| PREVIOUS | NEXT | NEW SEARCH |
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
Journal of the Confederate Congress --MONDAY, February 23, 1863.
OPEN SESSION.
Mr. Clay (by leave) introduced
A bill (S. 54) for the relief of Mrs. Laura Harper, wife of Col. R. W. Harper, commanding First Regiment of Arkansas Cavalry; which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Claims.
Mr. Burnett submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
Resolved, That the Committee on Public Printing inquire into the propriety of authorizing the Department of Justice h) publish ten thousand copies of the laws of the Provisional and Permanent Congress of the Confederate States, in addition to those already authorized by law to be published.
Page 90 | Page image
Mr. Barnwell submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate cause to be printed and distributed to the members of the Senate every Monday a calendar of all business before the Senate.
Mr. Orr (by leave) introduced
A bill (S. 55) to vest in the Government, as a part of its postal system, all the rights of the American Telegraph Company in the telegraph lines within the Confederate States, and to provide for Working the same;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads.
Mr. Sparrow, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 10) to allow minors to hold commissions in the Army, reported it with the recommendation that it ought not to pass.
Mr. Hill, from the Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 9) to authorize and regulate the impressment of private property for the use of the Army and other military purposes, reported it without amendment.
On motion by Mr. Hill,
Ordered, That it be printed.
Mr. Hill, from the Committee on the Judiciary, who were instructed by resolution of the Senate to inquire into the subject, reported
A bill (S. 56) to amend an act entitled "An act to organize military courts to attend the Army of the Confederate States in the field, and to define the powers of said courts," approved October 9, 1862;
which was read the first and second times and ordered to be placed upon the Calendar and printed.
On motion by Mr. Sparrow,
Ordered, That the Committee on Military Affairs be discharged from the further consideration of the joint resolution (S. 5) to regulate the issue of clothing to officers in the Army.
Mr. Davis submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs inquire into the propriety of so amending the existing laws that privates from any State, enlisted in regiments from other States, may be transferred to regiments from their own State without the consent of their company and regimental commanders.
A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. McDonald:
Mr. President: The House of Representatives have passed a bill (H. R. 13) to amend an act for the establishment and organization of a general staff for the Army of the Confederate States; in which they request the concurrence of the Senate.
The bill (H. R. 13) received this day from the House of Representatives for concurrence was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
A message from the President of the Confederate States, by Mr. B. N. Harrison, his Secretary:
Mr. President: The President of the Confederate States, on the 20th instant, approved and signed an act (S. 35) to authorize the issue of bonds for funding Treasury notes.
Ordered, That the Secretary inform the House of Representatives thereof.
Page 91 | Page image
The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the bill (S. 27) defining who shall be exempt from military service in the armies of the Confederate States.
On motion by Mr. Simms, to amend the bill by inserting after the word "employees," section 1, line 32, the words
Provided, That no president or conductor of any railroad company or railroad train shall be exempted from military service under this act when such president or conductor shall fail, neglect, or refuse to furnish seats to such wounded and sick soldiers of the Army as may desire transportation over such railroad, and fresh water for drinking purposes, in such tanks or vessels in each passenger car as may be necessary for the use of said sick and wounded, and also the necessary fires to render said cars comfortable,
It was determined in the affirmative.
On motion by Mr. Dortch, to amend the bill by inserting after the word "such," section 1, line 29, the words "superintendents, road-masters, station agents,"
It was determined in the affirmative.
On motion by Mr. Caperton, to amend the bill by inserting after the word "navigation," section 1, line 34, the words
the president of any canal company, secretary, chief clerks, chief toll-gatherer, and such mechanics, in the permanent service of said company as the president, under oath, shall declare to be necessary,
It was determined in the affirmative.
