The VICE PRESIDENT. The Secretary will report the amendment.

The acting Secretary read the amendment as follows:

In section five, line five, after the word "that," insert the word "the ;" and after "allowance," insert "of noncommissioned officers and privates;" so that the proviso will read :

Provided, That the allowance of non-commissioned officers and privates, for clothing, shall be $3 50 per month. The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. RICE. In section nine, line eight, after the word "of," I move to strike out "a captain of cavalry" and insert" those now serving in the regular Army;" so that the clause will read:

The chaplain so appointed must be a regularly ordained minister of a Christian denomination, and shall receive the pay and allowances of those now serving in the regular Army.

Mr. WILSON. I do not intend to oppose that amendment. I am certainly willing that it shall be adopted. I wish simply to say, however, that a great pressure has been made upon me by per-will get their franked letters into the mail. There sons deeply interested in the welfare of the volunteers to secure the allowance to the chaplains of the pay of a major of cavalry, instead of a captain of cavalry, as the bill provides. The argument is, that in the regular Army your chaplains have a fixed salary; that they are there per"manently; whereas these chaplains brought into the volunteers come in irregularly; they do not know how long they will stay; they are put to some inconvenience; and therefore their pay ought to be larger. Many of them are not satisfied with the compensation provided for by the bill— the pay and allowances of a captain of cavalry. They want to get the pay and' allowances of a major of cavalry. The Senator now proposes to place them on the same footing with chaplains of the regular Army, which will, I think, be some two or three hundred dollars less than the amount proposed in the bill.

Mr. FOSTER. How much will the whole salary be a year?

Mr. WILSON. Ten or eleven hundred dollars a year.

Mr. HALE. Are there not some perquisites? Mr. WILSON. Perquisites and all amount to about eleven hundred dollars.

Mr. RICE. I think the pressure the honorable Senator has mentioned is the very reason why we should vote for the amendment. I do not see the necessity for chaplains being allowed forage and rations. They have very little duty to perform, comparatively with the regular officers of the Army; and, from the very nature of their calling, they are treated with the greatest kindness, not only by the officers, but by the privates; and every provision is always made for them. If this amendment should not be adopted, we shall have to increase the pay of the chaplains now in

the service.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. RICE. I have one more amendment. I know it may seem ungracious to offer it, but a sense of duty compels me to do so. I move to strike out the eleventh section, which confers the franking privilege on these volunteers. It must be obvious that with an army of four or five hundred thousand men in the field, it would take a very large appropriation to defray the expenses of carrying their mail matter. The privilege would be abused to a very great extent necessarily. I would have no objection to voting an allowance of money for each regiment to defray the expenses of postage; but when you allow them to frank packages of not more than two ounces, it will be seen that everything that could be divided into such packages would be sent by mail free.

Mr. WILSON. I hope the Senate will not strike out the eleventh section. I do not believe that it will add greatly to the aggregate expense. That these volunteers will write letters, I have no doubt. I have had abundant evidence of that, for I have been called upon to frank many thousands of their letters; and I have done it very freely,

Mr. RICE. I will go as far as any one towards granting the soldiers every facility which may be requisite. The honorable Senator from Massachusetts speaks of their having called on him for his frank, and he says that he has given it cheerfully. They have also called on me for mine, but I must say to him that I had doubts as to my right to give the franks, and I consequently purchased

distributed these to those who called upon me. I do not wish to be captious about this matter; perhaps I am wrong in pressing the amendment, and therefore, with the consent of the Senate, I will withdraw it.

Mr. SAULSBURY. I move, if it be in order, to strike out, in the fifth line of the first section, the words "five hundred thousand," and insert" two hundred thousand."

The VICE PRESIDENT. The Chair will state to the Senator that the entire appropriation is stricken out.

Mr. SAULSBURY. I do not refer to the appropriation of money, but to the number of men.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The Senator can make his motion after the bill shall have been reported to the Senate. The clause to which he refers has been agreed to in this form in committee, and it cannot be reached until the bill goes to the

Senate.

• Mr. TEN EYCK. I move to amend the bill, by striking out in section three, line six, the word "four," and inserting in its place the word "three;" so that the clause will read:

Each brigade shall be composed of three or more regl

ments.

I will state frankly, without attempting to make use of any comparisons, because I consider that every State has done nobly and well, that my desire is, that the State which I have the honor in part to represent, may have a brigade. I understand that by the organization of the regular Army, each brigade may be composed of two or more regiments. In this bill we have a very material alteration, requiring that brigades shall be composed of four or more regiments. New Jersey has seven regiments in the field now, raised in a short time, and she can soon have more, but by reason of existing circumstances she cannot get any more accepted. Though she is anxious to furnish more, she can obtain no assurance whatever that additional regiments will be received. I state frankly and openly, as I desire no concealment, and there is no disguise about it, that my object is, under existing circumstances, that my State, prompt and ready as she has been to enter the field, may have the opportunity of having her

own brigade, and perhaps a brigadier general to command.

