three hundred dollars; one third of which bounty shall be "Confederate" Military Legislation. paid to the soldier at the time of his being mustered into the service, one-third at the expiration of one-half of his term of service, and one-third at the expiration of his term of service. And in case of his death while in service, the residue of his bounty unpaid shall be paid to his widow, if he shall have left a widow; if not, to his children; or if there be none, to his mother, if she be a widow. SEC. 2. That in case the quota, or any part thereof, of any town, township, ward of a city, precinct, or election district, or of any county not so subdivided, shall not be filled within the space of fifty days after such call, then the President shall immediately order a draft for one year to fill such quota, or any part thereof, which may be unfilled; and in case of any such draft no payment of money shall be accepted or received by the Government as commutation to release any enrolled or drafted man from personal obligation to perform military service. SEC. 3. That it shall be lawful for the executive of any of the States to send recruiting agents into any of the States declared to be in rebellion, except the States of Arkansas, Tennessee, and Louisiana, to recruit volunteers under any call under the provisions of this act, who shall be credited to the State, and to the respective subdivisions thereof, which may procure the enlistment. SEC. 4. That drafted men, substitutes, and volunteers, when mustered in, shall be organized into, or assigned to, regiments, batteries, or other organizations of their own States, and, as far as Iracticable, shall, when assigned, be permitted to select their own regiments, batteries, or other organizations from among those of their respective States woich at the time of assignment may not be filled to their maximum number. SEC. 5. That the twentieth section of the act entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes," " approved February twenty-four, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, shall be construed to mean that the Secretary of War shall discharge minors under the age of eighteen years under the circumstances and on the conditions prescribed in said section; and hereafter, if any officer of the United States shall en ist or muster into the military service any person under the age of sixteen years, with or without the con sent of his parent or guardian, such person so enlisted or recruited shall be immediately discharged upon repayment of all bounties received; and such recruiting or mustering officer who shall knowingly enlist any person under sixteen years of age shall be dismissed the service, with forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and shall be subject to such further punishment as a court-martial may diSEC. 6. That section three of an act entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes,' 399 approved February twenty-four, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, be, and the same is hereby, amended, so as to authorize and direct district provost marshals, under the direction of the Provost Marshal General, to make a draft for one hundred per centum in addition to the number required to fill the quota of any district as provided by said section. rect. SEC. 7. That instead of travelling pay, all drafted persons reporting at the place of rendezvous shall be allowed transportation from their places of residence; and persons dis charged at the place of rendezvous shall be allowed trans portation to their places of residence. February 28, 1861, (four days before the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln)-The "Confederate" Congress passed a bill providing 1st. To enable the Government of the Confederate States to maintain its jurisdiction over all questions of peace and war, and to provide for the public defence, the President be, and he is hereby authorized and directed to assume control of all military operations in every State, having reference to a connection with questions between the said States, or any of them, and Powers foreign to them. 2d. The President was authorized to receive from the several States the arms and munitions of war which have been acquired from the United States. 3d. He was authorized to receive into Government service such forces in the service of the States, as may be tendered, in such number as he may require, for any time not less than twelve months, unless sooner discharged. March 6, 1861-The President was authorized to employ the militia, military and naval forces of the Confederate States to repel invasion, maintain rightful possession of the territory, and secure the public tranquillity and independence against threatened assault, to the extent of 100,000 men, to serve for twelve months. May 4, 1861-One regiment of Zouaves authorized. May 6, 1861-Letters of marque and reprisal authorized. 