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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 --FORTY-NINTH DAY--WEDNESDAY, February 3, 1864.
OPEN SESSION.
The House met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by Rev. Mr. Duncan.
Mr. Curry introduced
A bill to repeal an act entitled "An act to discharge certain civil officers from the military service of the Confederate States," approved April 2, 1863.
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The bill was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Curry also introduced
A bill to regulate furloughs in certain cases;
which was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Curry also introduced joint resolutions in reference to the treatment of colored troops; which were read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Curry also introduced joint resolutions of thanks to Lieutenant-General Longstreet and the officers and men of his command; which were read first and second times.
Mr. Curry moved to suspend the rules which required the resolutions to be referred to a committee.
The motion was agreed to.
The joint resolutions were then engrossed, read a third time, and unanimously passed.
Mr. Curry moved to reconsider the vote just taken.
The motion was lost.
Mr. Foster introduced joint resolutions of thanks to the division commanded by Major-General Rodes; which were read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
The Speaker laid before the House a series of resolutions adopted by the Twentieth Artillery Battalion of Alabama Volunteers, reenlisting for the war; which were laid on the table and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Foster introduced
A bill to exempt certain persons from the payment of the tax in kind;
which was read first and second times and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
Mr. Foster introduced
A bill to increase the pay of the noncommissioned officers and privates of the Army;
which was read a first and second time.
Mr. Foster moved to suspend the rule requiring the bill to be referred to a committee, and demanded the yeas and nays thereon; which were not ordered.
The motion did not prevail.
The bill was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Lander, by unanimous consent, introduced
A joint resolution of thanks to the brigade of North Carolina troops commanded by Brig. Gen. S. D. Ramseur for reenlisting for the war; which was read first and second times.
The rule requiring the joint resolution to be referred to a committee being suspended, it was engrossed, read a third time, and unanimously passed.
On motion of Mr. Pugh, the vote by which the joint resolutions of thanks to the troops of Major-General Rodes were referred to the Committee on Military Affairs was reconsidered.
Mr. Pugh then moved that the rule requiring the joint resolutions to be referred to a committee be suspended.
The motion was agreed to.
The joint resolutions were then engrossed and read a third time.
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Mr. Chambers moved that they be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Jones moved the previous question; which was ordered.
The motion to refer was lost.
The joint resolutions were then unanimously adopted.
Mr. Conrad moved to suspend the rules, to enable him to introduce a bill, and demanded the yeas and nays; which were not ordered.
The motion to suspend the rules was lost.
Mr. Sexton moved to suspend the rules requiring States to be called for bills, memorials, etc.
The motion was lost.
Mr. Hilton introduced
A joint resolution of thanks to certain Florida troops;
which was read first and second times.
On motion of Mr. Hilton, the rule requiring the joint resolution to be referred to a committee was suspended.
And the same having been engrossed, was read a third time and unanimously passed.
Mr. Gartrell presented a memorial of D. E. McCurry, of Georgia, asserting a claim for carrying the mail; which was referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads.
Mr. Wright of Georgia introduced the following preamble and resolutions, viz:
Whereas the President of the United States in a late public communication did declare that no proposition for peace had been made to that Government by the Confederate States, when in truth such propositions were prevented from being made by the President of the United States, in that he refused to hear, or even to receive, the commissioners appointed to treat expressly of the preservation of amicable relations between the two Governments:
Nevertheless, that the Confederate States may stand justified in the sight of the conservative men of the North of all parties, and that the world may know which of the two Governments it is that urges on a war unparalleled for the fierceness of the conflict, and intensifying into a sectional hatred unsurpassed in the annals of mankind: Therefore,
Resolved, That the Confederate States do invite the United States, through their Government at Washington, to meet them, by representatives, equal to the Representatives and Senators of their respective Congress, aton theday ofnext, to consider--
Resolved, In the event of the passage of these resolutions, the President be requested to communicate the same to the Government at Washington, in such manner as he may deem most in accordance with the usages of nations; and in the event of their acceptance by that Government, he do issue his proclamation of election of delegates under such regulations as he may deem expedient.
On motion of Mr. Pugh,
The House then resolved itself into secret session; and after spending some time therein, resumed business in open session.
Mr. Elliott, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported as correctly enrolled
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And the Speaker signed the same.
Mr. Lyons moved that the House adjourn.
The motion was lost.
