A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
Journal of the Confederate Congress --EIGHTY-FIRST DAY--MONDAY, February 13, 1865.
Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [Volume 7]
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Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865 [Volume 7]
EIGHTY-FIRST DAY--MONDAY, February 13, 1865.
OPEN SESSION.
The House met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by Rev. Mr. Shaver.
The Chair laid before the House a Senate bill (S. 189) "to amend the several acts for the establishment and organization of a general staff for the armies of the Confederate States;" which was read a first and second time and referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.
Also, a Senate bill (S. 162) "to amend an act entitled 'An act to impose regulations upon the foreign commerce of the Confederate States to provide for the public defense,' approved February sixth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four;" which was read a first and second time and referred to the Committee on Commerce.
Also, a Senate joint resolution (S. 28) "of thanks to the officers and soldiers of General Bushrod Johnson's old brigade of Tennessee troops and the brigade of the late General Archer, composed of Tennessee and Maryland troops, now in the Army of Northern Virginia;" which was read a first and second time.
On motion of Mr. Cluskey, the rule was suspended requiring the joint resolution to be referred to a committee.
The joint resolution was read a third time and passed, and the title was read and agreed to.
On motion of Mr. Clark, leave of absence was granted his colleague, Mr. Norton, for the remainder of the session.
On motion of Mr. Orr, the bill "to protect the Confederate States against frauds, and to provide remedies against officers and employees of the Government committing, them," was taken up from the table for consideration and postponed until the expiration of the morning hour.
Mr. Lyon moved to suspend the rules, to take up for consideration the bill "to make appropriations for the support of the Government of the Confederate States of America from the first day of January to the thirtieth day of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-five."
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Mr. Smith of North Carolina demanded the yeas and nays thereon;
Which were ordered,
And recorded as follows, viz:
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Yeas ... 47
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Nays ... 13
Yeas: Akin, Anderson, Baldwin, Barksdale, Baylor, Blandford, Bradley, Branch, Horatio W. Bruce, Carroll, Chambers, Chrisman, Clark, Clopton, Cluskey, Conrad, Conrow, Cruikshank, Dickinson, Ewing, Fuller, Funsten, Gaither, Garland, Goode, Hanly, Hartridge, Herbert, Hilton, Keeble, J. M. Leach, Lyon, Machen, Marshall, Menees, Moore, Perkins, Pugh, Ramsay, Rogers, Russell, Simpson, J. M. Smith, W. E. Smith, Snead, Villeré, and Wilkes.
Nays: Batson, Boyce, Darden, Farrow, Foster, Holliday, Lamkin, McMullin, Miles, Miller, Orr, Smith of North Carolina, and Triplett.
Two-thirds having voted in the affirmative, the rules were suspended.
The House resolved itself into Committee of the Whole to consider said bill, Mr. Akin in the chair; and having spent some time therein, the committee rose and reported, through their Chairman, that the committee had, according to order, had the subject referred to them under consideration, and had instructed him to report back the bill with the recommendation that it do pass with several amendments.
Mr. Foster moved the previous question; which was ordered.
The first amendment of the committee was read as follows, viz:
In line 26, strike out the word "three" and insert "five."
The question being on agreeing to the amendment,
It was decided in the affirmative.
The second amendment was read as follows, viz:
In line 126, after the word "enemy," strike out the words "or died, or contracted diseases, which have after their discharge resulted fatally," and insert in lieu thereof the words "whose death shall have been occasioned by the enemy, or by disease contracted while in the service of the Confederate States."
The question recurring on agreeing to the second amendment,
It was decided in the affirmative.
The bill was engrossed and read a third time.
The question recurring and being put,
Shall the bill pass?
The yeas and nays required by the Constitution were recorded,
And are as follows, viz:
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Yeas ... 63
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Nays ... 0
Yeas: Akin, Anderson, Baldwin, Batson, Baylor, Bell, Blandford, Bridgers, Eli M. Bruce, Horatio W. Bruce, Carroll, Chambers, Clark, Clopton, Conrad, Conrow, Cruikshank, Darden, Dickinson, Ewing, Foster, Fuller, Funsten, Gaither, Gholson, Goode, Hanly, Hartridge, Hatcher, Hilton, Holder, Holliday, Keeble, Lamkin, J. M. Leach, J. T. Leach, Lyon, Machen, McCallum, McMullin, Menees, Miles, Moore, Murray, Orr, Perkins, Pugh, Ramsay, Read, Russell, Sexton, Simpson, J. M. Smith, W. E. Smith, Smith of North Carolina, Snead, Staples, Swan, Triplett, Wickham, Wilkes, Witherspoon, and Mr. Speaker.
