A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
Journal of the Confederate Congress --NINETIETH DAY--THURSDAY, February 23, 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]
NINETIETH DAY--THURSDAY, February 23, 1865.
OPEN SESSION.
The House met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by Rev. Dr. Peterkin.
Mr. Boyce, by consent, withdrew his motion to reconsider the vote by which the eighth amendment of the Senate to the appropriation bill was agreed to.
The Chair laid before the House a message from the President; which was read as follows, viz:
Richmond, Va., February 21, 1865.
To the House of Representatives:
In response to your resolution of the 30th ultimo, I herewith transmit for your information a communication from the Secretary of War relative to the
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accessions to the Army from each State since April 16, 1862, to the number of persons liable to conscription who have been exempted or detailed, and to the number of those between the ages of 18 and 45, and not unfitted for active service in the field, who are employed in the several States in the manner indicated in your inquiry.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
The message and accompanying documents were laid upon the table and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Barksdale presented a series of resolutions adopted at a meeting of Harris' (Mississippi) brigade; which were laid upon the table and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Lyon presented a series of resolutions adopted at a meeting of Sanders' (Alabama) brigade; which were laid upon the table and ordered to be printed.
Mr. Colyar offered the following resolution; which was adopted,viz:
Resolved, That Governor Isham G. Harris, now in this city, be invited to a seat on this floor during his stay in the city.
Mr. Miles, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom had been referred
A bill "to increase the number of ordnance sergeants in the Provisional Army,"
reported back the same with the recommendation that it do pass.
The question being on postponing the bill and placing it on the Calendar,
It was decided in the negative.
The bill was engrossed, read a third time, and passed, and the title was read and agreed to.
Mr. Miles moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed.
The motion was lost.
Mr. Miles, from the same committee, to whom had been referred
A bill (S. 172) "to extend an act entitled 'An act to graduate the pay of general officers,' approved June tenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four,"
reported back the same with the recommendation that it do pass.
The bill was read a third time and passed, and the title was read and agreed to.
Mr. Foster moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed, and demanded the yeas and nays;
Which were ordered.
The motion was lost.
Mr. Miles, from the same committee, to whom had been referred a Senate bill (S. 163) "to authorize the appointment of additional officers in the Engineer Corps," [sic].
The question being on postponing the bill and placing it on the Calendar,
It was decided in the negative.
The bill was read a third time and passed, and the title was read and agreed to.
Mr. Miles moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed. and demanded the yeas and nays.
Which were ordered,
And recorded as follows:
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Yeas ... 34 [35]
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Nays ... 23
Yeas: Batson, Baylor, Bradley, Horatio W. Bruce, Chrisman, Clopton, Colyar, Cruikshank, De Jarnette, Dickinson, Farrow, Foster,
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Fuller, Gaither, Gilmer, Goode, Hanly, Holliday, Keeble, J. M. Leach, J. T. Leach, Logan, Machen, McCallum, McMullin, Miller, Moore, Murray, Ramsay, W. E. Smith, Smith of North Carolina, Staples, Triplett, Wickham, and Witherspoon.
Nays: Blandford, Boyce, Branch, Conrad, Conrow, Dupré, Ewing, Gholson, Gray, Hartridge, Hatcher, Herbert, Hilton, Johnston, Lyon, Miles, Pugh, Russell, Sexton, Simpson, J. M. Smith, Snead, and Mr. Speaker.
So the motion to reconsider prevailed.
The morning hour having expired,
The House resumed the consideration of the bill "to provide means to support the Government and carry on the war."
Mr. Foster submitted the following amendment:
In section 17, after word "Treasury," insert the words "with the approval of the President;"
which was agreed to.
Mr. Smith of North Carolina moved to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was agreed to; which motion prevailed.
The question recurring on the amendment of Mr. Foster,
It was decided in the negative.