On motion of Mr. Swan,
The House took a recess until half past 7 o'clock.
Having reassembled,
The House, on motion of Mr. Foster, resolved itself into secret session; and having spent some time therein, resumed business in open session.
On motion of Mr. Swan,
The House adjourned until to-morrow at 11 o'clock a. m.
SECRET SESSION.
The House being in secret session, resumed the consideration of the special order; which was the Senate bill to organize forces to serve during the war.
Mr. McLean moved to amend the fourth section by inserting, in line 24, after the word "physician," the words "not including dentists."
Mr. Wilcox called the question; which was ordered, and the amendment of Mr. McLean was agreed to.
Mr. McQueen moved to amend by striking out, in same clause, the word "thirty-five" and inserting in lieu thereof the word "thirty."
Mr. Clark moved to amend the amendment of Mr. McQueen by striking out the word "thirty" and inserting the word "forty."
Mr. Jones called the question; which was ordered, and the amendment of Mr. Clark was lost.
Mr. Conrad moved to amend the amendment of Mr. McQueen by striking out the word "thirty" and inserting the word "thirty-eight."
The amendment of Mr. Conrad was lost.
Mr. Jones called the question; which was ordered, and the amendment of Mr. McQueen was lost.
Mr. Miles moved to suspend the rules, to enable him to offer a resolution restricting debate on proposed amendments.
Mr. Jones demanded the yeas and nays thereon;
Which were ordered,
Yeas: Arrington, Atkins, Boteler, Boyce, Horatio W. Bruce, Clapp, Clark, Clopton, Collier, Dargan, Davidson, Dupré, Ewing, Farrow, Foote, Foster, Funsten, Gaither, Garland, Goode, Graham, Gray, Hanly, Hartridge, Jones, Kenan of North Carolina, Lander, Lyon,
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Machen, Martin, McQueen, Menees, Miles, Miller, Munnerlyn, Perkins, Preston, Pugh, Singleton, Smith of Alabama, Smith of North Carolina, Staples, Strickland, Swan, Villeré, Welsh, Wilcox, and Wright of Georgia.
Nays: Ashe, Baldwin, Bridgers, Chilton, Conrad, Curry, Hilton, Holcombe, Ingram, Johnston, Lewis, Lyons, McLean, Ralls, Russell, Sexton, Simpson, and Wright of Texas.
Two-thirds having voted in the affirmative, the rules were suspended, and
Mr. Miles offered the following resolution:
Resolved, That all debate shall be suspended until the bill under consideration shall be ordered to a third reading.
Mr. Smith of North Carolina moved to amend the resolution of Mr. Miles by striking out the same and inserting in lieu thereof the following, viz:
That the debate on amendments to the pending bill be limited to two speeches--one for and one against the proposed amendment, and neither to exceed five minutes in length.
Mr. Welsh moved to lay the amendment of Mr. Smith of North Carolina on the table; which motion was lost.
Mr. Hilton called the question; which was ordered, and the amendment of Mr. Smith was agreed to, and the resolution of Mr. Miles, as amended, was agreed to.
Mr. Wright of Texas moved to amend the fourth section by inserting, in line 26, after the word "profession," the following:
Provided, That said physicians shall not charge exceeding fifty per cent on fees as charged in eighteen hundred and sixty-one for professional services,
And demanded the yeas and nays thereon; which were not ordered.
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Curry moved to amend by inserting after the word "profession," in line 26, the words "the superintendent and not more than ten reporters of the Press Association."
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Clapp moved that the rules be suspended to enable him to offer a resolution.
The motion was agreed to, and
Mr. Clapp offered the following resolution:
Resolved, That any resolution or proposition having for its object a cessation of hostilities with the United States, or suggesting any overture or proceeding on the part of the Congress or Government of the Confederate States with a view to the obtaining of peace, be first submitted by the member proposing the same to the House in secret session.
Mr. Clapp called the question; which was ordered, and the resolution was adopted.
Mr. Hartridge moved to reconsider the vote by which the resolution was adopted, and called the question; which was ordered.
The motion to reconsider was lost.
Mr. Holcombe submitted the following amendment:
Strike out, in lines 26, 27, 28, and 29, the words "Teachers whose schools are composed of not less than twenty students, and who are now engaged, and have been continuously engaged, in teaching for two years next preceding the passage of this act," and insert in lieu thereof the following, viz: "All presidents and teachers of colleges, academies, schools, and theological seminaries who have been regularly engaged as such for two years previous to the passage of this act: Provided, That the benefit of this exemption shall extend to those teachers only whose schools are composed of twenty students or more."
