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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 --TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY--FRIDAY, January 8, 1864.

Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [Volume 6]
TWENTY-SEVENTH DAY--FRIDAY, January 8, 1864.

OPEN SESSION.

The Chair announced the appointment of the Select Committee to Examine into the Outrages of the Enemy in North Carolina, under the resolution of Mr. Smith, as follows, viz:

Messrs. Smith of North Carolina, Holcombe of Virginia, Smith of Alabama, H. W. Bruce of Kentucky, and Vest of Missouri.

Also, the select committee under Mr. Foote's resolution to inquire into the charge of corruption preferred against a member of this House, viz:

Messrs. Lyons of Virginia, McQueen of South Carolina, and Atkins of Tennessee.

The House then resumed the consideration of the special order; which was the bill repealing existing and regulating future exemptions from military service.

Mr. Welsh moved to postpone the special order.

Mr. Foster called the question; which was ordered, and the motion to postpone was lost.

The question being on the amendment of Mr. Miles,

It was decided in the affirmative.

Mr. Singleton submitted the following amendment:

In section 1, line 5, after the word "Government," insert the words "to physicians who had been for five years continuously next before eleventh day of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, in the actual practice of their profession, and who have since continued in said practice; and to every minister of the gospel authorized to preach according to his sect, and who was on the said eleventh day of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, in the regular discharge of his ministerial duties and who has continued in the discharge of such duties to the present time."

Mr. Atkins moved to amend the amendment as follows, viz: Add at the end thereof the following:

Provided, however, That this act shall not in any wise repeal the existing law exempting certain persons for the benefit of the postal service.

Mr. Staples moved to recommit the bill and amendments to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. Foster called the question.

Pending which,

The morning hour having expired,

Mr. Jones moved that the House resolve itself into secret session.

The motion was agreed to, and

The House resolved itself into secret session; and having spent some time therein, again resolved itself into open session.

Mr. Elliott, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported as correctly enrolled

An act to authorize the cancellation of certain Confederate States bonds, and the substitution of others for them.

And the Speaker signed the same.

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By Mr. unanimous consent of the House the following bills, resolutions, memorials, communications, petitions, etc., were introduced, adopted, and referred, viz:

• By Mr. Jones: A bill for the relief of Capt. Jos. A. McRady; read a first and second time and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
• By Mr. Atkins: A bill to increase the effective force of the Provisional Army of the Confederate States; read first and second times, referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, and ordered to be printed.
• Mr. Staples: The memorial of A. Mahood, of Mercer County, Va., praying payment for houses destroyed by order of the commanding officer of Confederate forces; referred to the Committee on Claims.
• By Mr. Swan: A communication from L. T. Hardy, formerly captain Company A, Fourth Tennessee Infantry, asserting a claim; referred to the Committee on Claims.
• By Mr. Holcombe: The petition of Thomas Fox and other children of Thomas Fox, deceased, praying the passage of an act relinquishing the claim of Confederate Government to part of decedent's estate; referred to the Committee on Claims.
• By Mr. Baldwin: Memorial of Alexander F. Kinney, asking relief from losses in receiving counterfeit Treasury notes since January 1, 1863; referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
• By Mr. Hartridge: Memorial of Surg. J. R. Read in reference to hospitals; referred to the Committee on the Medical Department.
• By Mr. Dupré: A series of petitions from persons in the States west of the Mississippi, praying that Treasury notes be made a legal tender; referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
• By Mr. H. W. Bruce: Memorial of Z. McDaniel, inventor of "improvement in torpedoes," praying for relief, etc.; referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
• By Mr. Chambliss: The following resolution; which was adopted, viz:

  Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs inquire into the propriety of requiring some suitable badge to be prepared and presented to each officer and soldier who has been continuously in the service since the year eighteen hundred and sixty-one, as a mark of distinction for his fidelity and valor in the present war.

