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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 --SEVENTY-FIFTH DAY--MONDAY, February 6, 1865.
OPEN SESSION.
The Chair laid before the House a Senate bill (S. 183) "for the relief of Lewis Porter;" which was read a first and second time and referred to the Committee on Claims.
Also, a Senate joint resolution (S. 26) "of thanks to Mr. John Lancaster, of England, for his friendly conduct toward the commander, officers, and crew of the Alabama;" which was read a first and second time.
Mr. Blandford moved to suspend the rule requiring the joint resolution to be referred to a committee.
The motion was lost, and the joint resolution was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.
Mr. Russell introduced
A bill "discharging persons over fifty years of age from military service;"
which was read a first and second time and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Holliday offered the following resolution; which was adopted:
Resolved, That Colonel Mosby be invited to a seat on this floor during his stay in this city.
Mr. Holliday presented a series of resolutions adopted at a meeting of Companies H, I, and K, Thirteenth Regiment Virginia Infantry; which were laid upon the table and ordered to be printed.
Mr. McMullin presented a letter from Rev. Mr. Langhorne, asking an increase of the pay of chaplains; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Also, a letter from the judge-advocate, military court, Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, asking increase of rank and pay; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Gholson offered the following resolution; which was adopted, viz:
Resolved, That the Committee on Ways and Means inquire whether it does not cost as much or more to purchase the necessaries of life in Petersburg, Virginia, as in Richmond, Virginia, and if they find it does, then that they report, as soon as practicable, a bill giving to the Government officers and clerks
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residing in that city the same compensation as is given to similar officers and clerks residing in Richmond by the bill passed by this House on the second instant.
Mr. Dickinson introduced
A joint resolution "of thanks to Captain Raphael Semmes, officers, and crew of the steamer Alabama;"
which was read a first and second time and referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.
Mr. Dickinson presented the memorial of R. Tuller, asking for duplicate bonds, the original bonds having been lost or destroyed; which was referred to the Committee on Claims.
Mr. Clopton introduced
A bill "to amend an act entitled 'An act to provide an invalid corps,' approved February seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four;"
which was read a first and second time and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Chilton presented a series of resolutions adopted at a meeting of the workmen of the city of Selma, Ala., in reference to exemptions; which were referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Hanly offered the following resolution:
Whereas it is manifest from numerous letters received from various prisoners of war held by the enemy that an impression exists that the Confederate States have permitted, allowed, and, indeed, encouraged special exchanges; and
Whereas it is known that such impression has produced and is likely to produce grievous dissatisfaction and discontent among that class of our fellow-citizens; and
Whereas it is the duty of the Government to remove false impressions calculated to produce mischief: Therefore,
Resolved, That the President be, and he is hereby, respectfully requested, if practicable, to cause our prisoners of war held by the enemy to be officially informed in some suitable and convenient mode as to the past and future policy of our Government in reference to special exchanges, to the end that their complaints may be quieted and the justice of the Government thoroughly and fully vindicated in the premises.
Mr. Snead called the question; which was ordered, and the resolution was adopted.
Mr. Garland offered the following resolution; which was laid upon the table:
Resolved (the Senate concurring), That the two Houses of Congress adjourn sine die on Monday, the twentieth February, instant, at twelve o'clock meridian.
Mr. Akin presented the petition of the laborers and mechanics of the Engineer Department, belonging to the First Engineer Regiment, on detailed service in this city, asking increase of pay; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
Mr. Akin introduced
A bill "to receive volunteer troops for the war;"
which was read a first and second time and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. H. W. Bruce offered the following resolution; which was adopted:
Resolved, That the Committee on Ways and Means be instructed to inquire and report as speedily as possible, by bill or otherwise, what means are necessary to have our soldiers in the field paid at once the full amounts due them from the Confederate States.
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Mr. Foster moved to suspend the rules, to enable him to offer a resolution.
The motion was lost.
Mr. Moore offered the following resolution:
Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs inquire into the expediency of investing the President with the authority by law to call into the military service of the Confederate States all the able-bodied negro men within the limits of said States. to be used in such number and for such purposes as the Commander in Chief of our armies may direct, and on such terms as he may think will render them most efficient in aiding in the military defenses of our country.