The

Mr. WILSON. I understand the reason why the Senator from New Jersey makes the motion; but I think if he will give the subject a moment's reflection he will see that it is not necessary to do it. If this were applied to the ninety-day men, to the militia first called out, whose general officers were furnished by the States, I think it would be very well, and I should not object to it; but here we are organizing the three-years force. brigades now authorized are to be composed of four or more regiments; and the object of making the brigades larger than they usually have been is to avoid the necessity of appointing so many brigadier generals. Here the President asks us to call out four hundred thousand men; and on the plan proposed, he might appoint one hundred brigadier generals-each brigade consisting of four regiments. We do not propose that the President shall have authority to appoint more than eighteen brigadier, generals for that whole force. We propose that a brigade shall certainly have four regiments, and perhaps more. They have organized the brigades over the river consisting of four regiments. It is unnecessary that a brigade shall be from one State. I beg leave to say to my friend that they do not allow that to be so; they mix them up; they take the men from several States. The men are not brigaded according to the States from which they come; it is not the object; it is not the policy. It is not a good policy, and it ought to be discouraged. If the Senator's proposition applied to the ninety-day volunteers, where the general officer was furnished by the State, his argument would be good; but this bill does not apply to those men. The Federal Government appoints the general officers under this bill, and the State cannot appoint those officers; so I think the Senator will see that his amendment is unnecessary. I hope, certainly, he will not press it. It will not affect his State in the slightest degree. If he has one, two, or three good men in his State, of military talent and experience, and will go to the President, I think he can get them appointed. Now, I hope he will not press the amendment.

Mr. TEN EYCK. I will not press it merely with the idea which the gentleman seems to indícate, but he will pardon me for insisting that it be put to a vote. I am a very poor soldier, and of course not familiar with military affairs; but this thing struck me as being manifestly patent, so far as the people of my State are concerned, and I desired to submit my view to the Senate on the subject.

I have been informed that this matter of organ|| izing regiments is very much under the control of the general of the division. In the regular Army the brigades are made up of two, three, four, or six regiments, according to the order of the general of the division. Now I do not want to preclude by law the general of a division from ordering a brigade to be made up of three regiments, if he sees fit, especially as he has the right now to compose a brigade of two regiments. We are departing now from the organization of the regular Army very materially. The raising of a brigade to four regiments would be a matter of no consequence to us, if that were all that was necessary. We would gladly raise four, or six, or ten, but "there's the rub." We cannot get the fourth regiment accepted, or the fifth or the sixth. It may not be an advantage to have these regiments all collected together. It may be found by experience to be beneficial that they they should be divided and cut up and absorbed in other commands; yet still I feel it to be my duty, knowing the feeling of the people of the State I represent, to bring this matter before the American Senate, and to ask of them, if we have any modest claim whatever, that they will pay some attention to our wishes,

Mr. WILSON. I will say to the Senator that my State has been called upon for sixteen regimonts, and will have in a few days in the field sixteen thousand three-years men. We have no

brigadier general, and I do not suppose we are to have any. I have no doubt that we have regiments enough to make four brigades, without having a brigadier general.

Mr. COLLAMER. Did you not have Brigadier General Pierce?

Mr. WILSON. Brigadier General Pierce was one of the ninety-days men--one of those men ap

pointed by the Governor. The Governor sent the ninety-days men into the field, and sent their officers and generals with them. General Patterson and General Cadwalader belong to the force furnished by the States. The State of New Jersey has a general with her troops, but his time will be out at the expiration of the ninety days. This bill has no relation to the ninety-days men. This is the organization of the volunteers for three years or for the war. The President of the United States appoints the brigadiers and major generals. The bill provides that there shall be six major generals and eighteen brigadier generals for this enormous force. Now, instead of cutting up the brigades, the minimum of four regiments had better be put up to eight or ten. I assure the Senator it cannot in any way, directly or indirectly, affect anything that his State may do in regard to the matter. If his State sends three regiments or ten regiments into the field, they will be brigaded where the officers choose to brigade them, and his State may have a brigadier general or it may not. If they have got a good man, and they ask for his appointment, I suppose they will get him. I presume we all admit that we have not an overplus of military men in the country, and I think if anybody, in any State, will bring out a man of preeminent fitness, there will be no difficulty in getting a commission for him.

The amendment was rejected.

Mr. NESMITH. I offer this amendment, to be added to the fourth section of the bill:

Provided, That the President may select the major generals and brigadier generals provided for in this act from the line or staff of the present regular Army; and the officers so selected shall be permitted to retain their rank therein. I offer the amendment with great deference, considering the ability of the committee from which this bill has emanated; but in view of the circumstances which surround us, I conceive it to be my duty to offer some proposition of the kind. We must admit, that if it is necessary to prosecute this war, it should be done not only with vigor, but with ability. The experience which we have already had during the war, shows that we have been deficient in the matter of ability of general officers. The affair at Big Bethel, and that at.Vienna, both demonstrate this point; and as the chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs has suggested that the officer who commanded at Big Bethel, General Pierce, was only in for ninety days altogether, I would propose that he be let off whatever portion of his time remains unexpired. [Laughter.] I think he has done quite enough.

they were applicants for the position of first lieutenant. This is an abuse which should be rectified. We not only owe it to ourselves and to the country, but we owe it to the brave men whom they are to lead into action. To place thousands of brave men under incompetent, inexperienced generals, to lead them into action and sacrifice their lives, is murder of the most coldblooded and relentless chaarcter. The man who does it should be indicted and tried for murder. Incompetent men may be selected for other positions in life. For instance, they may come into the Senate or House of Representatives, or may occupy the executive chair. Their blunders there are not apparent, and are not fraught with such consequences as they are in the Army, where men are to be led into action; where a single action may decide the fate of the country; where it decides the lives of thousands; and where everything perhaps may turn on a hair; where everything hangs on the intelligence of the officer who

commands the column.

There are plenty of men who have been educated at West Point that have had great experience and would make excellent and competent generals, and who might, under the provision I have offered, be selected to command. It is not necessary that men should be old in order to command. The best campaign, I believe, that Napoleon made his campaign in Italy-was made when he was not over twenty-five years old. We may have undeveloped talent of that kind in our Army. We have had very bad success heretofore in developing it from civil life. I know it is an ungenerous task to say anything detracting from the merits of our gallant volunteers, or the men who have been selected to command them; but yet I deem it to be my duty, a duty which I owe to the country, to endeavor to provide some precaution in this matter that may prevent the disasters which are likely to result from armies being led by mere politicians, lawyers, preachers, or doctors.