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The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Holcombe moved to amend by adding to the amendment just adopted the following:
for the remainder of the current session, all students in any incorporated institution of learning.
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Smith of North Carolina moved to amend by inserting after the word "profession," in line 26, the following:
All persons who have been, and now are, members of the Society of Friends and the Association of Dunkards, Nazarenes, and Mennonists, in regular membership in their respective denominations, who have not paid the sum of five hundred dollars, as heretofore required by law for such exemption, on condition that for each one so exempted the sum of five hundred dollars be paid into the Treasury.
Mr. Atkins moved to amend the amendment of Mr. Smith by adding the following, viz:
Provided, That this exemption shall not apply to any person not a member of said churches on the sixteenth of October, eighteen hundred and sixty-two.
The amendment of Mr. Atkins was agreed to.
The question recurring on the amendment of Mr. Smith, as amended,
Mr. Atkins demanded the yeas and nays; which were not ordered, and the amendment of Mr. Smith was lost.
Mr. Swan moved to amend the fourth section by adding at the end of third paragraph the following:
And provided further, That the persons exempted under this paragraph shall take and subscribe an oath that during the pending war they have in no manner engaged in the purchase and sale of provisions and clothing with a view to profit thereby.
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Hanly moved to amend by adding at end of third paragraph the following, viz:
And provided further, That editors of newspapers, apothecaries, physicians, and public printers of Confederate and State governments, who are exempted under this act, shall, before they are exempt hereunder, pay to the collector of the district in which they may reside the sum of five hundred dollars, taking from such collector a receipt for the amount so paid, which he shall file with the Secretary of the Treasury to the end that such collector may be charged with the amount thereof.
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Bridgers submitted the following amendment as an independent paragraph, to come in between the third and fourth:
IV. Superintendents, mechanics, miners, and engineers employed in the production and manufacture of lead and iron, persons engaged in burning coke for smelting and manufacture of iron, and one collier to each furnace, and one for every two forges making charcoal blooms; but said exemption shall not apply to laborers, messengers, and wagoners: Provided, The persons interested in the exemptions enumerated in this section shall make an affidavit, in writing, that said persons are necessary to such works, and that, after diligent effort, they have been unable to employ persons who are not liable to military duty.
Mr. McRae called the question; which was ordered, and the amendment of Mr. Bridgers was lost.
Mr. Smith of North Carolina moved to amend by adding the following as an independent section, to come in between the third and fourth:
Shoemakers, tanners, blacksmiths, wagon makers, millers and their engineers.
Mr. Pugh moved to amend the amendment of Mr. Smith by striking out the whole and inserting in lieu thereof the following, viz:
All shoemakers, tanners, blacksmiths, wagon makers, over thirty-five years old, skilled and actually employed on the sixteenth of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-two,
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and for two years prior thereto in said trades as their regular and exclusive vocation, and working therein for the public, and who have since said time been so regularly and exclusively employed: Provided, Said persons shall make oath, in writing, supported by the affidavits of at least two creditable persons, that they, said artisans and mechanics, are so skilled, and are, and have been, since the sixteenth of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, actually and exclusively employed in one of the above trades as their regular and exclusive vocation, and working for the public at rates not exceeding seventy-five per cent on the actual cost to them of the article produced by them for sale, and that they have not in any way stimulated the advance in prices of the raw material out of which their various manufactures have been or are made; and it shall be the duty of each enrolling officer to make diligent inquiry into the truth of said affidavit, and if he shall find the same or any part thereof untrue the exemption shall not be allowed.
The amendment of Mr. Pugh was agreed to.
The amendment as amended was lost.
Mr. Farrow moved to amend by adding at the end of third paragraph the words:
also one superintendent for each cotton, woolen, and paper factory, under such terms and regulations as the Secretary of War may direct.
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Clark moved to amend the fourth paragraph by striking out the words "feme sole," in line 38.
The amendment was not agreed to.
Mr. McRae moved to amend by striking out, in same line, the words "minor, or person of unsound mind, a feme sole;" which was not agreed to.