Mr. Hatcher moved to lay the resolution on the table.
Mr. Chilton demanded the yeas and nays thereon;
Which were ordered,
Yeas: Batson, Boyce, Bridgers, Chambers, Chrisman, Clopton, Conrow, Cruikshank, Darden, Foster, Fuller, Funsten, Gaither, Garland, Gholson, Gilmer, Goode, Hatcher, Herbert, Lamkin, J. M. Leach, J. T. Leach, Logan, Miles, Norton, Ramsay, Sexton, Smith of Alabama, Smith of North Carolina, Turner, Wickham, and Mr. Speaker.
Nays: Akin, Anderson, Barksdale, Bell. Blandford, Bradley, Chilton, Clark, Cluskey, Colyar, Conrad, Dickinson, Dupré, Ewing, Farrow, Gray, Hanly, Hartridge, Holder, Holliday, Johnston, Lyon, Machen, Marshall, McCallum, McMullin, Menees, Moore, Orr, Pugh, Rogers, Simpson, J. M. Smith, W. E. Smith, Snead, Triplett, Villeré, Wilkes, and Witherspoon.
So the motion to lay on the table was lost.
Mr. Chambers moved to refer the resolution to the Committee on the Judiciary.
The motion was lost.
On motion of Mr. Barksdale, the resolution was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Mr. Dupré offered the following resolution; which was adopted, viz:
Resolved, That, if not incompatible with the public interests, the President be requested to inform this House how it happened that the large amount of cotton was captured by the enemy at Savannah, in the face of the law of the Confederate States, passed as early as the seventeenth March, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, "directing the military authorities to destroy cotton or property of any kind whatever which may aid the enemy in the prosecution of the war when necessary to prevent the same, or any part thereof, from falling into the hands of the enemy."
Mr. Chambers offered the following resolution:
Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary inquire and report to this House whether the Government of the Confederate States has, under the Constitution, power to impress or purchase slaves, to be used as soldiers, and to give them their freedom for such service.
Mr. Conrad demanded the yeas and nays thereon.
Pending which,
Mr. E. M. Bruce moved to lay the resolution on the table.
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Mr. Chambers demanded the yeas and nays thereon,
Which were ordered,
Yeas: Atkins, Baldwin, Barksdale, Batson, Bell, Blandford, Boyce, Bradley, Bridgers, Eli M. Bruce, Chilton, Clark, Clopton, Colyar, Conrad, Dickinson, Elliott, Ewing, Garland, Gray, Hanly, Hilton, Johnston, Lyon, Machen, Marshall, Menees, Norton, Orr, Pugh, Simpson, J. M. Smith, Smith of North Carolina, Triplett, and Wilkes.
Nays: Horatio W. Bruce, Chambers, Chrisman, Cluskey, Conrow, Darden, Dupré, Farrow, Foster, Fuller, Funsten, Gaither, Gilmer, Goode, Hatcher, Herbert, Holder, Holliday, Lamkin, J. M. Leach, J. T. Leach, Logan, McCallum, McMullin, Ramsay, Russell, W. E. Smith, Smith of Alabama, Turner, Wickham, Witherspoon, and Mr. Speaker.
So the motion to lay on the table prevailed.
Mr. Barksdale presented a series of resolutions adopted at a meeting of Humphreys' (Mississippi) brigade; which were laid upon the table and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Simpson presented a series of resolutions adopted at a meeting of McGowan's (South Carolina) brigade, and a series of resolutions adopted at a meeting of Bratton's (South Carolina) brigade; which were laid upon the table and ordered to be printed.
The morning hour having expired,
Under a suspension of the rules, Mr. Wickham, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom had been referred House bill (H. R. 304) "to increase the efficiency of the cavalry of the Confederate States," which had been returned from the Senate with amendments, reported back the same with the recommendation that the House do not concur in said amendments.