• By Mr. Farrow: Memorial of H. A. C. Walker and others, a committee on behalf of the South Carolina conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, praying that rations of a private and forage for one horse be allowed to missionaries laboring in the Army referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
• By Mr. Hanly: A bill to authorize the appointment of an auditor for the Trans-Mississippi Department, to define his duties and fix his salary; read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
• By Mr. Baldwin: A resolution; which was adopted as follows, viz:

  Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs inquire into the expediency--

  • 1. Of establishing in the Army a separate department of inspection and censorship, to be commanded by an officer of the rank of general.
  • 2. Of so organizing this department as to make it, in the selection of its officers and agents and in its whole operations, entirely independent of all the other departments of the Army and responsible alone to its own chief and the Secretary of War.
  • 3. Of charging this department with the duty of investigating, detecting, exposing, and prosecuting all offenses in the Army and in all its departments, by whomsoever committed.

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  • 4. Of authorizing this department to compel the discharge of duty on the part of any officer by suspension from office or stoppage of pay.

  Also, another resolution, adopted as follows, viz:

  Resolved, That the Committee on Ways and Means inquire what additional legislation is necessary to enable the accounting departments of the Government to keep pace with the other public business, so as to avoid the delays which now annoy all persons having dealings with the Government and impair the public credit.

• By Mr. Macwillie: A bill to amend an act entitled "An act to organize the Territory of Arizona;" read a first and second time and referred to the Committee on Territories, with instructions to report in secret session.
• By Mr. Singleton: A bill to authorize free white male citizens of the Confederate States, fourteen years of age and upward, to carry the mails; read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads.
• By Mr. Lyons: The petition of William R. Vaughan, administrator of W. S. Smith, deceased, praying payment for the loss of a slave while in the service of the Confederate States; referred to the Committee on Claims.
• By Mr. Perkins: The following resolutions; which were adopted, viz:

  Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing by law for a permanent military escort for transportation across the Mississippi River, which shall be organized like the Signal Corps for independent and special service and composed of men selected for their daring and familiarity with the localities.

  Resolved, That the Committee on Ways and Means be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing by law for the auditing of claims in the Trans-Mississippi Department, without the necessity of transmitting the evidence of such claims to the city of Richmond.

• By Mr. Boudinot: A bill to pay claims of deceased officers and soldiers of the Indian Territory; read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
• By Mr. Hartridge: A bill to prohibit the appointment, as volunteer aids, of persons liable to military service; read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
• By Mr. Hartridge: Memorial of G. T. G. White, praying relief for loss of Confederate bonds; referred to the Committee on Claims.
• By Mr. Heiskell: Communication from John M. Carmack, asserting a claim; referred to the Committee on Claims.
• By Mr. Sexton: A bill to provide additional compensation for the soldiers of the Army of the Confederate States and for the families of those who die in the service; read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs and ordered to be printed.
• By Mr. Gaither: The following resolution; which was adopted, viz:

  Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into the expediency of declaring by law that all persons, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, who have furnished substitutes in the Army, shall be considered in the military service (except those who have substitutes now in the service not liable to conscription), and all such persons who remove from the limits of the Confederate States shall be declared deserters from the service and punished as such: And further to provide, That all the property, both real and personal, of such deserters shall be confiscated to the use of the Confederate States, and that all sales and transfers of property made in contemplation of such desertion shall be void and of no effect.

• By Mr. Menees: Communication from James M. Avent on the subject of remuneration for cotton burned; referred to the Committee on Claims.

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• By Mr. Arrington: Memorial of Mrs. Pennington, asking compensation for damage sustained from Yankee prisoners.

A message was received from the President, by Mr. Harrison, his Private Secretary; which is as follows, viz:

Mr. Speaker: On the 6th instant the President approved and signed an act entitled

• H. R. 80. An act to continue in force an act entitled "An act to provide for the compensation of certain persons therein named," approved May 1, 1863.

Mr. Chilton offered the following resolution:

Resolved, That when this House adjourns to-day it will adjourn to meet to-morrow morning at ten o'clock.

Mr. Hilton called the question.

Pending which,

The House,

On motion of Mr. Sexton,

Adjourned until 11 o'clock to-morrow.

SECRET SESSION.

