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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 --THIRTY-THIRD DAY--TUESDAY, August 27, 1861.
OPEN SESSION.
Congress met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by the Rev. Mr. Hoge.
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 amendment offered by Mr. House to the third section of a bill from the Finance Committee,
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to audit the claims of the States against the Confederate Government; which is as follows, to wit:
To insert after the word "cases" the following words, to wit: "unless the agreement between such State and the Confederate States."
The amendment was not agreed to.
Mr. Barnwell moved to amend by adding as a fourth section to the bill the following, to wit:
Mr. Hemphill moved to amend the amendment by striking out the word "fifty" and inserting in lieu thereof the word "thirty."
The amendment to the amendment was not agreed to.
Mr. Kenner moved to postpone the further consideration of the bill until 11.30 o'clock a. m.
The motion was not agreed to.
Mr. Kenner moved to postpone the further consideration of the bill until 3 o'clock p. m. to-morrow.
The motion was not agreed to.
Mr. Kenner then moved to amend the amendment by adding the following proviso, to wit:
Provided, That no advance under this section shall be made to any one State until the accounts of all the States shall have been audited.
Mr. Avery moved to lay both amendments on the table, and called the question; which was seconded; and the vote having been taken thereon by States, resulted as follows, to wit:
Yea: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas, 8.
Nay: Florida, Tennessee, and Virginia, 3.
So the motion was agreed to.
Mr. Thomason moved to amend by adding as a fourth section to the bill the following, to wit:
The amendment was agreed to, and the bill as amended was engrossed, read third time, and passed.
Mr. Barnwell, from the Committee on Finance, by unanimous consent, reported and recommended the passage of
An act to establish the office of commissioner of public buildings.
Mr. Curry moved to lay the bill on the table, and called the question; which was seconded; and the vote having been taken thereon by States, resulted as follows, to wit:
Yea: Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, 3.
Nay: Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, 6.
Divided: Mississippi and Texas, 2.
So the motion was not agreed to.
On motion of Mr. T. R. R. Cobb, the bill was then placed on the Calendar and ordered to be printed.
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Mr. Memminger moved to postpone the consideration of the unfinished business of yesterday, in order to take up for consideration the report of the Special Committee on the Removal of the Seat of Government; and the vote having been taken thereon by States, resulted as follows, to wit:
Yea: Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, 5.
Nay: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, 5.
Divided: South Carolina, 1.
So the motion was not, agreed to.
Congress then resumed the consideration of the unfinished business of yesterday; which was the consideration of the amendment offered by Mr. Perkins to the resolution of Mr. Sparrow, providing for the appointment of a committee of one from each State to inquire into the administration of the Quartermaster, Commissary, and Medical Departments, the amendment being to strike out from the resolution the following words, to wit: "a committee of one from each State, to be selected by the Delegates therefrom, be appointed," and to insert in lieu thereof the following words, to wit: "the Military Committee."
Mr. Sparrow offered the following as a substitute for his original resolution, to wit:
Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to inquire into the organization and administration of the Medical, Commissary, and Quartermaster's Departments, with power to continue said inquiry during the recess, and to report at the next session of Congress what changes in the laws and regulations relating thereto are necessary and proper.
Mr. Smith of Alabama moved to lay the resolution, amendments, and substitute on the table, and called the question; which was seconded, and
Mr. Sparrow, 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, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina, 4.
Nay: Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, 6.
Divided: North Carolina, 1.
So the motion was not agreed to.
The question then recurred upon agreeing to the amendment offered
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by Mr. Perkins; and Mr. Avery, at the instance of the State of North Carolina, demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded; which are as follows, to wit:
Yea: Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, 6.
Nay: Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas, 4.
Divided: Arkansas, 1.
So the amendment was agreed to.
The hour of 12 m. having arrived, Mr. Sparrow moved to suspend the consideration of the special order for half an hour, and called the question; which was seconded; and the question being put, the motion was agreed to.
Mr. Sparrow called the question, which was upon agreeing to the substitute offered by him in lieu of the original resolution; and the call being seconded, the question was put, and the substitute was agreed to.
The question was then put upon the adoption of the substitute, and the resolution as a substitute was adopted.
