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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-FIFTH DAY--THURSDAY, August 29, 1861.
OPEN SESSION.
Congress met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by the Rev. Bishop Early.
Congress then resolved itself into secret session; and after spending some time therein,
On motion of Mr. Chilton, resumed open session.
Mr. Chilton offered the following resolution; which was unanimously adopted, to wit:
Resolved unanimously, That the President of the Confederate States of America is hereby requested to cause to be prepared a stand of colors and sword, to be furnished and paid for out of the fund placed at the disposal of the President by the contribution of the members of this body, to be presented to Colonel Howell Cobb as a testimonial of the high esteem in which his patriotic services are held by the members of the Confederate Congress.
Congress then adjourned until 10 o'clock to-morrow morning.
SECRET SESSION.
Congress being in secret session, resumed the consideration of the unfinished business of yesterday; which was the consideration of the motion of Mr. Curry to amend the bill to perpetuate testimony in cases of slaves abducted or harbored by the enemy, and of other property seized, wasted, or destroyed by them, the amendment being to strike out the words "and loss."
Mr. Jones of Alabama moved to lay the bill and amendment on the table, and called the question.
And the question being put,
Shall the call for the question be sustained?
Mr. Atkins demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded thereon; which are as follows, to wit:
Yea: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, and North Carolina, 4.
Nay: Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, 5.
Divided: Mississippi and Virginia, 2.
So the call for the question was not seconded.
Mr. Jones, by unanimous consent, then withdrew his motion to lay the bill and amendment on the table.
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Mr. Memminger called the question, which was upon agreeing to the amendment offered by Mr. Curry; and the call being seconded, the question was put, and the amendment was not agreed to.
Mr. Scott moved to amend as follows, by striking out the words "The affidavit of" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "In all cases," and by striking out the words "be competent evidence to establish such ownership and" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "make affidavit of the."
The amendments were agreed to.
Mr. T. R. R. Cobb moved to amend by inserting after the word "loss" the following words, to wit:
Such affidavit shall not be taken as evidence of the fact of loss unless it shall appear to the satisfaction of the officer taking the same that no other and better evidence can be obtained, which fact shall distinctly appear in the certificate of such officer.
The amendment was agreed to, and the section as amended reads as follows, to wit:
The bill was engrossed, read third time; and the question being on the passage of the bill,
Mr. Wright, at the instance of the State of Georgia, demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded; which are as follows, to wit:
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Yea: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, 8.
Nay: Alabama and Mississippi, 2.
Divided: North Carolina, 1.
So the bill as amended was passed.
Mr. Wright offered the following resolution; which was read and agreed to, to wit:
Resolved, That the subject of the violation of the rule of secrecy of Congress be referred to the Committee on Rules, and they be instructed to inquire into and report upon the same, and that the committee have power to send for persons and papers.
Mr. Perkins introduced
A bill in relation to the collection of duties on imports during the existence of the present blockade;
which was read first and second times and, on motion of Mr. Kenner, was placed on the Calendar.
Mr. Kenner, from the Committee on Finance, reported and recommended the passage of
A bill to provide for the transmission of money, bonds, or Treasury notes;
which was read first and second times, engrossed, read third time, and passed.
Mr. Hemphill, from the same committee, reported
A bill to make disposition of certain railroad iron;
which was read first and second times and placed on the Calendar.
Mr. T. R. R. Cobb, from the Committee on Printing, to whom was referred
A resolution of inquiry relative to the expediency of abolishing the Bureau of Public Printing,
reported the same back, that in the opinion of the committee the object could not be attained without detriment to the public, asked to be discharged from its further consideration, and that the resolution lie on the table; which was agreed to.
Mr. Gregg, from the Committee on Claims, to whom were referred the memorials and petitions of S. P. Hale and O. Dickey, reported the same back, asked to be discharged from their further consideration, and that they lie on the table; which was agreed to.
Mr. Memminger moved to take up for consideration the report of the Special Committee upon the Removal of the Seat of Government.
The motion was agreed to, and Congress proceeded to the consideration of the report; which was read, when Mr. Memminger offered, from the committee, the following resolutions, to wit:
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Mr. Memminger moved that a vote be taken on the resolutions seriatim; which was agreed to.
And the question being put upon agreeing to the first resolution, the same was agreed to.
The question being put upon agreeing to the second resolution, the same was agreed to.
The third resolution being under consideration, Mr. Howell Cobb moved that it lie on the table.
The motion was agreed to.
Congress then proceeded to the consideration of a bill on the Calendar entitled
An act to authorize the district courts of the Confederate States to appoint commissioners with power to arrest persons charged with offenses, and for other purposes.
And the first section of the same being under consideration, which relates to the conferring of power upon the district courts to appoint commissioners in their respective districts,
Mr. Orr of Mississippi moved to amend by striking out the following words, to wit: "That the district courts of the Confederate States may appoint commissioners in their respective districts with" and inserting in lieu thereof the following words, to wit: "The commissioners appointed by the district courts of the Confederate States shall have."
The amendment was agreed to, and the bill as amended was engrossed, read third time, and passed.