Nays: None.
Two-thirds voting in the affirmative, the bill was passed, and the title was read and agreed to.
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Mr. Hanly moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed.
The motion was lost.
A message was received from the Senate, by Mr. Nash, their Secretary, as follows, viz:
Mr. Speaker: The Senate have passed a bill of the following title, viz:
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S. 179. An act to amend an act to provide for holding elections for Representatives in the Congress of the Confederate States from the State of Missouri, approved January 19, 1864;
In which I am directed to ask the concurrence of this House.
The President of the Confederate States has notified the Senate that he did, on the 8th instant, approve and sign a bill of the following title, viz:
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S. 155. An act to regulate the pay and allowances of certain female employees of the Government.
Mr. Cruikshank, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported as correctly enrolled
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H. R. 364. An act appropriating $10,000 to pay claims in the recruiting service of the Confederate States; and
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S. 26. Joint resolution of thanks to Mr. John Lancaster, of England, for his friendly conduct toward the commander, officers, and crew of the Alabama.
And the Speaker signed the same.
The Chair announced the appointment of the select committee on the bill "to levy additional taxes for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five for the support of the Government" as follows:
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1. Mr. Russell of Virginia,
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2. Mr. Pugh of Alabama,
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3. Mr. Chambers of Mississippi,
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4. Mr. Perkins of Louisiana;
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5. Mr. J. M. Smith of Georgia,
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6. Mr. Machen of Kentucky,
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7. Mr. Simpson of South Carolina,
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8. Mr. J. T. Leach of North Carolina,
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9. Mr. Hilton of Florida,
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10. Mr. Baylor of Texas,
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11. Mr. Keeble of Tennessee,
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12. Mr. Conrow of Missouri, and
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13. Mr. Carroll of Arkansas.
Mr. Blandford moved that the House resolve itself into secret session.
The motion was lost.
The morning hour having expired,
The House proceeded to the consideration of the special order, viz:
The bill "to protect the Confederate States against frauds, and to provide remedies against officers and employees of the Government committing them."
Mr. Moore moved that the bill and amendments be indefinitely postponed.
Mr. Foster called the question; which was ordered.
Mr. Farrow demanded the yeas and nays;
Which were ordered,
And recorded as follows, viz:
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Yeas ... 13
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Nays ... 41
Yeas: Baldwin, Batson, Eli M. Bruce, Chambers, Funsten, Gilmer, Hanly, Holliday, Lyon, Machen, Miles, Moore, and Wickham.
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Nays: Akin, Anderson, Baylor, Bell, Bridgers, Horatio W. Bruce, Carroll, Clopton, Conrow, Cruikshank, Darden, Dickinson, Ewing, Farrow, Foster, Fuller, Gaither, Gholson, Goode, Hatcher, Herbert, Hilton, Holder, Keeble, Lamkin, J. M. Leach, J. T. Leach, McCallum, McMullin, Menees, Orr, Pugh, Ramsay, Simpson, J. M. Smith, Smith of North Carolina, Snead, Triplett, Villeré, Wilkes, and Witherspoon.
So the motion to postpone indefinitely was lost.
Mr. Orr submitted the following amendment to the amendment of Mr. McCallum:
Strike out the whole of the same and insert in lieu thereof the following, viz:
"That whenever any person shall file an affidavit in the clerk's office of the district court of the Confederate States for the district wherever any officer or employee of the Quartermaster's or Commissary Departments may be located who shall have received public money for disbursement, or shall have been concerned in making contracts for any property thereafter to be used for Government purposes, and shall set forth in each affidavit that he has reason to believe and does believe that such officer or employee has, since his entry into the public service as such, accumulated property, real, personal, or mixed, beyond the natural increase of the property held by him at the time of his entry into the public service as aforesaid, or has been expending or paying out money on his private account in excess of the salary of his office and the income derived from his estate, it shall be the duty of the district attorney for said district to cause the clerk of said court to issue a summons to such officer or employee, returnable to the next term of said court, to compel him to file an inventory or schedule, in writing, on oath to be administered by any officer authorized by the laws of the State where the schedule is prepared to administer oaths, of all the property, real, personal, and mixed, which he possessed in his own right at the time of his entry into the public service, and the value thereof. This inventory or schedule shall further contain a statement--
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"I. Of all property of every description which he may possess in his own right at the time of his making and verifying the same.
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"II. Of all property of every description purchased or possessed since his entry into the public service and sold or transferred by him.
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"III. Of all property of every description, including bills of exchange, promissory notes, stocks, shares, mortgages, certificates of deposit, rights, and credits, the ownership of which has been changed, and in which he has or may have had an interest since his entry into the public service.