1861, August 8-The Congress authorized the President to accept the services of 400,000 volunteers, to serve for not less than twelve months nor more than three years after they shall be mustered into service, unless sooner discharged. The Richmond Enquirer of that date announced that it was ascertained from official data, before the passage of the bill, that there were not less than 210,000 men then in the field. August 21-Volunteers authorized for local defence and special service. other printed matter, are prohibited from giv1862, January-Publishers of newspapers, or SEC. 8. That all persons in the naval service of the United ing the number, disposition, movement, or des- . States who have entered said service during the present re-tination of the land or naval forces, or descripbellion, who have not been credited to the quota of any town, district, ward, or State, by reason of their being in said service and not enrolled prior to February twenty four, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, shail be enrolled and credited to the quotas of the town, ward, district, or State, in which they respectively reside, upon satisfactory proof of their residence made to the Secretary of War. Szc. 9. That, if any person duly drafted shall be absent from home in prosecntion of his usual business, the provost marshal of the district shall cause him to be duly notified as soon as he may be, and he shall not be deemed a deserter, bor liable as such, until notice has been given him, and reasonable time allowed for him to return and report to the provost marshal of his district; but such absence shall not affect his liability under this act. SEC. 10. That nothing contained in this act, shall be construed to alter or in any way affect the provisions of the seventeenth section of an act approved February twentyfourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, entitled" An act to amend an act entitled 'An act for enrolling and calling out the national forces, and for other purposes," approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three. SEC. 11. That nothing contained in this act shall be construed to alter or change the provisions of existing laws relative to permitting persous liable to military service to furnish substitutes. tion of vessel, or battery, fortification, engine of war, or signal, unless first authorized by the President or Congress, or the Secretary of War or Navy, or commanding officer of post, district, or expedition. The penalty is a fine of $1,000 and imprisonment not over twelve months. 1862, February-The Committee on Naval Affairs were instructed to inquire into the expediency of placing at the disposal of the President five millions of dollars to build gunboats. tion of property under military necessity," 1862 Bill passed to "regulate the destrucreferring particularly to cotton and tobacco. The authorities are authorized to destroy it to keep it from the enemy; and owners, destroying it for the same purpose, are to be indemnified upon proof of the value and the circumstances of the destruction. 1862, April 16-The first "conscription" bill became a law. April 23, gives this abstract of it: modified: prescribe. The Richmond Enquirer, of | tutes, under such regulations as the Secretary of War may Vacancies may be filled by the President from the comTo the law of Congress, as published, there were sub-pany, battalion, squadron or regiment in which such sequently passed several amendments or auxiliary laws. vacancies occur, by promotion according to seniority, exWe present the following synopsis of the law as thus cept in cases of disability or other incompetency. The President may, however, fill a vacancy by promoting any officer of the company, battalion, squadron, or regiment, who may have been distinguished in the service by valor and skill, without reference to seniority. Vacancies in the lowest grade of commissioned officers of a company shall be filled by election, or the President may promote to such vacancies non-commissioned officers who have distinguished themselves by skill and valor in the service. Persons not now in service may, before being enrolled, volunteer with existing companies now in service. The conscription law places in the service of the Confederate States, for three years, unless the war sooner ends, all white men between eighteen and thirty-five years of age, resident in the Confederate States, and not legally exempt from service. The law is silent as to exemptions; but an act defining the class of exempts has since been passed, which embraces generally those hitherto exempt, with some additions. All twelve months' men between the prescribed ages, are continued in service for two years from the expiration of their present term, should the war continue so long; and all those under eighteen and over thirty-five, are to be retained for ninety days after their term expires, unless their places are sooner supplied by recruits. The twelve months' men between eighteen and thirtyfive, who are retained beyond their term of enlistment, and who have not yet received bounty and furlough, shall receive both; the furloughs, however, to be granted in such numbers and at such times as the Secretary of War may deem most compatible with the public interest; and the men may receive in lieu of furlough, the commutation value in money of the