The amendments were read as follows, viz:
Strike out sections 1 and 2, which are as follows, viz:
"That whenever any regiment, battalion, or company of cavalry is serving in any State other than that in which it was originally recruited, the Secretary of War shall be authorized, upon application from the general commanding the army with which it is serving, to cause the quartermaster of the immediate command to take upon his property return the horses fit for service ridden by the enlisted men of such command; and the horses thus taken up shall, when the provisions of the second section of this act have been complied with, become the property of the Confederate States, and shall be branded with the letter of the company and number and initials of the regiment to which they belong. Company commanders shall receipt to the quartermaster for the horses thus taken up, and each man shall be allowed to retain for use in the service the horse that was in his possession when thus taken up; and at any time that the horses of these men become unfit for service their places shall be supplied by others to be furnished by the Government, or such men may, by order of the general commanding the army to which they belong, be assigned to companies from their respective States in some other branch of the service.
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United States, which certificate shall be approved by the commander of the brigade to which the man belongs,"
and insert in lieu thereof the following, viz:
As section 3, insert the following:
The question being on concurring in the amendments of the Senate,
It was decided in the negative.
Mr. Wickham moved that a committee of conference be tendered to the Senate on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on said bill; which motion prevailed.
A message was received from the Senate, by Mr. Nash, their Secretary; which is as follows, viz:
Mr. Speaker: The Senate have passed a bill (S. 137) to establish the flag of the Confederate States; in which I am directed to ask the concurrence of this House.
And they have passed a joint resolution of this House (H. R. 23) for the relief of the Virginia Mechanics' Institute.
Mr. Baldwin presented a series of resolutions adopted at a meeting of the Staunton Artillery; which were laid upon the table and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Miles presented sundry designs for a Confederate flag; which were referred to the Committee on Flag and Seal.
On motion of Mr. Lyon, the House resolved itself into secret session; and having spent sometime therein, resolved itself into open session.
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The Chair laid before the House a message from the President; which was read as follows, viz:
To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Confederate States of America:
Having recently received written notification which satisfied me that the President of the United States was disposed to confer informally with unofficial agents that might be sent by me with a view to the restoration of peace, I requested the Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, the Hon. R. M. T. Hunter, and the Hon. John A. Campbell to proceed through our lines and to hold a conference with Mr. Lincoln, or such persons as he might depute to represent him.
I herewith submit for the information of Congress the report of the eminent citizens above named, showing that the enemy refused to enter into negotiations with the Confederate States, or any one of them separately, or to give to our people any other terms or guarantees than those which a conqueror may grant, or to permit us to have peace on any other basis than unconditional submission to their rule, coupled with the acceptance of their recent legislation, including an amendment to the Constitution for the emancipation of all the negro slaves, and with the right on the part of the Federal Congress to legislate on the subject of the relations between the white and black population of each State.
Such is, as I understand, the effect of the amendment to the Constitution which has been adopted by the Congress of the United States.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
February 6, 1865.
On motion of Mr. Perkins, the message and accompanying documents were referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered to be printed.
On motion of Mr. Perkins, the House resolved itself into secret session; and having spent some time therein, resolved itself into open session.
On motion of Mr. Machen,
The House adjourned until 11 o'clock to-morrow.
SECRET SESSION.
The House being in secret session, resolved itself into Committee of the Whole to consider the special order, viz:
The bill "to levy additional taxes for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five for the support of the Government,"
Mr. Clopton in the chair; and having spent some time therein, the committee rose and reported, through, their Chairman, that they had had the subject referred to them under consideration and had come to no resolution thereon.
Under a suspension of the rules, Mr. Atkins offered the following resolution:
Resolved, That all debate in Committee of the Whole on the bill "to levy additional taxes for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five for the support of the Government," and on the pending amendments, be terminated on Thursday next at three o'clock. And on all amendments thereafter offered, ten minutes be allowed the mover to explain, and ten minutes to the first member obtaining the floor for that purpose to oppose said amendments.
Mr. Atkins called the question; which was ordered, and the resolution was adopted.
On motion of Mr. Chilton,
The House resolved itself into open session.
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Being again in secret session,
The House again resolved itself into Committee of the Whole to consider the bill "to levy additional taxes for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five for the support of the Government," Mr. Clopton in the chair; and having spent some time therein, the committee rose and reported, through their Chairman, that they had had the subject referred to them under consideration and had come to no resolution thereon.
On motion of Mr. Machen,
The House resolved itself into open session.
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