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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 --THIRTY-SECOND DAY--WEDNESDAY, March 26, 1862.
OPEN SESSION.
The House met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by the Right Rev. Bishop Johns.
Mr. Miles offered
A resolution that the President be requested to communicate to this House, if not deemed incompatible with the public interest, the number of vessels which have been commissioned as privateers, their tonnage, armament, and crews, together with the number, character. and value of the prizes which they have captured, so far as the Government may have received information of the same;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Miles also offered
A resolution that the Committee on Ways and Means be instructed to inquire into the expediency of appointing a commission by law, to
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be composed of such scientific and skillful persons as the President may select, whose duty it shall be to report to Congress at its next session a system of gold and silver coinage for the Confederate States;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Miles also introduced
A bill to promote the efficiency of the Medical Department of the Army;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Heiskell offered
A resolution requesting the Speaker to appoint a committee, to consist of three members, whose duty it shall be to inquire into the management of and inspect the various ordnance establishments in the city of Richmond and vicinity, and report on the condition of the same, with a view to increase the efficiency of the same, if practicable; which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Tibbs presented the letter of Capt. William L. Brown, asking pay for horses lost; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, without being read.
Mr. Gardenhire offered
A resolution that the special committee on the Roanoke affair be, and they are hereby, instructed to inquire whether the commissaries and quartermasters of East Tennessee are loyal to the South, and whether they, or some of them, have not squandered Southern funds upon Lincoln favorites, with a purpose to advance the cause of the despot.
Resolved, That said committee be authorized to send for persons and papers, if deemed necessary, and that they report the remedy by bill or otherwise; which was read and referred to the special committee on the destruction of public property.
Mr. Boteler presented a memorial from John McKown and others, asking pay for horses; which was referred to the Committee on Claims, without being read.
Also, a memorial of W. H. Refiner in reference to making Treasury notes a legal tender; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, without being read.
Mr. Chambliss presented a memorial from A. R. Smith, of Portsmouth, Va., asking certain relief; which was referred to the Committee on Claims, without being read.
Also, the communication of John E. McWilliams, asking pay for work; which was referred to the Committee on Claims, without being read.
Mr. Baldwin presented the memorial of J. C. Homan, of Rockingham, Va., asking pay for horses; which was referred to the Committee on Claims, without being read.
Mr. Lyons offered
A resolution that when a message shall be received from the President it shall be read immediately unless the House shall be engaged in voting, in which event it shall be read as soon as the vote has been completed and announced by the Speaker;
which was read and, upon motion of Mr. Royston, laid upon the table.
Mr. Royston offered
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A resolution that the President be respectfully requested to communicate to the House of Representatives what additional sums of money, if any, in his judgment, are necessary to be appropriated by Congress at the present session in addition to the estimates proposed and sent to this House by the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy, in order to secure a more vigilant and successful prosecution of the war and effective defense of the Confederate States of America;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Garland offered
A resolution that the thirty-sixth rule of this House be so amended as to increase the number of members constituting the Committee on Military Affairs to thirteen, and the Speaker shall appoint four additional members on such committee in such manner that each State shall be represented on the same;
which was laid over under the rules.
Mr. Kenner, by the consent of the House, from the Committee on Ways and Means, to whom was referred
A bill fixing the compensation of certain officers therein named, reported the same back, with the recommendation that it pass with an amendment.
The rules were suspended;
The bill was taken up.
Mr. Kenner, from the committee, moved to amend the bill by striking out all after the enacting clause; which is as follows:
That the annual compensation of the President of the Confederate States of America shall be at the rate of eighteen thousand dollars per annum, payable quarterly, and that the annual compensation of the Vice-President of the Confederate States of America, the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy, the Postmaster-General, and the Attorney-General shall be at the rate of four thousand dollars each per annum, payable quarterly.
That the President shall receive for his services during his term of office an annual salary of twenty-five thousand dollars, payable quarterly in advance, to commence on the twenty-second day of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, the time at which he entered upon the duties of his office.
And be it further enacted, That until a suitable executive mansion shall be provided for the President, the rent of one suited to the purpose shall be paid by the Government.
Mr. Royston demanded the yeas and nays on agreeing to the amendment;
Which were ordered,
Yeas: Arrington, Ashe, Atkins, Baldwin, Barksdale, Bell, Boteler, Boyce, Horatio W. Bruce, Eli M. Bruce, Burnett, Chambers, Chambliss, Chilton, Chrisman, Clapp, Clark, Conrad, Conrow, Cooke, Crockett, Dargan, Davis, Dawkins, De Jarnette, Dupré, Garland, Herbert, Holcombe, Jenkins, Johnston, Kenan of Georgia, Kenan of North Carolina, Kenner, Lander, Lewis, Lyon, Lyons, Machen, Marshall, McDowell, McLean, McRae, Miles, Moore, Munnerlyn, Perkins, Preston, Pugh, Read, Russell, Sexton, Singleton, Smith of Alabama, Staples, Strickland, Tibbs, Trippe, Villeré, Welsh, Wright of Texas, and Mr. Speaker.
