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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 --WEDNESDAY, January 20, 1864.

Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [Volume 3]
WEDNESDAY, January 20, 1864.

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OPEN SESSION.

Mr. Sparrow (by leave) introduced

A bill (S. 194) to organize bodies for the capture and destruction of the enemy's property, by land or sea, and to authorize compensation for the same;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. Semmes submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

Resolved, That the President of the Confederate States be requested to inform the Senate at what time the chief tax collector for the State of Louisiana was appointed; and when, and in what part of the State, he entered upon the discharge of his duties.

Mr. Phelan (by leave) introduced

A bill (S. 195) creating the office of ensign in the Army of the Confederate States;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. Semmes, from the Committee on Finance, submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be requested to communicate to the Senate:

• 1. The aggregate amount of the funded debt of the Confederate States on the first of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, exclusive of call certificates.
• 2. The aggregate amount of call certificates outstanding on the first of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-four.
• 3. The aggregate amount of noninterest-bearing Treasury notes, exclusive of those below the denomination of five dollars, outstanding on the first of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-four.
• 4. The aggregate amount of interest-bearing Treasury notes outstanding on the first of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-four.
• 5. The aggregate amount of Treasury notes below the denomination of five dollars outstanding on the first of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-four.

Mr. Semmes, from the Committee on Finance, reported

A bill (S. 196) to extend the provisions of an act entitled "An act in relation to the receipt of counterfeit Treasury notes by public officers," approved May 1, 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.

On motion by Mr. Simms,

The Senate resolved into secret legislative session.

The doors having been opened,

The following message was received from the House of Representatives, by Mr. Dalton:

Mr. President: The House of Representatives have passed a bill (H. R. 91) to fix the rank, pay, and allowances of adjutants of regiments and independent battalions; in which they request the concurrence of the Senate.

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The Speaker of the House of Representatives having signed two enrolled bills, I am directed to bring them to the Senate for the signature of their President.

On motion by Mr. Simms,

The Senate adjourned.

SECRET SESSION.

Mr. Simms (by leave) introduced

A bill (S. 197) to redeem outstanding Treasury notes and discharge the public debt, and thereby restore the public credit;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Finance.

On motion by Mr. Semmes, the vote on passing the bill (S. 183) to prohibit the importation of luxuries, or of articles not necessaries or of common use, was reconsidered.

On motion by Mr. Semmes, the vote on ordering the said bill to its engrossment and third reading was also reconsidered.

The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of said bill.

On motion by Mr. Semmes, to amend the bill by adding thereto the following independent section:

• Sec. 11. That this act shall expire on the day of the ratification of a treaty of peace with the United States,

It was determined in the affirmative.

No further amendment being made, the bill was reported to the Senate and the amendment was concurred in.

Ordered, That the bill 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.

The Senate proceeded, as in Committee of the Whole, to the consideration of the bill (S. 169) to repeal an act entitled "An act supplementary to an act to provide for the funding and further issue of Treasury notes," approved April 30th, 1863; and

On motion by Mr. Jemison,

Ordered, That the further consideration thereof be postponed until Friday next.

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. Dalton:

Mr. President: The House of Representatives have passed a bill (H. R. 93) to organize a Treasury note bureau; in which they request the concurrence of the Senate.

The bill (H. R. 93) last mentioned was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Finance.

The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the bill (S. 184) to establish a bureau of foreign supplies.

On motion by Mr. Clay, to amend the bill by striking out the seventh section, as follows:

• Sec. 7. That the said bureau shall consist of one colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, four majors, and four captains, with the pay and allowances of officers of artillery of the same grades, and of such agents as may be necessary, whose compensation shall be fixed by the Secretary of War,

It was determined in the negative.

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On motion by Mr. Oldham, to amend the bill by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting:

That for the purpose of exporting cotton and other produce, to supply, by imports, the military and other necessities of the Government during the continuance of the war with the United States, an independent bureau of the Treasury Department be established, to be entitled the bureau of foreign supplies.

