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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-FOURTH DAY--FRIDAY, March 28, 1862.
OPEN SESSION.
The House met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by the Rev. Mr. Kepler.
Mr. Royston offered the following resolution; which was read and agreed to, to wit:
Resolved, That, the Senate concurring, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Senate adjourn their respective Houses on Monday, the seventh day of April, anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-two, at twelve o'clock meridian.
Also, the memorial of Nicholas Hunter, of Polk County, Ark., in relation to a claim for services in carrying the mail; which was referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads, without being read.
Also, a bill to abolish the office of Assistant Secretary of State and the office of Assistant Attorney-General; which was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. Garland presented the memorial of James T. Elliott in relation to a change of a post route; which was referred to the Committee on Post Offices and Post-Roads, without being read.
Mr. Hanly offered the following resolution; which was read and agreed to, to wit:
Resolved, That the Clerk of this House be, and he is hereby, instructed to furnish the members with stationery during the deliberations thereof, and that he be authorized to pay for the same out of the contingent fund provided by law.
Mr. Perkins introduced
A bill to prohibit the transportation to and sale of certain articles in any port or place within the Confederate States in the possession of the enemy;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Perkins moved to reconsider the vote by which the resolution of Mr. Royston, relative to the adjournment of Congress, was adopted.
Mr. Jones called the question; which was seconded;
When,
Mr. Holcombe demanded the yeas and nays; and
The demand being sustained, the yeas and nays were recorded,
Yeas: Ashe, Ayer, Baldwin, Barksdale, Bell, Boteler, Boyce, Horatio W. Bruce, Burnett, Chambliss, Crockett, Davidson, Davis, De Jarnette, Gaither, Hanly, Harris, Heiskell, Holcombe, Johnston, Machen, McLean, Menees, Miles, Moore, Perkins, Preston, Read, Russell, Welsh, and Mr. Speaker.
Nays: Arrington, Atkins, Batson, Eli M. Bruce, Chambers, Chilton, Clapp, Clark, Clopton, Conrow, Curry, Dargan, Dawkins, Dupré, Ewing, Foote, Foster, Garland, Gartrell, Hartridge, Hilton, Holt, Jones, Kenan of Georgia, Kenan of North Carolina, Kenner, Lewis, Lyon, Marshall, McDowell, Munnerlyn, Pugh, Ralls, Royston, Sexton, Singleton, Smith of Alabama, Smith of North Carolina, Strickland, Swan, Vest, Villeré, Wilcox, and Wright of Tennessee.
So the motion to reconsider did not prevail.
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Mr. Moore moved to suspend the call of the States.
The motion did not prevail.
Mr. Davis offered the following resolution, to wit:
Resolved (the Senate concurring), That when Congress shall adjourn on Monday, the seventh day of April, it will adjourn to meet again on the first Monday in July, unless sooner convened by the President.
Mr. Foote called the question; which was seconded, and the resolution was agreed to.
Mr. Smith of North Carolina offered the following resolution; which was read and agreed to, to wit:
Resolved, That the President be requested to furnish this House with a copy of the official report of the battle of Bethel of June last, if not inconsistent with the public interest.
Also, the following resolution; which was read and agreed to, to wit:
That the Committee on Rules and Officers of the House be instructed to inquire into the expediency of amending the rules of the House by the following addition thereto:
No action shall be taken on a motion to reconsider in the same day in which a bill or joint resolution may pass.
Mr. Bridgers offered the following resolution; which was read and agreed to, to wit:
Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of authorizing by bill or otherwise the commutation of rations in whole or in part by privates and noncommissioned officers in the service of the Confederate States.
Mr. McDowell presented the memorial of James G. Cook, postmaster at Fayetteville, N. C., praying payment for mail service; which was referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads, without being read.
Mr. Boyce presented the memorial of P. Pierson and others in relation to Sunday mails; which was referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads, without being read.
Mr. Foote offered the following preamble and resolution, to wit:
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of our Southern soldiers under recent military disasters, but that, on the contrary, our armies and our whole people have of late become greatly more enthusiastic and resolute and far more confident as to the ultimate result of our struggle for independence: Therefore, be it
On motion of Mr. Kenan, the resolutions were laid on the table; and
On motion of Mr. Kenner, were ordered to be printed.