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Nays: Ayer, Batson, Clopton, Curry, Ewing, Foote Foster, Gardenhire, Gartrell, Hanly, Heiskell, Jones, Menees, Royston, Smith of North Carolina, and Wright of Tennessee.
So the amendment was adopted.
The bill as amended was then engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
And on motion of Mr. Kenner, from the committee, the title was amended by striking out the same and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "A bill to fix the compensation of the President of the Confederate States."
Mr. Perkins offered
A resolution that the Clerk of the House of Representatives be required to have a Calendar, for the use of members, laid on the Speaker's desk the first day of each week;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Perkins moved that
A bill to prohibit the importation of articles the produce or manufacture of the United States, or of other nations from the United States into the Confederate States,
be taken up and placed upon the Calendar.
The motion was agreed to.
A message was received from the Senate, by their Secretary, Mr. Nash; which reads as follows:
Mr. Speaker: The Senate have passed, with an amendment, a bill of this House of the following title, viz:
In which amendment I am directed to ask the concurrence of this House.
The Senate have also passed, without amendment, a bill of this House of the following title, viz:
A bill to be entitled "An act to fix the times for holding the Confederate court for the northern district of Georgia."
The Senate have also passed the following resolution, viz:
"Resolved, That a joint committee of two on the part of the Senate and three on the part of the House of Representatives be appointed to examine into the condition of the records and all other papers of the Provisional Congress heretofore directed to be turned over to the keeping of the two Houses, respectively, with a view to make some proper disposition of them, and to report by bill or otherwise."
To which resolution I am directed to ask the concurrence of this House.
The Senate have appointed Mr. Johnson and Mr. Hunter on their part on said committee.
Mr. Chambers offered
A resolution of inquiry concerning the returns of disbursing officers and agents;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Chambers introduced
A bill to enforce prompt returns from disbursing officers and agents; which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Barksdale offered
A resolution that the Committee on Ways and Means be instructed to inquire into and report upon, by bill or otherwise, the expediency of the Government taking immediate possession of the cotton or tobacco which has been or may hereafter be subscribed to the "produce loan," and paying for the same in bonds of this Confederacy, maturing at the expiration of twenty years, with interest payable
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semiannually, or in Treasury notes, at the option or the subscribers to the said loan;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Clapp offered
A resolution that the Committee on Ways and Means be instructed to inquire into the expediency and propriety of so modifying the existing laws in relation to the collection of taxes due to the Confederate Government as to authorize the payment of such taxes in cotton, tobacco, or supplies needful to the Government in the prosecution of the war, in cases where the payment as now required by law can not be made or will be greatly oppressive to the taxpayers; and to report by bill or otherwise as soon as practicable;
which was read and agreed to.
Upon motion, leave of absence was granted Messrs. Davis and Hilton.
Mr. Garnett called for the special order of the day.
Pending which,
The House resolved itself into secret session; and having spent some time therein, again resolved itself into open session;
When,
A message was received from the President, by his Private Secretary, Mr. Harrison, informing the House that on yesterday he approved and signed a joint resolution to aid our prisoners in the hands of the enemy.
On motion of Mr. Burnett, the House took up for consideration
A joint resolution in relation to paving arrearages of pay and mileage of members of the Provisional Congress;
which, with an amendment of the Senate, had been reported back from the Committee on Pay and Mileage, with the recommendation that the House do not concur in the amendment of the Senate.
And the question being on agreeing to the amendment of the Senate, which was to strike out the words "provided that no member of the Provisional Congress who is a member of this Congress shall be entitled to constructive mileage,"
Mr. Heiskell demanded the question; which being seconded,
Mr. Garnett called for the yeas and nays; which was seconded.
Mr. Wright of Georgia moved that the House adjourn.
Mr. Garnett demanded the yeas and nays; which was seconded,
Yeas: Arrington, Atkins, Baldwin, Bridgers, Horatio W. Bruce, Burnett, Chambers, Chambliss, Chrisman, Clapp, Clopton, Conrad, Conrow, Curry, Davis, Elliott, Ewing, Farrow, Garland, Hartridge, Kenan of Georgia, Kenan of North Carolina, Miles, Moore, Pugh, Smith of North Carolina, Villeré, Welsh, and Wright of Georgia.