The policy of selecting citizens to high military command, particularly of volunteers, seems to be predicated on the idea, in our Government, that it is more congenial to the tastes of the men who serve under them that their own neighbors and friends should be selected from civil life to command them. That, I apprehend, is a fallacy; I apprehend that it is a popular error, and one that will be dissipated as soon as the men are led into battle. I say that, however much men may be attached to a man in civil life, if he is selected as their commander, and he does not show the ability and competency to head them in action, their respect for him will cease; and however much they may detest a man who is a military tyrant, for whom they have no affection or sympathy in social, civil, or political life, when that man evinces capacity to command an army, every soldier will fasten to him; every soldier will respect him; and every soldier will follow him with love and devotion.

Inasmuch as there are a great many old officers who have served in the Army for years, and have experience, I think it is well that the country should avail itself of that experience, and place them in positions where it will be made available, and where the great military blunders which have already been perpetrated will not be likely to occur again. We do know that those blunders, have occurred; we do know that the affairs at Big Bethel and Vienna both occurred from the ignorance, to say the least, of the officers in command -brigadier generals who had never set a battalion in the field, and who knew nothing of the profession they had adopted. They, doubtless, are good and able men in the spheres which they before occupied; I have nothing to say against them in that particular; but I do say that they are unfit to command troops in the field. Sir, I know men to-day sweating under the epaulets of brigadiers and major generals, who could not pass a board of any intelligent Army officers in the world, if

Under these circumstances, and in view of the facts before us, a necessity exists for placing men

ent arrangement of appointing citizens to high military command, a man who never saw a day's service may be selected for the position of major general. He, as a matter of course, ranks all the brigadier generals who are in the field under him, no matter how much experience these brigadier generals may have had in the late war with Mexico, or in the last war with Great Britain; no matter if they have served fifty years. They may be all Napoleons or Cæsars; they may have all the perfection it is possible to attain in military life; and yet some lawyer or other professional man may be selected as major general and placed over them to command them, and to lead them and the Army to destruction and disgrace.

Mr. WILSON. I shall vote most cheerfully for the proposition made by the Senator from Oregon. Ithink it a wise one, and I beg leave to say that it is in perfect harmony with the policy I have advocated since the commencement of this war. I thought, in the beginning, that it would be better to allow officers of the Army to accept commissions in volunteer regiments, and I so advised the Secretary of War and the Adjutant General. Efforts were made in many States to secure the services of officers of the regular Army, and I think that more than a hundred applications have

been made at the War Office for Army officers to serve as field officers in the volunteers; but the answer was, that owing to the resignations in the Army, and the proposed increase of the force, there were but few experienced officers left, for the number of men, and that the officers could not be spared. The argument, perhaps, is a good one at any rate, for those in the interest of our little Army; but the proposition of the Senator from Oregon does not apply to regimental field officers; it applies to major and brigadier generals, and therefore the number will be limited. I think the Army can spare the few men that may be taken under the proposition he has moved; and there are several officers in the Army of great distinction who would make excellent major and brigadier generals. I think, and have thought, that those men ought to be selected in preference to civilians, however eminent they may be in talent or character. I shall therefore vote for this amendment; and I think that if it be sustained, it will enable the President of the United States to appoint some major and brigadier generals from officers in the regular Army, reserving to them the places they now hold in the Army at the end of the contest, and that the country will be benefited by such a selection. I shall vote most cheerfully for the proposition.

Mr. SHERMAN. I simply desire to point out an inaccuracy, that probably the Senator from Oregon would like to correct. The amendment as it stands would exclude all the officers of the new regiments. Some of the finest officers of the regular Army are in the new regiments. The amendment, as now framed, would exclude all those officers.

Mr. FESSENDEN. The word is "may," not "shall."

Mr. SHERMAN. The same privilege ought to be extended to officers of the new regiments. Mr. FESSENDEN. They will become a part of the regular Army.

Mr. SHERMAN. But this does not extend to the future increase of the regular Army. Mr. FESSENDEN. Read it once more. The Acting Secretary again read the amend

ment.

Mr. SHERMAN. "Present regular Army." I move to strike out the word "present." Mr. NESMITH. I accept that amendment. The VICE PRESIDENT. The question, then, is on the amendment of the Senator from Oregon, as modified.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. CLARK. I move further to amend the

bill in section five, line twenty-three, by inserting after the word "thereto" the words "if he shall have served for a period of two years, or during the war, if sooner ended," so that the clause will read:

And when honorably discharged an allowance, at the same rate, from the place of his discharge to his place of enrollment; and in addition thereto, if he shall have served for a period of two years, or during the war, if sooner ended, the sum of $100.

I propose the amendment because I see that there is a little indistinctness in the bill in regard to the three-months men. I have fixed the period of two years, because I understand that some of the volunteers are for two years, so as not to exclude them. I would suggest that the bill may need some further amendment if it is designed to include those who shall be sick or honorably discharged before that time; but the provision, as it stands, would encourage the volunteers to enlist, without serving for two years, or during the war, for the purpose of getting the $100.

The amendment was agreed to.

Mr. POWELL. I move to amend the bill by striking out the eleventh section, and inserting the following in lieu of it:

That all laws, or parts of laws, granting or extending the franking privilege to any person or persons whomsoever, be, and the same are hereby, repealed: Provided, That the provision of this section shall not extend to persons to whom the franking privilege has been granted by name: And provided further, That nothing herein contained shall prevent the exchange of newspapers and periodicals free of postage as now provided by law.