Mr. Hilton submitted the following amendment:
Strike out all after the enacting clause, which reads as follows, viz:
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"That all raw cotton and all tobacco, manufactured or unmanufactured, now in the Confederacy may be purchased, borrowed, or impressed for public use under the direction of the President on the following terms: Either just compensation to be paid to the owner for the same, at a price agreed or appraised according to the value thereof, in specie, such payment being made in bonds of the Government at par, which bonds shall be issued by the Secretary of the Treasury and shall be redeemable five years after the end of the present war, and shall bear interest at the rate of six per centum per annum, payable in specie semiannually; or, at the option of the owner, the cotton or tobacco to be returned in kind of equal quantity and quality at the same place, one-third thereof within two years after the end of the present war and one-third in each of the two succeeding years, with an addition to the quantity at the rate of six per centum per annum, the owner being furnished with an assignable certificate to that effect; but not more than one-half of the cotton or tobacco belonging to said owner shall be impressed under this act, and the cotton now owned by any manufacturer of cotton and held by him bona fide for his manufacturing operations, not exceeding a proper supply for two years of such operations, shall be exempt from such impressment.
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"Sec. 2. If it shall become necessary to impress any cotton or tobacco under this act, the quantity of cotton so impressed shall, as nearly as the Secretary of the Treasury shall deem practicable, bear the same proportion to the whole amount of cotton in the Confederacy as the quantity of tobacco so impressed shall bear to the whole amount of tobacco in the Confederacy.
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"Sec. 3. In case of any such impressment the agent of the Government making the impressment may take possession of the cotton or tobacco at any time, without removing it, and hold it until the price shall be agreed or appraised, as aforesaid, and, upon the price being so agreed or appraised and compensation being made or tendered, according to this act, the property shall vest in the Government, notwithstanding any appeal from the appraisement.
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"Sec. 4. Unless such price shall be agreed upon between such agent and the owner, the same shall be appraised by two disinterested and loyal citizens of the city, county, district, or parish in which the impressment shall be made, one to be selected by such agent and the other by the owner, or, if the owner fails to make a selection within two days after being requested by such agent in writing to do so, both shall be selected by such agent, and if the two so selected shall disagree, they shall choose an umpire, of like qualifications, and two of the three concurring shall make the appraisement. They shall certify in writing the quantity, description, and quality of the cotton or tobacco and the amount to be paid as just compensation for the same under this act, and
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shall deliver one such certificate to the owner and another to such agent. If the agent approves the appraisement, he shall make the compensation according to this act. But either the agent or the owner, before accepting the compensation, may take an appeal from the appraisement to the board of commissioners for the State, appointed under the act to regulate impressments, approved March twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, who, after hearing the parties and their evidence, shall decide the matter in dispute, and their decision shall be final. They shall certify their decision as the appraisers are required to certify, and compensation shall be made accordingly. If there shall be a dispute as to the quantity of cotton or tobacco liable to impressment, it shall be determined in the same manner. The appraisers, before entering upon their duties, shall take an oath or affirmation to perform their duties impartially and to the best of their skill and judgment.
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"Sec. 5. The President may cause so much of the cotton and tobacco acquired under this act as he shall think proper to be used or manufactured for the use of the Army and Navy, and the residue shall be applied to such public uses as Congress shall by law provide herein or hereafter.
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"Sec. 6. The Secretary of the Treasury, under the direction of the President, may appoint a principal agent in each State and such other agents, not liable to military service in the field, as he shall deem necessary to carry this act into effect under his instructions. They shall give such bonds as he shall require and shall be compensated by such commissions or allowances as he shall prescribe in proportion to the amounts of cotton and tobacco obtained and reduced into the secure possession of the Government, or sold through their agency.
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"Sec. 7. In addition to the amount of Treasury notes heretofore authorized to be issued, the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized, under the direction of the President, to issue whatever amount thereof may be necessary to pay appropriations for all the liabilities of the Government now due and unpaid, which were contracted or incurred to be paid without delay. The Treasury notes issued under this section shall have like form and effect and be regarded in all respects as if issued by virtue of the 'Act to reduce the currency and to authorize a new issue of notes and bonds,' approved February seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four.
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"Sec. 8. The President may cause any cotton or tobacco belonging to the Government to be sold or exchanged on such terms, for such consideration, and in such manner as he shall deem proper, and the proceeds to be employed for the payment of appropriations and such other uses as may be authorized by law.
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"Sec. 9. The President shall cause to be issued, in such form, of such denominations, and with such authentication as he shall prescribe, bills to be called 'revenue bills,' purporting that the Confederate States owe to the bearer the sums of money therein respectively specified; but the amount thereof outstanding at any time shall not exceed two hundred millions of dollars.
