measures recommended by General Twiggs for the defense of New Orleans against any attack that may be made upon that city. Such fortifications as he has suggested have been approved and are now in process of erection, and all the guns he has called for have been ordered to his command. One hundred and twenty-five pieces of heavy caliber from the navy-yard at Portsmouth, turned over to this Department by the Navy Department, together with a number of 10-inch Columbiads, are being conveyed to him as fast as transportation can be obtained, and that skilled and eminent officer has with him all the troops he requires.

Respectfully,

L. P. WALKER,
Secretary of War.

The President of Congress.

The communication was laid on the table.

Mr. Macfarland introduced


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A bill to amend an act recognizing war, etc., approved March 4, 1861;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. Scott presented a claim against the Confederate States of Simon L. Summers; which was referred to the Committee on Claims.

Mr. Orr introduced

A bill to establish a mail route from Charleston, Miss., to Friar's Point, Miss.;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Postal Affairs.

Mr. Seddon offered the following resolution; which was read and agreed to, to wit:

Resolved, That the Committee on Foreign Affairs be instructed to inquire whether additional legislation should not be had to prevent the blockade of the enemy from being made by connivance on his part with neutrals or by special permits operative only to such extent and in relation to such merchandise as they may desire to interdict, while the transportation of what is desired by them or neutrals may be accomplished.

On motion of Mr. Waul,

Congress adjourned until 11 o'clock to-morrow morning.

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