I desire the section as it stands to be stricken out, not that I wish to impose on the soldiers who may be serving in the Army the expense of postage. I am perfectly willing and ready to vote a section in the bill requiring the Postmaster General to furnish each regiment with postage stamps

or paid envelopes for that purpose. I desire to have the section stricken out for the reason that I am confident that very great abuses and corruptions will exist under this franking privilege, and I do not wish to see it extended. We can reach the object of the section as well by amending the bill so as to require postage stamps to be furnished to the regiments for the use of the soldiers. That, I think, would be right and proper. I desire the elause I have read inserted for the reason that, from a very elaborate investigation of the subject of the franking privilege two years ago, I came to the conclusion, and I think demonstrated clearly to the Senate, that its abolition would be a saving of at least $4,000,000 to the Treasury. At this time, when we are about to resort to extraordinary modes of raising revenue to support the expenses of the Government; when in the report of the Secretary of the Treasury we are asked to resort to almost every means of raising money known to the Constitution, I think it eminently proper that we should retrench wherever we can do so; and I do not think that there is a better time than this to commence this retrenchment by cutting off a privilege which, in my judgment, has led to incalculable abuses by members of Congress and officers of this Government. I hope the section may be stricken out, and the clause which I propose inserted; and then, if some other gentleman does not, I will myself move an amendment that postage stamps or paid envelopes shall be furnished by the Postmaster General to the various regiments for the purpose of paying their postage.

The amendment was rejected.

Mr. HOWE. I offer, as an amendment to the fifth section, to add these words:

And provided further, That all assistant surgeons to be commissioned under this act shall receive the salary of assistant surgeons in the regular Army of ten years' standing.

Mr. WILSON. I should like an explanation of that amendment before it is adopted.

Mr. HOWE. This bill provides now, as it stands, for the appointment of one surgeon and one assistant surgeon to each regiment. These officers are to be taken from the list of practitioners. If you get good ones, you must take them from the number of those who are now in good practice. They serve but a short time; they are then dismissed from the service, and they are out of business and have to set themselves up anew. Under the bill as it stands, if I comprehend aright, they are to receive only the pay of assistant surgeons in the Army of less than five years' standing the lowest grade.

Mr. ANTHONY. How much is that?

Mr. HOWE. One hundred and twenty dollars a month, including everything; whereas the surgeons provided for here get $187 dollars a month, I think. This will bring the assistant surgeons up to somewhere in the neighborhood of the surgeons as they are to be paid under this bill.

The amendment was rejected-ayes 12, noes not counted.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. I desire to offer an amendment, as an additional section:

And be it further enacted, That the Commanding General may detail any second lieutenant from the regular Army, who is a graduate of the Military Academy at West Point, to any such regiment, to act as aid to the colonel or commanding officer, for such time as he shall think proper, without any prejudice to his right of promotion.

It may be that the Commanding General has power now to detach an officer from the regular Army to aid the colonels of volunteer regiments in instruction in battalion drill; but I have some doubts on that subject, and I desire to give the Commanding General the authority expressly. I presume there is no objection to the amendment. Mr. LANE, of Kansas. It should be "adjutant" instead of "aid."

Mr. DOOLITTLE. I do not understand the amendment proposed by the Senator from Kan

sas.

Mr. LANE, of Kansas. You propose that the Commanding General shall have power to detail an "aid" to the colonel. There is no such officer: you mean an "adjutant."

Mr. DOOLITTLE. There is an adjutant to the regiment. I do not care what the name is; I am not much of a military man myself; names are nothing; what I want is the substance of the thing. I want the Commanding General to have power to take a regularly educated military off

Mr. NESMITH. I would suggest that that power is already vested in commanding generals. It was practiced in the Mexican war. All the volunteer generals had aids and adjutants. Most of them were appointed from the line of the Army, served with the volunteers during the war, and held their rank in the regular service; and when the volunteers were disbanded, went back to their position in the Army, and retained the same position that they would have been entitled to if they had remained in the line of the Army. The power of a commanding general extends to ordering officers to any particular service. There has never been any question of his power to assign a regular officer to duty with a volunteer corps. I think, therefore, the amendment is unnecessary.

Mr. WILSON. I hope the Senator from Wisconsin will withdraw his proposition. It will do no sort of good. The Commanding General has the power now, but he has not got the men, and will not have them except in some extraordinary cases; and then I have no doubt he will do it. Mr. DOOLITTLE. If it is conceded on all hands that the power now exists in the Commanding General, I will withdraw the amendment.

Mr. CLARK. There are three or four smail verbal amendments that I think ought to be made in the bill to make it uniform. In the third line of the fifth section, the word "will" should be changed to "shall;" the same change should also be made in the second line of the eighth section, and in line three of section seven. I suppose these alterations will be made without objection.

The VICE PRESIDENT. These amendments will be made, if there be no objection. The Chair

hears none.

Mr. GRIMES. I have no motion to make; but I desire to ask the chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, as he has stated that there is a great scarcity of officers, how it happens that he gives to each one of the brigadier and major generals an additional aid to what has been given heretofore?

Mr. WILSON. In answer to that, I will say that I have done so under the advice of some of the ablest military men in the service, who say. that it is absolutely necessary, and especially in the volunteers, that a major general should have three aids instead of two, and a brigadier general || two instead of one. They are confined to the line of the Army, or the volunteers. The object || is to allow these general officers to get about them one, two, or three experienced men. In the line of the Army some of the general officers now have five or six of them. I think some brigadier generals now in the field find it necessary, instead of being confined to one, to have detailed for their service four or five such men. They can do it in the Army, but it is difficult in the volunteers. It adds nothing to the expense of the Army, but it tends to bring to the staff of the major or brigadier generals two or three experienced officers.

