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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 --SATURDAY, January 16, 1864.
OPEN SESSION.
Mr. Jemison (by leave) introduced
A bill (S. 188) for the relief of Greene T. Hill;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. Jemison submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
Resolved, That the Committee on Finance be instructed to inquire into the expediency of giving to the Secretary of the Treasury the authority to allow or refund to tax collectors for counterfeit Treasury notes received by them in such cases as he shall consider there has been no fault or neglect on the part of the collector.
A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. Dalton:
Mr. President: The House of Representatives have passed a bill (H. R. 90) to make additional appropriations for the support of the Government of the Confederate States of America for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1864; in which they request the concurrence of the Senate.
The bill (H. R. 90) last mentioned was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. Brown (by leave) introduced
A bill (S. 189) for the establishment and equalization of the grades of officers of the Navy, and for other purposes;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.
Mr. Brown submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire and report what further legislation is necessary to prevent assistant quartermasters and
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commissaries, and others, from detailing able-bodied men from the Army to collect the tax in kind and perform other light duties which may as well be performed by aged citizens and disabled soldiers as by men capable of bearing arms.
Mr. Semmes, from the Committee on Finance, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 85) to amend an act entitled "An act in relation to the receipt of counterfeit Treasury notes by public officers," reported it with the recommendation that it ought not to pass.
On motion by Mr. Semmes,
Ordered, That the Committee on Finance be discharged from the further consideration of the memorial of Robert Y. Jones, praying compensation for taking the census, in 1860, in Abbeville district, South Carolina, and that it be referred to the Committee on Claims.
Mr. Semmes, from the Committee on Finance, reported
A bill (S. 190) to regulate the collection of the tax in kind upon tobacco, and to amend an act entitled "An act to lay taxes for the common defense and carry on the Government of the Confederate States," approved April 24, 1863;
which was read the first and second times and considered as in Committee of the Whole; and no amendment being proposed, it was reported to the Senate.
Ordered, That it be engrossed and read a third time.
The said bill was read the third time.
Resolved, That it pass, and that the title thereof be as aforesaid.
Ordered, That the Secretary request the concurrence of the House of Representatives therein.
Mr. Sparrow, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 89) authorizing chaplains, in certain cases, to draw forage for one horse, reported it without amendment.
The Senate proceeded, as in Committee of the Whole, to the consideration of the bill last mentioned; and no amendment being proposed, it was reported to the Senate.
Ordered, That it pass to a third reading.
The said bill was read the third time.
Resolved, That it pass.
Ordered, That the Secretary inform the House of Representatives thereof.
Mr. Sparrow, from the Committee on Military Affairs, submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
Resolved, That the President of the Confederate States be requested to communicate to the Senate the names and rank of the officers appointed under the act to raise troops, approved October eleventh, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and the dates of their appointment. Also the names of those who have raised troops under such appointments, and of those who have failed to make report of what they have done, and of those whose commissions have been vacated as provided by said act.
Mr. Brown, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, reported
A bill (S. 191) to amend an act entitled "An act to establish a volunteer navy," approved April 18, 1863;
which was read the first and second times and considered as in Committee of the Whole; and no amendment being proposed, it was reported to the Senate.
Ordered, That it be engrossed and read a third time.
The said bill was read the third time.
Resolved, That it pass, and that the title thereof be as aforesaid.
Ordered, That the Secretary request the concurrence of the House of Representatives therein.
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Mr. Brown, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, reported
A bill (S. 192) to regulate the allowance of traveling expenses of officers of the Navy and others traveling under orders;
which was read the first and second times and ordered to be printed.
On motion by Mr. Brown,
Ordered, That the Committee on Naval Affairs be discharged from the further consideration of the memorial of the Virginia Volunteer Navy Company, praying an amendment of the law creating a volunteer navy, and also an appropriation of money to aid in the purchase and equipment of vessels.
On motion by Mr. Maxwell,
Ordered, That the report of the Commissioner of Patents for the year 1863 be printed.
Mr. Semmes, from the special committee appointed to prepare, on behalf of Congress, an address to the country, to whom was referred the joint resolution (H. R. 21) in relation to the war, reported it without amendment.