transportation granted to furloughed men by the act. The term of service of those who originally enlisted for the war, or who have since re-enlisted for that period, is not affected by the law. Men now in service are not permitted to re-enlist in other organizations than those to which they now belong; and all re-enlistments that have been made from one existing company to another, or into a new company, where the re-enlistment has not been perfected by actual transfer, are in effect canceled. Companies, battalions, and regiments of twelve months' men, retained in service by the act, shall be entitled, within forty days from the date of the act, on a day to be fixed by the commander of the brigade, to reorganize by electing all their officers whom they had a right heretofore to elect. Companies, battalions, squadrons, or regiments organized, or in process of organization, by authority from the Secretary of War, which may, within thirty days from the passage of the act, have the whole number of men necessary to complete their organization actually enrolled, not including, however, in that number persons now in service, shall be mustered into the service of the Confederate States, and be received in that arm of the service in which they were authorized to organize, and elect their company, battalion, and regimental officers. To enroll the persons contemplated by the act, and not now in service, the President may, with the consent of the Governors of the States, employ State officers; if such consent cannot be obtained, Confederate officers shall be appointed by the President. Persons not now in service, who shall be enrolled, shall be assigned by the Secretary of War to the different companies of the State from which such persons are drawn, until each company is filled to its maximum number. Seamen and ordinary seamen, enrolled under the act, may, on application of the Secretary of the Navy, be transferred to the naval service. If, after filling up the companies, regiments, battalions, and squadrons from any State, there shall remain any of the enrolled men, the excess shall be kept as a reserve; and at stated intervals, not exceeding three months, details, to be made by lot, shall be drawn from the reserve to keep the companies as nearly full as practicable. The persons so reserved remain at home until called into service, and receive no pay until actually mustered in. They are not, while at home in reserve, subject to the rules and articles of war, except that if they wilfully refuse to obey a call of the President, they shall be held as deserters, and punished as such. Whenever the President shall think that the exigencies of the service require it, he may call into active service the entire reserve, or as much as may be necessary, and they shall be organized under such rules as the Secretary of War may adopt, and shall elect their field and company officers. The reserves from each State, when thus called out, shall be organized separately. Every man mustered into service, who shall bring with him a musket, shot gun, rifle or carbine accepted as an efficient weapon, shall receive the value of it as ascertained by the mustering officer under such regulations as the Secretary of War may prescribe, or if the owner be unwilling to sell, he shall receive $1 a month for the use of such DAVIS'S CONSCRIPTION PROCLAMATION. PROCLAMATION BY THE PRESIDENT. Whereas, It is provided by an act of Congress, entitled "An Act to further provide for the public defence," approved on the 16th day of April, 1862, and by another act titled An Act to amend an act antitled 'An Act to proof Congress, approved on the 27th September, 1862, envide further for the public defence," approved 16th April, in the military service of the Confederate States, for three 1862, that the President be authorized to call out and place years, unless the war shall have been sooner ended, all white men who are residents of the Confederate States be tween the ages of 18 and 45 years, at the time the call may be made, and who are not at such time legally exempted from military service, or such part thereof as in his judgment may be necessary to the public defence; and Whereas, in my judgment the necessities of the public defence require that every man capable of bearing arms, between the ages aforesaid, should now be called out to do his duty in the defence of his country, and in driving back the invaders now within the limits of the Confederacy: federate States of America, do, by virtue of the powers Now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Convested in me as aforesaid, call out and place in the military service of the Confederate States all white men residents of said States, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five do hereby order and direct that all persons subject to this years, not legally exempted from military service; and I call, and not now in the military service, do, upon being enrolled, forthwith repair to the conscript camps established in the respective States of which they may be residents, under pain of being held and punished as deserters in the event of their failure to obey this call, as provided in said laws. And I do further order that it shall be lawful for any person embraced within this call to volunteer for service lowed to select the arm of service and the company which before enrollment, and that persons so volunteering be althey desire to join, provided such company be deficient in the full number of men allowed by law for its organization. Given under my hand and the seal of the Confederate States of America, at the City of Richmond, on this 15th day of July, in the year of our Lord 1863. JEFFERSON DAVIS. By the President: J. P. BENJAMIN, Sec. of State. ORDERS UNDER THE CONSCRIPTION ACT. ADJUTANT AND INSPECTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE, RICHMOND, July 20, 1863.