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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 --THURSDAY, March 2, 1865.

Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [Volume 4]
THURSDAY, March 2, 1865.

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OPEN SESSION.

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

Mr. President: The House of Representatives have passed bills of the following titles; in which they request the concurrence of the Senate:

• H. R. 230. An act to amend an act to provide revenue from commodities imported from foreign countries, approved May 21, 1861;
• H. R. 288. An act authorizing the promotion of officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates for distinguished valor and skill, or for peculiar competency and general merit; and
• H. R. 395. An act to regulate the compensation of the State collector of Virginia.

The House of Representatives disagree to the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 350) to diminish the number of exemptions and details, ask a conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon, and have appointed Mr. Miles, Mr. Pugh, and Mr. Sexton managers at said conference on their part.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives having signed an enrolled bill, I am directed to bring it to the Senate for the signature of their President.

Mr. Watson (by leave) introduced

A bill (S. 215) to appropriate money to pay the expenses of the Joint Select Committee on the Subject of the Treatment and Exchange of Prisoners;
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. Wigfall, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the amendment of the House of Representatives to the bill (S. 191) to abolish the office of all officers engaged in discharging the duties of provost-marshals, except within the lines of an army in the field, reported it with an amendment.

The Senate proceeded to consider the amendment of the House of Representatives to the said bill; and the reported amendment having been agreed to,

Resolved, That the Senate concur in the amendment of the House of Representatives to the bill (S. 191) last mentioned, with an amendment.

Ordered, That the Secretary request the concurrence of the House of Representatives in the amendment.

Mr. Wigfall, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 213) to provide for the organization of the Bureau of Inspection, reported it without amendment.

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

On motion by Mr. Wigfall, to amend the bill by inserting after "of," section 2, line 3, the words "major-general,"

It was determined in the affirmative.

No further amendment being proposed, 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.

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Ordered, That the Secretary request the concurrence of the House of Representatives therein.

On motion by Mr. Wigfall,

Ordered, That the Committee on Military Affairs be discharged from the further consideration of the message of the President of the Confederate States of yesterday, communicating reports of various military operations, and that it lie upon the table.

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

Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing by law for vacating the commissions of such general officers as have no commands or who may be regarded unfit for command on account of inefficiency or incompetency.

Mr. Johnson of Missouri, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 393) to provide for paying, in cotton, the annuities due the Seminole, Creek, Choctaw, and Chickasaw nations of Indians, reported it without amendment.

The bills received this day from the House of Representatives for concurrence were severally read the first and second times; and

Ordered, That the bills numbered 230 and 395 be referred to the Committee on Finance and the bill numbered 288 to the Committee on Military Affairs.

The Senate proceeded to consider their amendments, disagreed to by the House of Representatives, to the bill (H. R. 350) to diminish the number of exemptions and details; and

On motion by Mr. Orr,

Resolved, That the Senate insist on their amendments to the said bill, and agree to the conference asked by the House of Representatives on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon.

On motion of Mr. Orr,

Ordered, That the committee of conference on the part of the Senate be appointed by the President pro tempore; and

Mr. Orr, Mr. Caperton, and Mr. Burnett were appointed.

Ordered, That the Secretary inform the House of Representatives thereof.

Mr. Caperton, from the committee, reported that they had examined and found truly enrolled bills of the following titles:

• S. 117. An act to authorize the commanders of the reserves in each State to order general courts-martial and to revise the proceedings of courts-martial and military courts;
• S. 169. An act to abolish the office of certain quartermasters and assistant quartermasters, commissaries and assistant commissaries, and to provide for the appointment of bonded agents in said departments;
• H. R. 348. An act to increase the compensation of marshals, criers, jurors, and witnesses;
• H. R. 371. An act to relieve agriculturists exempted and detailed under the act of February 17, 1864, in certain cases;
• H. R. 381. An act to provide for the redemption of the old issue of Treasury notes held by certain Indian tribes; and
• H. R. 383. An act to require noncommissioned officers and privates, held as prisoners of war, to be paid upon their individual certificates, supported by oath.

