| 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 --NINETEENTH DAY--TUESDAY, March 11, 1862.
OPEN SESSION.
Congress met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by the Rev. Mr. Rawles.
Mr. Wilcox announced the presence of Mr. Malcolm H. Macwillie, a Delegate-elect from the Territory of Arizona, who came forward, was qualified, and took his seat.
Mr. Foster offered
A joint resolution tendering the thanks of the Congress to Captain Buchanan and all under his command in the naval attack upon the enemy in Hampton Roads;
which was read the first and second times.
The rules were suspended;
The resolution was taken up, engrossed, read a third time, and passed unanimously.
Mr. Smith of Alabama introduced
A bill to provide for the manufacture of army shoes in camp; which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Hanly introduced
A bill to amend the eleventh section of an act entitled "An act for the establishment and organization of the Army of the Confederate States of American," approved March 6, 1861;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Page 81 | Page image
Also, a resolution instructing the Committee on the Judiciary to report
A bill punishing counterfeiters of the great seal of the Confederate States of America;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Royston moved that the House take up for consideration a resolution offered by him in relation to the adjournment of Congress.
The motion was lost.
Mr. Dawkins presented a letter from Mr. J. L. G. Baker, of Greenwood, Fla., in relation to a post route;
which was, without being read, referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads.
Mr. Hilton presented a design for the Confederate flag, from Mr. Ben. A. Donald, of Virginia;
which was referred to the Committee on Flag and Seal.
Mr. Holt introduced
A bill to amend the several acts for the sequestration and confiscation of the property of alien enemies;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. Trippe presented the memorial of sundry citizens of Forsyth, Ga., in reference to the suppression of distilleries; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, without being read.
Mr. Crockett offered
A resolution that all public investigations or discussion in this House relative to our recent disasters is impolitic and unwise, being eminently calculated to create jealousies and rivalries detrimental to the public service.
Mr. Foote moved to lay the resolution on the table; upon which
Mr. Singleton demanded the yeas and nays; and
The demand being sustained,
The yeas and nays are recorded as follows, viz:
Yeas: Arrington, Ashe, Atkins, Baldwin, Batson, Bell, Boyce, Horatio W. Bruce, Chambliss, Conrad, Cooke, Davidson, Davis, Dupré, Foote, Foster, Gaither, Gardenhire, Garnett, Gartrell, Graham, Heiskell, Herbert, Holcombe, Johnston, Jones, Kenner, Lyon, Marshall, Menees, Miles, Moore, Perkins, Preston, Ralls, Royston, Sexton, Smith of Virginia, Staples, Trippe, Villeré, and Wright of Texas.
Nays: Barksdale, Boteler, Burnett, Chilton, Chrisman, Clapp, Clark, Clopton, Crockett, Curry, Dargan, Dawkins, De Jarnette, Elliott, Ewing, Farrow, Garland, Gray, Hanly, Hilton, Holt, Jenkins, Kenan of North Carolina, Lander, Lewis, Lyons, Machen, McLean, McQueen, Munnerlyn, Read, Singleton, Smith of Alabama, Smith of North Carolina, Strickland, Welsh, Wilcox, and Wright of Georgia.
The motion prevailed.
Mr. Elliott presented a memorial of the citizens of Pike, Floyd, and Johnson counties, Ky., asking pay for provisions furnished Confederate troops; which was referred to the Committee on Claims, without being read.
Mr. Boyce offered
Page 82 | Page image
A resolution that it be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs to inquire whether further legislation is necessary to give increased efficiency to our interior lines of railroads, with leave to report by bill or otherwise;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Farrow presented the petition of sundry citizens of Spartanburg district, in the State of South Carolina, praying compensation to Benjamin Lamb, for mail service; which was, without being read, referred to the Committee on Claims.
Also, the petition of James Bell, praying compensation for making knives; which was referred to the Committee on Claims, without being read.
Mr. Heiskell presented the memorial of Mr. Ramsay, of Knoxville, Tenn., in relation to the Medical Department of the Army; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, without being read.