-General Orders, No. 98.-I. All white male residents of the Confederate States, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, not exempted by law, and not already in the service, will be enrolled. Persons liablo to enrollment may be enrolled wherever they may be found. II. The first paragraph of General Order No. 86, current series, is so amended as to read as follows: companies, battalions and regiments composed of persons not within the age of conscription, (eighteen and forty-five,) will be ac cepted as volunteers throughout the Confederacy, under the act of August 21, 1861, (No. 209,) for local defence and special service. Those persons belonging to such organizations, who are of conscript age, and neither exempted by law, nor already in the service, will be discharged, and reported to the bureau of conscription for enrollment. III. The following regulation will be in addition to those heretofore published in regard to substitutes: Hereafter every person furnishing a substitute, in accordance with existing regulations, shall become liable to, and be immedi ately enrolled for military duty, upon the loss of the ser vices of the substitute furnished by him from any cause other than the casualties of war. S. COOPER, Adjutant and Inspector General. By order, 1864, February. The second conscription bill became a law. The Richmond Sentinel of February 17, 1864, contains a synopsis of what is called the military bill, heretofore forbidden to be printed: The first section provides that all white men residents of the Confederate States, between the ages of seventeen and fifty, shall be in the military service for the war. The second section provides that all between eighteen and forty-five, now in service, shall be continued during the war in the same regiments, battalions, and companies to which they belong at the passage of this act, with the organization, officers, &c., provided that companies from one State organized against their consent, expressed at the time, with regrets, &c., from another State, shall have the privilege of being transferred to the same arm in a regiment from their own State, and men can be transferred to a company from their own State. Section three gives a bounty eight months hence of $100 in rebel bonds. Section four provides that no person shall be relieved from the operations of this act heretofore discharged for disability, nor shall those who furnished substitutes be exempted, where no disability now exists; but exempts religious persons who have paid an exemption tax. Section five provides for the enrolling of all white male eighteen, and forty-five and fifty, at such time and under such regulations as the President may prescribe; time allowed east of the Mississippi thirty, and west sixty days; any person failing to enroll without good excuse shall be placed in the field for the war as if he were between eighteen and forty-five. Persons mentioned in this section shall constitute a reserve for State defence and detail duty, and not required to perform service out of the State in which they reside. residents of the Confederate States between seventeen and Section seven provides that any person who shall fail to attend at the place of rendezvous appointed by the President, and not excused by him, shall be liable to be placed in the field service for the war. Section eight declares that hereafter all positions as clerks, guards, agents, employees, or laborers on provost, hospital, or ordnance duty, or in the Quartermaster or Commissary Departments, and all similar duties, shall be filled by such persons between the ages of eighteen and forty-five as may be declared by a board of examining surgeons to be unit for active field service, and when these are exhausted, then from those between seventeen and eighteen, and fortyfive and fifty: provided that the President may detail artisans, mechanics, or persons of scientific skill to perform indispensable duties in the bureaux herein named. The tenth section provides that no person shall be exempt except the following: ministers, superintendents of deaf, dumb, and blind, or insane asylums; one editor to each newspaper, and such employees as he may swear to be indispensable; the Confederate and State public printers, and the journeymen printers necessary to perform the public printing; one apothecary to each drug store, who was and has been continuously