The House being in secret session,

Mr. Pugh, from the Special Committee on the Currency, reported

A bill to amend an act entitled "An act to lay taxes for the common defense and carry on the Government of the Confederate States," approved April 24, 1863;
which was read a first and second time, postponed, placed on the Calendar, made the special order to be considered after the other bills reported from said committee, and ordered to be printed.

The special order was then taken up for consideration; which was the bill to tax, fund, and limit the currency.

Mr. Foster moved to amend the resolution of Mr. Lyon as follows, viz: Add at the end thereof the following:

The committee be instructed to inquire into the expediency of laying a tax upon Confederate bonds equal to the tax upon Treasury notes.

Mr. Atkins demanded the previous question.

Mr. Gray moved a call of the House; which was ordered, and the following members answered to their names:

Messrs. Atkins, Bell, Boyce, Bridgers, E. M. Bruce, H. W. Bruce, Burnett, Chambliss, Chilton, Chrisman, Clapp, Clopton, Collier, Conrad, Crockett, Curry, Davidson, Dupré, Elliott, Ewing, Farrow, Foote, Foster, Freeman, Funsten, Gaither, Gardenhire, Garland, Garnett, Goode, Graham, Gray, Hanly, Hartridge, Heiskell, Hilton, Johnston, Jones, Kenan of Georgia, Kenan of North Carolina, Lewis, Lyon, Lyons, Machen, Martin, McDowell, McLean, McQueen, Menees, Miller, Munnerlyn, Perkins, Preston, Pugh, Read, Russell, Sexton, Simpson, Singleton, Smith of Alabama, Strickland, Swan, Trippe, Vest, Villeré, Welsh, Wilcox, Wright of Georgia, Wright of Tennessee, and Wright of Texas.

Present, 70.

On motion of Mr. Jones, further proceedings under the call were dispensed with.

The question being,

Shall the main question be now put?

Mr. Lyons demanded the yeas and nays;

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Which were ordered,

And recorded as follows, viz:
• Yeas ... 27
• Nays ... 42

Yeas: Atkins, Bell, Boyce, Chambliss, Clapp, Dupré, Elliott, Foote, Foster, Funsten, Gardenhire, Hilton, Jones, Kenan of North Carolina, Lewis, Lyon, McLean, Munnerlyn, Pugh, Singleton, Strickland, Vest, Villeré, Welsh, Wilcox, Wright of Tennessee, and Wright of Texas.

Nays: Bridgers, Eli M. Bruce, Horatio W. Bruce, Burnett, Chilton, Chrisman, Clopton, Collier, Conrad, Crockett, Curry, Dargan, Davidson, Ewing, Farrow, Freeman, Gaither, Garland, Garnett, Goode, Graham, Gray, Hanly, Hartridge, Heiskell, Johnston, Kenan of Georgia, Lyons, Marshall, Martin, McDowell, McQueen, Menees, Miller, Perkins, Read, Russell, Sexton, Simpson, Smith of Alabama, Swan, and Trippe.

So the demand was not sustained.

Mr. Foote called the question; which was ordered, and being put, on the amendment of Mr. Foster, was decided in the negative.

Mr. Lyons submitted the following amendment to the resolution of Mr. Lyon (as a substitute for the instructions):

To report a bill with the following provisions:

• "1. To compel all the holders of Treasury notes to fund the same without impairment of the principal thereof in Confederate bonds, payable thirty years after date, with such interest as the said notes now bear or were entitled to, the interest to commence six months after a treaty of peace with the United States shall be concluded, and to prohibit the circulation of all unfunded notes as currency.
• "2. To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to sell, as the necessities of the Government may require him, bonds of the Confederate Government to the amount of ... millions of dollars, the said bonds to be in such sums as the Secretary may deem necessary, from twenty dollars upward, and to bear interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, and be payable thirty years after date.
• "3. To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to issue, as the necessities of the Government may require it, Treasury notes to the amount of two hundred millions of dollars, in sums of not less than one hundred dollars."

  And also to report a bill imposing such taxes as will pay the interest of the public debt and defray the ordinary expenses of the Government.

Pending which,

The House,

On motion of Mr. Atkins,

Resolved itself into open session.

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