Mr. Hartridge moved to amend said paragraph by striking out, in lines 40 and 41,the words "effective hands" and insert in lieu thereof the word "slaves," and demanded the yeas and nays thereon;
Which were ordered,
Yeas: Arrington, Ashe, Baldwin, Bridgers, Chambers, Clopton, Collier, Curry, Dargan, De Jarnette, Foster, Garland, Goode, Graham, Hartridge, Holcombe, Ingram, Jones, Lewis, Lyon, Lyons, Martin, Miles, Munnerlyn, Perkins, Preston, Pugh, Ralls, Sexton, Simpson, Staples, Strickland, and Wright of Georgia.
Nays: Atkins, Boteler, Clark, Conrad, Davidson, Dupré, Ewing, Farrow, Funsten, Gaither, Gartrell, Gray, Hanly, Heiskell, Hilton, Kenan of North Carolina, Lander, Machen, McLean, McQueen, McRae, Menees, Miller, Russell, Singleton, Smith of Alabama, Swan, Villére, Welsh, and Wilcox.
So the amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Dupré submitted the following amendment:
Strike out, in lines 41 and 42, the words "the person so exempted was employed and acting as an overseer previous to the sixteenth of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and;"
which was agreed to.
Mr. Simpson moved to amend by striking [out] after the word "exempted," in line 38, the words
one person on each farm or plantation the sole property of a minor, a person of unsound mind, a feme sole, or a person absent from home in the military or naval service of the Confederacy, on which there are twenty or more slaves: Provided, There is no white male adult on said farm or plantation who is not liable to military duty,
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which facts shall be verified by the affidavits of said person and two respectable citizens, and shall be filed with the enrolling officer,
and insert in lieu thereof the following, viz:
one overseer on each farm or [plantation] on which there are twenty or more slaves, and on which there is no white male adult who is not liable to military duty, which facts shall be verified by the affidavits of two respectable citizens, and shall be filed with the enrolling officer: Provided, That the tax in kind of said farms or plantations shall be doubled.
Mr. Machen moved to amend the amendment of Mr. Simpson by striking out the words "twenty slaves" and inserting in lieu thereof "ten efficient hands."
Mr. Atkins demanded the yeas and nays on the amendment of Mr. Machen;
Which were ordered,
Yeas: Atkins, Boteler, Horatio W. Bruce, Clark, Dupré, Farrow, Funsten, Heiskell, Hilton, Machen, McRae, Menees, Miller, Perkins, Royston, Russell, Singleton, Strickland, and Wright of Georgia.
Nays: Arrington, Ashe, Bridgers, Chilton, Clopton, Collier, Conrow, Curry, Dargan, Davidson, De Jarnette, Foster, Gaither, Garland, Gartrell, Goode, Graham, Hanly, Hartridge, Holcombe, Holder, Ingram, Johnston, Kenan of North Carolina, Lewis, Lyon, Lyons, McQueen, Miles, Preston, Pugh, Ralls, Sexton, Simpson, Smith of Alabama, Smith of North Carolina, Swan, Villeré, Welsh, and Wilcox.
So the amendment was lost.
Mr. Foster called the question.
Mr. Foote demanded the previous question; which was not seconded.
The question was ordered, and the amendment of Mr. Simpson was lost.
Mr. Goode moved to amend by inserting after the word "duty," in line 50, the words
Provided further, That the owner of such farm or plantation shall sell all his surplus provisions hereafter raised for the use of soldiers' families and for the use of the Government at prices not greater than those fixed for the time being by the commissioners appointed under the impressment act,
And demanded the yeas and nays thereon;
Which were ordered,
Yeas: Atkins, Boteler, Chambers, Chilton, Collier, Conrow, Curry, De Jarnette, Ewing, Foote, Funsten, Gartrell, Goode, Graham, Hanly, Hartridge, Heiskell, Hilton, Holder, Ingram, Johnston, Lander, Machen, McLean, McQueen, McRae, Menees, Miller, Munnerlyn, Perkins, Pugh, Ralls, Russell, Sexton, Simpson, Singleton, Strickland, Swan, Villeré, Welsh, Wilcox, and Wright of Georgia.
Nays: Arrington, Ashe, Baldwin, Horatio W. Bruce, Clark, Clopton, Dargan, Davidson, Dupré, Farrow, Foster, Gaither, Garland, Holcombe, Jones, Kenan of North Carolina, Lewis, Lyon, Lyons, Martin, Miles, Preston, Smith of Alabama, Smith of North Carolina, and Staples.