Mr. Johnson of Arkansas introduced the following resolution:
Resolved, That Congress extend the day of adjournment to Saturday, the thirty-first day of August, eighteen hundred and sixty-one.
Mr. Brooke moved to amend by striking out the words "Saturday, the thirty-first [day] of August" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "Monday, the second day of September."
The amendment was not agreed to.
The question then recurred upon agreeing to the resolution offered by Mr. Johnson; and the question being put, the resolution was agreed to.
Mr. Barnwell moved to reconsider the vote by which the resolution of Mr. Sparrow, as a substitute for his original resolution, was adopted.
And Mr. Sparrow, 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:
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Yea: Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina, 3.
Nay: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, 8.
So the motion was not agreed to.
Mr. Chilton moved to take up for consideration a bill on the Calendar entitled
An act to establish certain post routes therein named.
The motion was agreed to, and Congress proceeded to the consideration of the bill.
Mr. Crawford moved to amend by striking out the following words, to wit:
And the Postmaster-General is hereby authorized to establish upon said routes, respectively, such mail service as in his opinion the public exigencies demand: Provided, however, That he may withhold such service altogether if in his opinion the expense of such routes over the sums to be derived from them should not be more than counterbalanced by their convenience to the public.
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Chilton moved to amend by adding after the word "Georgia" the following, to wit:
Also, that a route be established from Calhoun, on the Alabama and Florida Railroad, in the county of Lowndes, in the State of Alabama, to Benton, in said county, through Mount Willing and Gordonsville. Also, a post route from Clarkesville, in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, to Brownsville, in the State of North Carolina; and also from Mullins, in Alabama, to Lime Kiln, via Campbells Home; and also, a post route from Louisville, in the county of Winston, to Vaiden, in the county of Carroll, in the State of Mississippi.
Mr. Shorter, from the Committee on Engrossment, reported as correctly engrossed and enrolled
An act to amend the second section of an act concerning the transportation of soldiers and allowance for clothing of volunteers, and amendatory of the act for the establishment and organization of the Army of the Confederate States; and
An act to authorize the establishment of recruiting stations for volunteers from the States of Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware.
Congress then proceeded to the consideration of the special order of the day; which was the unfinished business of yesterday, viz:
A bill to sequestrate the estates, property, and effects of alien enemies, etc.
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The ninth section having been read as follows, viz:
Mr. Davis of North Carolina moved to amend the same by striking out all after the word "therefor" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "such fees as may be allowed by the court."
The motion was lost.
Mr. Brooke moved to amend the same section by striking out the word "one" and inserting in lieu thereof the word "two."
The vote thereon having been taken by States, resulted as follows, viz:
Yea: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Nay: Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
So the amendment was agreed to.
Section 14 providing for the appointment of commissioners to hear and adjudge claims brought before them by persons aiding this Confederacy in the present war who allege that they have been put to loss, and leaving the part of the section providing for the compensation of said commissioners blank, Mr. Smith moved to amend the same by filling the blank with the sum of $2,500.
Mr. Chilton moved to amend by filling the blank with the sum of $3,000.
The motion was lost; and the question recurring on the amendment of Mr. Smith of Alabama, the same was agreed to.
The fifteenth section, providing that
all sums realized by the receiver in one year for his services, exceeding ten thousand dollars, shall be paid into the Confederate Treasury, etc.
On motion of Mr. Thomason, the same was amended by striking out the word "ten" and inserting in lieu thereof the word "five."
The same section providing that the
judges, in settling accounts with receivers, shall make to them proper allowances of compensation, taking two and a half per cent on receipts, and the same amount on expenditures, as reasonable compensation, in all cases not attended with extraordinary difficulty or responsibility.
Mr. Reagan moved to amend the same by striking out the words "not attended with extraordinary difficulty or responsibility."
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Macfarland moved to amend the bill by adding to the same the following as an additional section, viz:
That all cases of payment in good faith, since the twenty-first of May last, by citizens of the Confederate States, or any of them, of debts due from them to citizens of the United States, and of purchase in good faith by the former of the latter of property within any of the Confederate States since the date aforesaid, shall be excepted from the foregoing provisions until otherwise provided by law.