Mr. Ralls moved to reconsider the vote just taken.
The motion did not prevail.
Mr. Herbert introduced
A bill to authorize the Secretary of War to receive into the service of the Confederate States a regiment of volunteers for the protection of the frontier of Texas;
which was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Russell introduced
A joint resolution to authorize the State of Virginia to pay her quota of the war tax upon the terms prescribed in the twenty-fourth section of the act levying the same at any time when the proper list shall be furnished;
which was read and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
A message was received from the Senate, by the hands of Mr. Nash, the Secretary of that body; which is as follows, to wit:
Mr. Speaker: The Senate insist upon their amendment, disagreed to by the House, to the joint resolution (H. R. --) relating to the manner of paying members of the Provisional Congress the arrearages of their pay and mileage, ask a conference with the House on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon, and have appointed Mr. Orr, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Clark the managers at the said conference on their part.
Mr. Curry moved that the House insist on its refusal to concur in the amendment of the Senate to a joint resolution relating to the manner of paying members of the Provisional Congress the arrearages of their pay and mileage, and that the House agree to the request of the Senate for a committee of conference; which was agreed to.
Mr. Baldwin presented the petition of Robert C. McLuer, praying payment for a slave lost in the public service; which was referred to the Committee on Claims, without being read.
Mr. Lyons presented the petition of J. D. Goodman, praying compensation for the loss of lager beer spoiled by the declaration of martial law; which was referred to the Committee on Claims, without being read.
Mr. Ralls presented the petition of certain citizens of Alabama, praying relief from draft; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, without being read.
Mr. Miles, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred
A resolution in relation to pecuniary aid to prisoners taken at Fort Donelson,
reported the same back, asked to be discharged from its further consideration, and that the resolution lie on the table; which was agreed to.
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Mr. Miles, from the same committee, reported back the memorial of Gen. Duff Green in relation to the extension of the Western North Carolina Railroad, asked to be discharged from its further consideration, and that the resolution lie on the table; which was agreed to.
Mr. Miles, from the same committee, reported back, with the same recommendation, the petition of S. C. Taylor in relation to a repeating gun; which was agreed to.
Mr. Miles, from the same committee, to whom was referred
A bill to amend an act approved May 10, 1861, entitled "An act to amend an act to provide for the public defense," approved May 6, 1861,
reported the same back, with the recommendation that it do pass.
The rules were suspended;
The bill was taken up, engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
Mr. Miles, from the same committee, to which was referred
A bill to promote the efficiency of the Medical Department,
reported the same back, with the recommendation that it pass.
And the bill having been read as follows, to wit:
Be it enacted by the Congress of the Confederate States of America, That there be added to the Medical Department of the Confederate States Army, from the medical officers of which they will be appointed, two assistant surgeons-general, with the rank, pay, and allowances of a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, and after ten years' service in the grades of surgeon and assistant surgeon-general, to be entitled to an increase of pay equal to that now provided by law for surgeons; also that there be added, to serve during the present war, with the rank, pay, and allowances of a surgeon of ten years' service, a grade of medical inspectors, to be selected from the medical officers of the Army, in such number, not exceeding ten, as the President may direct,
Mr. Heiskell moved to amend by inserting after the word "surgeons" the words "but such offices not to continue beyond the present war."
The amendment was agreed to.
A message was received from the President, by the hands of his Private Secretary, Mr. Harrison, informing Congress that the President had to-day approved and sighed an act to fix the times for holding the Confederate court for the northern district of Georgia.
Mr. Miles moved to reconsider the vote by which Mr. Heiskell's amendment was adopted.
Mr. Singleton called the question; which was seconded, and the motion to reconsider did not prevail.
Mr. Swan moved to recommit the bill and amendment to the Committee on Military Affairs, and called the question; which was seconded, and the motion to recommit was lost.
Mr. Conrad moved to amend by adding after the word "war" the words
Provided, That surgeons in the Army of the Confederate States may be appointed assistant surgeons-general without prejudice to their position in said Army.
Mr. Atkins called the previous question; which was sustained, and the amendment was agreed to.
