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numbers for cavalry and artillery, as he may direct, not to exceed the proportion of one company of each of those arms to every regiment of infantry, and to be organized as in the regular service.

[The remainder of the act relates to the organization of the volunteers, the appointment of officers, etc.]

No. 6.

Resolution on the Nature and Object of the War

July 22, 1861

A RESOLUTION declaratory of the nature and object of the war was offered in the House, July 22, 1861, by John J. Crittenden of Kentucky. In the vote the resolution was divided, the first part, through the word "capital," being adopted by a vote of 122 to 2, and the remainder by a vote of 117 to 2. A resolution in practically identical terms was offered in the Senate, July 24, by Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, and on the 25th, after a long discussion, was adopted, the vote being 30 to 5. The resolutions, which “ gave expression to the common sentiment of the country," were the only formal declarations out of a great number submitted which passed the houses.

REFERENCES. Text in House Journal, 37th Cong., 1st Sess., 123. For the debates see the Cong. Globe. A list of the principal declaratory resolutions submitted, with the action on each, is given in McPherson, Rebellion, 285–290.

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Resolved That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon the country by the disunionists of the southern States, now in arms against the constitutional government, and in arms around the capital; that in this national emergency, Congress, banishing all feelings of mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole country; that this war is not waged on their part in any spirit of oppression, or for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, or purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution, and to preserve the Union with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these objects are accomplished the war ought to cease.

No. 7. Indemnity for State War Expenses

July 27, 1861

A BILL" to indemnify the States for expenses incurred by them in defense of the United States " was introduced in the House by Valentine B. Horton of Ohio, July 22, considered under suspension of the rules, and passed. The bill passed the Senate on the 25th without a division, and on the 27th the act was approved. The refunding of duties on arms imported by States was provided for by acts of July 10 and July 25, the scope of the latter act being extended, by a joint resolution of March 8, 1862, to importations prior to the date of the act.

REFERENCES. - Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 276. The record of proceedings is unimportant. On the war debts of the loyal States see House Report 16, 39th Cong., 1st Sess.

An Act to indemnify the States for Expenses incurred by them in Defence of the United States.

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Be it enacted. That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, directed, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to pay to the Governor of any State, or to his duly authorized agents, the costs, charges, and expenses properly incurred by such State for enrolling, subsisting, clothing, supplying, arming, equipping, paying, and transporting its troops employed in aiding to suppress the present insurrection against the United States, to be settled upon proper vouchers, to be filed and passed upon by the proper accounting officers of the Treasury.

APPROVED, July 27, 1861.

No. 8. Act for calling out the Militia

July 29, 1861

A BILL "to provide for the suppression of rebellion," etc., was introduced in the House, July 10, by John A. Bingham of Ohio, and on the 16th passed without a division. The bill passed the Senate on the 26th, and on the 29th the act was approved.

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For the

REFERENCES. Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 281, 282. proceedings see the House and Senate Journals and the Cong. Globe. The changes made by the act are set forth in the House proceedings of July 16; compare President Buchanan's remarks on the employment of the militia under the acts of 1795 and 1807, in his annual message of December 3, 1860. An Act to provide for the Suppression of Rebellion against and Resistance to the Laws of the United States, and to amend the Act entitled" An Act to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union," &c., passed February twentyeight, seventeen hundred and ninety-five.

Be it enacted. That whenever, by reason of unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages of persons, or rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States, it shall become impracticable, in the judgment of the President of the United States, to enforce, by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, the laws of the United States within any State or Territory of the United States, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States to call forth the militia of any or all the States of the Union, and to employ such parts of the land and naval forces of the United States as he may deem necessary to enforce the faithful execution of the laws of the United States, or to suppress such rebellion in whatever State or Territory thereof the laws of the United States may be forcibly opposed, or the execution thereof forcibly obstructed.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That whenever, in the judgment of the President, it may be necessary to use the military force hereby directed to be employed and called forth by him, the President shall forthwith, by proclamation, command such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes, within a limited time.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the militia so called into the service of the United States shall be subject to the same rules and articles of war as the troops of the United States, and be continued in the service of the United States until discharged by proclamation of the President: Provided, That such continuance in service shall not extend beyond sixty days after the

commencement of the next regular session of Congress, unless Congress shall expressly provide by law therefor: . . .

SEC. 4. [Penalty for disobedience of orders of President.] SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That courts-martial for the trial of militia shall be composed of militia officers only. SEC. 6. [Fines, how collected and paid.]

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the marshals of the several districts of the United States, and their deputies, shall have the same powers in executing the laws of the United States as sheriffs and their deputies in the several States, have by law, in executing the laws of the respective States.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That sections two, three, and four of the act . . . [of February 28, 1795,] . . . and so much of the residue of said act and of all other acts as conflict with this act are hereby repealed.

APPROVED, July 29, 1861.

No. 9.

Act to define and punish certain
Conspiracies

July 31, 1861

A BILL "to define and punish certain conspiracies" was presented in the House, July 15, by John Hickman of Pennsylvania, and passed by a vote of 123 to 7. In the Senate the printing of a minority report submitted by Bayard of Delaware and Powell of Kentucky was refused by a vote of 10 to 29, and on the 26th the bill in amended form passed the Senate. Nine Senators entered a protest against the bill. The amendment of the Senate was concurred in by the House on the 30th, and the next day the act was approved. REFERENCES. Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 284. The important proceedings are those of the Senate for July 24 and 26 (Cong. Globe, 37th Cong., Ist Sess.).

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An Act to define and punish certain Conspiracies. Be it enacted That if two or more persons within any State or Territory of the United States shall conspire together to overthrow, or to put down, or to destroy by force, the Govern

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ment of the United States, or to levy war against the United States, or to oppose by force the authority of the Government of the United States; or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States; or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States against the will or contrary to the authority of the United States; or by force, or intimidation, or threat to prevent any person from accepting or holding any office, or trust, or place of confidence, under the United States; each and every person so offending shall be guilty of a high crime, and upon conviction thereof in any district or circuit court of the United States, having jurisdiction thereof, or district or supreme court of any Territory of the United States having jurisdiction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not less than five hundred dollars and not more than five thousand dollars; or by imprisonment, with or without hard labor, as the court shall determine, for a period not less than six months nor greater than six years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

APPROVED, July 31, 1861.

No. 10. Supplementary National Loan Act

August 5, 1861

A BILL for the amendment of the loan act of July 17 [No. 4], 1861, was reported by William P. Fessenden of Maine, from the Senate Committee on Finance, July 22, and passed the Senate the same day. The Committee of Ways and Means of the House reported the bill on the 25th with amendments, the most important of which authorized the payment of interest at nine per cent on treasury notes, and pledged the receipts from certain duties for the payment of the loan. The Senate, on the 29th, struck out both of these provisions, and added the section authorizing the issue of five dollar treasury notes. The bill received its final form from a conference committee, which inserted the section suspending in part the subtreasury act of 1846. The report of the conference committee was agreed to by the Senate without a division, and by the House by a vote of 83 to 34.

REFERENCES. - Text in U.S. Statutes at Large, XII, 313, 314. For the proceedings see the House and Senate Journals, 37th Cong., 1st Sess., and the Cong. Globe.

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