Mr. Swan presented a letter from Mr. Daniel D. Fonte, of Tennessee, in relation to a mail route from Cade's Cove to Mont Vale Spring; which was referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads, without being read.
Mr. Garnett offered
A resolution that the Committee on Ways and Means be instructed to inquire into the expediency of raising a revenue by excise and export duties;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Smith of Virginia presented a letter from Mr. John Jett in relation to loss of horses; which was referred, without reading, to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Lyon offered
A resolution that the President be requested to furnish this House a copy of the report of the naval engagement near Norfolk, if not deemed by him incompatible with the public interest; which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Russell, from the Committee on the Judiciary, reported
A bill relating to rights to indemnity under the sequestration acts; which was read the first and second times, ordered to be placed upon the Calendar, printed, and made the special order of the day for Monday next.
Mr. Gray, from the Judiciary Committee, to which was referred the following resolution, to wit:
Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire and report what legislation is necessary to enable officers in the Army of the Confederate States to hold their seats in the Congress of the Confederate States, or whether they are entitled to do so under the Constitution without any legislation,
Made the following report, viz:
The Committee on the Judiciary have considered the resolution instructing them "to inquire and report what legislation is necessary to enable officers in the Army of the Confederate States to held their seats in the Congress of the Confederate States, or whether they are entitled to do so under the Constitution without any legislation," and a majority report: That the terms of the resolution seem to be answered by the recital of a part of the second paragraph of the sixth section of the first article of the Constitution. It contains these words, to wit: "And no person holding any office under the Confederate States shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office." The Army of the Confederate States is an establishment created by and organized under authority of the Confederate Congress, according to its power "to raise and support armies;" and its officers are commissioned by and subject to the direction and control of the President of the Confederate States as its Commander in Chief. That such officers are "persons holding office under the Confederate States" appears to be a simple matter of fact under the laws, and it necessarily
Page 83 | Page image
follows that they can not hold seats as members of either House of Congress. No legislation can entitle them to do so, for it would be manifestly in violation of the prohibition recited.
The purpose of that prohibition seems obvious; and when taken in connection with the preceding clause of the same paragraph, which prohibits the appointment of any member of Congress to any civil office, which shall have been created, or the emolument whereof shall have been increased during the time for which he was elected, that purpose is fully manifested. It was to preserve the independence of the legislature as a coordinate branch of the Government--to prevent the exercise by the same persons of functions appertaining to distinct departments--to render the legislature free from executive influence, and to remove from its members the temptations which might arise from hope of executive favor or patronage. It requires no extensive knowledge of the history of governments, and of the undue influence of executive power over legislative bodies, to perceive the wisdom of this purpose. To no class of officers does it apply with greater force than to those of the Army; for none others are more directly under executive control. Moreover, there appears to be an incompatibility in the exercise of the functions of a member of Congress and an officer of the Army. It is not practicable to discharge legislative duties in Congress and military duties in the field, or bureaus, at the same time. If, then, the power existed so to legislate as to entitle officers of the Army also to hold seats as members of Congress, it would, in the opinion of the committee, be an unwise exercise of such power.
Having thus answered the exact terms of the resolution, it may be that the committee has discharged its duty. But they are informed that it was the intention of the resolution to inquire whether there is any, and what difference there may be, between the case of officers of the Provisional Army and that of those in the regular service, and therefore have also considered that point.