And the bill as amended was engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
The Chair presented a message from the President; which was read and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, and is as follows:
Executive Department, March 28, 1862.
To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Confederate States:
The operation of the various laws now in force for raising armies has exhibited the necessity for reform. The frequent changes and amendments which have been
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made have rendered the system so complicated as to make it often quite difficult to determine what the law really is, and to what extent prior enactments are modified by more recent legislation.
There is also embarrassment from conflict between State and Confederate legislation. I am happy to assure you of the entire harmony of purpose and cordiality of feeling which have continued to exist between myself and the executives of the several States; and it is to this cause that our success in keeping adequate forces in the field is to be attributed.
These reasons would suffice for inviting your earnest attention to the necessity of some simple and general system for exercising the power of raising armies which is vested in the Congress by the Constitution But there is another and more important consideration. The vast preparations made by the enemy for a combined assault at numerous points on our frontier and seacoast have produced the result that might have been expected. They have animated the people with a spirit of resistance so general, so resolute, and so self-sacrificing that it requires rather to be regulated than to be stimulated. The right of the State to demand, and the duty of each citizen to render, military service need only to be stated to be admitted. It is not, however, wise or judicious policy to place in active service that portion of the force of a people which experience has shown to be necessary as a reserve. Youths under the age of 18 years require further instruction--men of matured experience are needed for maintaining order and good government at home, and in supervising preparations for rendering efficient the armies in the field. These two classes constitute the proper reserve for home defense, ready to be called out in case of emergency, and to be kept in the field only while the emergency exists. But, in order to maintain this reserve intact, it is necessary that, in a great war like that in which we are now engaged, all persons of intermediate age not legally exempt for good cause should pay their debt of military service to the country, that the burthens should not fall exclusively on the most ardent and patriotic.
I, therefore, recommend the passage of a law declaring that all persons residing within the Confederate States, between the ages of 18 and 35 years, and rightfully subject to military duty, shall be held to be in the military service of the Confederate States, and that some plain and simple method be adopted for their prompt enrollment and organization, repealing all of the legislation heretofore enacted which would conflict with the system proposed.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
Mr. Miles, to whom was referred sundry resolutions in relation to paying the Virginia militia, reported
A bill to provide for the payment of officers of the Virginia militia; which was read first and second times and placed on the Calendar and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Russell moved to reconsider the vote by which the message of the President was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Miles, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred
A bill to keep the effective strength of the Army constantly equal to its legal number,
reported the some back, asked to be discharged from the further consideration of the same, and that the bill lie on the table; which was agreed to.
Also, from the same committee, to whom was referred
A bill to provide for the organization of troops in the service of the Confederate States to be armed with pikes when other available arms can not be obtained,
reported back the same, with the recommendation that it pass.
The rules were suspended;
The bill was taken up, engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
And the title of the same being under consideration,
Mr. Miles moved to strike out the whole of the original title and to insert in lieu thereof the following, to wit:
A bill to provide for keeping all firearms in the armies of the Confederate States in the hands of effective men.
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The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Foster offered the following resolution:
Resolved, That on and after Monday, the thirty-first instant, this House will have night sessions, to commence at half past seven o'clock postmeridian.
On motion of Mr. Lyons, the resolution was laid on the table.
Mr. Miles, from the Committee on Military Affairs, reported and recommended the passage of
A bill to amend the eighth section of the act entitled "An act to provide for the public defense," approved March 6, 1861;
which was read first and second times, placed on the Calendar, and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Miles, from the same committee, to whom was referred
A bill to provide for the employment of negroes on Government work,
reported the same back, with the recommendation that it pass.
The rules were suspended;
The bill was taken up, and having been read as follows, to wit:
With a view to secure against loss the owners of negroes in portions of the Confederacy exposed to invasion by the enemy, and to enable the Government to make available for purposes of defense the labor of such negroes: Therefore,
Be it enacted by the Congress of the Confederate States of America, That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to employ for the service of the Confederate States, during the continuance of the war, such able-bodied negro men from the age of sixteen to fifty as may tendered by their owners, to be employed in Government works, in Government foundries, in the fabrication of saltpeter, the construction of military roads, the erection of fortifications, or in such other labor as their services may be found valuable, on condition of their being clothed and fed by the Government and returned to their owners at the end of the war or their value paid.