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"Sec. 10. Such revenue bills may be issued and reissued in payment of appropriations for the following purposes: To compensate persons in the military, naval, and civil service, and in the employment of the Government, for services rendered after the month of May, in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and to pay for supplies and other property acquired and other expenses incurred by the Government after the same month, or pursuant to contracts made at any time hereafter requiring payment in revenue bills; and every officer, noncommissioned officer, musician, and private in the Army who shall not at any time during the months of April and May, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, have been illegally absent from duty shall, in addition to his lawful pay and allowances, to be paid to him in Treasury notes for those two months, be entitled to be paid an equal sum in revenue bills.
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"Sec. 11. Whenever a sufficient amount of revenue bills to pay for one or more bales of cotton shall be presented for redemption, the same shall be redeemed in cotton of the Government at the rate of fifty cents per pound. The cotton so transferred to the Government in redemption of bills and all cotton and tobacco hereafter transferred from the Government under this act shall be afterwards exempt from impressment under the authority of the Government, and the same may be exported to neutral countries without restriction, except the payment of lawful export duties; but to obtain the benefit of these privileges the same shall be marked, designated, or identified as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe.
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"Sec. 12. Revenue bills to be redeemed as aforesaid shall be deposited in the
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Treasury, or such other depositories as the Secretary of the Treasury shall have designated for that purpose, and a certificate shall be given which shall entitle the depositor, or his assignee, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe, to an amount of cotton equivalent to the deposit, upon presenting the certificate to any person having custody of cotton of the Government for that purpose.
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"Sec. 13. The taxes in kind shall, for each of the years eighteen hundred and sixty-five and eighteen hundred and sixty-six, be at double the rates now imposed--that is to say, one-fifth instead of one-tenth of the respective subjects thereof is hereby levied for each of those years, but subject to the exemptions and other provisions of law now in force relating to the levy, assessment, collection, and disposition of taxes in kind so far as they are consistent with this act. From the tax on property employed in agriculture (including the entire plantation from which the tax in kind is derived and all the slaves kept on it, except those exclusively employed in other services than the cultivation of the soil) shall be deducted the value of the tax in kind derived therefrom for the year, and delivered to the Government or commuted during the year or afterwards, including the bacon which shall be deliverable on or about the first day of March next after the year for which it is assessed; and for the purpose of adjusting the amount of such credit the taxes in kind shall be estimated at the usual market rates in Treasury notes, and the amounts so estimated shall be the amount of the credit, but no credit shall be allowed beyond such property tax; and the collection of the property tax on such property shall be suspended after assessment, under the order of the Secretary of the Treasury, until the value of the tax in kind to be deducted shall be ascertained, and, when so ascertained, it shall be the duty of the post quartermaster to certify and of the district collector to deduct the value of such tax in kind. All agricultural productions impressed under the authority of this Government after the month of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, shall be valued and paid for in revenue bills at the usual market prices of such property in revenue bills at the time and place of impressment, and the boards of commissioners in the several States, appointed under the act to regulate impressments, shall not, after that month, have power to fix upon the prices of agricultural productions in advance or to publish schedules thereof.
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"Sec. 14. Whenever the tax in kind of any subject shall not exceed the value of ... dollars in revenue bills, the whole thereof, and in all other cases the half of the tax in kind of any subject may, at the option of the taxpayer, be commuted and discharged by paying, in revenue bills or specie, four-fifths of the appraised value thereof to the proper tax collector of the district within thirty days after such value shall have been ascertained according to law, and such value shall for that purpose be estimated and ascertained in revenue bills.
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"Sec. 15. The following taxes shall be levied, assessed, and collected according to law for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five:
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"I. The taxes on incomes (not payable in kind) and on business, trades, professions, and employments shall be twice the amounts and rates of such taxes imposed on the same subjects for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-four, according to the laws as they were amended and were last in force for that year, except the tax of thirty per cent imposed by the sixth section of the act of June fourteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, entitled 'An act to amend the tax laws.'
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"II. The taxes on property shall be on the same classes of subjects, at the same rates, and on the same bases of assessment, respectively, as the taxes imposed for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-four, according to the laws as they were amended and last in force for that year, except the additional tax imposed by the 'Act to false money to increase the pay of the soldiers,' approved June tenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and except as hereinafter otherwise provided.