On motion of Mr. Orr, the title of the bill was changed by striking out the words: "An act to authorize the district courts of the Confederate States to appoint commissioners with power to arrest persons charged with offenses, and for other purposes," and inserting in lieu thereof the following, to wit: "A bill vesting certain powers in the commissioners of the district courts of the Confederate States."
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Hemphill moved to take up for consideration a bill on the Calendar entitled
An act to require the receipt by the Postmaster-General of the Confederate States of Treasury notes, in sums of five dollars and upwards, in payment of postage stamps and stamped envelopes.
The motion was agreed to, and Congress proceeded to the consideration of the bill.
And section I being under consideration, which authorizes the Postmaster-General to receive in payment of postage Treasury notes, in sums of five dollars and upwards,
Mr. Chilton moved to amend the same by adding the following proviso, to wit:
Provided, That the postmasters, respectively, shall account in kind for the postages received by them, under such rules as the Postmaster-General may prescribe.
Mr. Orr called the question; which was seconded; and the question being put, the amendment was not agreed to.
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Mr. Hemphill moved to amend by adding as an additional section the following, to wit:
Be it further enacted, That the indorsement by a member of Congress of his name on newspapers or other printed matter, sent by him through the mail, shall not by reason of such indorsement subject him to letter or ether increase of postage.
Mr. Foreman called the question; which was seconded; and the question being put, the amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Thomason moved to reconsider the vote by which the amendment offered by Mr. Hemphill was agreed to, on which motion Mr. Curry, 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, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia, 5.
Nay: Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee, 4.
Divided: Florida and Texas, 2.
So the motion was not agreed to.
Mr. Avery called the question, which was upon ordering the bill to be engrossed for a third reading; and the call being seconded, the question was put, and the bill was engrossed and read a third time.
The question then recurring on the passage of the bill,
Mr. Reagan, at the instance of the State of Texas, demanded that the yeas and nays of the whole body be recorded thereon; which are as follows, to wit:
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Yea: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, 10.
Nay: Texas. 1.
So the bill as amended was passed.
A message was received from the President by the hands of his Private Secretary, Mr. Josselyn, informing Congress that the President has this day approved and signed
An act making further appropriations for the service of the PostOffice Department during the year ending the 18th of February, 1862;
An act to amend an act entitled "An act to create the clerical force of the several [Executive] Departments of the Confederate States of America, and for other purposes," approved March 7, 1861;
An act to authorize the construction of certain gunboats;
An act to fix the fees and costs in admiralty cases; and
An act to authorize the Secretary of the Navy to make certain contracts without advertising for proposals.
Mr. Curry, by unanimous consent, withdrew his motion to reconsider the vote by which Congress extended the time of adjournment until Saturday, 31st of August, 1861.
Mr. Waul moved to suspend, for the balance of the session, the rule adopted by Congress that no motion to adjourn was in order until 3.30 o'clock p. m.
The motion was agreed to.
Congress proceeded to the consideration of the next bill on the Calendar, which was
A bill to be entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act recognizing the existence of war between the United States and the Confederate States, and concerning letters of marque, prizes, and prize goods,' approved May sixth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, and an act entitled 'An act regulating the sale of prizes and the distribution thereof,' approved May sixteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one,"
And section 1 being under consideration,
Mr. Memminger moved to amend the same by adding after the word "thereon" the following words, to wit: "and forward the same immediately to the collector of the nearest port."
The amendment was agreed to, and the section as amended reads as follows, to wit:
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landed shall remain in the custody of such magistrate, and he shall retain possession thereof until the same can be delivered to the marshal; and the court before which such cargo shall be brought, in case the same be condemned, may allow such compensation to the magistrate as to the court may seem just and proper: And provided further, That when such removal shall be made for the purpose of lightening over bars and shoals, and the goods removed shall, as soon thereafter as practicable, be restored on board the prize vessel, the same may be carried to port as if no removal had been made, and no delivery, as provided in the preceding clause, to a magistrate shall be required.
The second section being under consideration; which is as follows, to wit:
Mr. Memminger moved to amend the same by adding the following proviso, to wit: "Provided always, That the duties upon all dutiable goods shall be paid from the proceeds of sale."
The amendment was agreed to, and the section as amended reads as follows, to wit:
Mr. Shorter, from the Committee on Engrossment, reported as correctly engrossed and enrolled
An act to audit the accounts of the respective States against the Confederacy;
An act to establish certain post routes therein named;
An act authorizing the President to inflict retaliation upon the persons of prisoners;
An act to provide for the defense of the Mississippi River;
An act to amend an act entitled "An act to establish a patent office, and to provide for the granting and issue of patents for new and useful discoveries, inventions, improvements, and designs," approved May 21, 1861;
An act to authorize the appointment of special marshals, and for other purposes; and
An act to provide a mode of authenticating claims for money against the Confederate States, not otherwise provided for.
Congress, on motion of Mr. Chilton,
Then resolved itself into open session.
EXECUTIVE SESSION.
Congress being in executive session,
The Chair presented a communication from the President, nominating, for the advice and consent of Congress, the Hon. James M. Mason, of Virginia, to be commissioner to England, and the Hon. John Slidell, of Louisiana, to be commissioner to France.
On motion, Congress advised and consented to the nominations.
Congress resumed legislative session.
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