The Senate proceeded, as in Committee of the Whole, to the consideration of the joint resolution last mentioned; and no amendment being proposed, it was reported to the Senate.
Ordered, That it pass to a third reading.
The said resolution was read the third time.
Resolved, That it pass.
Ordered, That the Secretary inform the House of Representatives thereof.
Mr. Johnson of Arkansas submitted the following resolution for consideration:
Whereas in view of the insane crusade now sought to be set on foot by the abolition Government of the North against us, and of the rash and desperate expedients now under consideration by them to carry their whole effective population into the field against us for three months: Therefore, we declare that the people of the South do put their unfaltering trust in the Christian's God, and are undismayed; that they love their homes and families, their country and their liberty, and of all classes are willing to die for them; that they hail the shock of two great peoples where the only stake is all we are, all we have, and all we hope to be; that this shock, should it come, is the last mighty spasm of a Government of desperate demagogues over an ambitious party of pretended fanatics, and is the sure precursor of the end; that we are not unmindful of God's smiling mercy to us in compelling them to march these mighty hordes to our distant and already blood-stained fields, and that, with the blessings of God, they shall meet the fate the Saracen met at the hands of the Christians under Charles Martel: Therefore,
Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs prepare a proper joint resolution authorizing the President to call out, at the proper time, for four months, the entire population of the South capable of bearing arms.
Second. That they prepare for the Senate, in that connection, a resolution for a joint committee with the House of Representatives, who shall prepare and submit a list of all grievances and reforms, both in men and measures, to be submitted to Congress, and to be by Congress addressed and urged upon the President, that all the Confederacy may be aroused and inspired.
The Senate proceeded to consider the said resolution; and
On motion by Mr. Johnson of Arkansas,
Ordered, That the further consideration thereof be postponed until Monday next.
On motion by Mr. Semmes,
The Senate resolved into secret legislative session.
The doors having been opened,
On motion by Mr. Johnson of Arkansas, and by unanimous consent,
Ordered, That 250 additional copies of the report of the Committee
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on the Judiciary on the bill (S. 150) to limit and define the term of office of the Secretary or principal officer of each of the Executive Departments, established by the several acts entitled "An act to organize the Department of State," "An act to establish the Treasury Department," "An act to establish the War Department," "An act to establish the Navy Department," "An act to establish the Post-Office Department," "An act to organize and establish an executive department, to be known as the Department of Justice," all of which acts were approved February 21, 1861, be printed for the use of the Senate.
On motion by Mr. Semmes,
Ordered, That when the Senate adjourn it be to meet at 11 o'clock on Monday.
On motion by Mr. Oldham,
Ordered, That leave of absence be granted to the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate until Wednesday next.
On motion by Mr. Burnett,
The Senate adjourned.
SECRET SESSION.
The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the bill (S. 158) to organize forces to serve during the war.
On motion by Mr. Burnett, to reconsider the vote on agreeing to the following amendment, viz: Insert at the end of the fourth clause of the tenth section the following proviso:
Provided further, That nothing in this clause contained shall prevent the detail of the owner to oversee the slaves on his own plantation,
On motion by Mr. Haynes,
The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present,
Those who voted in the affirmative are,
Messrs. Burnett, Caperton, Clay, Dortch, Haynes, Henry, Hill, Hunter, Jemison, Johnson of Georgia, Johnson of Arkansas, Johnson of Missouri, Maxwell, Oldham, Phelan, Semmes, Simms, Sparrow, and Wigfall.
The Senate proceeded to consider the said amendment; and
Mr. Jemison, by unanimous consent, withdrew the same.
On motion by Mr. Jemison, to amend the bill by inserting at the end of the fourth clause of the tenth section the following proviso:
Provided further, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent the detail of the owner of a plantation on which there are twenty or more slaves, not placed thereon by division from any other farm since the eleventh day of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and where the President shall be satisfied the same will be indispensable for the production of grain or provisions for the support of the population at home or the support of the Army, and also on account of justice and equity: Provided further, That all owners so detailed shall pay into the public Treasury the sum of five hundred dollars per annum.