Mr. Macfarland demanded the question; which was seconded, and, at the instance of the State of Virginia, the yeas and nays of the entire body were ordered to be recorded thereon; which are as follows, viz:
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Yea: Virginia, 1.
Nay: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, 9.
Divided: Georgia, 1.
So the motion was lost.
The preamble of the bill being as follows, viz:
Whereas the Congress of the United States of America have lately passed an act pretending to confiscate the property of the people of these Confederate States (except their slaves), and pretending to liberate their slaves; and
Whereas such unconstitutional and unauthorized legislation evinces a determination on the part of said United States to depart from the ordinary rules of warfare among civilized nations, and calls for retaliatory enactment by said Confederate States.
Mr. Reagan moved to amend by substituting in lieu thereof the following, viz:
Whereas the Government and people of the United States have departed from the usages of civilized warfare in confiscating and destroying the property of the people of the Confederate States, of all kinds, whether used for military purposes or not; and
Whereas our only protection against such wrongs is to be found in such measures of retaliation as will ultimately indemnify our own citizens for their losses and restrain the wanton excesses of our enemies: Therefore.
Mr. Curry demanded the question; which was seconded.
Mr. Chesnut, in the chair, decided that the question was on the ordering the bill to be engrossed for a third reading.
Mr. Conrad rose to a point of order; that the question was on the amendment offered by him as a substitute for the bill.
The Chair ruled that the substitute was not before the House, the same not having [been] offered.
Mr. Conrad appealed from the decision of the Chair, and on the question,
Shall the decision of the Chair stand as the judgment of the 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, viz:
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Yea: Alabama, Georgia, [Mississippi,] North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, 7 [8].
Nay: Florida, 1.
Divided: Louisiana, 1.
Mr. Curry demanded the question on the engrossment of the bill.
And Mr. Conrad, at the instance of the State of Louisiana, on the question
Will the House second the demand for the question?
Demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded thereon; which are as follows, viz:
Yea: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina, 4.
Nay: Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, 6.
Divided: North Carolina, 1.
So the demand for the question was not seconded.
Mr. Oldham moved to amend the bill by adding to end of the last section the following, viz:
Provided, That nothing contained in this act shall in any wise impair or interfere with any right, claim, debt or demand, mortgage, judgment, or other lien owned and held by any citizen or citizens of any of the Confederate States against any citizen or citizens of the United States nor prevent satisfaction of the same out of any property of such debtor, debtors, or out of the specific property bound by such mortgage or other lien, wherever the same may be found within the limits of the Confederate States, but that in all such cases all the property, both real and personal, owned by such debtor or debtors within the Confederate States shall be subject to the payment of the debt or debts aforesaid, and shall be subject to seizure by attachment or such other process as may be prescribed by the laws of the State in which the same may
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be found; and such creditor or creditors may prosecute his said right, claim, debt, or demand to judgment in any court having jurisdiction thereof, and may have a writ of execution or other proper process requiring the sale of said property for the satisfaction of said judgment, in accordance with the laws of such State, and the holder and owner of such mortgage or other lien may institute his suit in any court having jurisdiction thereof for the foreclosure of such mortgage or the enforcement of such lien and prosecute the same to judgment and execution for the satisfaction thereof. And all judgment creditors as aforesaid may have execution of their said judgments against the property of the judgment debtor found within the jurisdiction of the court rendering such judgments, and the title of the purchaser or purchasers under all such sales as aforesaid shall be valid, notwithstanding the passage of this act. And should there be an overplus of money arising from the proceeds of said sale after the payment of such execution and all costs arising thereon, such overplus shall be paid, by the officer executing such writ, into the hands of the receiver: Provided further, That such creditor shall institute his suit within twelve months after the passage of this act and prosecute the same with due diligence to final satisfaction.
Mr. Oldham demanded the question; which was seconded, and
Mr. Thomason, at the instance of the State of Arkansas, demanded that the yeas and nays of the entire body be recorded; which are as follows, viz:
Yea: Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.
Nay: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia.
Divided: Arkansas, Louisiana, and North Carolina.
So the amendment was not agreed to.
Mr. Orr then demanded the question on ordering the bill to be engrossed for a third reading; which was seconded; and the bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.