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"III. All cotton and tobacco shall be taxed at the rate of ten per centum of the value thereof in Treasury notes; but no tax shall be collected on cotton or tobacco transferred to the Government before the first day of June next east of the Mississippi River, or before the first day of August next west of that river, and the tax on an amount of the same article remaining in the hands of the owner equal to the amount voluntarily so transferred before those dates, respectively, shall be reduced to five per centum on the value thereof, or of similar property, at the place of assessment in the year eighteen hundred and sixty.
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"IV. Land and slaves purchased by any person since the first day of January,
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eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and held and occupied for his own use and residence, if land, or held and used for his own service, if slaves, and not for resale, shall be assessed on the basis of the market value of the same or similar property in the neighborhood where the assessment is made in the year eighteen hundred and sixty.
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"V. No tax shall be assessed or collected on the amount or value of any bond or certificate of loan or indebtedness issued or to be issued by the Confederate States of America, but the same amount of tax as upon income derived from other sources shall be assessed, levied, and collected upon the dividends or interest of all such bonds and certificates, except those of which the dividends or interest are or may be specially exempted by law from taxation.
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"VI. The taxes imposed in this section shall be payable in Confederate Treasury notes issued under the said act of February seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, or any subsequent act, or in certificates of indebtedness authorized to be issued by said act of February seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, which shall be received at the rate of one hundred and five dollars of the principal thereof, without other allowance for interest, or in certificates of depositaries for Treasury notes issued before the seventeenth day of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and deposited pursuant to law to be exchanged for Treasury notes issued on or after that date, or in certificates to be issued as follows, viz: All disbursing officers and agents of the Government, lawfully authorized to pay any demand against the Government for debts incurred by themselves or by others (whether now existing or hereafter created), and not having in hand money wherewith to pay such demand, shall, if required by the creditor, give him therefor a certificate of indebtedness for the amount due, describing the demand and stating that it is receivable in payment of taxes levied by this act.
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"VII. The taxes on property imposed in this section shall be assessed as of the seventeenth day of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and be due on the first day of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-five.
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"VIII. The taxes imposed in this section shall be subject to all exemptions and other provisions of law now in force relating to the levy, assessment, and collection of such taxes as far as they are consistent with this act.
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"Sec. 16. The Secretary of the Treasury, so far as be shall deem it practicable and judicious, shall use any tobacco belonging to the Government in withdrawing from circulation, to be canceled, the Treasury notes of the Government, by sales of tobacco or otherwise.
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"Sec. 17. The President may prescribe all necessary and proper regulations to carry this act into effect,"
and insert in lieu thereof the following, viz:
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"That upon all subjects of taxation under existing tax laws levying taxes for the present year, except as hereinafter otherwise provided, there shall be assessed and levied an additional tax equal ... to the present tax on the same subjects of and for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, including the specific taxes and all taxes on sales during the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, whether made before or after the passage of this act, and not expressly excepted or otherwise provided by this act; which tax shall be payable in Confederate Treasury notes of the new issue at par, or in the certificates of indebtedness authorized by 'An act to reduce the currency and to authorize a new issue of notes and bonds,' approved February seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, at the rate of one hundred and five dollars for every one hundred dollars of said certificates, but without any allowance for interest, or in certificates of depositories for Treasury notes of the old issue deposited according to law to be exchanged for those of the new, or in certificates to be issued as follows, viz: All disbursing officers and agents of the Government, lawfully authorized to pay any demand against the Government for debts incurred by themselves or others (whether now existing or hereafter created), and not having money in hand wherewith to pay such demand, shall, if required by the creditor, give him therefor a certificate of indebtedness for the amount due, describing the demand, stating that it is receivable in payment of taxes.
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"Sec. 2. In the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and in each succeeding year thereafter during the continuance of the existing war between the United States and the Confederate States, there shall be levied and collected the tax in kind on the products of property employed in agriculture as now provided by law.