I propose to make a slight amendment to the bill. When these regiments were called out, it was provided that there should be paymasters; and in drawing up this bill, the original call was followed as near as possible. A new policy has been adopted. Paymasters are now appointed under the law passed during the Mexican war, providing that the Government may appoint a paymaster for two regiments. Therefore I move to strike out of the second section, in the tenth line, the words "one paymaster," in the clause fixing the number of officers. It is already provided for by law.

The amendment was agreed to.

The bill was reported to the Senate as amended. The VICE PRESIDENT. The question is on concurring in the amendments made as in Committee of the Whole.

Mr. SAULSBURY. I desire to except one of those amendments.

The VICE PRESIDENT. Will the Senator indicate the amendment to which he refers?

Mr. SAULSBURY. In section one, line five, after the word "numbers," to insert "not exceeding five hundred thousand." I move to strike out "five hundred thousand" and insert "two hundred thousand."

The VICE PRESIDENT. Will the Senate adopt all these amendments severally or in gross? ["All together."] The question then will be on

ted by the Senator from Delaware.

The amendments were concurred in. The VICE PRESIDENT. The question now before the Senate is on concurring in the amendment inserting the words "not exceeding five hundred thousand men." The Senator from Delaware moves to strike out "five hundred thousand" and insert "two hundred thousand."

Mr. SAULSBURY. I do not propose to trespass on the time of the Senate by attempting to make a speech, but simply to state my views in a very few words. I have no doubt that my amendment will be rejected; I have no doubt that this bill will pass; but it is due to myself to state that from the first commencement of these difficulties, this Union has had no warmer friend than I am. I have from the beginning dissented from, and do now dissent from the doctrine of the right of a State to secede from the Union. I believe in all the great and glorious advantages which have been secured to us by the formation of the Union. As I remarked early in the last session of Congress, my State having been the first to adopt the Constitution and to enter the Union she would and will be the last to abandon it, so I repeat now, however trite it may be. We have not a handful of secessionists or disunionists in the State of Delaware. But, sir, we have a people, and as I believe a majority of our people are honestly in favor of a peaceful settlement of this question, and they do believe that if opportunity is allowed to the people of this country that there is love of country enough, that there is patriotism enough, that there is intelligence enough in the people of this country, both North and South, to settle this question without the bloody scenes which have been portrayed here to-day by the Senator from Oregon [Mr. BAKER] and others. Sir, if we are invited to enter upon such scenes, if there is to be a war of subjugation, if fire and sword are to sweep over this land, if there are to be hundreds and thousands and millions of fatherless children, and of widows, then I say that the sentiment of my State is against such a policy.

I may speak impassionedly, excitedly, but I feel deeply the importance of the vote which I am about to cast upon this occasion. I am in favor of defending this capital from the president of the southern confederacy, or anybody in the southern confederacy. I want no man to be my President who has ever raised his arm in hostility to my Government; and if it require double the amount of men to defend this capital, or to defend any portion of the Union which has not assumed to secede, then, sir, I would vote for that amount, both of men and of money. But, sir, as I am in favor of a peaceful adjustment of this question-although I have but little hope that at the present session of Congress there can be a peaceful adjustment-it is due to my own position, it is due to my State, it is due to the people of my State, to say that they are in favor of it; and at your last session of Congress, although the Legislature of my State was composed of Democrats, Republicans, and Bell and Everett men, they unanimously, with the exception of two, instructed me to vote for the compromise measures offered by the distinguished Senator then in his place from Kentucky. I did so vote. They have declared, in their public meetings since, that those compromise measures ought to have been adopted, and that they ought now to be adopted.

Mr. President, I do not profess to know as much in reference to the state of the country as many other gentleman; but I do say, that I as firmly believe as I believe that the sun shines in heaven, that if this Congress would adopt those propositions, maintain the integrity of the Union as it now exists, and turn the Richmond government, or the Montgomery government, over to its own people, in less than four years that old glorious flag which has been so eloquently alluded to here to-day would float in peace over every acre of American soil.

I am fearful that you cannot preserve this Union by the mode contemplated in this bill, and suggested in the message of the President of the United States. I will vote for any measure proposed by the present Executive of the United States that I would vote for if proposed by the gentleman for whom I voted at the last Presidential election. But, sir, our great object, I presume, is the preservation of the Union; it is not the gratification of feelings

of revenge. It is not because men have unwisely and unpatriotically acted, that therefore you will reduce them, as has been intimated, to subjugated provinces. It is not that that you will clothe any man with the powers of a dictator, to see that the Republic suffers no detriment, when the clothing of such a man with such powers would be the destruction of every element that ever entered into an American Union.

But, sir, I will not trespass upon the time of the Senate. I have proposed this amendment as indicative of my own views, and as explanatory of my own position.

Mr. POWELL. I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

Mr. FOSTER. The Senator from Delaware, as I understand it, wishes to strike out "five" and insert "two," on the ground of making peace. Two hundred thousand men are too many to make peace, and too few to make war.

Mr. SAULSBURY. I do not know what was the understanding of the Senator from Connecticut of my remark. The idea which I wished to convey to the Senate was, that I would vote men enough to protect your capital, and to protect every State that is now in this Union, from aggression. The force I propose is sufficient to repel any attempt at invasion. I do not believe there would be any attempt at invasion; but if there were, we should be prepared to meet it. I believe that with two hundred thousand men, that number being adequate to the defense from invasion of your capital, and to the defense of every State and Territory that is now in the Union, at the earliest possible moment, the people of this country will get hold of this question, and, by wise measures of conciliation, they will settle it, and they will settle it peaceably, and that is my object. The question being taken by yeas and nays, resulted-yeas 5, nays 32; as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Johnson of Missouri, Kennedy, Polk, Powell, and Saulsbury-5.