The President pro tempore having signed the enrolled bills last reported to have been examined, they were delivered to the Secretary

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of the Senate and by him forthwith presented to the President of the Confederate States for his approval.

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 28th ultimo, approved and signed the following acts:

• S. 129. An act to provide for the employment of free negroes and slaves to work upon fortifications and perform other labor connected with the defenses of the country; and
• S. 170. An act to increase the number of acting midshipmen in the Navy, and to prescribe the mode of appointment.

Ordered, That the Secretary inform the House of Representatives thereof.

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

Mr. President: The House of Representatives have passed bills of the following titles; in which they request the concurrence of the Senate:

• H. R. 320. An act to change the mode of filling vacancies among commissioned officers of companies, battalions, and regiments;
• H. R. 323. An act to provide payment for horses killed or lost in the service of the Confederate States;
• H. R. 396. An act to organize a military court for western North Carolina;
• H. R. 398. An act making an appropriation for the purchase of a percussion-cap pressing machine; and
• H. R. 399. An act to authorize the Secretary of War to purchase a percussion-cap pressing machine.

On motion by Mr. Wigfall,

Ordered, That the Committee on Military Affairs be discharged from the further consideration of the message of the President of the Confederate States communicating an estimate of the amount necessary for the construction and repair of railroads necessary for military purposes, and that it be referred to the Committee on Finance.

The Senate resumed the consideration of the amendment of the House of Representatives to the bill (S. 208) to provide for returned prisoners of war; and

On motion by Mr. Burnett,

Resolved, That they concur therein.

Ordered, That the Secretary inform the House of Representatives thereof.

The residue of the bills (H. R. 320, 323, 396, 398, and 399) received this day from the House of Representatives for concurrence were severally read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the bill (H. R. 379) to levy additional taxes for the year 1865, for the support of the Government.

On the question to agree to the first reported amendment, to wit: Strike out all of the bill from the enacting clause to the fourth section and insert:

That in addition to the taxes levied by the act approved February seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to lay taxes for the common defense and carry on the Government of the Confederate States,' approved twenty-fourth April, eighteen hundred and sixty-three," there shall be levied for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, on the subjects of taxation hereinafter mentioned, and collected from every person, copartnership, association, or corporation liable therefor, taxes as follows, to wit:

• I. Upon the value of all property, real, personal, or mixed, of every kind and description, not hereinafter exempted or taxed at a different rate, five per cent. The value of the property taxed under this section shall be assessed on the basis of the

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  market value of the same, or similar property in the neighborhood where assessed, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty; and it is hereby declared that all the property and assets of corporations, associations, or joint stock companies, whether incorporated or not, shall be assessed and taxed in the same manner, and to the same extent, as the property and assets of individuals. The tax on such property and assets to be assessed against and paid by such corporations, associations, or joint stock companies: Provided, That no bank or banking company shall be liable to pay a tax on deposits of money to the credit of, and subject to, the checks of others: And provided further, That the stock or shares representing property or assets in corporations, associations, or joint stock companies shall not be assessed or taxed as property under this act; but the dividends derived therefrom shall be subject to be taxed as income under existing laws.