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"IV. Of all property of every description and pecuniary interest acquired since his entry into the public service and held in the name of his wife or any member of his family, or held in the name of another for the use or benefit, or in trust for himself, his wife, or any member of his family.
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"V. A description of all moneys, valuables, bills of exchange, promissory notes, certificates of deposit, shares in any company or bank, whether corporate or incorporate, acquired in whole or in part since his entry into the public service by himself or his wife or any member of his family.
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"VI. A statement of the indebtedness of said officer or employee which has been paid or otherwise discharged since his entry into the public service, giving the names and residence of the creditors, and also the aggregate amount expended or paid out by him on private account for the same period.
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"Sec. 2. The person making this schedule shall triplicate it--one to be filed with the Adjutant and Inspector General, one with the clerk of the district court of the Confederate States within the jurisdiction of which said officer or employee shall be located when this schedule is prepared, and one in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the State where the officer or employee resided at the time of his entry into the public service. And if not filed with the Adjutant and Inspector General within five months after the passage of this act, and regularly thereafter every six months, it shall be his duty to report the name of each delinquent to the Confederate States attorney for the district where the officer or employee may be or may last have been on duty; and the said attorney shall immediately cause the clerk of said court to issue a summons for said delinquent, returnable to the next term of said court, to compel the filing of said schedule, or in case of refusal or failure he shall be deemed guilty of contempt of court and fined and imprisoned at the discretion of the
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court, and in addition thereto he shall be liable to the action hereinafter provided for: Provided, That officers and their employees who since their entry into the public service have continuously served with troops in the field shall not be required to triplicate said schedule, but file one copy thereof at the time stated with the Adjutant and Inspector General, transmitting the same through the regular channel of communication.
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"Sec. 3. Should the schedule disclose an accumulation of property, real, personal, or mixed, beyond the natural increase thereof, the Adjutant and Inspector General and the clerk of the district court shall notify the Confederate States attorney for the district where the officer or employee making the schedule may be, and the district attorney shall cause a summons to be issued by the clerk of said district, returnable at the next term, to said officer or employee and their securities on their official bond, to show cause why further proceedings should not be ordered. And should said accumulation be not satisfactorily accounted for to the court, the court shall direct an issue to be made up, and the rules regulating the trial of the right of property or in detinue shall prevail, except that the burden of proof shall be on the officer or employee to show that the acquisition was legitimately obtained. The issue shall be made on the petition of the district attorney, setting forth the bond, or a copy thereof, of the officer or employee and his securities, if judgment is desired against the securities; and the facts on which the attorney relies for a recovery; and if the verdict is for the Confederate States, judgment shall be entered accordingly against the defendants to the amount of the bond (if so much should be awarded by the jury), and should the bond not cover the amount of the verdict, judgment for the residue shall be entered against the officer or employee; and the court may direct a money judgment to be entered or a judgment for the specific property, or both, and the cost, on which execution shall issue, and the officer or employee may be, by order of the court, imprisoned till the judgment is finally discharged or the court may render such special judgment as will protect the Government from all loss in the premises, the money, when collected, to be paid to the Secretary of the Treasury or other officer authorized by him to receive the same. The district attorney shall be entitled to receive fifteen per cent of the amount of collections and the marshal ten per cent and the person filing the affidavit twenty-five per cent.
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"Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of the Confederate States attorneys of the respective districts to inspect the schedules filed, and he may traverse the same if no accumulations are disclosed, and like proceedings shall be had thereon as is hereinbefore directed.
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"Sec. 5. Any person believing frauds to have been committed by any of said officers or employees may institute an action, qui tam, in any of the district courts of the Confederate States, whether a citizen of the State where instituted or not, against such officer or employee and their securities on their bond; and to facilitate a full and searching examination into the alleged fraudulent transactions, the party instituting the suit under an order of the court shall have the right, previous to the trial, to fully examine and inspect all the reports, abstracts and vouchers which, under the existing laws and army regulations, are required to be made to the War Department, and on a bill of discovery for that purpose filed (the answer to which may be overcome by satisfactory evidence) the defendant shall disclose the name or names and residence of any person from whom any property has at any time been purchased or received, and the prices and dates at which it was so purchased or received, and the date of the order directing such purchase or contract, and should it appear that such purchases were made from the relatives of said officer or employee, or from any person employed as clerk, agent, partner, or otherwise of said officer, the burden of proof shall be upon the defendant to show that the purchases were made at the regular and current rates of the country; and on the trial of the issue the like rules and proceedings shall be had as is hereinbefore [provided] for, except that one-half of the judgment shall be in favor of the party prosecuting the suit and the other half in favor of the Confederate States; and in the trial of such issues, if the schedule of the officer discloses an accumulation, or whenever the plaintiff by testimony shows an accumulation of property, real, personal, or mixed, the burden of proof shall be upon the defendant to account satisfactorily for the same: Provided, That the plaintiff in such qui tam action shall be compelled, if required, to deposit the costs of the case, or give security therefor, and such plaintiff shall also be liable to an action in favor of the defendant for damages in case it shall appear that the action was instituted
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against such officers or employees maliciously, and without reasonable or probable cause.