doing business as such since October 10, 1862; physicians over 30 years of age of seven years' practice, not including dentists; presidents and teachers of colleges, academies, and schools, who have not less than 30 pupils; superintendents of public hospitals established by law, and such physicians and nurses as may be indispensable for their efficient management. One agriculturist on each farm where there is no white male adult not liable to duty employing fifteen able-bodied slaves, between 16 and 50 years of age, upon the following conditions: The party exempted shall give bonds to deliver to the Government in the next twelve months, 100 pounds of bacon, or its equivalent in salt pork, at Government selection, and 100 pounds of beef for each such able-bodied slave employed on said farm, at commissioner's rates. In certain cases this may be commuted in grain or other provisions. The person shall further bind himself to sell all surplus provisons now on hand, or which he may raise, to the Government, or the families of soldiers, at commissioner's rates, the person to be allowed a credit of 25 per cent. on any amount he may deliver in three months from the passage of this act; Provided that no enrollment since Feb. 1, 1864, shall deprive the person enrolled from the benefit of this exemption. In addition to the above, the Secretary of War is authorized to make such details as the public security requires. The officers and employees of railroad companies engaged in military transportation, not beyond one for each mile used in such transportation, and under certain restrictions. Also, exempts mail contractors and carriers. The eleventh section authorizes the President to detail either from between 45 and 50 or from the army in the field when necessity requires it, and may, when he thinks proper, revoke such details. Provided, that he shall not exempt or detail any contractor for furnishing supplies, &c., by reason of such contract, except the head of a department shall certify that such exemption is indispensable; the exemption to cease if the contractor fails to comply with his contract. The twefth section declares that the Board of Surgeons shall not be appointed from the county or district in which they are required to make examinations. The vote in the House of Respresentatives was-yeas, 41; nays, 31. GUERRILLAS. 1862, April 21-The President was authorized to commission such officers as he may deem proper, with authority to form bands of partisan rangers, in companies, battalions or regiments, either as infantry or cavalry, to receive the same pay, rations, and quarters, and be subject to the same regulations as other soldiers. For any arms and munitions of war captured from the enemy by any body of partisan rangers, and delivered to any quartermaster at designated place, the rangers shall be paid their full value.* The following resolution, in relation to partisan service, was adopted by the Virginia Legislature, May 17, 1862: Whereas, this General Assembly places a high estimate upon the value of the ranger or partisan service in prosecuting the present war to a successful issue, and regards it as perfectly legitimate; and it being understood that a intimated his purpose, if such service is not discontinued, Federal commander on the northern border of Virginia has to lay waste by fire the portion of our territory at present under his power. Resolved by the General Assembly, That in its opinion, to be carried out energetically, both by the authorities of the policy of employing such rangers and partisans ought this State and of the Confederate States, without the slightest regard to such threats. By another act, the President was authorized, in addition to the volunteer force authorized under existing laws, to accept the services of volunteers who may offer them, without regard 1864, February 15-Repealed the above act, but provided for continuing organizations of partisan rangers acting as regular cavalry and so to continue; and authorizing the Secretary of War to provide for uniting all bands of partisan rangers with other organizations and bringing them under the general discipline of the provisional army. The act authorizes the Secretary of War, in his discretion, to exempt from its operation such companies as are serving within the lines of the enemy. In a late cavalry raid by Col. Lowell, towards Upperville, Va., Lieut. Henry E. Alvord, of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry, captured Major Moseby's private papers, and found his commission as major of guerrillas, which is as follows: CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA, WAR DEPARTMENT, RICHMOND, March 26, 1863.