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"Sec. 3. From the value of property employed in agriculture shall be deducted the value of the tax in kind derived therefrom during the same year
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(assessed on the basis of the market value thereof, or of similar commodities, in the neighborhood where assessed in the year eighteen hundred and sixty), whether delivered during the year or afterwards, including bacon deliverable after and not prior to the assessment of the tax on property employed in agriculture as aforesaid; and the collection of one-half the tax on such property shall be suspended after assessment, under the order of the Secretary of the Treasury, until the value of the tithe to be deducted can be ascertained; and when so ascertained, it shall be the duty of the post quartermaster to certify and of the district collector to deduct the value of such tithe. The terms 'property employed, in agriculture, shall include the entire plantation or farm on which the tithe is produced, if it does not comprise more land than twice the quantity actually cultivated during the year, and also all the negroes on the plantation or farm except those exclusively employed in other duties than the cultivation of the soil. And in all cases where a tax is levied on income derived from property, real, personal, and mixed, of every description, on the amount or value of which an ad valorem tax is laid, the ad valorem tax assessed as aforesaid shall be deducted from the income tax.
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"Sec. 4. On the present value of cotton and tobacco and spirituous liquors and wines of foreign production, to be assessed in Confederate currency (excepting thirty pounds of cotton and tobacco each for every member of the owner's family), a tax of ten per centum, but neither cotton nor tobacco shall be subject to the tax hereby levied if transferred to the Government before the first day of June next if east, and the first day of September if west, of the Mississippi River: Provided, That cotton sufficient for the consumption of any factory for two years, in the possession of such factory, shall be exempt from this tax.
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"Sec. 5. On all bank or other bills in the similitude of bank bills, change bills, or paper of any kind held or circulated as currency, and issued after the first day of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and not purporting to be redeemable in specie on demand, a tax of twenty per centum, payable on the first day of June of each year; to be paid, if issued by a railroad, banking, manufacturing, or other private corporation or individual, by the corporation or individual issuing the same; and if issued by a municipal corporation, to be paid by the owner of such currency on so much as may be owned by him on the first day of June of each year: Provided, That this tax shall not apply to any currency issued by the Confederate States.
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"Sec. 6. The tax upon gold and silver coin, gold dust, gold or silver bullion, moneys held abroad, or bills of exchange drawn therefor, promissory notes, rights, credits, and securities payable in foreign countries, shall be the same as that upon gold and silver ware.
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"Sec. 7. The proviso to paragraph three of section one of the act of June fourteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, is so amended as to read as follows: That land and slaves purchased by any person since the first day of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and held and occupied for his own use and residence, if land, or held and used for his own service, if slaves, and not for resale, shall be assessed on the basis of the market value of the same or similar property in the neighborhood where the assessment is made in the year eighteen hundred and sixty.'
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"Sec. 8. Incomes shall be assessed as now provided by law, allowing the deductions now authorized. And when thus ascertained, all incomes for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five which do not exceed one thousand dollars shall be exempt from taxation; on all incomes of over one thousand dollars and under two thousand dollars, a tax of ten per centum; on all incomes of over two thousand dollars and under five thousand dollars, a tax of ten per centum on the first two thousand dollars and twenty-five per centum on the excess; on all incomes of over five thousand dollars and under twenty thousand dollars, a tax of twenty-five per centum on the first five thousand dollars and thirty per centum on the excess; on all incomes of over twenty thousand dollars, a tax of thirty per centum on the first twenty thousand dollars and forty per centum on the excess. The tax levied upon incomes shall be due and payable on the thirty-first day of December.
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"Sec. 9. On the net amount of all property made or acquired by any person (in any otherwise than by gift, marriage, Or inheritance) since the commencement of the present war there shall be levied and collected (in addition to any other tax) the following: On property of the value of twenty-five thousand dollars, a tax of five per centum; on property of the value of twenty-five thousand dollars and under one hundred thousand dollars, a tax of five per centum on the first
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twenty-five thousand dollars and ten per centum on the residue; on property of the value of one hundred thousand dollars or over that sum, ten per centum on the first one hundred thousand dollars and twenty-five per centum on the residue.
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"Sec. 10. The tax on State and Confederate stocks and bonds shall be levied on the incomes derived therefrom, which shall be taxed as are other incomes under the provisions of this act.
