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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-FIFTH DAY--TUESDAY, February 24, 1863.
OPEN SESSION.
The House met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by the Rev. Dr. Sehon.
Mr. Lyons announced the presence of Samuel A. Miller, a Representative-elect from the State of Virginia, who came forward, was qualified, and took his seat.
Mr. Swan, by consent, introduced
A joint resolution of thanks to Gen. Braxton Bragg and the officers and soldiers under his command for gallant conduct in the battles near Murfreesboro, Tenn.;
which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Harris presented a letter from G. Tochman in relation to his rank; which was ordered to be printed and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Ralls offered the following resolution, viz:
Resolved, That the regular hour for meeting for the remainder of the session shall be at eleven o'clock antemeridian.
Mr. Garland moved to lay the same upon the table.
Mr. Royston demanded the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered,
Yeas: Arrington, Ashe, Atkins, Baldwin, Barksdale, Batson, Boteler, Boyce, Breckinridge, Crockett, Dupré, Ewing, Garland, Harris, Hartridge, Heiskell, Holcombe, Jones, Kenner, Lewis, Lyon, Lyons, Machen McRae, Miles, Miller, Moore, Perkins, Russell, Sexton, Simpson, Singleton, Staples, Vest, Welsh, Wilcox, Wright of Texas, and Mr. Speaker.
Nays: Bridgers, Horatio W. Bruce, Chambliss, Chilton Chrisman, Clark, Clopton, Collier, Conrad, Conrow, Currin, Curry, Davidson, Elliott, Foster, Freeman, Gaither, Gardenhire, Gartrell, Hanly, Hilton, Hodge, Holt, Kenan of Georgia, Kenan of North Carolina,
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Marshall, McDowell, McLean, Menees, Munnerlyn, Ralls, Read, Royston, Smith of North Carolina, Swan, Trippe, and Wright of Georgia.
So the resolution was laid on the table.
Mr. Ralls presented the petition of A. D. McCoy, concerning an increase of the pay of chaplains; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, without being read.
Mr. Chilton offered the following resolution, viz:
Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to take into consideration, and at its earliest convenience report to this House, a bill providing for taking the census of the Confederate States, as required by the third clause of the second section of the first article of the Constitution;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Chilton also presented joint resolutions expressing the sense of Congress as to the necessity for raising provisions and the impolicy of planting for large crops of cotton and tobacco during the year 1863; which were read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Chilton also presented a design for a Confederate flag and seal; which was referred to the Committee on Flag and Seal.
Mr. Royston introduced a joint preamble and resolutions respecting the payment of the usual currency of the Confederate States to the officers and employees thereof; which were read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. Royston also offered a resolution; which is as follows, viz:
Resolved, That the Committee on Quartermaster's and Commissary Departments be instructed to inquire what further legislation is necessary in order to secure the payment of claims existing against the Government for subsistence and supplies furnished for the use of the Army, and for which informal certificates or vouchers have been executed, and that they report by bill or otherwise;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Garland introduced
A joint resolution authorizing the Postmaster-General to use certain revenues of the Post-Office Department in payment of its liabilities; which was read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads.
A message was received from the Senate, by their Secretary, Mr. Nash; which is as follows, viz:
Mr. Speaker: The President of the Confederate States has notified the Senate that he did, on the 20th instant, approve and sign a bill of the following title, viz:
Mr. Hanly presented a report of General Hindman of the battle of Prairie Grove, and moved that the same be printed and laid upon the table.
On motion of Mr. Jones,
The House refused to receive the report.
Mr. Hilton presented resolutions passed by the legislature of the State of Florida in relation to the conscription of officeholders, which are as follows, to wit:
Resolutions relative to persons holding office in the State of Florida under the Confederate Government, subject to the conscript act.
