[P. 280.] June 14, 1864. prepared vege CHAP. LVI.-An Act to amend an act entitled "An act to prohibit the importation of luxuries or of articles not necessaries or of common use,” approved February sixth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four. The Congress of the Confederate States of America do So much of the enact, That so much of the act entitled "An act to act of Feb. 6, 1864 (ante, p. 181, ch. 24), as forbids the prohibit the importation of luxuries or of articles not importation of necessaries or of common use," approved sixth February, cighteen hundred and sixty-four, as forbids the importation of prepared "vegetables, fruits, meats, poultry and game, sealed or inclosed in cans or otherwise, and brooms and brushes of all kinds," is hereby repealed. APPROVED June 14, 1864. tables, fruits, meats, &c., repealed. The President, in certain cases, inhabitants of a in a state of insurrection. 1795, ch. 36, § 2. Vol. i, p. 424. FEDERAL STATUTES THE CIVIL WAR. [Printed from U. S. Statutes at Large, Vols. 12 and 13.' ACTS PASSED BY THIRTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, FIRST [12 Stats. 257.] SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That whenever the may declare the President, in pursuance of the provisions of the second State, &c., to be section of the act entitled "An act to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, and to repeal the act now in force for that purpose," approved February twenty-eight, seventeen hundred and ninety-five, shall have called forth the militia to suppress combinations against the laws of the United States, and to cause the laws to be duly executed and the insurgents shall have failed to disperse by the time directed by the President, and when said insurgents claim to act under the authority of any State or States, and such claim is not disclaimed or repudiated by the persons exercising the functions of government in such State or States, or in the part or parts thereof in which said combination exists, nor such insurrection suppressed by said State or States, then and in such case it may and shall be lawful for the President, by proclamation, to declare that the inhabitants of such State, or any section or part thereof, where such insurrection exists, are in a state of insurrection against the Commercial in- United States; and thereupon all commercial intercourse upon to cease. by and between the same and the citizens thereof and the 1861, ch. 32. Post, p. 284. tercourse there Certain goods permit inter cases, and under citizens of the rest of the United States shall cease and be unlawful so long as such condition of hostility shall continue; and all goods and chattels, wares and merchandise, to be forfeited. coming from said State or section into the other parts of the United States, and all proceeding to such State or section, by land or water, shall, together with the vessel or vehicle conveying the same, or conveying persons to or from such State or section, be forfeited to the United States: Provided, however, That the President may, in in President may his discretion, license and permit commercial intercourse course in certain with any such part of said State or section, the inhabitants regulations. of which are so declared in a state of insurrection, in such articles, and for such time, and by such persons, as he, in his discretion, may think most conducive to the public interest; and such intercourse, so far as by him licensed, shall be conducted and carried on only in pursuance of rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. And the Secretary of the Treasury may ap- Officers of cuspoint such officers at places where officers of the customs pointed; are not now authorized by law as may be needed to carry into effect such licenses, rules and regulations; and offiIcers of the customs and other officers shall receive for services under this section, and under said rules and regulations, such fees and compensation as are now allowed for similar service under other provisions of law. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That from and after, Vessels belongfifteen days after the issuing of the said proclamation, as surrection, when provided in the last foregoing section of this act, any ship or vessel belonging in whole or in part to any citizen or inhabitant of said State or part of a State whose inhabitants are so declared in a state of insurrection, found at sea, or in any port of the rest of the United States, shall be forfeited to the United States. toms may be ap pay, &c. their ing to those in in to be forfeited be used to exe laws. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That in the execution The navy may of the provisions of this act, and of the other laws of the cute the revenue United States providing for the collection of duties on imports and tonnage, it may and shall be lawful for the President, in addition to the revenue cutters in service, to employ in aid thereof such other suitable vessels as may, in his judgment, be required. penalties. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the forfeitures Remission and penalties incurred by virtue of this act may be mitigated or remitted in pursuance of the authority vested in the Secretary of the Treasury by the act entitled "An act providing for mitigating or remitting the forfeitures, Vol. 1, p. 506. 1797, ch. 13. In what courts forfeitures be enforced. penalties, and disabilities accruing in certain cases therein mentioned," approved March third, seventeen hundred and ninety-seven, or in cases where special circumstances may seem to require it, according to regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. SEC. 9. And be it fur.her enacied, That proceedings on may seizures for forfeitures under this act may be pursued in the courts of the United States in any district into which the property so seized may be taken and proceedings instituted; and such courts shall have and entertain as full jurisdiction over the same as if the seizure was made in that district. APPROVED, July 13, 1861. [12 Stats. 319]. August 6, 1861. CHAP. LX.