So the amendment was agreed to.
Mr. Hilton submitted the following amendment:
Strike out after the word "annually," in line 55, the words "into the public Treasury, by the owners of such slaves, the sum of five hundred dollars," and insert
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in lieu thereof the following, viz: "for the benefit of the Government one-tenth of the tithable products raised on said farm or plantation in return for such exemption."
Mr. Ingram moved to amend the amendment of Mr. Hilton by striking out the whole and inserting in lieu thereof the following, viz:
the sum of twenty-five dollars for every hand so employed.
The amendment of Mr. Ingram was agreed to.
Pending the amendment of Mr. Hilton,
The Chair laid before the House a communication from the President; which was read as follows, viz:
To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Confederate States of America:
The present state of the Confederacy, in my judgment, requires that I should invite your attention to a condition of things existing in the country which has already been productive of serious evil and which threatens still graver consequences unless an adequate remedy shall be speedily applied by the legislation of Congress. It has been our cherished hope, and hitherto justified by the generous self-devotion of our citizens, that when the great struggle in which we are engaged was passed, we might exhibit to the world the proud spectacle of a people unanimous in the assertion and defense of their rights,and achieving their liberty and independence, after the bloodiest war of modern times, without the necessity of a single sacrifice of civil right to military necessity. But it can no longer be doubted that the zeal with which the people sprang to arms at the beginning of the contest has in some parts of the Confederacy been impaired by the long continuance and magnitude of the struggle.
While brigade after brigade of our brave soldiers who have endured the trials of the camp and battlefield are testifying their spirit and patriotism by a voluntary reenlistment for the war, discontent, disaffection, and disloyalty are manifested among those who, through the sacrifices of others, have enjoyed quiet and safety at home. Public meetings have been held, in some of which a treasonable design is masked by a pretense of devotion to State sovereignty, and in others is openly avowed. Conventions are advocated with the pretended object of redressing grievances, which, if they existed, could as well be remedied by ordinary legislative action, but with the real design of accomplishing treason under the form of law. To this end a strong suspicion is entertained that secret leagues and associations are being formed. In certain localities men of no mean position do not hesitate to avow their disloyalty and hostility to our cause, and their advocacy of peace on the terms of submission and the abolition of slavery. In districts overrun by the enemy, or liable to their encroachments, citizens of well-known disloyalty are holding frequent communication with them, and furnishing valuable information to our injury, even to the frustration of important military movements. And yet must they, through too strict regard to the technicalities of the law, be permitted to go at large till they have perfected their treason by the commission of an overt act? After the commission of the act the evidence is often unattainable because within the enemy's lines. Again and again such persons have been arrested, and as often they have been discharged by the civil authorities, because the Government could not procure testimony from within the lines of the enemy. On one occasion, while a party of officers were laying a torpedo in James River, persons on shore were detected in communicating with the enemy, and were known to pilot them to a convenient post for observing the nature of the service in which the party were engaged. They were arrested, and were discharged on habeas corpus, because, although there was moral certainty of their guilt, it could not be proved by competent testimony. Twice the Government has received secret and confidential information of plots to release the prisoners confined in Richmond. The information was sufficiently definite to enable preventive measures to be adopted with success; but as it pointed out the guilty conspirators by strong suspicion only, and not by competent testimony, they could not be arrested, and are still at large, ready to plot again. A citizen possessing the means and opportunity of doing much injury to the service was arrested for disloyalty. He was twice examined before different commissioners. Upon each examination he avowed his hostility to our cause and his desire to join the enemy. Both commissioners considered that it would be dangerous to suffer him to go at large. Yet, upon the demand of the civil authorities, he had to be released for want of competent legal testimony.
The capital of the Government is the object of peculiar attention to the enemy. I have satisfactory reasons for believing that spies are continually coming and going in our midst. Information has been repeatedly received from friendly parties at the North that particular individuals then in Richmond were sent as spies by the enemy.
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Yet, however accurate and reliable such information might be, it was not competent testimony, and it was idle to arrest them, only to be discharged by the civil authorities. Important information of secret movements among the negroes, fomented by base white men, has been received from faithful servants, but no arrests of instigators could be made because there was no competent testimony. Apprehensions have more than once been entertained of a servile insurrection in Richmond. The Northern papers inform us that Butler is perfecting some deep-laid scheme to punish us for our refusal to hold intercourse with him. If, as is not improbable, his design should point to servile insurrection in Richmond, incendiarism, and the destruction of public works, so necessary to our defense, and so impossible to be replaced, how can we hope to fathom it and reach the guilty emissaries and contrivers but by incompetent negro testimony?