On motion of Mr. Yancey, to amend the bill by inserting after the word "service," section 1, line 29, the words
Provided, That said pilots shall at all times enter into the service of the Confederate States as pilots on vessels owned or chartered by the Confederate States, and being used to run the blockade of any of the ports of the Confederate States when required to do so by the commander of said vessel on the promise of reasonable compensation for said service, to be graduated according to prices usually paid for similar services at the port or ports into or from which said vessels are to be navigated; and in the event of the refusal or failure of any of said pilots to comply with said demand for his services, this exemption, as to him, shall be of no effect,
It was determined in the negative.
On motion by Mr. Simms, to amend the bill by inserting at the end of the first section the following proviso:
Provided That the following-named persons mentioned in the first section of this act shall only be exempted from military service by paying, each one of them, into the Treasury of the Confederate States, the following sums in Confederate Treasury notes:
Page 92 | Page image
On motion by Mr. Clay, that the amendment lie on the table,
On motion by Mr. Simms,
The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present,
Those who voted in the affirmative are,
Messrs. Baker, Barnwell, Clay, Davis, Dortch, Haynes, Henry, Hill, Hunter, Johnson of Georgia, Johnson of Arkansas, Maxwell, Orr, and Sparrow.
Those who voted in the negative are,
Messrs. Brown, Burnett, Clark, Oldham, Peyton, Phelan, Semmes, Simms, and Yancey.
So it was
Ordered, That the said amendment lie on the table.
Page 93 | Page image
On motion by Mr. Hill, to amend the bill by inserting after the word "States," section 1, line 38, the following proviso:
Provided, That the rates charged on said railroads and canals for carrying passengers and freights shall he such that the net profits of the respective reacts and canals shall not exceed fifteen per centum per annum on the capital actually invested and paid in, to be ascertained by the affidavit of the presidents of the respective roads and canals,
On motion by Mr. Haynes, to amend the amendment proposed byMr. Hill by striking out "fifteen per centum" and inserting "thirty per centum,"
On motion by Mr. Davis, that the amendment proposed by Mr. Hill, together with the amendment proposed thereto by Mr. Haynes, lie on the table,
It was determined in the affirmative.
On motion by Mr. Semmes, to amend the bill by inserting after "service," section 1, line 29, the words "excluding such owners of vessels as are not actually employed in navigating the same,"
It was determined in the affirmative.
On motion by Mr. Yancey, to amend the bill by inserting after "reporters," section 1, line 50, the words "and mailing clerks,"
It was determined in the affirmative.
On motion by Mr. Yancey, to amend the bill by inserting after "reporters," section 1, line 40, the words "and reporters for legislative and legal proceedings,"
It was determined in the negative.
On motion by Mr. Brown, to amend the bill by striking out, section 1, lines 90 and 91, the words
All physicians who now are and have been for the last five years in the actual practice of their profession; and,
It was determined in the negative.
On motion by Mr. Henry, by unanimous consent, to amend the amendment heretofore agreed to in relation to the exemption of one person on each farm or plantation on which there are twenty or more slaves, for police purposes, by striking therefrom the words "the person so exempted was employed and acting as an overseer previous to the sixteenth of April last," and inserting in lieu thereof the words
that this clause shall not extend to any farm or plantation on which the negroes have been placed by division from any other farm or plantation since the eleventh day of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-two,
After debate,
Mr. Davis demanded the question; which was seconded, and
The question being put,
On motion by Mr. Hill,
The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present,
Those who voted in the affirmative are,
Messrs. Barnwell, Clay, Henry, Hill, Johnson of Georgia, Orr, and Yancey.
Those who voted in the negative are,
Messrs. Baker, Burnett, Caperton, Clark, Davis, Dortch, Haynes, Hunter, Johnson of Arkansas, Maxwell, Mitchel, Oldham, Peyton, Phelan, Semmes, Simms, and Sparrow.