NAYS-Messrs. Anthony, Bingham, Browning, Chandler,Clark, Cowan, Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Harlan, Harris, Howe, King, Lane of Indiana, Lane of Kansas, Latham, McDougall, Morrill, Nesmith, Pomeroy, Rice, Sherman, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Wade, Wilkinson, and Wilson-32.

So the amendment to the amendment was rejected.

The amendment made as in Committee of the Whole was concurred in.

The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, and was read the third time.

On the question "Shall the bill pass?" Mr. POLK and Mr. POWELL called for the yeas and nays, and they were ordered; and being taken, resulted—yeas 34, nays 4; as follows;

YEAS-Messrs. Anthony, Bingham, Browning, Chandler, Clark, Collamer, Cowan, Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Harlan, Harris, Howe, Johnson of Tennessee, King, Lane of Indiana. Lane of

Kansas, Latham, McDougall, Morrill, Nesmith, Pomeroy, Rice, Sherman, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Wade,

Wilkinson, and Wilson-34.

NAYS-Messrs. Johnson of Missouri, Kennedy, Polk, and Powell-4.

So the bill was passed.

BILL BECOME A LAW.

A message from the President of the United States, by Mr. NICOLAY, his Secretary, announced that the President had this day approved and signed an act (S. No. 6) to refund and remit the duties on arms imported by States.

HOUSE BILL REFERRED.

The bill (No. 16) further to provide for the collection of duties on imports, and for other purposes, was read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Commerce.

EXECUTIVE SESSION.

Mr. LATHAM. I move that the Senate do now adjourn.

Mr. SUMNER. I hope the Senator from California will withdraw the motion to adjourn. It is important that we should go into executive session.

Mr. LATHAM. Certainly I withdraw it, if there is any important business to be transacted,

Mr. SUMNER. I move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of executive business.

The motion was agreed to; and after some time spent in the consideration of executive business, the doors were reopened, and the Senate then adjourned.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

WEDNESDAY, July 10, 1861.

The House met at twelve o'clock, m. Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. THOMAS H. STOCKTON. The Journal of yesterday was read and approved.

MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE.

A message was received from the Senate, by Mr. PATTON, one of its clerks, notifying the House that the Senate had passed a bill (No. 6) to refund and remit the duties on arms imported by

States; in which he was directed to ask the concurrence of the House.

REMISSION OF DUTIES ON IMPORTED ARMS.

Mr. STEVENS. I hope the House will agree unanimously to allow the bill just reported from the Senate to be put upon its passage. It is to remit the duties on arms imported by States. I understand that yesterday there were several cargoes of arms imported for at least three States. It would very much facilitate the operations of the Treasury Department to have this bill passed at once. Unless, therefore, objection be made, I move that the bill be put upon its passage.

Mr. BURNETT. I hope I may be indulged a moment to offer some remarks. It is not my purpose to object to the consideration of the bill. Unanimous consent was given.

Mr. BURNETT. Mr. Speaker, I am perhaps one of the few members on this floor who regard not only the commencement of this war, but its prosecution, as a thing which could have been avoided, and which might now be avoided, by proper efforts on the part of the national Legislature of the United States. Entertaining these opinions, I have been one of those who were indisposed to resort to force-to cannon, to bayonet, and to sword-under any circumstances, believing that, under our theory of government, the States cannot be held together in that way. Hence it is my purpose, as a member of this House, representing a congressional district of the State of Kentucky, to oppose, both by my vote and by my voice, every movement that looks to the prosecution of war against the southern States that have seceded from the Union.

Those being my views and sentiments, I cannot, I will not, under any circumstances, give my vote to measures which look to the involvement of our common country in a long, bloody struggle, which must, in my judgment, result in injury to both sections of the country, by the destruction of all its material interests and the prostration of republican representative government on this conthe gentleman from Pennsylvania can take his tinent. I have said all that I desire to say; and

own course with the bill.

The bill was read a first and second time. It directs the Secretary of the Treasury to refund and remit the duties and imposts on all arms imported into the United States since the 1st day of May last, or which may be imported before the 1st day of January next, by or for the account of any States, on being satisfied that the said arms are intended in good faith for the use of the troops of any State which is, or may be, engaged in aiding to suppress the insurrection now existing against the United States.

Mr. WASHBURNE moved the previous question on the third reading of the bill.

Mr. MALLORY. May I be permitted to ask the gentleman from Illinois to withdraw the demand for the previous question for one moment? Mr. WASHBURNE. If the gentleman will renew the demand for the previous question, I will withdraw it.

Mr. MALLORY. I will renew it. I have risen, Mr. Speaker, simply to protest, in the name of Kentucky and of her Union Representatives on this floor, against the remarks made by my colleague, [Mr. BURNETT.] [Applause, and cries of "Good."] I stand here, sir, to pledge the State of Kentucky, the large and overwhelming majority of the people of that State, to the support and maintenance of the Government of the United States, and of the Constitution of the United States. [Loud and continued applause on the floor and in the galleries.]

The SPEAKER. The Chair must remind gentlemen on the floor that applause is a violation of parliamentary decorum. He will insist on the enforcement of the rules, and hopes the House will sustain him. In case of any repetition of applause or disapproval by the galleries the Chair

will feel compelled to order them to be cleared. The Chair hopes that spectators will observe the proprieties of the time and the occasion. These

are not times to convert the national Council Hall into a theater.