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"Sec. 11. The Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe regulations to enable any taxpayer to pay into the Treasury in advance such sum or sums as he may choose on account of taxes to accrue against him and to obtain therefor an unassignable certificate, bearing interest at the rate of eight per centum a year until his taxes are payable; and if on the settlement of the taxes of such taxpayer he shall be found to have overpaid his taxes for the current year, he shall be entitled to a return of the amount so overpaid, in money or in a like certificate to be received in the payment of taxes for any future year.
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"Sec. 12. The taxes levied under this act shall be subject to all exemptions and other provisions of law now in force relating to the levy, assessment, and collection of such taxes, so far as they are not inconsistent with this act."
Mr. McCallum submitted the following amendment to the amendment of Mr. Hilton:
Strike out the whole thereof and insert the following, viz:
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"That upon all subjects of taxation under existing tax laws levying taxes for the present year, except as hereinafter otherwise provided, there shall be assessed and levied an additional tax of one hundred per centum upon the present tax on the same subjects of and for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, including the specific taxes and all taxes on sales during the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, whether made before or after the passage of this act, and not expressly excepted or otherwise provided by this act; which tax shall be payable in Confederate Treasury notes of the new issue at par, or in the certificates of indebtedness authorized by 'An act to reduce the currency and to authorize a new issue of notes and bonds,' approved February seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, at the rate of one hundred and five dollars for every one hundred dollars of said certificates, but without any allowance for interest, and the same shall be collected at the same times with the other taxes on the same subjects under existing laws. And where any tax for eighteen hundred and sixty-five has been collected prior to the passage of this act the one hundred per centum additional tax thereon shall be collected as soon as practicable after its passage: Provided, The tax on cotton and tobacco and gold and silver coin shall be payable in kind and be collected in kind or an equivalent in Treasury notes, at the option of the Secretary of the Treasury, under regulations to be prescribed by him.
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"Sec. 2. In the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and in each succeeding year thereafter during the continuance of the existing war between the United States and the Confederate States, there shall be levied and collected the tax in kind on the products or property employed in agriculture as now provided by law, without deduction or abatement of the assessed tax on the property so employed: Provided, That in lieu of a credit agriculturists shall be entitled to receive certificates of indebtedness for the gold value of the tax in kind, payable in gold three years after the termination of the existing war with the United States, being computed at the rate of six per centum per annum, payable annually in gold.
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"Sec. 3. That all the gold and silver plate in the Southern Confederacy shall be impressed and taken for the benefit of the Confederate States Treasury, and for which certificates of indebtedness for the gold value thereof shall be given by the impressing officer, in such form as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, payable in gold two years after the termination of the existing war with the United States, bearing interest at the rate of six per centum per annum.
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"Sec. 4. That upon the failure of any person, copartnership, joint stock company, corporation, or any other association of persons to pay the taxes levied by this act, at such times and places as the collector may prescribe by public notice, such persons, copartnerships, joint stock companies, corporations, or associations of persons shall be deemed and held as defaulters, and shall pay a penalty of ten per centum upon the amount of tax due, and be subject to all the provisions of existing laws authorizing the seizure and sale of property for nonpayment of taxes.
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"Sec. 5. If any State shall elect to pay the taxes imposed by this act upon its citizens, notice thereof must be given to the Secretary of the Treasury on or before the first of April next, whereupon he shall estimate the probable sum of the tax for the State so applying and notify the governor thereof, and upon the payment of not less than three-fourths of the sum so estimated being made on or before the first of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the tax collectors in the State so making payment to suspend the collection of the taxes imposed by this act. And when the full returns shall have been received and the true sum of the tax ascertained, then the final settlement with the State shall be made and the sum of the remainder be collected, and, when paid, the Secretary of the Treasury shall give notice that the said taxes have been fully paid and discharged to the tax collector of the said State."
Mr. Sexton, under a suspension of the rules, offered the following resolution; which was adopted, viz:
Resolved, That the President be respectfully requested, if not incompatible with the public interest, to furnish to this House a copy of the report of General John B. Hood of his military operations during the late campaign in Tennessee.
Mr. Foster called the question; which was ordered.