In some of the States civil process has been brought to bear with disastrous efficiency upon the Army. Every judge has power to issue the writ of habeas corpus, and if one manifests more facility in discharging petitioners than his associates, the application is made to him, however remote he may be. In one instance a general, on the eve of an important movement, when every man was needed, was embarrassed by the command of a judge, more than two hundred miles distant, to bring, if in his custody, or send, if in custody of another, before him, on habeas corpus, some deserters who had been arrested and returned to his command. In another, the commandant of a camp of conscripts, who had a conscript in camp, was commanded to bring him before a judge, more than a hundred miles distant, although there was a judge competent to hear and determine the cause resident in the place where the writ was executed. He consulted eminent counsel and was advised that, from the known opinions of the judge selected, the conscript would undoubtedly be released, and the officer was therefore advised to discharge him at once and return the facts informally; that such a return was not technically sufficient, but would be accepted as accomplishing the purpose of the writ. He acted on the advice of his counsel, and was immediately summoned by the judge to show cause why he should not be attached for a contempt in making an insufficient return, and was compelled to leave his command at a time when his services were pressingly needed by the Government, and travel over a hundred miles, and a considerable distance away from any railroad, to purge himself of the technical contempt. These particular instances may serve to show the nature of the delays, difficulties, and embarrassments which are constantly occurring. And injurious as they are, they are but light and trivial in comparison with evils which are reasonably to be anticipated.
It is understood that questions are to be multiplied as to the constitutionality of the late act of Congress placing in the military service those who had furnished substitutes. If a single judge in any State should hold the act to be unconstitutional, it is easy to foresee that that State will either furnish no soldiers from this class, or furnish them only when too late for the pressing need of the country. Every application will be made to that particular judge, and he will discharge the petitioners in each. And although the officer may have the right of appeal, yet the delay will be tantamount in its consequences to a discharge. Indeed, this result is likely to ensue, though every judge in the Confederacy should hold the law to be perfectly constitutional and valid. A petition for a habeas corpus need not, and ordinarily does not, disclose the particular grounds upon which the petitioner claims his discharge. A general statement on oath that he is illegally restrained of his liberty is sufficient to induce and even require the judge to issue the writ. In every case the enrollment will be followed by the writ, and every enrolling officer will be kept in continual motion to and from the judge until the embarrassment and delay will amount to the practical repeal of the law. Its provisions will add no more soldiers to the Army. But this is not all. We shall not be able to retain those already in service. Nothing has done so much to inspirit our brave soldiers as the determination evinced by Congress to send to their aid those who have thus far lived in ease at home, while they were enduring dangers, toils, and privations. When the hope of equal justice and of speedy reenforcement shall thus have failed, disappointment and despondency will displace the buoyant fortitude which animates them now. Desertion, already a frightful evil, will become the order of the day, and who will arrest the deserter when most of those at home are engaged with him in the common cause of setting the Government at defiance? Organized bands of deserters will patrol the country, burning, plundering, and robbing indiscriminately; and our armies, already too weak, must be still further depleted, at the most imminent crisis of our cause, to keep the peace and protect the lives and property of the citizens at home. Must these evils be endured? Must the independence for which we are contending, the safety of the defenseless families of the men who have fallen in battle and of those who still confront the invader, be put in peril for the sake of conformity to the technicalities of the law of treason?
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Having thus presented some of the threatening evils which exist, it remains to suggest the remedy, and in my judgment that is only to be found in the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. It is a sharp remedy, but a necessary one. It is a remedy plainly contemplated by the Constitution. All the powers of the Government, extraordinary as well as ordinary, are a sacred trust, to be faithfully executed whenever the public exigency may require. Recognizing the general obligation, we can not escape from the duty in one case more than in another. And a suspension of this writ when demanded by the public safety is as much a duty as to levy taxes for the support of the Government. If the state of invasion declared by the Constitution to be a proper case for the exercise of this power does not exist in our country now, when can it ever be expected to arise? It is idle to appeal against it to the history of the old Union. That history contains no parallel case. England, whose reverence for this great writ of right is at least as strong as our own, and the stability of whose institutions is the admiration of the world, has repeatedly, within the last hundred years, resorted to this remedy when only threatened with invasion. It may occasion some clamor; but this will proceed chiefly from the men who have already too long been the active spirits of evil. Loyal citizens will not feel danger, and the disloyal must be made to fear it. The very existence of extraordinary powers often renders their exercise unnecessary. To temporize with disloyalty in the midst of war is but to quicken it to the growth of treason. I, therefore, respectfully recommend that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus be suspended.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
The communication was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. Garland moved that the communication be printed for the use of the House in secret session.