Be it resolved by the senate and the house of representatives of the State of Florida, in general assembly concenced, That our Representatives in Congress be, and they are hereby, instructed to use their influence with the proper department at Richmond to carry the following resolution into effect, viz:
Be it resolved, That all persons holding office in the State of Florida under the Confederate Government, subject to the military service under the conscript act, be
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removed and their places filled with persons not subject to the military service under said conscript act.
Passed the house of representatives December 8, 1862. Passed the senate December 10, 1862. Approved by the governor December 12, 1862;
which were ordered to be printed and laid upon the table.
Mr. Hilton also presented the memorial of Capt. George Holmes, of the Marine Corps, in relation to the settlement of his accounts with the Government; which was referred to the Committee on Claims, without being read.
On motion of Mr. Wright of Georgia, the rules were suspended to allow the Committee on Medical Department to make a report and
Mr. Wright of Georgia, from the Committee on Medical Department, moved that a bill reported back from said committee, to be entitled "An act to reorganize and promote the efficiency of the medical branch of the military service," be ordered to be printed and made the special order of business for Wednesday, March 4, 1863; which was agreed to.
Mr. Clark, from the same committee, to which was referred
A bill to be entitled "An act regulating the granting of furloughs and discharges in hospitals,"
reported the same back, asked to be discharged from the further consideration of the same, and that it be laid upon the table and ordered to be printed; which was agreed to.
Mr. Clark also presented a memorial of sundry citizens of Jasper County, Ga., praying that their mail facilities be allowed to remain unchanged; which was referred to the Committee Post-Offices and Post-Roads, without being read.
Mr. Clark also presented the memorial of sundry citizens of Franklin County, Ga., praying the establishment of a mail route from Athens, Ga., to Carnesville, Ga.; which was referred, to the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads, without being read.
Mr. Trippe offered a resolution; which is as follows, viz:
Resolved, That the President be requested, if not incompatible with the public interests, to furnish for the consideration of this House a copy of the official report of Major-General T. C. Hindman of the late battle of Prairie Grove;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Munnerlyn offered the following resolution, viz:
Resolved, That the Committee on Naval Affairs be instructed to inquire into the necessity of reporting additional legislation to facilitate transfers from the Army to the Navy;
which was read and agreed to.
On motion of Mr. Gartrell,
A bill to aid committees of Congress in the investigations of matters referred to them, and to punish false swearing before said committees, was taken up and made the special order of business for the morning hour of Friday, the 27th instant.
Mr. Wright of Georgia presented the memorial of W. S. Cothran, praying compensation for flour impressed for the use of the Army; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, without being read.
Mr. Hodge offered the following resolution, viz:
Resolved, That the Adjutant-General be requested to call upon Major-General John C. Breckinridge for his official report of the operations of his command at the battles of Shiloh, Baton Rouge, and Murfreesboro, and that when received copies thereof shall be sent to this House and shall be printed;
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which was read and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. H. W. Bruce offered the following resolution, viz:
Resolved, That the rule limiting speeches to thirty minutes each is hereby rescinded.
Mr. H. W. Bruce moved to suspend the rule requiring the resolution to lie over for two days.
Upon which Mr. Jones demanded the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered,
Yeas: Arrington, Ashe, Atkins, Barksdale, Eli M. Bruce, Horatio W. Bruce, Chambliss, Chilton, Clopton, Conrad, Curry, De Jarnette, Farrow, Foote, Garland, Graham, Gray, Hanly, Harris, Hartridge, Holcombe, Lyons, Miller, Munnerlyn, Perkins, Russell, Sexton, Smith of Alabama, Staples, Villeré, Welsh, Wright of Texas, and Mr. Speaker.
Nays: Batson, Boteler, Boyce, Breckinridge, Bridgers, Chrisman, Clark, Collier, Conrow, Crockett, Currin, Dargan, Davidson, Dupré, Ewing, Freeman, Gaither, Gardenhire, Gartrell, Heiskell, Hilton, Holt, Jones, Kenan of Georgia, Kenan of North Carolina, Lander, Machen, Marshall, McDowell, McLean, McQueen, McRae, Menees, Miles, Preston, Ralls, Royston, Simpson, Singleton, Smith of North Carolina, Smith of Virginia, Strickland, Swan, Trippe, Vest, and Wright of Georgia.