On motion by Mr. Sparrow, to amend the proposed amendment by striking out all after "prevent" and inserting:
the President from detailing the owner of a plantation to oversee the same upon the terms and in the cases where such owner would have the right to claim the exemption of an overseer to manage such plantation,
It was determined in the affirmative.
The amendment as amended was then agreed to.
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On motion by Mr. Sparrow, to amend the bill by striking out the words "from the reserve," section 11, line 3, and inserting the words "from persons between forty-five and fifty-five years of age," and by striking out the words "of skilled artisans and workmen to produce munitions of war or other material necessary in carrying on the war; and in all other cases," section 11, lines 4, 5, and 6, and inserting in lieu thereof the words "in all cases,"
It was determined in the affirmative.
On motion by Mr. Sparrow, to amend the bill by inserting at the end of the eleventh section the following proviso:
Provided, That the power herein granted to the President to make details and exemptions under certain circumstances shall not be construed to authorize the exemption or detail of any contractor for furnishing supplies to the Government by reason of said contract, unless the head or Secretary of the Department shall certify that the personal services of said contractor are indispensable to the execution of the contract and that the same is being carried out in good faith, and then never more than one person for each contract, or of the officers, clerks, agents, or employees of express companies,
It was determined in the affirmative.
On motion by Mr. Sparrow, to amend the bill by inserting the following independent section:
It was determined in the affirmative.
On motion by Mr. Henry, to amend the bill by inserting at the end of the second section the following proviso:
Provided further, That all the persons herein named below the ages of forty-five and fifty-five shall only be placed in the service to act as details as herein provided.
It was determined in the affirmative.
On motion by Mr. Burnett, to amend the bill by inserting the following independent section:
It was determined in the affirmative.
No further amendment being proposed, the bill was reported to the Senate and the amendments made as in Committee of the Whole were concurred in.
Ordered, That the bill be engrossed and read a third time.
The said bill was read the third time.
On motion by Mr. Caperton, that the vote by which the bill was ordered to its engrossment and third reading be reconsidered,
On motion by Mr. Caperton,
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The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present,
Those who voted in the affirmative are,
Messrs. Burnett, Caperton, Clay, Haynes, Hunter, Jemison, Johnson of Arkansas, Johnson of Missouri, Oldham, Orr, Phelan, Semmes, and Wigfall.
Those who voted in the negative are,
Messrs. Brown, Clark, Dortch, Henry, Simms, and Sparrow.
The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the said bill.
On motion by Mr. Caperton, to amend the bill by striking out the following proviso in the ninth section, viz:
Provided, That those who have paid into the public Treasury the amount specified by the acts in relation to exemptions, approved eleventh October, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and first May, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and who may be held to service under this act, shall be repaid a fair proportion of the amount so paid by them, under rules to be prescribed by the Secretary of War,
and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
Provided, That no person who has heretofore been exempted on account of religious opinions, and who has paid the tax levied to relieve him from that service, shall be conscribed under this act,
On motion by Mr. Brown,
The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present,
Those who voted in the affirmative are,
Messrs. Burnett, Caperton, Clay, Haynes, Hunter, Jemison, Johnson of Missouri, Maxwell, Oldham, Orr, Phelan, Semmes, and Wigfall.
Those who voted in the negative are,
Messrs. Brown, Clark, Dortch, Henry, Simms, and Sparrow.
Mr. Johnson of Arkansas was, on his motion, excused from voting on the said amendment.
On motion by Mr. Wigfall, to amend the bill by inserting before the word "Vice-President," in the second clause of the tenth section, the words "President and,"
It was determined in the negative.
No further amendment being proposed, the bill was reported to the Senate and the amendments made as in Committee of the Whole were concurred in.
Ordered, That the bill be engrossed and read a third time.
The said bill was read the third time.
On the question,
Shall the bill now pass?
On motion by Mr. Brown,
The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present,
Those who voted in the affirmative are,
Messrs. Burnett, Caperton, Clark, Clay, Henry, Hunter, Jemison, Johnson of Arkansas, Johnson of Missouri, Maxwell, Phelan, Semmes, Simms, Sparrow, and Wigfall.