Mr. MALLORY. It is not my intention to make anything like a lengthy speech at the present time, but simply to express the sentiment of Kentucky in regard to the unfortunate state of af

fairs that now exists in the United States. We in

Kentucky believe that the peril, the danger, the destruction of property, the ruin of so many interests in the United States, have been brought about by the action of those very seceded States of the South which seem to excite the sympathy of my colleague so much. That being, in my opinion, the sentiment of the people of Kentucky, I am authorized, I think, to say to this House and to the country, that the people of Kentucky, through their Union Representatives on this floor, stand ready to support the Government of the United States in every constitutional means which Congress may think proper to resort to in maintaining the Government and Constitution of the United States. [Applause.]

In accordance with my promise to the gentleman from Illinois, I renew the call for the previous question.

The previous question was seconded, and the main question ordered to be put.

The bill was then ordered to a third reading; and was accordingly read the third time.

Mr. BURNETT. I call for the yeas and nays on the passage of the bill.

The yeas and nays were not ordered.
The bill was passed.

Mr. STEVENS moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed; and also moved to lay the motion to reconsider on the table. The latter motion was agreed to.

ADDITIONAL ARMY APPROPRIATIONS.

Mr. STEVENS, from the Committee of Ways appropriations for the support of the Army for and Means, reported a bill making additional the fiscal year ending June 30, 1862, and appropriations of arrearages for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1861; which was read a first and second time, referred to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, and ordered to be printed.

ADDITIONAL NAVAL APPROPRIATIONS.

Mr. STEVENS, from the same committee, also reported a bill making additional appropriations for the naval service, for the year ending 30th June, 1862, and appropriations of arrearages for the year ending 30th June, 1861; which was read a first and second time, referred to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, and ordered to be printed.

Mr. VALLANDIGHAM moved to reconsider the votes by which the two bills just reported from the Committee of Ways and Means were referred to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union; and also moved to lay the motion to reconsider on the table. The latter motion was agreed to.

COLLECTION OF THE REVENUE. Mr. WASHBURNE, from the Committee on Commerce, reported back House bill No. 16, further to provide for the collection of duties on imports and for other purposes; asked that the same might be put on its passage, and called the previous question.

The bill was read.

The first section provides that whenever it shall, in the judgment of the President, by reason of unlawful combinations of persons in opposition to the laws of the United States, become impracticable to execute the revenue laws and collect the duties on imports by the ordinary means, in the ordinary way, at any port of entry in any collection district, he is authorized to cause such duties to be collected at any port of delivery in said district until such obstruction shall cease; and in such case the surveyors at said ports of delivery shall be clothed with all the powers and be subject to all the obligations of collectors at ports of entry; and the Secretary of the Treasury, with the approbation of the President, shall appoint such number of weighers, gaugers, measurers, inspectors, appraisers, and clerks, as may be necessary, in his judgment, for the faithful execution of the revenue laws at said ports of deliv

ery, and shall fix and establish the limits within which such ports of delivery are constituted ports of entry, as aforesaid; and all the provisions of law regulating the issue of marine papers, the coasting trade, the warehousing of imports, and collection of duties, shall apply to the ports of entry so constituted, in the same manner as they do to ports of entry established by the laws now in force.

The second section provides that if, from the cause mentioned in the foregoing section, in the judgment of the President, the revenue from duties on imports cannot be effectually collected at any port of entry in any collection district, in the ordinary way and by the ordinary means, or by the course provided in the foregoing section, then, and in that case, he may direct that the customhouse for the district be established in any secure place within said district, either on land or on board any vessel in said district, or at sea near the coast; and in such case the collector shall reside at such place, or on shipboard, as the case may be, and there detain all vessels and cargoes arriving within or approaching said district, until the duties imposed by law on said vessels and their cargoes are paid in cash; provided, that if the owner or consignee of the cargo on board any vessel detained as aforesaid, or the master of said vessel, shall desire to enter a port of entry in any other district in the United States where no such obstructions to the execution of the laws exist, the master of such vessel may be permitted so to change the destination of the vessel and cargo in his manifest, whereupon the collector shall deliver him a written permit to proceed to the port so designated; and provided further, that the Secretary of the Treasury shall, with the approbation of the President, make proper regulations for the enforcement on shipboard of such provisions of the laws regulating the assessment and collection of duties as in his judgment may be necessary and practicable.

The third section provides that it shall be unlawful to take any vessel or cargo, detained as aforesaid, from the custody of the proper officers of the customs, unless by process of some court of the United States; and in case of any attempt otherwise to take such vessel or cargo by any force, or combination, or assemblage of persons, too great to be overcome by the officers of the customs, it shall and may be lawful for the President, or such person or persons as he shall have empowered for that purpose, to employ such part of the Army, or Navy, or militia of the United States, or such force of citizen volunteers as may be deemed necessary, for the purpose of preventing the removal of such vessel or cargo, and protect ing the officers of the customs in retaining the custody thereof.

The fourth section provides that if, in the judg-|| ment of the President, from the cause mentioned in the first section of this act, the duties upon imports in any collection district cannot be effectually collected by the ordinary means and in the ordinary way, or in the mode and manner provided in the foregoing sections of this act, then and in that case the President is empowered to close the port or ports of entry in said district, and in such case give notice thereof by proclamation; and thereupon all right of importation, warehousing, and other privileges incident to ports of entry, shall cease and be discontinued at such port so closed, until opened by the order of the President on the cessation of such obstructions; and if, while said ports are so closed, any ship or vessel from beyond the United States, or having on board any articles subject to duties, shall enter, or attempt to enter, any such port, the same, together with its tackle, apparel, furniture, and cargo, shall be forfeited to the United States.