Mr. Miles moved to amend the motion of Mr. Garland by striking out the same and substituting in lieu thereof,
That the Committee on the Judiciary be requested to confer with the President upon the propriety of publishing the communication to the country.
Mr. Baldwin moved that the further consideration of this subject be had in open session.
Mr. Curry called the question; which was ordered, and the motion of Mr. Baldwin was lost.
The House then, on motion of Mr. Swan, resolved itself into open session.
Being again in secret session,
Mr. Foster called the question; which was ordered.
The question being on the amendment of Mr. Miles to the motion of Mr. Garland to print the message of the President,
It was decided in the affirmative.
Mr. Swan moved to lay the motion of Mr. Garland, as amended, on the table; which motion prevailed.
The House then resumed the consideration of the special order (the Senate bill to organize forces to serve during the war).
The question being on the amendment of Mr. Hilton, as amended,
It was decided in the negative.
Mr. Machen submitted the following amendment:
Strike out after the figures "1862," in line 53, the words "Provided further, That for every person exempted as aforesaid, and during the period of such exemption, there shall be paid annually into the public Treasury, by the owners of such slaves, the sum of five hundred dollars,"
And demanded the yeas and nays thereon;
Which were ordered,
Yeas: Arrington, Bridgers, Horatio W. Bruce, Chambers, Clark, Clopton, Conrad, Davidson, Dupré, Foster, Funsten, Gaither, Goode,
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Hanly, Hartridge, Holcombe, Holder, Jones, Lander, Machen, Martin, Munnerlyn, Pugh, Villeré, and Mr. Speaker.
Nays: Atkins, Baldwin, Boteler, Chilton, Collier, Conrow, Curry, Dargan, Ewing, Foote, Garland, Graham, Gray, Hilton, Ingram, Johnston, Kenan of North Carolina, Lewis, Lyon, McLean, McQueen, Menees, Miles, Miller, Ralls, Russell, Sexton, Simpson, Singleton, Smith of North Carolina, Swan, Welsh, and Wright of Texas.
So the amendment was lost.
Mr. Miles submitted the following amendment:
Strike out the words from the figures "1862," in line 53, down to word "dollars," in line 57, and insert in lieu thereof the following: "That every person exempted by the operation of this act, except those exempted in the first and second clauses of the present section, and during the period of such exemption, shall pay annually into the public Treasury the sum of five hundred dollars, except ministers of the gospel and superintendents of the asylums of the deaf, dumb, blind and insane."
Mr. Atkins called the question; which was ordered.
Upon which Mr. Jones demanded the yeas and nays; which were not ordered, and the amendment was lost.
Mr. Miles then moved to amend by striking out the same words and inserting the following:
That every person exempted by the operation of this act, except those mentioned in the first and second clauses of this section, and during the period of said exemption, shall pay annually into the public Treasury.
Mr. Machen moved to amend the amendment of Mr. Miles by inserting after the word "second" the words "third and fourth."
Mr. Hilton moved to lay the amendment and the amendment to the amendment on the table; which motion prevailed.
Mr. Foster moved to amend by inserting after the word "dollars," in line 57, the words "Persons in the military and naval service of the Confederate States excepted."
Mr. Dargan moved to lay the amendment on the table.
Upon which Mr. Foster demanded the yeas and nays; which were not ordered, and the motion to lay on the table prevailed.
Mr. Swan moved to amend by inserting after the word "dollars," in line 57, the following:
And that the person so exempted shall take and subscribe an oath that he has not and will not during the pending war engage in trade with a view to profit by buying and selling provisions or clothing or the material of which clothing is made.
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Chambers moved to amend by inserting after the word "dollars," in line 57, the words "Except persons absent in the military or naval service, widows, minors, and persons of unsound mind."