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the President to have the value of such negroes fixed at the time of their employment and to provide suitable regulations and officers for their proper care and control,
Mr. Smith of North Carolina moved to amend the same by striking out the words "either in kind or value" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "or their value paid."
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Hilton moved to amend by adding after the words "continuance of the war" the words "at not more than one-half of the current rate of hire in the locality where employed."
On motion of Mr. McLean, the bill and amendments were placed on the Calendar and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Barksdale, from the Committee on Printing, by the unanimous consent of the House, reported as follows:
The Committee on Printing, to whom was referred a resolution adopted by this House on the 25th instant, instructing an investigation of the mode adopted by the different Departments in the execution of printing for the Confederate Government, beg leave to submit the following letter from the Superintendent of Public Printing as containing the information sought:
"Confederate States of America, Department of Justice,
"Bureau of Public Printing,
"Richmond, March 26, 1862.
"HON. E. Barksdale,
"Chairman of the Committee on Public Printing.
"Sir: Your note of this date, inclosing a resolution of Congress 'instructing the Committee on Public Printing to ascertain and inform the House what mode is adopted by the different Departments having printing done for the execution of the work, whether by private contract or by sealed proposals, and to ascertain whether the rates paid by the Government are the same as for printing done on private account,' has been received. In reply I have the honor to state that under the act entitled
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'An act in relation to public printing,' approved February 27, 1861, contracts were made by the chief officers of the Executive Departments 'of the Government for all necessary printing in connection with their several offices,' and, together with the bonds required by law, filed in this office. These contracts were awarded to the lowest responsible bidders.
"I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
"GEO. E. W. NELSON,
"Superintendent Public Printing."
The report was agreed to.
On motion, leave of absence was granted to Mr. Atkins of Tennessee.
And on motion of Mr. Foster,
The House resolved itself into secret session.
SECRET SESSION.
The House being in secret session,
Mr. Wilcox moved that the House do now adjourn.
On which motion he demanded the yeas and nays; and
The demand being sustained, the yeas and nays are recorded,
Yeas: Horatio W. Bruce, Eli M. Bruce, Burnett, Chambliss, Crockett, Davis, De Jarnette, Garland, Herbert, Hilton, Holt, Jenkins, Jones, Kenan of North Carolina, Kenner, Lander, Lyon, McLean, McRae, Miles, Moore, Pugh, Read, Welsh, Wilcox, and Mr. Speaker.
Nays: Arrington, Ashe, Atkins, Ayer, Baldwin, Barksdale, Batson, Chilton, Chrisman, Clapp, Clark, Clopton, Conrad, Conrow, Curry, Farrow, Foote, Foster, Garnett, Gartrell, Graham, Gray, Hartridge, Heiskell, Holcombe, Johnston, Lewis, Lyons, Machen, Marshall, McDowell, Menees, Perkins, Royston, Russell, Sexton, Singleton, Smith of North Carolina, Strickland, and Villeré.
So the motion was lost.
A message was received from the Senate, by the hands of Mr. Nash, the Secretary of that body; which is as follows, to wit:
Mr. Speaker: The Senate have passed a joint resolution of this House of the following title, viz:
A joint resolution to authorize the suspension of the execution of an act to authorize the President to cause to be constructed certain gunboats, approved December 24, 1861.
Mr. Kenner moved that the House do now adjourn.
On which motion Mr. Wilcox demanded the yeas and nays; and
The demand being sustained, the yeas and nays were recorded,
Yeas: Ashe, Baldwin, Barksdale, Burnett, Chrisman, Clapp, Clopton, Conrow, Curry, Farrow, Garland, Graham, Gray, Hartridge, Herbert, Hilton, Johnston, Jones, Kenan of North Carolina, Kenner, Lander, Machen, McDowell, McLean, Miles, Perkins, and Smith of North Carolina.
Nays: Arrington, Atkins, Ayer, Batson, Crockett, Gartrell, Holt, Menees, Read, Royston, Singleton, Welsh, Wilcox, and Mr. Speaker.
So the motion prevailed.
And the House adjourned until 12 o'clock m. to-morrow.
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