• Sec. 2. That the said bureau shall be charged with the purchase of cotton and other produce for export, and with the transmission and sale of the same, and placing the funds arising therefrom at such places, in foreign countries, as may be necessary for the purchase and payment of such munitions of war and such other supplies as may be required by the several Departments of the Government.
• Sec. 3. That the funds arising from the sales of cotton and other produce shall be subject to the drafts of the agents of the Government charged with the purchase of munitions of war and other supplies for the Government, and the several Departments thereof, under such regulations as shall be prescribed by the President.
• Sec. 4. That all steamers now owned by any of the Departments of the Government, and used to supply their necessities from abroad, and all contracts for the increase of the number of such steamers and vessels be, and they are hereby, transferred to said bureau.
• Sec. 5. That the chief of said bureau shall, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, have full power to contract for and purchase such steamers and vessels, to be owned, wholly or in part, by the Government, as may be necessary for the discharge of the duties imposed by the bureau, and to obtain the general objects as set forth in the first section of this act.
• Sec. 6. That the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, may appoint a chief officer for said bureau, to take charge of the business of the same, whose salary shall be ... dollars; and the Secretary of the Treasury may appoint such number of clerks in said bureau as may be necessary to transact the business of the same, whose salary shall be ... dollars each.
• Sec. 7. That the chief of said bureau may appoint suitable purchasing agents, of known integrity and business capacity, who shall be charged with the purchase of cotton and other produce, and the transportation of the same to points for shipment, under regulations to be prescribed by the chief of said bureau, under the approval of the President and Secretary of the Treasury. Said agents shall, before entering upon their duties, give bond, with approved security, conditioned for the faithful performance of their duty, and shall also take and subscribe an oath, before some officer authorized by law to administer the same, that they will not, directly or indirectly, be engaged in the purchase or sale, on private account, for themselves or any other person, of any cotton or other produce, appertaining to their said agency, while so employed as agents of the Government.
• Sec. 8. That any officer or agent connected with said bureau, who shall be guilty of buying or selling, on private account, for himself or any other person, any cotton or other produce, of which said bureau is charged with the purchase, shall, upon conviction before any court of the Confederate States having jurisdiction, be fined by the court in a sum not exceeding ... dollars, and shall be imprisoned for a period not less than ... nor more than ... years.

On motion by Mr. Jemison, to amend the proposed amendment by striking out the words "Secretary of the Treasury," where they occur therein, and inserting in lieu thereof the words "Secretary of War,"

It was determined in the affirmative.

The question then recurring on the amendment proposed by Mr. Oldham, as amended,

On motion by Mr. Oldham,

Ordered, That the bill be recommitted to the Committee on Commerce.

The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the bill (S. 175) to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in all cases involving the right to subject to military duty persons who have furnished substitutes to the Army of the Confederate States.

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On motion by Mr. Wigfall, that the bill be transferred to the Open Legislative Calendar,

It was determined in the negative.

On motion by Mr. Henry, to amend the bill by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting:

That the writ of habeas corpus is hereby suspended in these Confederate States, and that this act shall continue in force until thirty days after the meeting of the next Congress, and no longer; and that the suspension of said writ is limited to arrests made by the authorities of the Confederate Government, or for offenses against the same.

On motion by Mr. Caperton,

Ordered, That the bill be recommitted to the Committee on the Judiciary.

On motion by Mr. Semmes,

The Senate resolved into executive session.

EXECUTIVE SESSION.

Mr. Semmes, from the Committee on Finance, to whom was referred (on the 19th instant) the nomination of J. W. M. Harris, to be Third Auditor of the Treasury, reported, with the recommendation that said nomination be confirmed.

The Senate proceeded to consider said report; and in concurrence therewith, it was

Resolved, That the Senate advise and consent to his appointment, agreeably to the nomination of the President.

On motion by Mr. Simms,

The Senate resolved into open legislative session.

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