-You are hereby informed that the President has conferred upon you the rank of Major of Partisan Rangers, under the act approved April 21, 1862, in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States, to date as such from the 26th of March, 1863. Immediately on receipt thereof please communicate to this Department, to the Adjutant and Inspector General, announcing your acceptance of said appointment. With your letter of acceptance to the Adjutant and Inspector General, you will fill up properly the enclosed oath, and subscribe and swear to it; at the same time state your age, residence, and when ap pointed, and the State in which you were born. Should you accept, report for duty to General R. E. Lee. JAMES A. SEDDON, Secretary of War. Major JOHN MOSEBY. to the place of enlistment, to serve for and both instances. The conscript law is a legitimate exercise during the existing war. 1862, May 27-Maj. Gen. John B. Floyd was authorized by the Legislature of Virginia, to raise ten thousand men, not now in service or liable to draft, for twelve months. 1862, September 27- The President was authorized to call out and place in the military service for three years, all white men who are residents, between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five, at the time the call may be made, not legally exempt. And such authority shall exist in the President, during the present war, as to all persons who now are, or hereafter may become eighteen years of age, and all persons between eighteen and forty-five, once enrolled, shall serve their full time. THE TWENTY-NEGRO EXEMPTION LAW. 1862, October 11-Exempted certain classes, described in the repealing law of the next session, as follows: The dissatisfaction of the people with an act passed by the Confederate Congress, at its last session, by which persons owning a certain number of slaves were exempted from the operation of the conscription law, has led the members at the present session to reconsider their work, and already one branch has passed a bill for the repeal of the obnoxious law. This bill provides as follows: of the power of Congress to raise armies, which is distinct from and additional to the power to employ the militia of the country. The privilege of putting in substitutes, until recently allowed, was an act of grace and favor to the citi zen, and not a contract in any respect to which the Government was a party. "Nor would the Government have had a right to make such contract as in this case is contended for. As an act of Even if Congress had had the power to make such contract, grace it was, of course, repealable at the will of Congress. and had exercised it, yet the conditions necessarily attaching would have rendered the contract repealable if, in the judgment of Congress, the exigencies of the country required it. Congress was the sole judge of a public neces sity of this nature, and the preamble to the law repealing substitutions recognized this." STATE RIGHTS AND PERSONAL LIBERTY. The Macon (Georgia) Telegraph gives the points of the first legal decision made in the State of Georgia under the act of the Confederate Congress repealing the substitute law, and compelling those who had furnished substitutes to go into the army. It is the judgment of Judge Lochrane, of the Superior Court for Macon Circuit, and was delivered on the 11th of February, in the case of Dennis Daley and Philip Fitzgerald, and is interesting as showing what are held to be State-rights and personal liberty in the Confederate States. We quote: duty of a nation to protect itself, and that any contract or "The Congress of the Confederate States do enact, That so much of the act approved October 11, 1862, as exempts from miltary service one person, either as agent, owner, or overseer, on each plantation on which one white person is required to be kept by the laws or ordinances of any State, and on which there is no white male adult not liable to military service, and in States having no such law, one person, as agent, owner, or overseer on such plantation of twenty negroes, and on which there is no white male adult not liable to military service;' and also the following clause in said act, to wit: and furthermore, for additional police "He held that the interest of every citizen was the same of every twenty negroes, on two or more plantations, within five miles of each other, and each having less than twenty the military service rendered by the substitute was just as as that of the Government of which he formed a part, and negroes, and on which there is no white male adult not liable to military duty, one person, being the oldest of the much rendered to the principal as a citizen of the Govern owners or overseers on such plantations,' be and the same ment itself-his life, his honor, his property, and his liberty are hereby repealed; and the persons so hitherto exempted were defended by the act, and the consideration enured to by said clauses of said act are hereby made subject to mili-him as a member of the society which composed the Govtary duty in the same manner that they would be had said clauses never been embraced in said act." RESTRICTIONS UPON VOLUNTEERING. demand it. ernment. "Contracts and vested rights must all bend to the exigencies of the Government, of which the legislature was the judge, and any act of the Legislature contravening the publie interest may be repealed when the safety of the people From the Richmond Examiner, January 30, becomes the supreme law. 1864: General Orders have been issued in the Adjutant General's office, instructing the enrolling officers