On motion by Mr. Maxwell, by unanimous consent, to amend the
Page 94 | Page image
said amendment in relation to the police of slaves by inserting at the end thereof the following additional proviso:
Provided further, That this clause shall not extend to any farm or plantation on which the negroes have been placed by division from any other farm or plantation since the eleventh day of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-two,
On motion by Mr. Phelan,
The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present,
Those who voted in the affirmative are,
Messrs. Baker, Barnwell, Brown, Burnett, Clark, Clay, Davis, Dortch, Haynes, Henry, Hill, Hunter, Johnson of Georgia, Maxwell, Mitchel, Oldham, Orr, Peyton, Phelan, Semmes, Simms, Sparrow, and Yancey.
Mr. Johnson of Arkansas voted 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.
On motion by Mr. Sparrow,
Ordered, That the bill as amended be printed.
On motion by Mr. Orr,
The Senate resolved into executive session.
The doors having been opened,
On motion by Mr. Yancey,
The Senate adjourned.
EXECUTIVE SESSION.
The following message was received from the President of the Confederate States, by his Secretary, Mr. B. N. Harrison:
Richmond, Va., February 20, 1863.
To the President of the Senate of the Confederate States:
I nominate the persons named in the annexed letter of the Secretary of the Navy, agreeably to his recommendation.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
Confederate States of America, Navy Department,
Richmond, February 18, 1363.
The President.
Sir: I have the honor to recommend the following nominations for appointment in the Navy, under act No. 146, approved May 10, 1861:
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,S. R. MALLORY,
Secretary of the Navy.
The message was read.
Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.
Page 95 | Page image
The following message was received from the President of the Confederate States, by Mr. B. N. Harrison, his Secretary:
Richmond, Va., February 20, 1863.
To the President of the Senate:
I nominate the person named in the annexed letter of the Secretary of the Navy, agreeably to his recommendation.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
Confederate States of America, Navy Department,
Richmond, February 19, 1863.
The President.
Sir: I have the honor to recommend the following nomination for appointment in the Navy:
With much respect, your obedient servant,S. R. MALLORY,
Secretary of the Navy.
The message was read.
Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.
The following message was received from the President of the Confederate States, by Mr. B. N. Harrison, his Secretary:
Richmond, Va., February 20, 1863.
To the President of the Senate:
I nominate the persons named in the annexed letter of the Secretary of the Navy, agreeably to his recommendation.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
Confederate States of America, Navy Department,
Richmond, February 18, 1863.
The President.
Sir: I have the honor to recommend the following nominations for appointment in the Navy:
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,S. R. MALLORY,
Secretary of the Navy.
The message was read.
Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.
The following message was received from the President of the Confederate States, by Mr. B. N. Harrison, his Secretary:
Richmond, Va., February 20, 1863.
To the President of the Senate:
I nominate the persons named in the annexed letter of the Secretary of the Navy, agreeably to his recommendation.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
Page 96 | Page image
Confederate States of America, Navy Department,
Richmond, February 18, 1863.
The President.
Sir: I have the honor to recommend the following nominations for appointment in the Navy, under act No. 331, approved December 24, 1861:
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,S. R. MALLORY,
Secretary of the Navy.
The message was read.
Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.
The following message was received from the President of the Confederate States, by Mr. B. N. Harrison, his Secretary:
Richmond, February 21, 1863.
To the Senate of the Confederate States:
Agreeably to the recommendation of the Secretary of War, I nominate the officers on the accompanying list to the rank affixed to their names, respectively.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
Confederate States of America, War Department,
Richmond, February 20, 1863.
Sir: I have the honor to recommend the following nominations for appointment in the Army of the Confederate States of America:
I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant,
JAMES A. SEDDON,
Secretary of War.
To His Excellency Jefferson Davis,
President, etc.
The message was read.
Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Orr submitted the following resolution:
Resolved, That the President be requested to communicate to the Senate, in executive session, all the correspondence which has taken place between this Government and our commissioners to foreign nations.
The Senate proceeded to consider said resolution; and
On motion by Mr. Orr,
Resolved, That its further consideration be postponed till to-morrow.
On motion by Mr. Yancey,
The Senate resolved into open legislative session.
PREVIOUS SECTION .. NEXT SECTION .. NAVIGATOR
| PREVIOUS | NEXT | NEW SEARCH |