The question being put,
Mr. Marshall demanded the yeas and nays;
Which were ordered,
And recorded as follows, viz:
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Yeas ... 36
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Nays ... 36
Yeas: Baldwin, Batson, Bridgers, Eli M. Bruce, Horatio W. Bruce, Carroll, Clark, Colyar, Conrad, Conrow, Cruikshank, Dickinson, Farrow, Fuller, Funsten, Gilmer, Gray, Hartridge, Hatcher, Hilton, Holliday, Johnston, J. M. Leach, Logan, Lyon, Marshall, McCallum, McMullin, Menees, Miles, Read, Sexton, Swan, Wickham, Wilkes, and Witherspoon.
Nays: Anderson, Atkins, Barksdale, Baylor, Blandford, Branch, Chrisman, Clopton, Darden, De Jarnette, Dupré, Ewing, Foster, Gaither, Garland, Gholson, Goode, Hanly, Herbert, Keeble, J. T. Leach, Machen, Miller, Moore, Perkins, Pugh, Ramsay, Russell, Simpson, J. M. Smith, W. E. Smith, Smith of North Carolina, Snead, Triplett, Turner, and Villeré.
So the amendment of Mr. Hilton was rejected.
Mr. Gilmer submitted the following amendment:
Strike out the whole and insert in lieu thereof the following, viz:
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"That upon all subjects of taxation under existing tax laws levying taxes for the present year, except as hereinafter otherwise provided, there shall be assessed and levied an additional tax of one hundred per centum upon the present tax on the same subjects of and for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, including the specific taxes and all taxes on sales during the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, whether made before or after the passage of this act, and not expressly excepted or otherwise provided by this act: which tax shall be payable in Confederate Treasury notes of the new issue at par, or in the certificates of indebtedness authorized by 'An act to reduce the currency and to authorize a new issue of notes and bonds,' approved February seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, at the rate of one hundred and five dollars for every one hundred dollars of said certificates, but without any allowance for interest, and the same shall be collected at the same times with the other taxes on the same subjects under existing laws. And where any tax for eighteen hundred and sixty-five has been collected prior to the passage of this act the one hundred per centum additional tax thereon shall be collected as soon as practicable after its passage.
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"Sec. 2. In the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and in each succeeding
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year thereafter during the continuance of the existing war between the United States and the Confederate States, there shall be levied and collected the tax in kind on the products of property employed in agriculture as now provided by law, without deduction or abatement from the assessed tax on the property so employed.
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"Sec. 3. That upon the failure of any person, copartnership, joint stock company, corporation, or any other association of persons to pay the taxes levied by this act, at such times and places as the collector may prescribe by public notice, such persons, copartnerships, joint stock companies, corporations, or associations of persons shall be deemed and held as defaulters, and shall pay a penalty of ten per centum upon the amount of tax due, and be subject to all the provisions of existing laws authorizing the seizure and sale of property for nonpayment of taxes.
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"Sec. 4. If any State shall elect to pay the taxes imposed by this act upon its citizens, notice thereof must be given to the Secretary of the Treasury on or before the first of April next, whereupon he shall estimate the probable sum of the tax for the State so applying and notify the governor thereof, and upon the payment of not less than three-fourths of the sum so estimated being made on or before the first of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the tax collectors in the State so making payment to suspend the collection of the taxes imposed by this act. And when the full returns shall have been received and the true sum of the tax ascertained, then the final settlement with the State shall be made and the sum of the remainder be collected, and, when paid, the Secretary of the Treasury shall give notice that the said taxes have been fully paid and discharged to the tax collector of the said State.
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"Sec. 5. That where property, real or personal, has been injured or destroyed by the enemy, or the owner thereof has been temporarily deprived of the use thereof, or in the case of real estate, of the means of cultivating the same by reason of the presence or proximity of the enemy, the assessment on such property may be reduced in proportion to the damage sustained by the owner, or the tax assessed thereon may be reduced in the same ratio by the district collector on satisfactory evidence submitted to him by the owner or assessor: Provided, That the families of soldiers in the Army and those soldiers discharged or relieved from active service in the field on account of physical disability, and whose families are composed of white members, whose farms are cultivated by the members of the family, shall not be liable to any tax in kind."
Mr. Gilmer demanded the yeas and nays;
Which were ordered,
And recorded as follows, viz:
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Yeas ... 41
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Nays ... 35
Yeas: Anderson, Baldwin, Batson, Branch, Bridgers, Eli M. Bruce, Horatio W. Bruce, Clark, Colyar, Conrow, Cruikshank, Darden, Dickinson, Farrow, Fuller, Funsten, Garland, Gilmer, Hartridge, Hatcher, Herbert, Hilton, Holliday, Johnston, J. M. Leach, Logan, Lyon, Marshall, McCallum, McMullin, Menees, Miles, Murray, Ramsay, Read, Sexton, Smith of North Carolina, Staples, Turner, Wilkes, and Witherspoon.