Mr. Conrad moved to lay the bill on the table.
Mr. Memminger called the question; which was seconded; and the question being put, the motion was not agreed to.
Mr. Brooke rose to a question of privilege, and demanded that the bill should be engrossed before its third reading.
Mr. Chesnut, being in the chair, ruled and decided that, the Congress having ordered the bill to be engrossed for a third reading, the bill must now receive its third reading.
Mr. Reagan appealed from the decision of the Chair.
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And the question being put,
Shall the decision of the Chair stand as the judgment of the House?
The same was decided in the affirmative.
Mr. Brooke moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.
The motion was not agreed to.
The bill was then read a third time, and Mr. Curry called the question, which was on the passage of the bill; and the call being seconded, the question was put, and the bill passed.
Congress then resolved itself into executive session; and having spent some time therein, resumed legislative session; and
On motion of Mr. Walter Preston,
Adjourned until 10 o'clock to-morrow morning.
EXECUTIVE SESSION.
Congress being in executive session,
The Chair presented a communication from the President, nominating, for the advice and consent of Congress, in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States:
To be assistant adjutant-general, with the rank of major--Ambrosio J. Gonzales, South Carolina; R. H. Riddick, North Carolina.
Assistant adjutant-general, with the rank of captain--G. C. Brown, Tennessee; R. H. Anderson, jr., Georgia.
Also a communication from the President, nominating, for the advice and consent of Congress, in the Army of the Confederate States:
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C. Haywood, North Carolina; Charles M. Graham, North Carolina; John Lee, Virginia; Charles M. Lumpkin, Georgia; J. Hamilton Worley, South Carolina; Alfred P. Lucas, Georgia; M. M. Lindsey, Mississippi; John S. Lanier, Mississippi; W. H. Harris, Mississippi; Winfield C. Worthington, Mississippi; William E. Deas, Virginia; C. Irvine Walker, South Carolina; Henry S. Foote, jr., Tennessee; Joseph D. Mayers, Mississippi; Henry K. Washburn, Georgia; James G. Cowan, Alabama; Philip B. Spence, Tennessee; Thomas Bush, Alabama; Henry M. Rutledge, South Carolina; George D. Wise, Virginia; William Tyler, Virginia; George S. Lovejoy, North Carolina; George W. McKee, Kentucky; Richard M. Booker, Virginia; Charles S. Bowman, Florida; Olin F. Rice, Kentucky; Charles B. Campbell, Missouri; George A. Thornton, Virginia; Ladislas Wankowicz, Louisiana; John H. Snowden, Maryland; William K. Bradford, Maryland; J. N. Lipscomb, Maryland; William H. Morgan, Virginia; John A. West, Georgia; Ebenezer McE. Ross, Tennessee; William H. Browne, Virginia; John W. Lea, Mississippi; James Dearing, Virginia; E. M. Dabney, Virginia; W. A. Harris, Virginia; W. E. Hill, Virginia; S. P. Kerr, Virginia; E. B. Goode, Virginia; E. G. Mohler, Virginia; B. F. Bishop, Virginia; J. Barroll Washington, Maryland; G. A. Henry, jr., Tennessee; R. A. Chambers, Georgia; Johnson Hagood, Georgia; Charles H. Brown, Maryland; W. V. Taylor Virginia; H. S. Duval, Florida; C. L. Jackson, Mississippi; Horace D. Twyman, Virginia; John D. Payne, Virginia; Jos. M. Mason, jr., Virginia; Lawrence Lewis Butler, Louisiana; W. W. Revely, Virginia; L. M. Butler, Florida; S. F. Adams, Kentucky; Thomas K. Fauntleroy, Virginia.
On motion of Mr. Crawford, the nominations were referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Waul moved to print the lists of nominations; and the vote thereon having been taken, resulted, viz:
Yea: Florida, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, 4.
Nay: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina, 6.
Divided: Arkansas, 1.
So the motion was lost.
On motion of Mr. Perkins, the Secretary of Congress was instructed to make out a list of appointments for each State, respectively, and present to the delegation from each State the list of appointments from said State.
On motion of Mr. Crawford,
Congress resumed legislative session.
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