The fifth section provides that whenever the President, in pursuance of the provisions of the second section of the act entitled "An aet 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 28, 1795, 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 United States; and thereupon all commercial intercourse by and between the same and the citizens thereof, and the 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, 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 his discretion, license and permit commercial intercourse with any such part of said State or section, the inhabitants 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 appoint such officers at places where officers of the customs are not now authorized by law as may be needed to carry into effect such licenses, rules, and regulations; and officers 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. Section six provides that from and after fifteen days after the issuing of the said proclamation, as provided in the last foregoing section of this bill, 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.

of the bill, my impression is that the first sections are substantially the same as the bill reported by my colleague, to which I have referred. Other provisions have, however, been added. I regard the bill, in one or two particulars, as manifestly unconstitutional. I voted against the bill of my colleague, along with every gentleman upon this side of the House, once or twice in the last session, and I shall vote now as I voted then. Upon so important a bill, however, I desire to record my vote; and I suppose gentlemen on the other side will have no objection to giving us the yeas and nays on its passage.

Mr. WASHBURNE. I do not propose to take up any time in the discussion of this bill. It has been most thoroughly considered in the Treasury Department, and by the Secretary of the Treasury himself. It has also been fully considered by the Committee on Commerce at two meetings of that committee, and they unanimously ordered me to report it back, and ask the House to put it on its passage.

In answer to a letter which I addressed to the Secretary of the Treasury, asking his views in detail, he has sent me a communication which I send to the Clerk's desk, and ask to have read. It explains fully the provisions of the bill; and when the reading shall have been completed, I will ask for a vote upon the bill, and am willing that the yeas and nays shall be taken upon its passage. The letter was read, as follows:

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, July 9, 1861. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 8th instant, requesting my views in detail of the provisions of the "bill further to provide for the collection of duties on imports, and for other purposes."

The existing condition of things on the Mississippi river and its tributaries is an illustration of the propriety of the provisions of the first section of the bill. The port of entry is New Orleans, and the ports of delivery are St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Wheeling, and others. Duties under existing laws can be assessed only at New Orleans. They may be collected at the ports of delivery. All the officers necessary for the assessment of duties on imports, such as appraisers, weighers, gaugers, and measurers, reside at New Orleans; but none such are authorized at ports of delivery.

If the duties are not ascertained at New Orleans, there is no power or means of ascertaining them elsewhere, and the first section of the bill provides for that exigency, by giving such power to the surveyor at the port of delivery as will enable him to perform all the duties of a collector in reference to any foreign merchandise which may arrive at his port without being duly entered, and duties ascertained at the port of entry. The other provisions of that section are necessary to enable the surveyor to discharge the duties of collector under the laws regulating the coasting trade and the warehousing of imports.

Section eight provides that the forfeitures 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, penalties, and disabilities accruing in certain cases therein mentioned," approved March 3, 1797, or in cases where special circumstances may seem to require it, according to regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury.

Section nine provides that proceedings on 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.

Mr. VALLANDIGHAM, I desire to ask the gentleman from Illinois a question in relation to this bill.

The SPEAKER. No debate is in order, the previous question having been called, except by unanimous consent. If there be no objection, the gentleman will proceed.

Mr. VALLANDIGHAM. I merely desire to ask the gentleman whether this bill is not substantially the same as that reported by my colleague, (Mr. BINGHAM,] from the Committee on the Judiciary, during the last session?

Mr. WASHBURNE. I have not a sufficiently distinct recollection of the provisions of the bill introduced last session by the honorable gentleman from Ohio, to answer the question definitely. Mr. VALLANDIGHAM, "From the reading ||

The provisions of the second and third sections of the bill are, in substance, those of the first section of the act of 2d March, 1833, entitled “An act further to provide for the collection of duties on imports," and are designed to

do not seem to require any special comment except to state that an option is given to the master of a vessel arriving with foreign merchandise, or owner or consignee of the cargo, (not given in the act of 1833,) either to pay duties to the collector on shipboard or to enter at some other port where the duties may be collected in the ordinary way. The connection between the courts of the State and the United States being broken, the provision confining the issuing of process interfering with the vessel and cargo in the custody of the collector to courts of the United States, would seem to be proper, and, indeed, necessary, to the collection of the revenue in the mode proposed.

The fourth section of the bill gives to the President the power to close a port of entry whenever duties cannot be collected in the ordinary way or without too serious inconvenience and difficulty in the modes provided in the previous sections of the bill. The right to prescribe at what points commerce shall be carried on, and duties collected, has been exercised by Congress from the origin of the Government in all the various laws creating collection districts and ports of entry and delivery, This section merely vests the President with the power, where it is impracticable or extremely difficult to collect duties at a port of entry, to suspend the privilege of importation at that point, giving due notice of such suspension, and restoring the privilege when the emergency shall have ceased. In the condition of things contemplated in the fourth section, no other course would seem to be open without a practical abandonment of efforts to collect the revenue.

The fifth and sixth sections of the bill refer to the same

subject matter, and contemplate an organized insurrection against the United States, embracing a State or part of a State. To permit, under such circumstances, commerce to flow uninterrupted in its accustomed channels, would only add strength to the rebellion. Its total cessation would bring with it a full sense of the loss and inconvenience to which their position subjects them. Being in a state of declared hostility to the United States, the property of the insurgents, and all property proceeding to their relief, would be liable to confiscation. But there may be individuals or sections of a State so in insurrection that may entertain loyal sentiments; and to meet this contingency, it would seem proper to vest the President with the power to permit, by special license, commercial intercourse to be maintained with such individuals or sections; and such a provision is accordingly inserted in the fifth section. It will be per