Nays: Ashe, Ayer, Eli M. Bruce, Clark, Dawkins, Foote, Gardenhire, Garnett, Heiskell, Jenkins, Jones, Machen, Strickland, and Swan.
So the House adjourned until 12 o'clock to-morrow.
SECRET SESSION.
The House being in secret session,
Proceeded to the consideration of the unfinished business of the last secret session, which was the consideration of a bill making appropriations for the Government from the 1st of April to the 30th of November, 1862;
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When,
Mr. Lyons withdrew his motion to reconsider the vote by which the bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.
And the bill was read a third time and passed as amended.
The Chair presented a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury in reply to a resolution of inquiry from the Congress in relation to the time of the payments of the interest due ell the public debt; which, with the accompanying documents, was ordered to be printed and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
The Chair presented a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury in response to a resolution of inquiry of the Congress in relation to persons entitled to pensions now on the pension rolls of the United States; which was read and laid on the table.
The Chair presented a message from the President; which is as follows:
Executive Department, March 25, 1862.
To the honorable the Speaker of the House of Representative.
Sir: I herewith transmit for the consideration and action of the House of Representatives a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, covering an estimate of an additional appropriation required for the service of the Navy Department from April 1 to November 30, 1862.
I recommend that an appropriation be made of the sum, and for the purpose specified.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
On motion, the message and accompanying documents were referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
On motion of Mr. Kenner, the House went into Committee of the Whole, Mr. Lyons being in the chair, on
A bill to provide further means for the public defense and for the support of the Government;
and having spent some time therein, on motion of Mr. Kenner, the committee rose and, through their Chairman, Mr. Lyons, reported that they had duly considered the bill and recommended its passage, with sundry amendments.
And the question being upon agreeing to the amendments of the committee, Mr. Garnett demanded the previous question, and the demand being sustained, the amendments were agreed to, and are as follows, to wit:
In the first section of the bill, to insert after the words "fifteen millions" the words "of dollars," and to strike out the word "appropriated" and to insert in lieu thereof the word "apportioned."
And to add at the end of said section the following words, to wit:
"And provided further, That all bonds issued under this section shall be made redeemable at the pleasure of the Government, after the expiration of ten years from their respective dates, but the faith of the Government shall be pledged to redeem the same at the expiration of thirty years from such dates."
And in the second section of the bill, in the clause relating to the rate of interest of bonds and certificates to be exchanged for Treasury notes, to fill the blank with the word "six."
And in section third to strike out the word "they" and insert in lieu thereof the words "the said certificates."
The bill as amended was then engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
And the title of the same, on motion of Mr. Miles, was amended by striking out the words "for public defense and."
A message was received from the President, by the hands of his Private Secretary, Mr. Harrison.
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The Chair presented a message from the President; which is as follows:
Executive Department, Richmond, Va., March 25, 1862.
To the House of Representatives of the Confederate States:
In answer to your resolution of the 21st instant, calling upon the President for information in regard to the protection of our principal cities from iron-plated vessels by means of obstructions and submarine batteries, and whether any additional appropriations are needed for these objects, I have to state generally that the channels of approach to our principal cities have been, and are being, obstructed according to the means at hand; that submarine batteries have been, and are being, prepared, and that no additional appropriations for these objects are considered to be needed.
Until recently the character of the enemy's iron-plated vessels was not well enough known to arrange obstructions specially for them, but the same principle obtains, and the obstructions already prepared can be strengthened when necessary.
For the want of insulated wire we are deprived of that class of submarine batteries exploded at will by electricity, which promises the best results. Experiments upon several kinds of such as are exploded by impact have been in progress since an early period of the war.
These torpedoes can be rendered harmless by the enemy in most cases by setting adrift floating bodies to explode them, as is said to have been done on the Mississippi River, and as they can not be put in place so long as all the channels are required for use by our own boats, no great degree of importance is attached to them.
They may serve, however, to gain time by making the enemy more cautious; and most of our seacoast defenses have already received, or will as soon as practicable receive, a certain supply of them.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
On motion, the message was laid on the table.
And on motion of Mr. Kenner, the House went into the Committee of the Whole, Mr. McRae being in the chair, on
A bill to prohibit the exportation of either cotton or tobacco of the present crop, except in certain cases;
and having spent some time therein, on motion of Mr. Atkins, the committee rose and, through their Chairman, Mr. McRae, reported that they had not finished the consideration of the bill, and asked leave to sit again; which was agreed to.
On motion of Mr. Burnett,
The House then resolved itself into open session.
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