• II. Upon the amount of all gold or silver coin, and upon the amount of all moneys held abroad, or bills of exchange drawn therefor, promissory notes, rights, credits, and securities, payable in foreign countries, and upon the value of all gold dust, or gold and silver bullion, valued in specie, twenty per cent, and upon the value of gold and silver wares, plate, jewels, jewelry, and watches, valued on the basis of the value of such property in the year eighteen hundred and sixty, ten per cent.
• III. Upon the amount of all moneys, except those mentioned in paragraph two, bank bills, Treasury notes, and other paper issued as currency, on hand or on deposit on the day of the approval of this act, five per cent.
• IV. Upon the amount of all solvent credits, except those mentioned in paragraph two, five per cent: Provided, That all the bonds and stocks issued by the Confederate States, or by any State, and all loans to the Government of the Confederate States, shall be exempt from taxation, except as to the interest payable thereon, which shall be taxed as income, under existing laws: Provided further, That the interest on the bonds, stocks, or obligations of the Confederate States, or of any State, shall not be taxed as income in cases where the acts under which they were issued contain a stipulation that the interest thereon shall be exempt from taxation.
• V. Upon profits made by buying and selling merchandise, effects, or property of any description, or money, gold, silver, stocks, credits, or obligations of any kind, at any time between January first, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and January first, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, ten per cent in addition to the tax on such profits as income. Said profits to be ascertained by the difference between the price paid in Confederate Treasury notes, including all costs and charges, and the price realized in the same currency: Provided, That if the objects of sale were purchased at any time since January first, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, this additional tax shall attach on the profits realized on the sale thereof during the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five.
• VI. Upon the amount of profits exceeding twenty-five per cent made during the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five by any bank or banking company, insurance, canal, navigation, importing or exporting, telegraph, express, railroad, manufacturing, mining , dry dock or other joint stock company, of any description, whether incorporated or not, twenty-five per cent: Provided, That this tax shall apply to individuals and partnerships engaged in trade, or any business or employment enumerated in this paragraph, as well as to corporations or joint stock companies.
  • Sec. 2. That the property, the income and moneys, of hospitals, asylums, churches, schools, colleges, and charitable institutions, shall be exempt from taxation under the provisions of this act, or any other law. All property within the lines of the enemy shall be exempt from taxation so long as it remains within such lines, but any income derived therefrom shall be taxed as income under existing laws. The exemptions enumerated in paragraphs one, two, and three of section five of the act entitled "An act to levy additional taxes for the common defense and support of the Government," approved seventeenth February, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, are hereby reenacted. Household furniture, where the value does not exceed three hundred dollars on the basis of the value thereof in the year eighteen hundred and sixty; wearing apparel; goods manufactured by any person for the use and consumption of his family, including slaves; poultry, fruit and the products of gardens, when said poultry, fruit and products are raised for the family of the producer, and not for sale; corn, bacon, and other agricultural products, which were produced in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and necessary for the taxpayer's family, including slaves, during the present year, and in his possession on the day of the approval of this act.
  • Sec. 3. That the taxes on property for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, imposed by this act, shall be assessed as on the day of the approval of this act, and be due and collected on the first day of June next, or as soon thereafter as practicable. The additional taxes on profits for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five shall be assessed and collected according to the provisions of existing laws in regard to the assessment and collection of taxes on income. And all the taxes imposed by

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    this act, as well as the taxes on incomes and profits, shall be payable in Confederate Treasury notes of the new issue, or in the certificates of indebtedness authorized by an act entitled "An act to reduce the currency and to authorize a new issue of notes and bonds," approved seventeenth February, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, at par, without any allowance for interest, except that the tax for the pay of soldiers shall be payable in Treasury notes only.

  • Sec. 4. That upon all the subjects of taxation mentioned in this act and the act approved seventeenth February, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to lay taxes for the common defense and carry on the Government of the Confederate States,' approved twenty-fourth April, eighteen hundred and sixty-three," there shall be levied and assessed for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five an additional tax in money, equal to one-fifth of the amount of the tax on the same subjects imposed for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five by this act and the said act of seventeenth February, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, which tax shall be payable in Confederate Treasury notes of the new issue only, and shall be assessed and collected at the same time with the other taxes; and the money arising therefrom shall be first appropriated to the payment of the increased compensation of the soldiers of the Army: Provided, That this additional tax shall not be construed to apply to, or to increase, the tax in kind.
  • Sec. 5. That any taxpayer, under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, shall be allowed to pay into the Treasury in advance such sum or sums as he may choose on account of taxes to accrue against him, and to obtain therefor an unassignable certificate of such payment.
  • Sec. 6. That Congress having intended by the act of the seventeenth of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, entitled "An act to levy additional taxes for the common defense and support of the Government," as amended by the act of fourteenth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, to impose said additional taxes for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-four only, the said act of seventeenth of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, as amended, in so far as it can be construed to operate otherwise than as thus intended, shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed,

On motion by Mr. Orr, to amend the amendment by striking out "five," section 1, line 15, and inserting "ten," and by inserting after "cent," in the same line, the following proviso:
Provided, That a credit be allowed each taxpayer on the tax on property engaged in agriculture equal to the value of the tithe, which shall be estimated according to the value of the products tithed on the first day of July, eighteen hundred and sixty,

After debate,

On motion by Mr. Brown,

The Senate resolved into secret legislative session.