Nays: Atkins, Barksdale, Baylor, Blandford, Bradley, Burnett, Carroll, Chrisman, Clopton, Conrad, De Jarnette, Dupré, Elliott, Ewing, Foster, Gaither, Goode, Gray, Hanly, Keeble, J. T. Leach, Machen, Miller, Moore, Perkins, Pugh, Russell, Simpson, J. M. Smith, W. E. Smith, Snead, Triplett, Villeré, Wickham, and Mr. Speaker.
So the amendment of Mr. Gilmer was agreed to.
Mr. Bridgers called the question; which was ordered.
The bill as amended was engrossed and read a third time.
The question being put,
Shall the bill pass?
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Mr. Blandford demanded the yeas and nays;
Which were ordered,
And recorded as follows, viz:
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Yeas ... 44
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Nays ... 30
Yeas: Anderson, Atkins, Baldwin, Batson, Boyce, Branch, Bridgers, Eli M. Bruce, Horatio W. Bruce, Chrisman, Clark, Conrad, Conrow, Darden, Dickinson, Dupré, Farrow, Fuller, Funsten, Gaither, Garland, Gholson, Gilmer, Hartridge, Hatcher, Holliday, Keeble, J. T. Leach, Lyon, McCallum, Menees, Miles, Miller, Moore, Ramsay, Russell, Sexton, Smith of North Carolina, Snead, Staples, Villeré, Wickham, Wilkes, and Witherspoon.
Nays: Barksdale, Baylor, Blandford, Bradley, Burnett, Carroll, Clopton, Cruikshank, De Jarnette, Elliott, Foster, Goode, Gray, Hanly, Herbert, Hilton, Johnston, J. M. Leach, Logan, Marshall, McMullin, Perkins, Pugh, Read, Simpson, J. M. Smith, W. E. Smith, Triplett, Turner, and Mr. Speaker.
So the bill was passed.
Mr. Hartridge moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed.
The motion was lost.
Mr. Gilmer moved to amend the title by striking out the whole thereof and inserting the following:
A bill to levy additional taxes for the year eighteen hundred and sixty-five for the support of the Government.
Mr. Foster moved to amend the amendment of Mr. Gilmer by striking out the whole thereof and inserting:
A bill to bankrupt the Government.
Mr. H. W. Bruce called the question; which was ordered.
The amendment of Mr. Foster was lost.
The amendment of Mr. Gilmer was agreed to, and the title as amended was read and agreed to.
A message was received from the Senate, by Mr. Nash, their Secretary, as follows, viz:
Mr. Speaker: The Senate have passed a bill (S. 205) for the relief of David Moore, Daniel Moore, and Mrs. Mary R. Alexander; in which they request the concurrence of this House.
And they have passed bills of this House of the following titles:
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H. R. 319. An act more effectually to prevent and punish absenteeism and desertion in the Army;
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H. R. 371. An act to relieve agriculturists exempted and detailed under the act of February 17, 1864, in certain cases:
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H. R. 381. An act to provide for the redemption of the old issue of Treasury notes held by certain Indian tribes:
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H. R. 377. An act to establish an arsenal and foundry in the valley of Deep River, in the State of North Carolina; and
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H. R. 382. An act to amend the thirteenth section of an act entitled "An act to reduce the currency and to authorize a new issue of notes and bonds."
The two last named with amendments; in which they request the concurrence of this House.
The Senate have rejected a bill of this House (H. R. 201) to amend an act entitled "An act to provide tobacco for the Army," approved February 17, 1864.
The Chair laid before the House a Senate bill (S 205) "for the relief of David Moore, Daniel Moore, and Mrs. Mary R. Alexander;" which was read a first and Second time and referred to the Committee on Claims.
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Mr. Johnston moved that the House adjourn.
Mr. Smith demanded the yeas and nays thereon; which were not ordered, and
The House adjourned until 11 o'clock to-morrow.
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