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"Sec. 6. A similar schedule or inventory shall be made and filed in the same manner by every official employee belonging to the class of persons described in the first section of this act whose term of official employment shall commence subsequent to the passage of this act, on the filing of affidavit and the issue of summons as aforesaid, and the provisions of this act shall, in all respects, fully apply to them and to all other disbursing officers of the Government with whatever branch they may be connected.
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"Sec. 7. No person now in commission or appointment shall be permitted to resign until he has fully complied with the provisions of this act, but a verdict and judgment against such officer shall have the effect of revoking his commission.
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"Sec. 8. Nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to bar the Government from any rights now existing between it and said officers and employees. And no judgment recovered by one party shall constitute a bar to a suit instituted by another party unless the same items are controverted, and not then if there is any reasonable ground to apprehend collusion between the former party and the officer or employee; and on this an issue may, by the court, be given to the jury as in cases of attachment.
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"Sec. 9. The inventories shall, at all times during business hours, be open to the inspection of all persons desiring to examine them, and it shall be the duty of the officer in charge of them to furnish certified copies thereof, for which service the officer making the transcript shall have the right to charge twenty cents per hundred words, and said copies shall be received as evidence, or suits may be instituted thereon as hereinbefore provided, in any of the courts of the Confederate States, when authenticated, as is now provided for authenticating judicial records: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to compel the clerks of the State courts to receive and file the schedule of any officer or employee, but filing the same, the clerk may demand the fees for furnishing the transcript.
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"Sec. 10. Whenever the interest of the Confederate States demands it, or on the motion of the party prosecuting the suit, the court may transfer the case to the district court having jurisdiction where the defendant resides, there to be concluded."
Mr. Machen moved the previous question; which was ordered.
The question being on agreeing to the amendment of Mr. Orr to the amendment of Mr. McCallum,
Mr. McCallum demanded the yeas and nays;
Which were ordered,
And recorded as follows, viz:
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Yeas ... 32
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Nays ... 24
Yeas: Akin, Anderson, Atkins, Batson, Bell, Bridgers, Carroll, Clopton, Conrow, Cruikshank, Dickinson, Ewing, Farrow, Fuller, Gaither, Herbert, Hilton, Holder, Lamkin, J. M. Leach, J. T. Leach, Machen, McMullin, Orr, Ramsay, Simpson, J. M. Smith, Smith of North Carolina, Triplett, Turner, Wilkes, and Witherspoon.
Nays: Baldwin, Horatio W. Bruce, Clark, Darden, Dupré, Funsten, Gholson, Gilmer, Goode, Gray, Hatcher, Holliday, Keeble, Lyon, McCallum, Menees, Miles, Moore, Russell, Sexton, Snead, Staples, Villeré, and Wickham.
So the amendment was agreed to.
The question recurring on the amendment of Mr. McCallum, as amended,
It was decided in the affirmative.
The question recurring on ordering the bill to be engrossed and read a third time.
Mr. Clark demanded the yeas and nays;
Which were ordered,
And recorded as follows, viz:
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Yeas ... 31
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Nays ... 22
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Yeas: Akin, Anderson, Batson, Bell, Bridgers, Carroll, Clopton, Conrow, Cruikshank, Dickinson, Ewing, Farrow, Fuller, Gaither, Gholson, Gilmer, Holder, Lamkin, J. M. Leach, J. T. Leach, Machen, McMullin, Orr, Ramsay, Simpson, J. M. Smith, Smith of North Carolina, Triplett, Turner, Wickham, and Witherspoon.
Nays: Atkins, Baldwin, Clark, Darden, Dupré, Funsten, Goode, Gray, Hatcher, Holliday, Keeble, Lyon, McCallum, Menees, Miles, Moore, Russell, Sexton, Snead, Staples, Villeré, and Wilkes.
No quorum voting,
Mr. Atkins moved to reconsider the vote by which the amendment of Mr. Orr to the amendment of Mr. McCallum was agreed to.
And on motion of Mr. Clark,
The House adjourned until 11 o'clock to-morrow.
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