The doors having been opened,

On motion by Mr. Burnett,

The Senate adjourned.

SECRET SESSION.

Mr. Caperton, from the committee, reported that they had examined and found truly enrolled

A bill (H. R. 392) to provide transportation for Senators, Representatives, and Delegates in Congress to their respective places of residence, and to increase, for a limited time, their salaries.

The President pro tempore having signed the enrolled bill last reported to have been examined, it was delivered to the Secretary of the Senate and by him forthwith presented to the President of the Confederate States for his approval.

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

Resolved, That the Committee on Naval Affairs be instructed to inquire whether it may not be proper, in a possible contingency, to remove the Naval School from Richmond to some other point.

On motion by Mr. Burnett,

The Senate resolved into executive session.

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EXECUTIVE SESSION.

The following message was received from the President of the Confederate States, by Mr. B. N. Harrison, his Secretary:

Executive Department, Confederate States of America,
Richmond, March 2, 1865.

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 grades affixed to their names, respectively.

JEFFERSON DAVIS.

No. 238]War Department, Confederate States of America,
Richmond, March 2, 1865.

Sir: I have the honor to recommend the following nominations for appointment in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States of America:

Lieutenant-general.
• Maj. Gen. N. B. Forrest, of Tennessee, to rank from February 28, 1865.

Brigadier-generals.
• Col. Ellison Capers, of South Carolina, to rank from March 1, 1865.
• Col. T. H. Bell, of Tennessee, to rank from February 28, 1865.
• Col. A. W. Campbell, of Tennessee, to rank from March 1, 1865.

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant,

JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE,
Secretary of War.

To His Excellency Jefferson Davis,
President, etc.

The Senate proceeded to consider the nominations (received this day from the President) of Maj. Gen. N. B. Forrest, to be lieutenant-general; Cols. Ellison Capers, T. H. Bell, and A. W. Campbell, to be brigadier-generals; and it was

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

Mr. Wigfall, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom were referred (on the 1st instant) the nominations of A. J. McBride, to be colonel; C. C. Kibbee and G. W. Dorsey, to be lieutenant-colonels; F. M. Myers, to be major; S. B. Clowney, J. C. B. Harkness, James W. McCarty, and S. E. Morgan, to be captains, and A. W. Ballenger, J. C. Raiford, Henry Logue, and B. M. Schipman, to be second lieutenants (for distinguished valor and skill); Richard Morton, to be colonel Niter and Mining Corps; R. C. Gilchrist, to be major of artillery; M. P. Taylor, to be captain of artillery, for ordnance duty; Powhatan Ellis and R. M. Grinnell, to be majors in the Adjutant-General's Department; Richard Beale, E. S. Bryan, Henry C. Creel, W. S. Barnes, J. E. Porter, and D. A. Hinton, to be aids-de-camp, with rank of first lieutenant; and R. F. Notrebe, to be adjutant of Shaver's Arkansas infantry regiment, reported, with the recommendations recommendation that all of said nominations be confirmed.

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

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

Mr. Wigfall, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred (on the 1st instant) the nomination of A. H. Chalmers, to be lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, reported thereon; and

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On motion by Mr. Watson,

Ordered, That it lie upon the table.

On motion by Mr. Burnett,

Ordered, That during the remainder of to-day's session no one be permitted to remain within the Senate Chamber except Senators, the Secretary of the Senate and his assistant, and the Journal Clerk.

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

Resolved, That a committee of three Senators be appointed by the Senate, to confer with the President confidentially in reference to the present condition of the country, and ascertain, if possible, his plans and purposes.

The Senate proceeded, by ballot, to the appointment of the committee provided for by the resolution; and

Mr. Graham, Mr. Hunter, and Mr. Orr were appointed.

On motion by Mr. Burnett,

The Senate resolved into open legislative session.

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