to proceed as rapidly as possible with the new conscription. The privilege of volunteering is restricted in these orders by two important conditions: "1. The company selected must have been in service on the 16th of April, 1862. "2. The company selected must be, at the time of volunteering, below the minimum number prescribed by regulations." JUDICIAL RULINGS UPON CONSCRIPTION. The Richmond papers of March, 1864, mention the following decision in reference to the conscription act: "In the case of J. R. F. Borroughs vs. T. G. Peyton, and L. P. Abrahams vs. the same, the Court of Appeals of Virginia on yesterday rendered a decision. These cases came before the court on habeas corpus, the plaintiffs praying to be discharged from the custody of the conscript officer, on the ground that they had furnished substitutes-the one under the State law of February, 1862, the other the Confederate States law. "The court unanimously rejected the petitions in both cases, and remanded the parties to the military officer. The opinion was delivered by Judge William J. Robertson, and is able and elaborate. It brought under review the constitutionality both of the conscript law and that repealing the exemptions of such conscripts as have furnished substitutes, and it fully sustained the action of Congress in "The vested rights of fathers may be annulled over their minor children, to make them soldiers when the public interests demand it, and the law-making power has so declared. "All rights, all property, all persons who are citizens of a Government, may be used by the Government in time of war, and it was the duty of courts to sustain the Govern ment in the appropriation of the means exercised rightfully by the Legislature to protect the whole people from subjugation and ruin." 1864, March 22-The Supreme Court of Georgia are reported as having, to-day, unanimously affirmed the constitutionality of the anti-substitute law. IN NORTH CAROLINA. [From Richmond Sentinel, March 8, 1861.] HABEAS CORPUS WRITS REFUSED.-The Raleigh Confederate states that Judge Battle has lately refused to issue writs of habeas corpus in a number of cases when applied for by persons who had placed substitutes in the army, on the ground that the writ was suspended in all snch cases by the late act of Congress. It also learns that such is the opinion of Judge Manly. Judges Pearson, Battle, and Manly constitute the Supreme Court of North Carolina, and as two of the three judges sustain the Government in the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, the final decision of the matter against the substitute men is only a question of time. Judge Pearson is said to hold the contrary opinion. MARTIAL LAW. March 1, 1862-JEFFERSON DAVIS President, "by virtue of the power vested in him by law to declare the suspension of the privileges of the writ of Habeas Corpus in cities threatened with invasion," proclaimed that martial law was extended over Richmond and the adjoining country to the extent of ten miles. He prohibited all distillation of spirituous liquors, and directed that the distilleries be forthwith closed and the establishments for the sale thereof closed. Many Union men were arrested at once and imprisoned. April 8, 1862, DAVIS issued a proclamation extending martial law over East Tennessee and suspending all civil jurisdiction and the writ of Habeas Corpus. Col. W. M. Churchwell was made provost marshal and was charged with the execution of the proclamation. May 3, 1862, DAVIS issued a like proclamation with reference to the counties of Lee, Wise, Buchanan, McDowell, and Wyoming in Virginia, under the command of Brig. Gen. Humphrey Marshall. August 14, 1861, DAVIS issued this PROCLAMATION OF BANISHMENT: Whereas, the Congress of the Confederate States of America did, by an act approved on the 8th day of August, 1861, entitled "An act respecting alien enemies," make provision that proclamation should be issued by the President in relation to alien enemies, and in conformity with the provisions of said act: Now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, do issue this my proclamation: and I do hereby warn and require every male citizen of the United States, of the age of fourteen years and upwards, now within the Confederate States, and adhering to the Government of the United States, and acknowledging the authority of the same, and not being a citizen of the Confederate States, to depart from the Confederate States within forty days from the date of this proclamation. And I do warn all persons above described, who shall remain within the Confederate States after the expiration of said period of forty days, that they will be treated as alien onemies. Provided, however, That this proclamation shall not be considered as applicable, during the existing war, to citizens of the United States residing within the Confederate States with intent to become citizens thereof, and who shall make declaration of such intention in due form, acknowledging the authority of this Government; nor shall this proclamation be considered as extending to the States of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, the District of Columbia, the Territories of Arizona and New Mexico, and the Indian Territory south of Kansas, who shall not be chargeable with actual hostility or other crime against the public safety, and who shall acknowledge the authority of the Government of the Confederate States. And I do further proclaim and make known that I have established the rules and regulations hereto annexed in accordance with the provisions of said law. KNOXVILLE, Tenn., April 23, 1862. STRENGTH OF THE REBEL ARMY. 1864, Jan. 30.