The Regular Army is composed of officers holding their appointments directly from the President, and of soldiers enlisted for a definite period, and is an establishment created by the Confederate States of a permanent character. The Provisional Army is composed of volunteer soldiers for short terms, or for the war, unless sooner discharged, and of volunteer officers who also hold their appointments, either directly or indirectly, under the authority of the laws of the Confederate States. It is an establishment of a temporary character, but created under the same power to raise armies, as is the Regular Army. Their organization, pay, and government is the same. It is true that a part of the Provisional Army is composed of volunteer soldiers who were at first in the service of their respective States, and whose officers were appointed by their respective States. But they became a part of the Provisional Army of the Confederacy under the law authorizing the President "to receive into the service of this Government such forces now in the service of said States, as may be tendered," etc.; and by the same law it was declared that "such forces may be received, with their officers, * * * and when so received shall form a part of the Provisional Army of the Confederate States," and also that they should have the same pay and allowances, and be subject to the same rules and government as the Army. It is likewise true that in another act providing for the public defense, the President was authorized to ask for and accept volunteers, and it was declared that the volunteers might he accepted "in companies, battalions, and regiments whose officers shall he appointed in the manner prescribed by law in the several States to which they shall respectively belong." But by the same act it was declared that "when inspected, mustered, and received into the service of the Confederate States, said troops shall be regarded in all respects as a part of the Army of said Confederate States." Now, though the officers of these volunteer troops may have originally received their appointment from their respective States, yet, the troops being raised by virtue of Confederate laws, and the appointments made by virtue of the same laws when received into the service of the Confederate States under these laws, they, to all intents and purposes, became officers in the Army of those States, and held their offices under them. From the time of their entering the service they, "in all respects," became a part of the Army of the Confederacy, subject to the same control, entitled to the same rules of promotion and removal, and liable to the same disabilities during the time of their service, as officers of the Regular Army. They are not, therefore, entitled to hold seats as members of Congress, but are subject to the constitutional prohibition in letter and spirit, and no further legislation can entitle them to do so.
Page 84 | Page image
The undersigned members of the committee assent to the conclusions of the above report, so far as relates to officers of the Regular and Provisional Armies commissioned by the President but the undersigned think that officers of volunteers or militia holding commissions from governors of States only are eligible to seats in this House.
The report was, on motion of Mr. Gray, laid on the table and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Ashe, from the same committee, to whom was referred
A resolution inquiring as to whether the law now in force for the issue of Treasury notes was or not in conflict with the Constitution, etc.
made a report, which he moved be laid upon the table and printed.
The motion was agreed to; and the report is as follows, to wit:
The Judiciary Committee, to whom was referred the resolution instructing them "to inquire whether the law now in force to provide for the issue of Treasury notes, and laying a war tax for their redemption, approved August 19, 1861, is not in conflict with the Permanent Constitution of the Confederate States, and if so, what legislation is necessary to render its provisions conformable thereto," have considered the subject, and report that they are of the opinion that the act referred to in the resolution is not in conflict with the provisions of the Permanent Constitution, and that no legislation on the subject is now necessary.
Mr. Russell, from the same committee, to whom was referred
A bill to repeal an act for the sequestration of the estates, property, and effects of alien enemies, and for the indemnity of citizens of the Confederate States and persons aiding the same in the existing war with the United States,
reported the same back, asking that it be laid on the table and the committee be discharged from its further consideration; which was agreed to.
Mr. Bell, from the Committee on Patents, to whom was referred the petition of Thomas McNeill, reported the same back and asked that they be discharged from its further consideration, and that the petition lie upon the table; which was agreed to.
Mr. Jones, from the Committee on Rules and Officers of the House, to whom was referred
A bill from the Senate to regulate the compensation of the officers of the Senate,
reported the same back, with a recommendation that it pass with an amendment.
The bill was placed on the Calendar.
Also, from the same committee, to whom was referred
A resolution that the ex-members of the Provisional Congress be admitted to scats within the bar of this House while in session with open doors,
reported the same back, with a recommendation that it pass.
The rules were suspended;
The resolution was taken up.
Mr. Jones called the question; and
The call being seconded,
The resolution was adopted.
Mr. Jones also, from the same committee, offered
A resolution that the Clerk of the House of Representatives be authorized to have the services of one of his assistants with him during the secret sessions of the House, to aid him in the discharge of his duties.
Page 85 | Page image
The rules were suspended;
The resolution was taken up and agreed to.
Upon motion of Mr. Foote, the House then resolved itself into secret session; and having spent some time therein, again resolved itself into open session;
When,
The Chair presented a message from the President; which was read, and is as follows, to wit:
To the Senate and House of Representative of the Confederate States:
I herewith transmit a letter of the Secretary of the Navy, of this date, covering the official report of the naval engagement between the James River squadron and the enemy's fleet in Hampton Roads, on the 8th instant.
