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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 --SIXTH DAY--SATURDAY, December 12, 1863.

Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [Volume 6]
SIXTH DAY--SATURDAY, December 12, 1863.

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OPEN SESSION.

The House met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by Rev. Dr. Moore.

The Speaker appointed the following gentlemen as the special committee to whom was referred so much of the President's message as relates to the subject of the currency, together with the report of the Secretary of the Treasury:

Messrs. Boyce of South Carolina, Conrad of Louisiana, Jones of Tennessee, Baldwin of Virginia, Lyon of Alabama, Bridgers of North Carolina, and Gray of Texas.

And as the special committee to inquire into illegal arrests, etc.:

Messrs. Foote of Tennessee, Clopton of Alabama, Hartridge of Georgia, Ashe of North Carolina, and Funsten of Virginia.

Mr. Dargan introduced

A bill to be entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act in relation to the receipt of counterfeit Treasury notes by public officers;'" which was read a first and second time and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. Clopton offered the following resolution; which was adopted:

Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire--

• 1. Whether under the provisions of an act to regulate impressments, approved March twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, an impressing officer is authorized to offer to the owner of property designed to be impressed a price below the actual value, and upon the refusal of the owner to accept such offer, to proceed to impress said property without any further effort to agree upon the value thereof.
• 2. Whether a general commanding a department has the power under said act to authorize his subordinate officers to impress property beyond the limits of his department, without a general order from the Secretary of War, as provided in the fourth section of said act.
• 3. Whether the impressing officer is authorized under any circumstances to fix arbitrarily the quantity of provisions which each owner shall be permitted to retain for the support of himself and family, or whether the same must not in all cases be ascertained as provided in the seventh section of said act.
• 4. When the owner has two or more articles of the same kind of property and is authorized to retain one for the support of himself and family, whether the impressing officer has the right to elect which of said articles he will impress, and, if not, who has the power to decide.
• 5. Whether an impressing officer is or can be authorized under the provisions of said act to impress property for the benefit of contractors with the Government in order to enable them to fulfill their contracts.
• 6. Whether any and what further legislation is necessary upon the subject of impressments to protect the rights of owners of property and to prevent abuses by impressing officers.

Mr. Clopton introduced

A bill to be entitled "An act to repeal an act entitled 'An act to amend an act entitled "An act to regulate impressments by officers of the Army;"'"
which was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. Lyon presented the memorial of sundry soldiers of the First Battalion of Alabama Artillery, asking authority, in the event their services shall be retained upon the expiration of their present term of enlistment, to reorganize their battalion, elect their officers, and to be allowed such privileges as are by law extended to other soldiers of the

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Provisional Army; which, without being read, was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. Perkins offered the following resolution; which was adopted:

Resolved, That the President be requested to furnish this House with the names of such persons in the Army as have been specially noticed by their commanding officers for gallantry in the field, and who have for such gallant conduct been promoted from the ranks, stating the positions to which they have been appointed.

Mr. Read introduced

A bill to be entitled "An act for the benefit of Henley's battalion of clerks;"
which was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

On motion of Mr. Miles, a bill on the Calendar of last session, in relation to substitution, was taken up and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. Boyce moved that the Special Committee on the Currency be increased by the addition of two members.

The motion prevailed.

Mr. Simpson presented the petition of Julius P. Wright, praying compensation for taking the census of 1860 for the United States Government in Edgefield district, South Carolina; which, without being read, was referred to the Committee on Claims.

On motion of Mr. Simpson, leave of absence was granted his colleague, Mr. Farrow, who was detained from his seat by indisposition.

Mr. Simpson offered the following resolution; which was adopted:

Resolved, That it be referred to the Committee on the Military to inquire into the expediency of requiring all appointments in the various departments, where the duties are not of an actual character in the field, to be made from the following classes, viz: From disabled soldiers, from persons within the conscript age physically unable for field service, and from citizens over conscript age.

Mr. Lyons offered the following resolution; which was adopted:

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be requested to cause to be prepared for this House a statement of the value of the taxable property of the Confederate States upon the basis and after the plan of the census of eighteen hundred and sixty, if he has a copy of it; and if not, then upon the basis and plan of the census of eighteen hundred and fifty, with such allowance for subsequent increase and loss as he may deem reasonable.

Mr. Perkins moved to reconsider the vote by which the report of the Secretary of War was ordered to be printed.

The motion was lost.

On motion of Mr. Foote,

The House adjourned until Monday, 12 o'clock m.

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