-In debating the bill to repeal the Substitute Exemption bill, Mr. Wm. N. H. Smith, of North Carolina, said, the "Confederates" had at this time four hundred thousand men on their muster roll "of whom probably one half were not there, and it was well known we were unable to feed the fractional part who were, in the field." The Richmond Whig of Jan. 1, 1864, alluding to the passage of the above named bill, has these comments: We wish at this time only to make some passing com ments upon the tone manifested in Congress in the debates upon this measure. A Senator (Mr. Orr of S. C.,) among other objections to the passage of the bill gravely questioned its legality. "If the pending bill becomes a law," said Mr. O., “there will be great difficulty in executing it, by reason of the decisions of the Courts in several of the States. We must ac quiesce in the decisions of the Courts, or resort to measures which he was not prepared for." A Senator from Missouri (Mr. Clark,) representing a constituency wholly beyond the action and control of our laws, replied, in urging its passage, that "in regard to the action of the Courts, steps may and should be taken to remove the subject beyond their jurisdiction." The Senator from Mississippi, (Mr. Brown.) goes further: "We should not defer our legislation to consult the views of every State Judge-to ascertain whether he will overthrow it or not by his judicial decision. We have high duties to perform. Let us perform them without reference to State Judges. There was a remedy against the interference of the Courts, in the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus." The vote of Congress upon this measure shows to what extent the provisions of the Constitution are getting to b disregarded in the Legislative branch, and how far revolu tionary sentiment already prevails in that body. The strength of the popular respect for our Government, and the good sense of the quiet masses, may for the moment allow such declarations to pass without disturbance. The little respect in which substitute men are held may influence a temporary acquiesence in them. But the intelligent and ardent lover of his country cannot witness such proceedings with indifference, nor will he, with submission. There is as much patriotism and intelligence out of the halls of Congress as in it, and the tendency of the legisla tive and executive declarations so far this session to a subversion of the liberties of the country and a military despotism is already sowing the seeds of a counter revolution. Our people claim it as their right, as the duty of the General Government to insure to them, as the basis of the compact by which they have associated together, that the Confederacy is but a community of sovereign States. They look to the Constitution as the supreme law of the Confederacy. They regard it as among the blessings for which they are indebted to their ancestry that they transmitted to us a written Constitution. It received the plighted faith of our fathers. It is the hope of our posterity. To argue questions outside or above it is but to assail the cause of law, of right, and order. Given under my hand and the seal of the Confederate States of America, at the city of Richmond, on the 14th day Meeting of the Thirty-Seventh Conof August, A. D. 1561. By the President: JEFFERSON DAVIS. R. M. T. HUNTER, Secretary of State. TO THE DISAFFECTED people of East Tennessee. The undersigned, in executing martial law in this Department, assures those interested who have fled to the enemy's Enes, and who are actually in their army, that he will welcome their return to their homes and families; they are of fered annesty and protection if they come to lay down their arms and act as loyal citizens within the thirty days given them by Maj. Gen. E. KIRBY SMITH to do so. At the end of that time, those failing to return to their homes and accept the amnesty thus offered, and provide for d protect their wives and children in East Tennessee, will have them sent to their care in Kentucky, or beyond the Confederate State lines, at their own expense. All that leave after this date, with a knowledge of the above facts, will have their families sent immediately after them. gress. The first session began July 4, 1861, and closed August 6, 1861. The second session began December 2, 1861, and closed July 17, 1862. The third session began December 1, 1862, and closed March 4, 1863. MEMBERS OF THE THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, MAINE-Lot M. Morrill, William P. Fessen den. NEW HAMPSHIRE The women and children must be taken care of by husbands Clark. |