The officers and men of our Navy engaged in this brilliant affair deserve well of their country, and are commended to the consideration of the Congress.
The disparity of the forces engaged did not justify the anticipation of so great a victory, and it is doubly gratifying that it has been won upon an element where we were supposed to be least able to compete with our enemy.
Special attention is called to the perfidious conduct of the enemy in hoisting, on the frigate Congress, a white flag, and renewing fire from that vessel under the impunity thus obtained.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
On motion, the message and accompanying documents were laid on the table and ordered to be printed.
The Chair presented a message from the President; which was read as follows, to wit:
Executive Department, March 11, 1862.
To the Speaker of the House of Representatives:
I transmit herewith copies of such official reports as have been received at the War Department of the defense and fall of Fort Donelson. They will be found incomplete and unsatisfactory. Instructions have been given to furnish further information upon the several points not made intelligible by the reports. It is not stated that reenforcements were at any time asked for; nor is it demonstrated to have been impossible to have saved the army by evacuating the position; nor is it known by what means it was found practicable to withdraw a part of the garrison, leaving the remainder to surrender; nor upon what authority or principle of action the senior generals abandoned responsibility by transferring the command to a junior officer.
In a former communication to Congress I presented the propriety of a suspension of judgment in relation to the disaster at Fort Donelson until official reports could be received. I regret the information now furnished is so defective. In the meantime, hopeful that satisfactory explanation may be made, I have directed, upon the exhibition of the case as presented by the two senior generals, that they should be relieved from command to await further orders whenever a reliable judgment can be rendered on the merits of the case.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
On motion, the message and accompanying documents were laid on the table and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Heiskell moved that, in addition to the usual number, 1,000 copies of the reports of Generals Floyd and Pillow be printed.
The motion was referred to the Committee on Printing.
On motion of Mr. Gardenhire, leave of absence was granted to Mr. Tibbs, on account of sickness; and the same leave to Mr. Gardenhire, to accompany him home.
On motion of Mr. Kenner,
The House adjourned until 12 o'clock m. to-morrow.
Page 86 | Page image
SECRET SESSION.
The House being in secret session.
Mr. Herbert presented a memorial to the legislature of the State of Texas, from R. Creuzbaur; which was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs, without being read.
The House then proceeded to the consideration of the unfinished business of yesterday, which was the consideration of the amendment offered by Mr. Bonham to a bill to authorize the President to send additional commissioners to foreign nations.
By unanimous consent, the bill and all pending amendments werelaid on the table;
When,
Mr. Foote, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, reported and recommended the passage of
A joint resolution to authorize the President to send additional commissioners to foreign nations;
which was read first and second times.
A message was received from the President, by the hands of his Private Secretary, Mr. Josselyn, informing the House that the President has this day approved and signed
A resolution declaring the sense of Congress in regard to reuniting with the United States.
Mr. Conrad moved to amend the report of the committee by striking out the whole of the same and inserting in lieu thereof the following, to wit:
Resolved, That in the opinion of this House, it is advisable that a proposition be made, as soon as practicable, to such of the European powers as may be deemed advisable, that in case said power or powers should put an end to the blockade of the ports of this Confederacy, and should, in consequence of said proceeding, be involved in a war with the United States, this Government will bind itself to pay the expenses of such war, either in bonds, payable at such periods as may be agreed upon, or in commercial privileges and advantages to be extended to them, or both, as may be deemed advisable.
A message was received from the Senate, by the hands of Mr. Nash, their Secretary; which is as follows, to wit:
Mr. Speaker: The Senate have passed, unanimously, a resolution of this House of the following title, viz:
Resolution of thanks to Captain Buchanan and the officers and men under his command.
On motion of Mr. Garnett,
The House then resolved itself into open session.
PREVIOUS SECTION .. NEXT SECTION .. NAVIGATOR
| PREVIOUS | NEXT | NEW SEARCH |