-An Act to confiscate Property used for Insurrectionary used in aiding in Purposes. When property Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representasurrection may tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, be confiscated. In what courts to be condemned. That if, during the present or any future insurrection against the Government of the United States, after the President of the United States shall have declared, by proclamation, that the laws of the United States are opposed, and the execution thereof obstructed, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the power vested in the marshals by law, any person or persons, his, her, or their agent, attorney, or employe, shall purchase or acquire, sell or give, any property of whatsoever kind or description, with intent to use or employ the same, or suffer the same to be used or employed, in aiding, abetting, or promoting such insurrection or resistance to the laws, or any person or persons engaged therein; or if any person or persons, being the owner or owners of any such property, shall knowingly use or employ, or consent to the use or employment of the same as aforesaid, all such property is hereby declared to be lawful subject of prize and capture wherever found; and it shall be the duty of the President of the United States to cause the same to be seized, confiscated, and condemned. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted. That such prizes and capture shall be condemned in the district or circuit court of the United States having jurisdiction of the amount, or in admiralty in any district in which the same may be seized, or into which they may be taken and proceedings first instituted. Who to insti for condemnation, and for whose use. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Attorney-tute proceedings General, or any district attorney of the United States in fin. which said property may at the time be, may institute the proceedings of condemnation, and in such case they shall be wholly for the benefit of the United States; or any person may file an information with such attorney, in which case the proceedings shall be for the use of such informer and the United States in equal parts. When claims to persons held to to be forfeited. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That whenever hereafter, during the present insurrection against the Gov-service and labor ernment of the United States, any person claimed to be held to labor or service under the law of any State, shall be required or permitted by the person to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due, or by the lawful agent of such person, to take up arms against the United States, or shall be required or permitted by the person to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due, or his lawful agent, to work or to be employed in or upon any fort, navy yard, dock, armory, ship, entrenchment, or in any military or naval service whatsoever, against the Government and lawful authority of the United States, then, and in every such case, the person to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due shall forfeit his claim to such labor, any law of the State of the United States to the contrary notwithstanding. And whenever thereafter the person claiming such labor or service shall seek to enforce his claim, it shall be a full and sufficient answer to such claim that the person whose service or labor is claimed had been employed in hostile service against the Government of the United States, contrary to the provisions of this act. CHAP. XV.-An Act to authorize the President of the United States in certain Cases to take Possession of Railroad and Telegraph Lines, and for other Purposes. January 31, 1862 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, Railroad That the President of the United States, when in his telegraph judgment the public safety may require it, be, and he is possession of, may be and lines taken hereby authorized to take possession of any or all the telegraph lines in the United States, their offices and appurtenances; to take possession of any or all the railroad lines in the United States, their rolling-stock, their offices, shops, buildings, and all their appendages and appurtenances; to prescribe rules and regulations for the holding, using, and maintaining of the aforesaid telegraph and railroad lines, and to extend, repair, and complete the same, in the manner most conducive to the may be used safety and interest of the Government; to place under and placed under military control all the officers, agents, and employés belonging to the telegraph and railroad lines thus taken possession of by the President, so that they shall be considered as a post road and a part of the military establishment of the United States, subject to all the restrictions imposed by the rules and articles of war. extended, &c., attempting to ob SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That any attempt by any party or parties whomsoever, in any State or District Obstructing, or in which the laws of the United States are opposed, or the struct the govern- execution thereof obstructed by insurgents and rebels thereof-how against the United States, too powerful to be suppressed punished. by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, to resist ment in the use Commissioners to determine damages. of troops, &c. to of Secretary War. of or interfere with the unrestrained use by Government of the property described in the preceding section, or any attempt to injure or destroy the property aforesaid, shall be punished as a military offence, by death, or such other penalty as a court-martial may impose. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That three commissioners shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to assess and determine the damages suffered, or the compensation to which any railroad or telegraph company may be entitled by reason of the railroad or telegraph line being seized and used under the authority conferred by this act, and their award shall be submitted to Congress for their action. Transportation SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the transportabe under control tion of troops, munitions of war, equipments, military property and stores, throughout the United States, shall be under the immediate control and supervision of the Secretary of War and such agents as he may appoint; and all rules, regulations, articles, usages, and laws in conflict with this provision are hereby annulled. Pay of commissioners. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the compensaAct, how long tion of each of the commissioners aforesaid shall be eight n force. |