So the House refused to suspend the rules.
Mr. H. W. Bruce also offered the following resolution, viz:
Whereas it is reported by the press of the Confederate States that the following article has been published in a newspaper in the city of Chicago, in the United States, known as the Chicago Times, viz:
"During the night of Sunday twelve of the Confederate prisoners confined in the pens at Camp Douglas were frozen to death. On Monday morning they were found in the miserable handful of hay in their bunks frozen stiff, though to all appearances in the enjoyment of perfect health the day previous. The barracks at Camp Douglas are well known to be totally unfitted, during the prevalence of such weather as the present, for the use of anything, scarcely cattle. Those in which these prisoners are confined are many of them destitute of stoves, the windows in some of them are broken out, and through the holes and cracks in their sides and the apertures in the roof the cold wind freely enters. There are those above them who have a terrible sin to answer for. It were mercy that, after their capitulation, our cannon had been turned upon these prisoners and butchered them where they stood than that, from a far Southern clime, without any preparation being made for their comfort or protection, they should be transported hither to meet with scarcely anything worthy the name of shelter, the fierce rigors of a Northern winter--to be murdered by neglect, to endure the tortures of a death by cold."
Whereby it appears that twelve prisoners of the Confederate Army in the hands of the Abolition authorities of the United States have been murdered by forcibly confining them in a rigorous climate, in intensely cold weather, without any adequate means for their protection and the preservation of their lives, against the severity of the Northern climate into which they were forcibly taken: Therefore, it is
Resolved, That the President be requested to cause inquiry to be made by one of our commissioners for the exchange of prisoners, or by such other means as he may deem expedient, whether the facts stated in said article are true, and if true, whether said fact, that he be requested to take proper steps to retaliate upon the enemy for their worse than brutal murder;
which was read and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Crockett introduced joint resolutions of thanks to Gen. Braxton Bragg and the officers and privates composing the Army of Tennessee for their recent operations near Murfreesboro; which were read the first and second times and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
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On motion of Mr. Kenner,
The House resolved itself into secret session; and having spent some time therein, again resolved itself into open session.
The Chair laid before the House additional testimony in the contested-election case of Johnson vs. Garland; which was laid upon the table.
The Chair also presented the petition of Elisha E. Hundley, of Charlotte County, Va., praying permission to carry out cotton and naval stores; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, without being read.
On motion of Mr. Conrad, sundry resolutions appertaining to the subject offered by him to a bill, in Committee of the Whole, were ordered to be printed.
Mr. Perkins moved that the House reconsider the vote by which the resolution offered by Mr. Lyons increasing the pay of pages was agreed to.
The motion prevailed, and
Mr. Perkins moved to amend the same by striking out all of the original and inserting in lieu thereof the following, viz:
Resolved, That, in the opinion of this House, the act of Congress approved October thirteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, providing for an increase of the pay of certain officers and employees in the executive and legislative departments, does include the pages; and, therefore, that the Clerk of this House be directed to pay said pages the sum of three dollars per day, computing from the beginning of the present session.
On motion of Mr. Lyons, the resolution and amendment were referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
And on motion of Mr. Ralls,
The House adjourned until 12 o'clock to-morrow.
SECRET SESSION.
The House being in secret session,
On motion of Mr. Kenner, resolved itself into Committee of the Whole, on a bill to provide for the further issue of Treasury notes, and for other purposes, Mr. Russell in the chair; and having spent some time therein, the committee rose and, through their Chairman, reported that they had had under consideration the matter referred to them and had come to no conclusion thereon.
And on motion of Mr. Perkins,
The House resolved itself into open session.
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