Those who voted in the negative are,
Messrs. Brown, Dortch, Haynes, Oldham, and Orr.
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So it was
Resolved, That this bill pass, and that the title thereof be as aforesaid.
Ordered, That the Secretary request the concurrence of the House of Representatives therein.
On motion by Mr. Sparrow,
The Senate resolved into executive session.
EXECUTIVE SESSION.
The following message was received from the President of the Confederate States, by Mr. B. N. Harrison, his Secretary:
Richmond, Va., January 15, 1864.
To the Senate of the Confederate States of America:
I have received from your honorable body, through the hands of your Secretary, a copy of the report and resolution adopted by you, in executive session, on the 9th instant.
The resolution is in the following words:
"Resolved, That the Senate do advise and consent to the appointment of the military officers nominated in the four several messages of the President, dated on the eighth instant, all of whom are from States west of the Mississippi River, for the reasons stated in the foregoing report, and that the action of the Senate herein is not to be construed as sanctioning or recognizing the right of the Executive, in nominating officers to the Senate, to fix the time at which they shall take rank anterior to the preceding session of Congress or at any time during such session."
By the first four lines of the resolution I am informed that the Senate acknowledge the legality and concur in the propriety of my action in regard to these nominations, by their advising and consenting to the appointments as proposed. This is the whole action usually taken on nominations, and seems to exhaust the authority over appointments vested in the Senate by the Constitution.
The reservation, however, in the present instance, that the Senate is not to be considered as sanctioning or recognizing the right of the Executive to do in the future, what the Senate have approved of his doing in the cases before them, as explained in the report, to which the resolution refers, imposes on me the necessity of this communication.
On referring to that report I confess my surprise at finding myself apparently charged with a violation of the Constitution, although no foundation exists for the implication conveyed in the report. I feel sure, therefore, that neither the committee nor the Senate could have intended or sanctioned such a charge, but I could not in justice to myself fail to call your attention to the language employed. It is as follows:
* * * "the only difficulty presented to the committee [in recommending the confirmation of the nominees] is that the date at which the officers nominated are to take rank is anterior to the last session of Congress.
"The committee are of opinion that the Constitution contemplates that all officers appointed in the recess of Congress shall only hold under such appointments to the close of the next session of Congress, and that they should be nominated, if it is intended to retain them in their offices, to the Senate at its first session after their appointment. This has not been done in this case;" * * *.
The Senate can not but agree with me, that the plain inference from these passages is that the Constitution had been violated by my having appointed these officers during the recess, and retained them in office without nominating them to the Senate at its next session. It has thus become incumbent on me (while satisfied that neither the committee nor the Senate could have intended to make such an accusation) to repel any inference that might hereafter be drawn from my silence on the subject, by stating that not only had no appointments of these officers been made prior to the nominations on which the Senate has just acted, but that the fact of the necessity for the appointments only reached the Executive since the commencement of your present session, by communication received last month from the Trans-Mississippi Department.
Upon the point suggested in the close of the resolution, that the Executive is without the right to make a nomination to a military grade, coupled with rank from a
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date prior to a former session of the Senate, it is not deemed proper to anticipate any future disagreement with the Senate, by presenting the reasons for the opposite conclusion, as being the only one consistent with the laws for the regulation of the Army, as well as with long-settled usage and the necessities of the service.
When the occasion shall arise, I can not doubt that the Senate will, notwithstanding this resolution, refuse to abandon its own constitutional power to act on nominations at its pleasure according to the merits of each case and the good of the service. I am confirmed in this conclusion by observing that the resolution was passed without a call for the yeas and nays, and therefore with probably less than the usual consideration, as well as by the further reflection that, as Executive nominations which meet the disapproval of the Senate on any ground are always subject to rejection without assignment of reasons, experience will show that no advantage can arise from the Senate curtailing its own discretion in future cases, by binding its own judgment in advance.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
The message was read.
On motion by Mr. Orr,
Ordered, That it lie upon the table.
On motion by Mr. Clay,
The Senate resolved into open legislative session.
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