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Machen demanded the previous question; which was not seconded.
Mr. Bridgers moved to amend the bill by striking out the whole of the fourth paragraph in fourth section, and demanded the yeas and nays thereon;
Which were ordered,
Yeas: Atkins, Baldwin, Bridgers, Horatio W. Bruce, Chilton, Clapp, Conrow, Curry, Davidson, Ewing, Foster, Gray, Hanly, Hilton, Holder, Johnston, Kenan of North Carolina, Lander, Machen, McRae,
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Munnerlyn, Ralls, Russell, Smith of North Carolina, Strickland, Swan, and Welsh.
Nays: Arrington, Boteler, Chambers, Clark, Clopton, Collier, Conrad, Dargan, Dupré, Farrow, Funsten, Gaither, Garland, Goode, Hartridge, Heiskell, Holcombe, Ingram, Jones, Lewis, Lyon, Martin, McLean, McQueen, Miles, Miller, Perkins, Pugh, Sexton, Simpson, Singleton, Smith of Alabama, Wilcox, and Wright of Texas.
So the amendment was lost.
Mr. Goode moved to reconsider the vote by which the amendment of Mr. Dupré was agreed to.
Mr. Heiskell called the question; which was ordered, and the motion to reconsider was lost.
Mr. Atkins moved to amend the fourth paragraph by striking out the last proviso; which reads as follows, viz:
Provided further, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent the President from detailing the owner of a plantation to oversee the same upon the terms and in the cases where such owner would have the right to claim the exemption of an overseer to manage such plantation.
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Conrad moved to reconsider the vote by which the House refused to strike out the fourth paragraph of section 4.
Mr. Heiskell called the question; which was ordered, and the motion to reconsider was lost.
Mr. Ralls moved to reconsider the vote by which the amendment of Mr. Goode, in line 50, was agreed to.
Mr. Hilton moved to lay the motion on the table.
Mr. Chambers demanded the yeas and nays thereon; which were not ordered, and the motion to lay on the table was lost.
The question recurring on the motion to reconsider,
Mr. McLean called the question; which was ordered, and the motion prevailed.
The question recurring on the amendment of Mr. Goode,
Mr. McLean called the question; which was ordered, and the amendment was lost.
Mr. Smith of North Carolina submitted the following amendment:
Add at end of fourth paragraph the following: "And for necessary subsistence there shall be also exempt one white man, the head of a family of eight or more white persons who are wholly dependent on his labor for support."
Mr. Heiskell called the question; which was ordered, and the amendment was agreed to.
Mr. McRae moved to amend the bill by striking out the third and fourth paragraphs.
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Miles submitted the following amendment as an independent paragraph, to come in between the fourth and fifth paragraphs:
The president, treasurer, auditor, and superintendent of any railroad company over whose railroad military transportation is performed, and such officers and employees of such company as the president or superintendent of such railroad company shall certify, on oath, to be necessary to the efficient operation of such railroad: Provided, That the number of persons so exempted by this act on any railroad shall not exceed two for each mile of such railroad in actual use for military transportation; and shall be reported by name and description, with the names of any who may leave the employment of the said company or may cease to be necessary to the efficient operation of its railroad, at least once a month to the Secretary of War, or such officers as he may designate for that purpose: And provided further,
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That such president or superintendent shall, in each such monthly report, certify, on oath, that no person liable to military service has been employed by this company since the passage of this act in any portion [position] in which it was practicable to employ one not liable to military service and capable of performing efficiently the duties of such position.
Mr. Dargan moved to amend the amendment of Mr. Miles by striking out the words "two for each mile" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "one for each mile."
The amendment was lost.
Mr. Atkins moved to reconsider the vote just taken.
Mr. Heiskell called the question; which was ordered, and the motion to reconsider prevailed.
Mr. Perkins called the question; which was ordered, and the amendment of Mr. Dargan was agreed to.
Mr. Chambers moved to amend the amendment of Mr. Miles by adding at the end thereof the following, viz:
But every person so exempted shall during the war pay the sum of five hundred dollars annually into the Treasury of the Confederate States.
Mr. Foster called the question; which was ordered, and the amendment of Mr. Chambers was lost.
The amendment of Mr. Miles, as amended, was then agreed to.
And the House,
On motion of Mr. Swan,
Resolved itself into open session.
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